Bull Nakano

Nakano in 1995

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Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan

**Keiko Aoki** (青木恵子, *Aoki Keiko*, née **Nakano** (中野), born January 8, 1968) (January 8, 1968), better known as **Bull Nakano**, is a former professional wrestler.

She began competing in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) as a teenager under the ring name Bull Nakano. As a wrestler she was a villain, who often teamed with her mentor Dump Matsumoto. In Japan, she held several of AJW's singles and tag team championships. After being phased out by the company in the early 1990s, she traveled to North America, where she mostly competed in WWE and WCW, whom she had a feud with Alundra Blayze.

## Professional wrestling career

### Japan (1983–1992)

Nakano's career as a professional wrestler began in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) organization in Japan when she was 15 years old. After winning the AJW Junior Championship at the age of 16 in 1984, her ring name was changed to Bull Nakano. In July 1985, she won the AJW Championship, which she held for the next three years. Meanwhile, she teamed with Dump Matsumoto—who was also her mentor—as a pair of villains. With Matsumoto as her partner, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship in August 1986. Nakano and Matsumoto briefly wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in 1986 against the team of Velvet McIntyre and Dawn Marie Johnston.

After Matsumoto's retirement, Nakano won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship a second and third time, with Condor Saito in 1987 and Grizzly Iwamoto in 1988. As a singles wrestler, she won the 1988 Japan Grand Prix tournament in June. One year later in June 1989, she also defeated Mitsuko Nishiwaki to win AJW's All Pacific Championship, which she lost to Noriyo Tateno in November. Several months later in January 1990, Nakano won a tournament final to win the vacant WWWA World Heavyweight Championship. She held the title for nearly three years, before dropping it to Aja Kong in November 1992. Afterward, AJW's use of Nakano in storylines and matches decreased.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Angelito* (Scorpion cross lock)
	+ Diving guillotine leg drop, sometimes while performing a somersault
	+ *Poseidon* (Back-to-belly piledriver)

* **Signature moves**
	+ Atomic drop, onto the mat
	+ Backdrop suplex, sometimes bridging or releasing
	+ Bow and arrow stretch
	+ Crossface chickenwing
	+ Dragon sleeper
	+ DDT
	+ Double leg slam, sometimes dropped
	+ Elevated DDT
	+ Falling facebuster
	+ Flapjack
	+ German suplex, while bridging
	+ Gorilla press drop
	+ Guillotine leg drop
	+ Hair pull whip
	+ *Haymaker* (Right hook)
	+ High-angle calf lock
	+ Inverted DDT, sometimes lifting
	+ Inverted figure-four leglock
	+ Knee strike, while diving
	+ Lariat
	+ Leg drop
	+ Leg lariat, while diving
	+ Modified Boston crab, with knee
	+ Moonsault
	+ Northern Lights suplex, while bridging
	+ Omoplata
	+ Over-the-shoulder Single leg Boston crab
	+ Plancha, while diving
	+ Piledriver
	+ Powerbomb, while kneeling
	+ Sharpshooter
	+ Splash
	+ Standing seated senton
	+ Sitout powerbomb
	+ Springboard roundhouse kick
	+ Scoop slam
	+ Tombstone piledriver, from the top rope
	+ *Tope suicida* (Suicide dive)
	+ Two-handed chokeslam
	+ Thunder fire powerbomb
	+ Vertical suplex, lifted into a DDT

## Championships and accomplishments

* **All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling**
	+ AJW Championship (1 time)
	+ AJW Junior Championship (1 time)
	+ All Pacific Championship (1 time)
	+ WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ WWWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Dump Matsumoto (1), Condor Saito (1), and Grizzly Iwamoto (1)
	+ Japan Grand Prix (1988)
	+ AJW Hall of Fame (1998)

* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2001)