Jackie Sato: Difference between revisions

{{nihongo|'''Naoko Satō'''|佐藤尚子|''Satō Naoko''|October 30, 1957 – August 9, 1999}}, better known as {{nihongo|'''Jackie Sato'''|ジャッキー佐藤|''Jakkī Satō''}}, was a Japanese [[professional wrestler]]. In the 1970s, while wrestling for [[All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling]] (AJW), she formed the [[tag team]], the {{ill|Beauty Pair|ja|ビューティ・ペア}}, with {{ill|Maki Ueda (wrestler)|lt=Maki Ueda|ja|マキ上田}}. Following in the steps of {{ill|Mach Fumiake|ja|マッハ文朱}}, the Beauty Pair was part of an important shift in the culture of Japanese women's wrestling, attracting more female fans by becoming pop icons. In their mainstream success, Satō and Ueda paved the way for the {{ill|[[Crush Gals|ja|クラッシュギャルズ}}]] of the 1980s.<ref name="Nippon">{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/column/g00251/|title=The Furious Theater of Women’s Professional Wrestling in Japan|work=Nippon.com|first=Yanagisawa|last=Takeshi|date=February 25, 2015|access-date=August 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710190444/https://www.nippon.com/en/column/g00251/|archive-date=July 10, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1986, inspired by the current boom in interest in women's wrestling in Japan due to the success of the {{ill|[[Crush Gals|ja|クラッシュギャルズ}}]], Sato, along with wrestler {{ill|Nancy Kumi|ja|ナンシー久美}}, [[Boxing|boxer]] [[Rumi Kazama]], and others, formed the first women's [[professional wrestling promotion|promotion]] to compete against the [[All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling|AJW]] monopoly, [[Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling]] (JWP). Satō returned from retirement on JWP's first show on August 17, 1986, in a match against [[Shinobu Kandori]]. Sato was involved in an infamous incident on July 18, 1987, when a match involving her and [[Shinobu Kandori]] turned into a shoot match.<ref name=ME>{{cite web | url = https://middle-edge.jp/articles/rVAhn?page=2| title = 神取忍 野生的な動き、技のキレ...| date=November 25, 2015| access-date=March 22, 2019 | work=Middle-Edge| language=ja}}</ref> This incident led to her retiring for a second and final time on March 20, 1988. Under Sato's influence, JWP did not offer the "mandatory retirement" policy common in AJW, allowing female wrestlers to compete until they wished to retire, rather than until the promoters ordered them to retire.