Nakano was a warrior, plain and simple, and the women who survived their run-ins with her have the scars to prove it.
Debuting as a competitor in the notoriously stern world of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling when she was only a teenager, Nakano became familiar to WWE fans when she terrorized Alundra Blayze in 1994. She competed in WWE long before that, however, teaming up with powerhouse Dump Matsumoto as The Devils of Japan on a series of shows in 1986.
Even back then, Nakano was already carving out her persona as a black-hearted villain with a captivating appearance that was equal parts Tokyo scream queen and Bowery punk rocker. Shaving the sides of her long hair before it was popular, Bull rocked leather vests and fright makeup to draw the crowd’s attention, but she was much more than that.
A singles champion in Japan, Mexico, and WWE, Nakano intimidated opponents with her unbridled intensity and put them down with her imposing frame. Taking obvious pleasure in causing pain, she’d grab a handful of hair and fling a rival across the ring.
Nakano became a revered sports-entertainment figure following a string of physical encounters against formidable opponents like Aja Kong and Manami Toyota in Japan. It was this international reputation that brought her to WWE in 1994 for a rivalry with Blayze that revitalized the long-stagnant Women’s Title. The two battled exhaustively throughout the year with Nakano’s biggest victory coming on Nov. 24, 1994, when she won the Women’s Championship in front of more than 42,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome.
Nakano and Blayze rumbled again in WCW in 1995, but her in-ring career began to wind down soon after. Following a brief stint as a professional golfer, Nakano officially retired from wrestling on Jan. 8, 2012.
Her iconic career both domestically and abroad influenced multiple generations that followed, cementing her legacy as one of the all-time greats as she now takes her rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
A matriarch of the legendary Anoa’i family, Maivia shattered glass ceilings as one of the first women to become a powerful sports-entertainment promoter and laid the foundation for one of the most decorated bloodlines in wrestling history.
Maivia joins her late husband, WWE Hall of Famer “High Chief” Peter Maivia, in the WWE Hall of Fame, as the two key figures in the rich wrestling history of Hawaii.
After The High Chief’s passing in 1982, Maivia took over control of the National Wrestling Alliance territory in Hawaii known as Polynesian Pro Wrestling where she became one of wrestling’s first-ever woman promoters.
In 1985, Maivia was in charge of promoting A Hot Summer Night, which was an event that featured several WWE Hall of Famers including Andre the Giant, Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson (Maivia’s son-in-law), Dusty Rhodes, Antonio Inoki, and many other notable Superstars that drew a crowd of more than 20,000.
With Lia Maivia’s strength and influence, the Anoa’i family grew into one of the industry’s defining families as WWE Superstars such as The Rock, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Yokozuna, Rikishi, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and many more developed into some of the most globally renowned sports-entertainers of their respective eras.
Maivia passed away in 2008 at the age of 77, but her strong-willed business sense coupled with her love of sports-entertainment left a lasting and profound impact on the industry and the many people she influenced and impacted in her amazing life.