Jackie Sato

{{Infobox professional wrestler

| name = Jackie Sato

| names = Jackie Satō

| image = Jackie Sato.jpg

| image_size =

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| height = 5 ft 8 in

| weight =

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|birth_name = Naoko Sato

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1957|10|30|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|8|9|1957|10|30|mf=y}}

| death_place =

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| debut = April 27, 1975

| retired = March 20, 1988

}}

{{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 Beauty Pair, with Maki Ueda. 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 Crush Gals of the 1980s.{{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}}

Professional wrestling career

Sato became a professional wrestler after graduating from high school.

= All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (1975—1981) =

Sato joined All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (AJW) in 1975 and was part of the 1975 AJW rookie class alongside Maki Ueda and {{ill|Yumi Ikeshita|ja|池下ユミ}}. She had her debut match against her future tag team partner, Maki Ueda, on April 27 of that year. On February 24, 1976, the Beauty Pair was formed, and they won the WWWA World Tag Team Championship that night. At the peak of the Beauty Pair's popularity, AJW achieved a television rating of over 20 percent.{{cite news |last=Abrams |first=James |date=October 7, 1977 |title=Lady wrestlers are teen-age hit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-messenger-lady-wrestlers-are-teen-ag/113867475/ |url-status=live |work=The Messenger |location=Kyodo |publication-place=Madisonville, Kentucky |agency=Copley News Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212000703/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-messenger-lady-wrestlers-are-teen-ag/113867475/ |archive-date=February 12, 2024 |access-date=February 11, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Sato also had success as a singles wrestler. She won the WWWA World Single Championship on November 1, 1977, from Maki Ueda in a Beauty Pair showdown, and held it twice more during the late 1970s, defeating Monster Ripper and {{ill|Nancy Kumi|ja|ナンシー久美}}. She lost the title the final time to the younger Jaguar Yokota on February 25, 1981.{{cite book |last1=Molinaro |first1=John |editor-last1=Marek |editor-first1=Jeff |editor-link1=Jeff Marek |editor-last2=Meltzer |editor-first2=Dave |editor-link2=Dave Meltzer |year=2002 |title=Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time |publisher=Winding Stair Press |location=Toronto, Ontario |page=166 |isbn=1-55366-305-5}} On February 27, 1979, Sato defeated her former partner, Ueda, in a "loser retires" match. Satō's own retirement ceremony was held on May 21, 1981.

Sato attended the AJW thirtieth anniversary show in 1998.

= Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (1986—1988) =

In 1986, inspired by the current boom in interest in women's wrestling in Japan due to the success of the Crush Gals, Sato, along with wrestler {{ill|Nancy Kumi|ja|ナンシー久美}}, boxer Rumi Kazama, and others, formed the first women's promotion to compete against the 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.{{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}} 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.

Personal life

Sato played basketball in high school. Sato died on August 9, 1999, due to stomach cancer.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling

:*WWWA World Single Championship (3 times)

:*WWWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) — with Maki Ueda (2) and {{ill|Nancy Kumi|ja|ナンシー久美}} (1)

:*AJW Hall of Fame (1998){{cite web |url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/zenjo/hof.html |title=All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame |access-date=2007-10-09 |year=2003 |publisher=Puroresu Dojo }}

Tokyo Sports

:*Service Award (1999)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

:*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) – individually{{cite web|url=https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2023/10/27/the-beauty-pair-are-wrestling-observer-hall-of-famers/|title=The Beauty Pair Are Wrestling Observer Hall of Famers|work=Voices of Wrestling|first=Alex|last=Richards|date=October 27, 2023|access-date=December 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027215221/https://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2023/10/27/the-beauty-pair-are-wrestling-observer-hall-of-famers/|archive-date=October 27, 2023|url-status=live}}

:*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2023) – with Maki Ueda

References

General

{{cite book |last=Laprade |first=Pat |last2=Murphy |first2=Dan |date=2016 |title=Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women's Wrestling |location= |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1-7730-5-014-0}}