Hana Kimura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hana Kimura木村花 |
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Kimura in 2019
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| Born | September 3, 1997 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Died | May 23, 2020 (aged 22) Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan |
| Parent(s) | Kyoko Kimura (mother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Hana Kimura |
| Billed height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Billed weight | 128 lb (58 kg) |
| Billed from | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Trained by | Wrestle-1 |
| Debut | 2016 |
Hana Kimura (Japanese: 木村花, Hepburn: Kimura Hana, September 3, 1997 – May 23, 2020) was a Japanese joshi puroresu professional wrestler. She worked for native companies in her country such as World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016 to 2020, and Wrestle-1, in addition to having made appearances for foreign companies such as Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and some independent promotions in Mexico. Kimura was a second-generation wrestler; her mother Kyoko Kimura is a former professional wrestler.
She was a cast member on the Fuji Television and Netflix reality television series Terrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020, which is the fifth installment of the Terrace House franchise.
Contents
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Prior to her professional wrestling career, Kimura won the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship one time on August 21, 2005, at a live event in Tokyo, then lost the title to her mother Kyoko.
In the 2010s, Kimura was trained at Wrestle-1's Professional Wrestling University.
Wrestle-1 (2016–2019)
After graduating the Wrestle-1 training academy, she debuted for promotion on March 30, 2016, against her classmate, Reika Saiki, in a losing effort. The pair wrestled against each other many times throughout 2016 in Wrestle-1.
On August 7, 2016, Kimura wrestled against her mother in a match. On September 18, 2016, Kimura captured her first title, the JWP Junior Championship, by defeating Yako Fujigasaki in a tournament final. She lost her JWP Junior Championship on December 28, 2016, to Yako Fujigasaki. On January 22, 2017, her mother retired. In Kyoko's retirement show, Kimura defeated her mother in a singles match and on the same show, the two teamed in a trios match in a winning effort.
During 2017, Kimura split her time between Wrestle-1, Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Stardom while being a contracted performer for Wrestle-1. Kimura officially became a Wrestle-1 roster member on January 9, 2018. She made an international tour in early 2018, competing for Ring of Honor, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and various promotions in Mexico.
On March 21, 2019, Kimura announced she was leaving Wrestle-1.
World Wonder Ring Stardom (2016–2020)
Oedo Tai (2016-2018)
On September 22, 2016, Kimura made her in-ring debut in World Wonder Ring Stardom by teaming up with Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura to defeat JKGReeeeN and Mayu Iwatani. On October 2, 2016, Kimura teamed with her mother and Kagetsu to capture the Artist of Stardom Championship.
The team vacated the titles on January 3, 2017, when Kimura was injured. Kimura eventually became a member of Stardom's heel stable, Oedo Tai. On June 21, 2017, at Stardom's Galaxy Stars 2017 event, Kimura teamed with her fellow Oedo Tai member, Kagetsu, to win the Goddess of Stardom Championship by defeating Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona). Kimura and Kagetsu held the titles for nearly a year, successfully defending against teams such as Jungle Kyona and HZK, Io Shirai and Viper, Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora, HZK and Momo Watanabe, Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano. The team was defeated by Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima in 2018.
During Kagetsu's final match in the 2018 5 Star Grand Prix on September 24, Kimura betrayed Oedo Tai by attacking Kagetsu with a chair, causing Kagetsu to lose and fail to reach the finals. Following the match, Kimura declared that she was no longer affiliated with Oedo Tai.
Tokyo Cyber Squad (2019-2020)
She officially joined Stardom on March 25, 2019. On April 6, Kimura, along with Stella Grey and Sumie Sakai wrestled Jenny Rose and Oedo Tai (Kagetsu and Hazuki) in a dark match at Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Supercard. On April 14, at the 2019 Stardom draft, Hana was named leader of the International Army faction. The faction was renamed, "Tokyo Cyber Squad", on April 21. On May 16, Kimura, along with her stablemates Jungle Kyona and Konami won the Artist of Stardom Championship after defeating Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Tam Nakano.
On January 4, 2020, Kimura, along with Giulia wrestled Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki in a dark match at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 14. It was the first women's match at the Tokyo Dome since 2002. Kimura had her final match on March 24 at Stardom's Cinderella Tournament 2020, wrestling Mayu Iwatani in the first round to a draw.
During her Stardom career, she won the Artist of Stardom Championship twice and the Goddess of Stardom championship once, while also winning the 2019 5★Star GP tournament and Stardom Fighting Spirit Award.
Appearance on Terrace House and other ventures
Kimura joined the reality television series Terrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020 in September 2019, appearing on the show until her death. One episode filmed in early January 2020 showed Kimura involved in a verbal conflict with her housemate, Kai Edward Kobayashi, for damaging her wrestling attire. After the episode aired in March 2020, her actions drew criticism, name calling and racist abuse from social media users, sending her into depression. The release of new Terrace House episodes was suspended as a result of Kimura's death, and Fuji TV later cancelled the season.
Before her death, Kimura was set to co-star with Ena Fujita in the music video for the musician's June 2020 single "Dead Stroke" and Lalo the Don's "Til The Break of Don", recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic and uploaded on YouTube on May 20, 2021.
Personal life
Kimura was the daughter of Kyoko Kimura, who is also a professional wrestler. Before she was one year old, she was separated from her father. While the identity of Hana Kimura's biological father is not publicly known, Kyoko Kimura has mentioned in interviews that he is an Indonesian national and because of this, Hana Kimura was referred to as Indonesian-Japanese. She was bullied as a child because of her mixed ethnic heritage.
Death
Kimura died in her apartment in Tokyo on May 23, 2020, at the age of 22.
Championships and accomplishments
- Dramatic Dream Team
- Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship (1 time)
- JWP Joshi Puroresu
- Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship (1 time)
- JWP Junior Championship (1 time)
- JWP Junior Championship Tournament (2016)
- Princess of Pro-Wrestling Tournament (2016)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 60 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Women's 100 in 2018
- World Wonder Ring Stardom
- Artist of Stardom Championship (2 times) – with Jungle Kyona and Konami (1), Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura (1)
- Goddess of Stardom Championship (1 time) – with Kagetsu
- 5★Star GP (2019)
- Stardom Year-End Award (2 times)
- Best Tag Team Award (2017) with Kagetsu
- Fighting Spirit Award (2019)
See also
In Spanish: Hana Kimura para niños
