The former WWF Women’s Champion is set to be the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.
With WrestleMania 40 rapidly approaching, so too is this year’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Yesterday saw the announcement that Paul Heyman will be inducted as part of the Class of 2024, and it now appears as though we know another name who’ll be joining him.
ESPN are now reporting that former All Japan Women’s and WWF Women’s Champion Bull Nakano is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year in Philadelphia.
“WWE will induct Nakano, one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time, into its Hall of Fame during WrestleMania week in Philadelphia, officials told ESPN on Wednesday.”
-ESPN
Via an interpreter, Nakano was able to speak to ESPN about the news, revealing that a WWE Hall of Fame induction was the one accolade she felt she was missing until now.
“During my active years, I was able to get championship belts in Japan, America and Mexico, but just one thing was missing — I didn’t get inducted into the Hall of Fame. I wanted this. Finally, in 2024 in WrestleMania week, I am able to get this.”
-Bull Nakano
As a fearsome, face-painted villain, Nakano rose to the top of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling to become AJW and WWWA Champion. After being phased out by the company in the early 1990s, Nakano made the move to North America, capturing CMLL’s Women’s World Championship in 1992.
US-based fans are most likely to be familiar with Nakano for her time with WWE (then-WWF). During her legendary rivalry with Alundra Blayze (AKA Madusa), Nakano defeated Blayze in front of a crowd of more than 42,000 at the iconic Tokyo Dome in 1994 as part of an AJW show to become the WWF Women’s Champion, before dropping the title back to Blayze in 1995.
Nakano would also briefly work for WCW during the 90s, including their infamous co-promoted shows with New Japan Pro Wrestling in North Korea that drew the largest crowds in the history of the industry, before retiring in 1997.
Since her retirement, Nakano has worked with numerous women’s wrestling promotions behind the scenes across Japan and America, with her current role seeing her serve as the commissioner of Sukeban.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the WWE Hall of Fame Class Of 2024 as soon as we hear more.
