Sonny Onoo Recalls Managing Bull Nakano Against WWE Hall Of Famer In WCW

During the 90s, one couldn't watch women's wrestling in WWE or WCW without seeing Bull Nakano going toe-to-toe with Alundra Blaze/Madusa. And when those bouts took place in WCW, Sonny Onoo was right there for all of them, serving as the manager for Nakano, and other Japanese women's talents such as Akira Hokuto and Chigusa Nagayo.

During a "Sonny Onoo Live" Q&A, Onoo reflected on the WCW Women's division, and the difficulty in finding talent from Japan for Madusa to wrestle. Once they did, however, Onoo was in awe of what Madusa, who was trained in the All Japan Women's dojo, and opponents like Nakano were able to do.

"Honestly, sitting at ringside, I cannot believe how stiff they were," Onoo said. "There was...I don't want to get hit with any of those clotheslines or some of the bodyslams they were doing to each other. And you remember, those girls would do a double stomp off the top rope...And I had seen it close hand, and it's...you know, it doesn't really matter how many sit-ups you do, when you've got a 150 lb, how many pounds coming down with both feet on your gut...I know I can't do it. I can't take it. But they were so tough, it was amazing."

Despite being top star, Madusa was never given a run with the short-lived WCW Women's Championship. Onoo recalls plans for her to do so being scrapped, though he didn't elaborate as to why.

"Unfortunately, one tip I'll tell you...[Akira] Hokuto became the first WCW Women's Champion," Onoo said. "And the way we had it laid down was Madusa was going to be the first woman to go back to Japan and try to get that belt back in Japan. And that never materialized, because of a couple of reasons."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Sonny Onoo Live" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription