is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

retired

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. After being trained by

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (stylized as TAKA Michinoku), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He primarily appears for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a me ...

, she started her career in his

Kaientai Dojo Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of Professional wre ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent further training under

Mariko Yoshida , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her work with the ARSION professional wrestling promotion, where she was also head trainer. Professional wrestling career Yoshida debuted for ...

, before becoming a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

and starting to work on the Japanese

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

for promotions such as

Oz Academy is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top f ...

and

Pro Wrestling Wave is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Mikiko Futagami, Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDS ...

. She also became a regular for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

promotion

SHIMMER Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) was an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both ...

. Nakagawa was a decorated

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

wrestler, becoming a one-time FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champion, three-time

Oz Academy Tag Team Champion The Oz Academy Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Oz Academy professional wrestling promotion. The championship was introduced on July 13, 2008, when Carlos Amano and Dynamite Kansai defeated Ch ...

, two-time

SHIMMER Tag Team Champions The Shimmer Tag Team Championship (stylized as SHIMMER Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling tag team professional wrestling championship, championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. The title is recognized nationally by Ring of Honor, a ...

and a three-time Wave Tag Team Champion. As a singles wrestler, she held the Smash Diva Championship. After a ten-year career, Nakagawa announced her retirement from professional wrestling in June 2014. After a Japanese retirement match in December 2014, Nakagawa wrestled her final match in the United States on April 12, 2015.

Early life

Nakagawa grew up a fan of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, watching promotions like

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held the ...

and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, but was forced to give up her dream of becoming a professional wrestler, when she discovered that, at , she was 5 cm (2 in) below the minimum height required for a woman to enter the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling dojo, and instead began studying, eventually becoming a qualified

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

. While working in her new job, Nakagawa would often go to watch professional wrestling at

Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...

and finally, at the age of 22, decided to pursue her original dream and began training professional wrestling under

Professional wrestling career

Kaientai Dojo (2004–2007)

Nakagawa made her professional wrestling debut for Taka Michinoku's

promotion on September 19, 2004, when she, performing under the ring name Tomotsu-chan, teamed with Ofune to defeat Besu and Bochi in a tag team match. During the rest of the year, she took part in two eight person tag team matches, working the first as Tomotsu-chan and the second as Apple Tomotsu, the name coming from one of her tag team partners,

Apple Miyuki (born June 14, 1985) is a female professional wrestler, who currently works for Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling. She is better known under her previous ring name , under which she worked mainly for the Kaientai Dojo and Osaka Pro Wrestling promotio ...

. On January 23, 2005, Nakagawa made her first appearance under her real name, wrestling in a tag team match, where she and Yuu Yamagata were defeated by Michinoku and Ryota Chikuzen. This date is listed as her official debut by not only the promotions she works for, but also by Nakagawa herself. The following year Nakagawa adopted the ring name Tomo Michinoku and aligned herself with Taka, with whom she would go on to win her first championship on June 4, 2006, when the two defeated

Makoto Oishi is a Japanese professional wrestler working for Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Oishi started his career in Kaientai Dojo, where he became a Strongest-K Tag Team, Independent World Junior Heavyweight and UWA World Middleweight Champion, at one ti ...

and

Shiori Asahi is a Japanese wrestler, currently working for Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW). He also appears sporadically for Big Japan Pro Wrestling and 666. Championships and accomplishments * Active Advance Pro Wrestling ** 2AW Tag Team Champion ...

for the

FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same mont ...

. They would hold the title for 34 days, before losing it to the team of Apple Miyuki and Yoshiya. The following December, Nakagawa dropped the Tomo Michinoku ring name and returned to wrestling under her real name. On April 15, 2007, Nakagawa announced that she was leaving Kaientai Dojo to become a freelancer on the Japanese

Independent circuit (2007–2014)

Shortly after her departure from Kaientai Dojo, Nakagawa joined

's Ibuki promotion, where she also underwent further training under Yoshida. The following year Nakagawa became a true freelancer, when she left Ibuki and started working for promotions such as NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling,

and

. Nakagawa remained affiliated with Ibuki's production company, S Ovation, through which she,

Hiroyo Matsumoto is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. Emi Sakura gave her the nickname of because Matsumoto broke a wall in the Ichigaya arena during her Ice Ribbon debut. She is best known with other ...

and

Misaki Ohata , better known by her maiden name , is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She is best known for her work while signed to the Zabun production company and its two promotions; Pro Wrestling Wave and Osaka Joshi Pro Wr ...

produced their own independent events under the banner of "Joshi 4 Hope". Nakagawa made her debut for all-female promotion Oz Academy on March 9, 2008, in a tag team match, where she and

Manami Toyota is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known for her work with All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW). She is widely considered to be one of the greatest female professional wrestlers of all time. Following AJW's closure, Toyota conti ...

were defeated by Akino and

Ran Yu-Yu is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Best known as a tag team wrestler, Yu-Yu held the JWP Tag Team Championship a record seven times, the Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship three times, the AA ...

. Shortly afterwards Nakagawa joined

Mayumi Ozaki (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently working for Oz Academy. Professional wrestling career Ozaki debuted in a tag team match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite ...

's villainous Ozaki-gun, before jumping to

Aja Kong is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by her ring name . She currently makes appearances on the Japanese independent circuit and for Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW). She is the founder of the Arsion all-women professional wrestli ...

's Jungle Jack 21

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

on August 2, 2009. On April 10, 2011, Nakagawa and her Jungle Jack 21 stablemate and fellow Ibuki alum Hiroyo Matsumoto defeated

Chikayo Nagashima is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. She started her career in 1995, working for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she became a one-time AAAW Single Championship, AAAW Single Champion and a record five-time ...

and

Sonoko Kato is a Japanese professional wrestler. She made her debut in April 1995, working for Gaea Japan, where she became one half of the inaugural AAAW Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. After becoming a two-time winner of the High Spurt 600 Tourna ...

to win the

Oz Academy Tag Team Championship The Oz Academy Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Oz Academy professional wrestling promotion. The championship was introduced on July 13, 2008, when Carlos Amano and Dynamite Kansai defeated Chi ...

. After a 77-day-long reign, the duo lost the title to

Carlos Amano is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Amano made her debut for JWP Joshi Puroresu in December 1994 and early on began also making appearances for the Gaea Japan promotion, where she most notably became one ...

and Manami Toyota. The following September, the team was broken up, when Matsumoto jumped to Ozaki-gun and started a storyline rivalry with her former stablemates. In December 2012, Matsumoto returned to Jungle Jack 21, reforming her tag team with Nakagawa. On March 10, 2013, Nakagawa and Matsumoto defeated Mayumi Ozaki and

Yumi Ohka , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Originally trained by the now defunct JDStar Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, Ohka now works for Oz Academy and Pro Wrestling Wave. She is a former two-time Wave S ...

to win the Oz Academy Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title to Aja Kong and

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former three-time AEW Women's World Champion, with her first reign being the longest in the title's history. She ...

in their first defense on April 24. Nakagawa and Matsumoto regained the title from Kong and Shida on August 11. After holding the title for over a year, Nakagawa and Matsumoto

vacated A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) is a legal judgment that legally voids a previous legal judgment. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgme ...

the title on August 31, 2014, after Matsumoto was sidelined with a knee injury. In March 2008, Nakagawa, Atsuko Emoto and

Kyoko Kimura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Throughout her 14-year career, she competed in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Ibuki, Ice Ribbon, JWP Joshi Puroresu, NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling and World Wonder Ring Stardom, a ...

formed the villainous Revolucion Amandla stable in NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling. The stable feuded with NEO's top wrestlers, most notably

Ayumi Kurihara (born July 13, 1984) is a retired '' joshi puroresu '' wrestler best known for her tenures with Pro Wrestling Wave and NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Kurihara entered training with the women's pro wrestling promo ...

Etsuko Mita is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. She formed a successful tag team with her partner Mima Shimoda as '' Las Cachorras Orientales'' (Spanish for "The Oriental Bitches"; which was originally a trio with Akira Hokuto) and Toshiyo Yamad ...

and

Yoshiko Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Tamura was trained by the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) promotion, made her debut in September 1994 and worked for the promotion for three years, winning the AJW Junior Championship, before t ...

, with Nakagawa and Kimura unsuccessfully challenging Kurihara and Tamura for the NEO Tag Team Championship. In October 2009, Nakagawa made her first tour of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish language, Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre professional wres ...

(IWRG) as a member of Revolucion Amandla. She returned to the promotion on June 3, 2010, defeating A☆YU☆MI. This built to a match two days later at an event held by the Alianza Universal de Lucha Libre (AULL) promotion, where Nakagawa unsuccessfully challenged A☆YU☆MI for her X–LAW Women's Championship. Nakagawa originally made her debut for Pro Wrestling Wave on September 3, 2007, but did not start working regularly for the promotion until May 2010. On April 30, 2012, Nakagawa and Gami defeated Hanako Nakamori and Misaki Ohata of the villainous Black Dahlia stable to become "interim" Wave Tag Team Champions. Following the retirement of Toshie Uematsu, one half of the previous champions, Nakagawa and Gami defeated Ayumi Kurihara and Kana on June 17 to become the official Wave Tag Team Champions. Nakagawa and Gami lost the title to Misaki Ohata and

Tsukasa Fujimoto is a Japanese '' joshi'' professional wrestler and actress. She is signed for Ice Ribbon as a wrestler and as the co-head trainer of their training facility. She is a record seven-time ICE×∞ Champion, six-time International Ribbon Tag Tea ...

on November 27 in their third defense. Nakagawa and Gami regained the Wave Tag Team Championship from Hikaru Shida and Yumi Ohka on August 15, 2013. However, their second reign lasted only ten days, before they lost the title to Cherry and

Shuu Shibutani is a retired Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Having started her career in the JDStar promotion in September 2004, Shibutani remained with the promotion until it folded in July 2007, after which she affiliated herse ...

. On August 30, 2010, Nakagawa made her debut for Smash at ''Smash.7'', teaming with

Toshie Uematsu is a female Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for her popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. She was one of the members of the first class of wrestlers trained by Chigusa Nagayo when Nagayo formed the GAEA Japan promotion. Uematsu f ...

in a tag team match, where they were defeated by

Lin Byron Ray (February 14, 1982 – August 30, 2018) was a Hong Kong professional wrestler. After being trained by Emi Sakura, Ray made her professional wrestling debut in September 2003 and would for the next several years wrestle under different masks, ...

and

Syuri , better known simply as , is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of God's Eye as well as the current IWGP Women's Champion in ...

. On July 15, 2011, at ''Smash.19'', Nakagawa entered a tournament to determine the first ever

Smash Diva Champion The Smash Diva Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship, owned by the Japanese Smash promotion. Championship reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors were involved in scripted rivalries ...

, but was eliminated in her opening round match by Serena. After the finals of the tournament on September 8 at ''Smash.21'', Nakagawa entered the ring and, along with Makoto,

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

and Syuri, challenged the inaugural champion,

Kana are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...

. On October 28 at ''Smash.22'', Nakagawa defeated Makoto, Ray and Syuri in a four-way match, while also scoring all three eliminations, to become the number one contender to the Smash Diva Championship. On November 24 at ''Smash.23'', Nakagawa defeated Kana to become the second Smash Diva Champion. On January 19, 2012, at ''We Are Smash'', Nakagawa lost the title back to Kana in her first defense. On March 14, Nakagawa took part in Smash's final event, before the promotion ceased its operations, teaming with Josh O'Brien and Yoshiaki Yago in a six-person tag team match, where they defeated Hisamaru Tajima,

Jiro Kuroshio , best known as and known as , is a Japanese professional wrestler and internet personality. Kuroshio is known for his work in the Wrestle-1 promotion, where he was a former Wrestle-1 Result Champion and Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion before l ...

and Makoto. On May 8, 2011, Nakagawa made her debut for the

World Wonder Ring Stardom , is a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded in September 2010 by former All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) co-producer Ross ...

promotion, defeating Eri Susa. Nakagawa made two more appearances for the promotion during the rest of the year, defeating Saki Kashima on September 10 and teaming with Kashima in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Arisa Hoshiki and

Mayu Iwatani (born February 19, 1993) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Dream Star Fighting Marigold, where she is the current Marigold Super Fly Champion in her first reign. She is best known for her tenure with World Wonder Ring Sta ...

on November 12. Nakagawa returned to Stardom on March 11, 2012, when she defeated Iwatani in a singles match. On January 14, 2013, Nakagawa led "Team Shimmer", which also included

Kellie Skater Callee Keating (born 30 September 1987) is an Australian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known by her ring name Kellie Skater. She has wrestled internationally, in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States. She i ...

and

Portia Perez Jenna Grattan (born October 26, 1987) is a Canadian former professional wrestler better known by her ring name Portia Perez. Perez teamed with Nicole Matthews as The Canadian NINJAs, and they are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions. P ...

, to the finals of the

Artist of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling tag team match types#Multiple man teamed matches, six-woman tag team Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The title was first announced dur ...

tournament, where they were, however, defeated by Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu Plus One (

Act Yasukawa , better known by the ring name , and currently performing under the mononym , is a Japanese professional wrestler. She currently wrestles for Actwres girl'Z. Making her pro wrestling debut in 2012, she wrestled exclusively for the joshi purore ...

Natsuki☆Taiyo is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Making her debut for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) in January 2004, Mizushima quickly affiliated herself with Nanae Takahashi, following her out of AJW in 2006 a ...

and Saki Kashima). On May 24, 2012, Nakagawa made her debut for

Wrestling New Classic was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012. History On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to ann ...

(WNC), the follow-up promotion to Smash, teaming with Josh O'Brien and Yoshiaki Yago in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by Lin Byron,

Último Dragón , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate, where he acts as an in-ring talent, trainer and senior advisor. In addition to having trained in Japan, ...

and

Yusuke Kodama is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser ...

. On August 3, 2013, Nakagawa took part in the retirement match of her longtime rival Ayumi Kurihara; a six-woman tag team match, where she, Aja Kong and Gami were defeated by Kurihara, Akino and Mika Iida. On June 4, 2014, after unsuccessfully challenging Akino for the

Oz Academy Openweight Championship The Oz Academy Openweight Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the Oz Academy promotion. The reigning champion is referred to as the " Wizard of Oz". The championship, which is situated at the top of Oz Academy's ...

, Nakagawa announced she would be retiring from professional wrestling on December 4. Following the announcement, Nakagawa reformed Revolucion Amandla with Kyoko Kimura. On October 15, the two defeated Sakuragohan (Kyusei Sakura Hirota and Mika Iida) in the finals to win the 2014 Dual Shock Wave tournament and become the new Wave Tag Team Champions. They lost the title to Las Aventureras (

Ayako Hamada is a Japanese Mexican professional wrestler. During her 20-year career, Hamada wrestled for various promotions, including All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, Gaea Japan and Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and L ...

and Yuu Yamagata) in their first defense on October 29. On November 2, Nakagawa received one final shot at the Oz Academy Openweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion,

Tsubasa Kuragaki is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known by the ring name . For most of her career, Kuragaki has worked for JWP Joshi Puroresu, becoming a one-time JWP Junior Championship, JWP Junior and two-time ...

. On December 4, Oz Academy produced Nakagawa's Japanese retirement event, which saw Nakagawa, Aja Kong and Akino, the reunited Jungle Jack 21 (accompanied by the retired Ran Yu-Yu and the injured Hiroyo Matsumoto), defeat

Dynamite Kansai is a retired Japanese female professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Career Chieko Suzuki was born on December 4, 1969, and was raised in Kyoto, Japan. In 1986 she auditioned for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW), but was ...

, Kyoko Kimura and Mayumi Ozaki in the main event. Nakagawa was set to wrestle another retirement match abroad.

SHIMMER Women Athletes (2010–2015)

On April 10, 2010, Nakagawa made her

debut for the

promotion in a losing effort against Ayumi Kurihara on '' Volume 29''. Later that same day on '' Volume 30'', Nakagawa teamed with

Daizee Haze Emily Sharp (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional wrestler known under the ring name Daizee Haze. She is best known for her time on the independent circuit, where she performed for numerous promotions such as Chikara (professiona ...

to defeat the team of Jamilia Craft and Misaki Ohata. At the following day's tapings of Volumes 31 and 32, Nakagawa was defeated by

Mercedes Martinez Jazmin Benitez (born November 17, 1980) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Mercedes Martinez. She also appears for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where she is a former ROH W ...

and picked up a win over

Jessie McKay Jessica McKay (born 23 June 1989) is an Australian professional wrestler. She is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Jessie McKay. She is known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Billie Ka ...

, respectively. Nakagawa returned to Shimmer five months later on September 11, when she was defeated by Ayako Hamada and

Cheerleader Melissa Melissa Anderson (born August 17, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Cheerleader Melissa. She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she worked as Alissa ...

at the tapings of Volumes 33 and 34. The following day on '' Volume 35'', Nakagawa and Daizee Haze continued their tag team win streak by defeating Pretty Bitchin' (

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *, a Russian film directed by Yevgeni Kotov * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', a 1989 and 1991 ...

and

Nikki Roxx Nicole Raczynski (born April 19, 1979) is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring names Roxxi Laveaux, The Voodoo Queen, and Roxxi. She is also known for her time ...

). On March 26, 2011, Nakagawa returned for her third visit with Shimmer, losing to

LuFisto Genevieve Goulet (born February 15, 1980), better known by the ring name LuFisto, is a French Canadian professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1997–present) LuFisto began training when she was 17 years old in ...

on '' Volume 37'' and defeating Jessica James on '' Volume 38''. The following day on '' Volume 39'', Nakagawa and Haze defeated Jamilia Craft and

Mia Yim Stephanie Hym Lee (née Bell; born April 16, 1989), better known by the ring name Mia Yim, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Michin ( , ). Bell is also kno ...

in a tag team match and were as a result granted a shot at the

Shimmer Tag Team Championship The Shimmer Tag Team Championship (stylized as SHIMMER Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling tag team professional wrestling championship, championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. The title is recognized nationally by Ring of Honor, a ...

. Later that same day on '' Volume 40'', Nakagawa and Haze defeated the Seven Star Sisters (Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata) to become the fourth SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. Nakagawa and Haze made their first title defense on April 2 at

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...

's Honor Takes Center Stage

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

, defeating Ayumi Kurihara and Hiroyo Matsumoto. On October 1 at Shimmer's '' Volume 41'', Nakagawa and Haze lost the Shimmer Tag Team Championship to Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara in their second defense. Later that same day on '' Volume 42'', Nakagawa picked up her biggest singles victory in SHIMMER by pinning former SHIMMER Champion

MsChif Rachel Frobel (née Collins born June 11, 1976) is an American professional wrestler who is better known by her ring name MsChif. She has been wrestling since 2001 and in that time has worked for several independent promotions across the United ...

to win a four-way match, which also included Kellie Skater and LuFisto. The following day on '' Volume 43'', Nakagawa was defeated by MsChif in a singles match. Nakagawa was forced to miss Shimmer's March 2012 tapings due to having prior commitments with Pro Wrestling Wave. Nakagawa returned to SHIMMER on October 27, 2012, defeating Davina Rose as part of '' Volume 49''. Later that same night on '' Volume 50'', Nakagawa was defeated by

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

. The following night on '' Volume 51'', Nakagawa defeated

Veda Scott Veda Scott is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and color commentator. They have wrestled for various American promotions, including Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Shimmer Women Athletes, and Ab ...

in a singles match. Later that same night on '' Volume 52'', Nakagawa, in her final match of the weekend, teamed with Kellie Skater as the "Global Green Gangsters" (3G) in a tag team match, where they defeated

Christina Von Eerie Christina Maria Kardooni (born August 28, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, known professionally as Christina Von Eerie. She has worked for various promotions, including the American Global Force Wrestling (GFW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ...

and MsChif. On April 6, 2013, at the Volume 53 internet pay-per-view (iPPV), the Global Green Gangsters unsuccessfully challenged the

Canadian NINJAs Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

(

Nicole Matthews Lindsay Miller (born January 15, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by her ring name Nicole Matthews. Matthews regularly wrestles for Shimmer Women Athletes and Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling among other independe ...

and

) for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship in a four-way match, which also included the teams of Kana and Lufisto, and Made in Sin (

Allysin Kay Allysin Kay (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where she was a former NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, NWA World Women's Tag Team champ ...

and Taylor Made). A week later on April 13 at the tapings of '' Volume 54'', Nakagawa and Skater defeated the Canadian NINJAs in another title match, however, the Shimmer Tag Team Championship did not change hands due to the match ending in a countout. Later that same day on '' Volume 55'', Nakagawa and Skater continued chasing the Canadian NINJAs and the Shimmer Tag Team Championship, but, despite scoring a win over Regeneration X (

Allison Danger Cathy Allison Corino (born March 31, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager, better known by her stage name, ring name, Allison Dang ...

and

Leva Bates Leva Bates ( ,) born May 21, 1983, is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with All Elite Wrestling. She also had a successful tenure on the independent circuit, most notably for Shimmer Women Athletes. She has also ...

), were denied a rematch with the reigning champions. However, the following day, after Nakagawa and Perez wrestled to a double disqualification on '' Volume 56'', following interference from both Skater and Matthews, the two teams were booked in one more title match against each other, contested under " No Disqualification, No Countout" rules. The match took place later that same day in the main event of '' Volume 57'' and saw the Global Green Gangsters defeat the Canadian NINJAs to become the new Shimmer Tag Team Champions. Nakagawa returned to Shimmer on October 19 at '' Volume 58'', where she and Skater made their first successful title defense against Kana and LuFisto. Later that same day on '' Volume 59'', Nakagawa and Skater made their second successful defense against Made in Sin. The following day, Nakagawa and Skater made two more successful title defenses, defeating

Nevaeh Nevaeh is a feminine given name which was coined by spelling ''heaven'' backwards. It peaked in popularity in the 2000s and 2010s but remains one of the most popular girls' names as of 2020. History and meaning The name Nevaeh is the word ''h ...

and

Sassy Stephie Stephanie Sager (born March 18, 1984) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring names Sassy Stephie and Sassy Stephanie. She regularly performs for several independent promotions including Shimmer Women Athletes and Wome ...

on '' Volume 60'' and

Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diame ...

and

Kimber Lee Kimberly Ann Frankele (born June 27, 1990), better known by her ring name Kimber Lee, is an American professional wrestler. She is known for her work on both the American and international independent circuits, most notably as part of The Kimber ...

on '' Volume 61''. On October 25, Nakagawa made her debut for Shimmer's sister promotion,

Shine Wrestling Shine Wrestling (stylized as SHINE Wrestling and often referred to simply as SHINE) is an American, New York based independent women's professional wrestling promotion. It is the sister promotion to Shimmer Women Athletes and airs events on In ...

, when she and Skater successfully defended the Shimmer Tag Team Championship against Valkyrie (Allysin Kay and Ivelisse). On April 5, 2014, at the Volume 62 iPPV, Nakagawa and Skater successfully defended their title against

Madison Eagles Alexandra Ford (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Madison Eagles. She has wrestled internationally in Australia, the United States, Canada and Japan, and is a former two-time Shimmer Champi ...

and Nicole Matthews. A week later at '' Volume 64'', Nakagawa and Skater made another successful title defense against

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and Ray. Nakagawa and Skater made two more successful title defenses the following day, defeating Rhia O'Reilly and Saraya Knight on '' Volume 65'' and Cheerleader Melissa and Mercedes Martinez on '' Volume 66''.

Final matches and retirement

After announcing her retirement, Nakagawa made a return to SHIMMER in October 2014. On October 18 at '' Volume 68'', she and Skater made yet another successful defense of the Shimmer Tag Team Championship against

Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. During the following years, ...

and Tsukasa Fujimoto. The following day, the Global Green Gangsters also successfully defended their title against the team of Mayumi Ozaki and Saraya Knight on '' Volume 69''. Later that same day on '' Volume 70'', Nakagawa was scheduled to challenge Nicole Matthews for the Shimmer Championship, but the match, as well as a following Shimmer Tag Team Championship match between 3G and the Canadian NINJAs, ended in a disqualification due to outside interference. Finally, Nakagawa and Skater teamed with

Jessicka Havok Jessica Cricks (born June 20, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Jessicka Havok. She is signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), under the ring name Jessicka, where she is a former three-time TNA Kn ...

and Madison Eagles to defeat Matthews, Portia Perez, Cherry Bomb and Kimber Lee in an eight-woman tag team match to end the weekend. After her Japanese retirement, Nakagawa made one more trip to SHIMMER for the final matches of her career, starting with Volume 71 on March 28, 2015, where she unsuccessfully challenged Nicole Matthews for the SHIMMER Championship due to outside interference from Portia Perez. On April 3, Nakagawa made her final appearance for Shine Wrestling, when she and Skater wrestled Shine Tag Team Champions Cherry Bomb and Kimber Lee to a double countout in a title vs. title match, meaning that both teams retained their respective titles. This led to a rematch back in SHIMMER on April 11 on '' Volume 72'', where Nakagawa and Skater lost the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship, ending their two-year reign. The following day on '' Volume 74'', Nakagawa teamed with Skater, Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata in an eight-woman tag team match, where they were defeated by Aja Kong, Dynamite Kansai, Kyoko Kimura and Mayumi Ozaki. Nakagawa's retirement match took place later that same day on '' Volume 75''. Teaming with Skater, the two defeated the Canadian NINJAs, with Nakagawa pinning Shimmer Champion Nicole Matthews for the final win of her career. Despite her retirement, Nakagawa made an appearance at the October 11, 2015, Shimmer tapings, taking part in Portia Perez's retirement match by managing Team Danger in the eight-woman tag team match against Team Perez.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with

( 3 times) – with

**Oz Academy Openweight Championship Next Challenger Determination Tournament (2014) **Best Wizard Award (1 time) ***Best Tag Team Match Award (2011) with Hiroyo Matsumoto vs.

and

on January 9 *

**Wave Interim Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gami **

Wave Tag Team Championship The Wave Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. The title is nicknamed "Dual Shock Wave". The championship was first announced on August 28, 2011, at Wave's fourth anniver ...

( 3 times) – with Gami (2), and

(1) **6-Person Tag Tournament (2013) – with Gami and Kyoko Kimura **

Dual Shock Wave __NOTOC__ Dual Shock Wave is an annual professional wrestling tag team tournament promoted by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. It has been held since 2011 and takes place between early September and mid-November. The first tournament, held in a si ...

(

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) – with Kyoko Kimura **

Catch the Wave Award is an annual professional wrestling tournament promoted by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. It has been held since 2009 and takes place between the end of April and the beginning of August. As up until March 2013 there were no singles champions ...

(1 time) *** Technique Award (

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) *

SHIMMER Tag Team Championship The Shimmer Tag Team Championship (stylized as SHIMMER Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling tag team professional wrestling championship, championship in Shimmer Women Athletes. The title is recognized nationally by Ring of Honor, a ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with

(1) and

(1) * Smash ** Smash Diva Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

Oz Academy profile

Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakagawa, Tomoka 1981 births Japanese female professional wrestlers Living people People from Asahikawa Professional wrestlers from Hokkaido Japanese nurses 21st-century female professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers Oz Academy Tag Team Champions Shimmer Tag Team Champions WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champions Wave Tag Team Champions Dual Shock Wave winners