rovert Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Fans are some times grossed out by wrestlers pumping chemicals into their bodies to get bigger but this is another kind of extreme: Here’s a crazy story. Keiko “Bull†Nakano, a pro wrestling Hall of Famer who has had almost nothing to do with pro wrestling since leaving the business in 1996, announced that she would have her retirement show on 1/8 (which is also her 44th birthday) at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. The former monster, Nakano was down to 130 pounds last year when she got married to kickboxer Daisuke Aoki. After leaving wrestling, she attempted but failed to qualify for the LPGA tour, but lived in Orlando for many years working as a golf pro at a local course. She returned to Japan at some point and wanted no communication with wrestling, but just recently reappeared at a show. She said that she would play Bull Nakano for the final time on that show, but would not wrestle, as a 1997 operation (I believe a knee operation but both her knees and back were shot by her mid-20s because of the physical style she worked at her size, she was actually one of the ten best female wrestlers of all-time and as far as a pure worker, the best of the 200 pound plus women). To do so, she said she’s eating heavily now, working on putting weight back on. She said she’s now 187 and her goal is to be at Bull Nakano weight of 220 by 1/8. If she wants to play Nakano, she also must be collecting every can of hair spray sent to the city of Tokyo. When she was wrestling, the women had a joke that there was a hole in the ozone layer in Tokyo right above her apartment. The expectation is many of the legendary women stars of the early 90s would likely be on the show, and they already announced her former tag partner and later rival, Aja Kong, to be appearing. Credit: Wrestling Observer Here she was in 2010 looking very cute & youthful on the left: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 That picture makes Bull Nakano even more awesome. This story does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 That picture makes Bull Nakano even more awesome. This story does not. Word. She looked stunning one year ago, she really doesn't need to put the weight back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Doing all that to look like she did *without actually wrestling* is baffling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Doing all that to look like she did *without actually wrestling* is baffling. Perverse self-cosplaying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 God that really makes me sad. : John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Yeah that story is just ridiculous. That should be on the list of Worst Promotional Tactics of 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 That's really depressing. There was a bunch of stuff in the Japanese media a while back about her dramatic weight loss. She even wrote a weight loss book. If nothing else, the lengths they had to go to to make her look like a monster is pretty telling. That reminds me, didn't AJW force Aja Kong to bulk up because they didn't think someone who was half black could get over as a babyface? On a somewhat related note, I think it's interesting how most of the 90s joshi stars have aged really well. The one on the right in the picture above is Takako Inoue, and she's still a total fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 On a somewhat related note, I think it's interesting how most of the 90s joshi stars have aged really well. The one on the right in the picture above is Takako Inoue, and she's still a total fox. Considering the abuse they have taken working a workrate heavy style, yes, most of them have aged pretty gracefully when compared to their male counterpart. A lot less drugs and booze I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Two adda: Jerome is right: Takako has aged wonderfully. It's telling how good Bull looks in that pic that she's next to Takako... and we're all saying Bull looks good. On "lot less drugs and booze", I do recall Dave touching on some issues while Bull was in the WWF / US. Don't remember the specifics, nor how much of it was read-between-the-lines, but do recall that Bull had some worrisome issues in the US while still active. I suspect that getting away from the business, losing weight and getting her health in order turned that around. Someone more dialed into the behind the scenes trash of puroresu and joshi probably could give some insight into just how much the painkiller / sleeping pill issues there were in that era (and/or continue into today). I suspect that the more jaded, less naive of us if we really want to face it / admitt it would probably say they wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of them were taking massive amounts of painkillers and the rest of typical stuff banged up wrestlers take. I'm thinking about Misawa getting through the 1998 Carny banged up going in, then getting banged up worse during it, working the Final, then working the Dome within a month... and the general talk was that he was as fucked up as Shawn was heading into Mania. You know... the one that was Shawn's last match for years. And the expectation Misawa would be out for a while, and instead rushing back when business was poor... and then getting the TC back when he didn't want it. It's hard to grasp how he does that without painkillers in mass quantities. Perhaps he cycles them during the day to avoid being Jeff Hardy vs Sting loaded in matches... but it's really quite jarring if you stop to think about what they were likely taking. Joshi? It was a meat grinder, with more cards than either NJPW or AJPW in those years. The style was brutal. I don't think asprin and herbal remedies do enough when you're as fucked up as Hokuto got, and the rest of them were banged up as well. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Speaking of drugs, Dave has written about how the main reason there are fewer drug-related deaths in Japan is because the cultural taboos against recreational use are a lot stronger. There seems to be something to that, since a few guys have been blackballed from puro after being busted for pot. So why wasn't Bull blackballed from joshi after getting busted for cocaine? Oh, and I checked out Bull's blog, and this is apparently what she looks like now: Sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Two adda: Jerome is right: Takako has aged wonderfully. It's telling how good Bull looks in that pic that she's next to Takako... and we're all saying Bull looks good. On "lot less drugs and booze", I do recall Dave touching on some issues while Bull was in the WWF / US. Don't remember the specifics, nor how much of it was read-between-the-lines, but do recall that Bull had some worrisome issues in the US while still active. I suspect that getting away from the business, losing weight and getting her health in order turned that around. Someone more dialed into the behind the scenes trash of puroresu and joshi probably could give some insight into just how much the painkiller / sleeping pill issues there were in that era (and/or continue into today). I suspect that the more jaded, less naive of us if we really want to face it / admitt it would probably say they wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of them were taking massive amounts of painkillers and the rest of typical stuff banged up wrestlers take. I'm thinking about Misawa getting through the 1998 Carny banged up going in, then getting banged up worse during it, working the Final, then working the Dome within a month... and the general talk was that he was as fucked up as Shawn was heading into Mania. You know... the one that was Shawn's last match for years. And the expectation Misawa would be out for a while, and instead rushing back when business was poor... and then getting the TC back when he didn't want it. It's hard to grasp how he does that without painkillers in mass quantities. Perhaps he cycles them during the day to avoid being Jeff Hardy vs Sting loaded in matches... but it's really quite jarring if you stop to think about what they were likely taking. Joshi? It was a meat grinder, with more cards than either NJPW or AJPW in those years. The style was brutal. I don't think asprin and herbal remedies do enough when you're as fucked up as Hokuto got, and the rest of them were banged up as well. John Are there any of the old joshi heads still online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Heh, i've long since had the theory that any joshi wrestler who sticks around long enough will have atleast 1 of 3 things happen as they get older. 1) they get hotter. 2) they get fatter. 3) they get crazier and many times it's all the above Bull should have learned from Kyoko & Ito that bulking up for wrestling can backfire badly though. I suspect that the more jaded, less naive of us if we really want to face it / admitt it would probably say they wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of them were taking massive amounts of painkillers and the rest of typical stuff banged up wrestlers take. Post match on the show with Hokuto vs Aja in 93 they show you footage of Hokuto getting shot up as soon as she gets in the back. So yeah, i'm sure a lot of them were reg taking something back then. Are there any of the old joshi heads still online. That would know the backstage shit? Hmmm, dunno. Trocar Slush Weasle still pops up from time to time on DVDVR, he might know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Bull was fired from WWF for failing a drug test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuttsy Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 If she's wrestling on 1/8/2012 that really makes me wonder if there are plans for her to do the Chikara joshi shows in December, or if at least they'd make a play for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Joshi? It was a meat grinder, with more cards than either NJPW or AJPW in those years. The style was brutal. I don't think asprin and herbal remedies do enough when you're as fucked up as Hokuto got, and the rest of them were banged up as well. Oh, I have no doubt they took stuff. I mean, Hokuto couldn't have possibly stand on her two feet with some kind of medication. What I'm saying is I doubt they got fucked up on pills like the guys in the US, as we haven't seen any of them drop dead or fall off a cliff because of it. From what I knew some of them were pretty hard partier, LCO, Oz if I remember right. Manami Toyota's addiction was pachinko though. Mariko Yoshida was exactly what she looked like, smart and healthy. Heh, i've long since had the theory that any joshi wrestler who sticks around long enough will have atleast 1 of 3 things happen as they get older. 1) they get hotter. 2) they get fatter. 3) they get crazier and many times it's all the above Well, you could say that about women in general. Bull should have learned from Kyoko & Ito that bulking up for wrestling can backfire badly though. Hasn't Kyoko lost some weight after her sickness ? What happened to Ito ? That would know the backstage shit? Hmmm, dunno. Trocar Slush Weasle still pops up from time to time on DVDVR, he might know. TSW ? Shit, that brings me back 10 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 That reminds me, didn't AJW force Aja Kong to bulk up because they didn't think someone who was half black could get over as a babyface? Don't doubt they may have encouraged her to bulk up but I doubt her being half black was the reason. If you've ever seen super young teenage Aja, she was naturally on the bigger side as is and she didn't have the babyface look anyways so things would have gone the way they did either way. If she's wrestling on 1/8/2012 that really makes me wonder if there are plans for her to do the Chikara joshi shows in December, or if at least they'd make a play for her. Allready mentioned a bunch in this thread she's not wrestling. If she was, Zero chance she'd do the Chikara shows for a # of reasons, not the least of which is because they're taking place before her return show and because her return show is only taking place so that she could have an official retirement. Hasn't Kyoko lost some weight after her sickness ? What happened to Ito ? Well, Kyoko trimed down a fair bit from when she was at her largest but she's still pretty huge. As for Ito, yeah forgot you don't follow the current sceen. Here's what she looks like now In both cases they're girls who if you look at them in their younger years, used to be really super skinny but then bulked up to be taken more seriously when they started getting pushed closer to the main events and then had it all spiral out of controll and kept getting bigger and bigger w/o ever losing the weight. With Kyoko it didn't really hinder her that much as a wrestler atleast as she still could put on great matches and even today when she wrestles is usually passable and ocasionally good. With Ito she doesn't have the frame to pull off being a fat girl wrestler so she's just an embarasment now. She was once one of the most graceful athletic stars around, these days she just kinda wabbles about, wearing too small shirts that leave her gut hanging out half the match, still doing diving footstomps only they're really ugly now and awkwardly crushing people. Depessing to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 I would have never use the words "graceful" and "Kaoru Ito" in the same sentence, although she was a workhorse. She always looked pretty bad anyway, and always had pretty terrible looking outfit, so I guessed she could only get better as she aged. Well, I was wrong. What you describe does seems depressing. Kyoko had a happy-go-lucky fat woman thing going on. Didn't she had a kid too BTW at some point, or am I totally out of the loop ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 I would have never use the words "graceful" and "Kaoru Ito" in the same sentence Awww, come on, young Ito pull off some nice stuff. Back when she could still aim properly her footstomp was always cool looking. Kyoko had a happy-go-lucky fat woman thing going on. Didn't she had a kid too BTW at some point, or am I totally out of the loop ? Yup, had a boy back in 07. She discovered she was pregnant soon after she learned she had ovarian cancer. Thankfully happy ending on both accounts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 Awww, come on, young Ito pull off some nice stuff. Back when she could still aim properly her footstomp was always cool looking. Mechanically perfect, no doubt about that, but not exactly graceful. Graceful to me is Jinzei Shinzaki, Misawa at his best, Barry Windham. Kyoko was pretty graceful actually. Yup, had a boy back in 07. She discovered she was pregnant soon after she learned she had ovarian cancer. Thankfully happy ending on both accounts Yeah, I'm glad it turned out fine ! I thought I remembered that. You are the one who probably broke the news to me too. I'm not at all the kind who drools over baby's pictures, but since this is Kyoko, I can't help but find this adorable. Kyoko always had the nicest smile anyway. She's kinda the Kim Deal of joshi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 If she's wrestling on 1/8/2012 that really makes me wonder if there are plans for her to do the Chikara joshi shows in December, or if at least they'd make a play for her. Doubtful. Bull's a big enough name that they'd be really hyping her if she was on board. And I don't see her having her first match in over a decade in front of a couple hundred gaijin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted September 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 If she's wrestling on 1/8/2012 that really makes me wonder if there are plans for her to do the Chikara joshi shows in December, or if at least they'd make a play for her. Doubtful. Bull's a big enough name that they'd be really hyping her if she was on board. And I don't see her having her first match in over a decade in front of a couple hundred gaijin. Yeah that is the saddest part. If this was Wrestlemania I would say fair enough to Bull being all Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzombie1988 Posted September 25, 2011 Report Share Posted September 25, 2011 Bull's not wrestling. She will just appear and be overweight, seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLIK Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 Bull, October 2012, hair grew back, weights been lost & she would like to say fuck all the haters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I found the idea of gaining weight stupid, but damn does she look great again or what ? Bull is the greatest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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