“Everyone is different! Everyone is special! That’s Tokyo Cyber Squad!”
Joshi wrestler Hana Kimura was different and special; she left us far too soon. Hana was born on September 3, 1997 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. Her mother, Kyoko Kimura, is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist; her biological father is not publicly known.
It was my friend Adriana who introduced me to Hana. When I started to write this, it felt wrong to not mention Adriana. Adriana is a massive Stardom fan; her live tweets of Stardom events in the early hours of the morning, long after most are asleep, are largely what caused me to look into the company. Adriana helped me find Hana, and I am entirely grateful for that. From the moment I saw her, I loved Hana. I loved the message of Tokyo Cyber Squad, whose members preached acceptance of individuality and differences, where everyone is different and special.
Photo credit: Stardom Official Twitter
Before her official wrestling debut, Hana won the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship at 8 years old on August 28, 2005. The Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship was created to parody the WWE’s Hardcore Championship. It is to be defended anytime, anywhere, by anyone or anything.
Hana trained at Wrestle-1’s Professional Wrestling University, debuting on March 30, 2016, against Reika Saiki in a losing effort. On September 18 of that year, Hana won the JWP Junior Championship by defeating Yako Fujigasaki in the final rounds of a four-women tournament during the Fly High in the 25th Anniversary show on day 7. The JWP Junior Championship, owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion, was introduced on June 16, 1995. It was originally meant for wrestlers with less than four years of wrestling experience but later was extended to five years in June 2010. However, the limit was lowered back to four years again in May 2012. The title was retired on April 2, 2017, when JWP went out of business. Fujiukasaki was the final champion, marking a second successful defense against Saori Anou.
Hana first began appearing in Stardom in September 2016. On October 2 of that year, Hana, her mother, and Kagestu captured the Artist of Stardom Championship (Stardom’s trios' titles), vacating the titles on January 3, 2017, due to injury. Hana would return and join Stardom’s heel stable Oedo Tai (“Odeo Corps” in Japanese), a stable her mother was one of the first co-leaders of. On June 21, 2017, Hana and Kagetsu would win the Goddess of Stardom championship from Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona) at Stardom’s Galaxy Stars 2017.
Kagetsu and Hana would hold the titles for 347 days, defending them against teams such as Io Shirai and Viper, Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano, and Jungle Kyona twice (once with HZK and another with Natsuko Tora). Hana and Kagestu would lose the titles on June 3, 2018, to Stars members Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima.
Hana would leave Oedo Tai on September 24 after turning on Kagetsu. On March 21, 2019, Hana announced she was leaving Wrestle-1; four days later, on March 25, Hana joined Stardom full-time. On April 6, Hana wrestled with Stella Grey and Sumie Saki against Jenny Rose, Hazuki, and Kagetsu in a dark match during Ring of Honor and New Japan’s G1 Supercard. During the April 14 Stardom draft, Hana was named the leader of the International Army faction.
Tokyo Cyber Squad was formed on April 21, 2019. Before Tokyo Cyber Squad, Stardom had a faction called Jungle Assault Nation that disbanded and formed a new group called the International Army. This faction was originally full of gaijin, but after the Stardom 2019 Draft, it was mainly made of Japanese stars. Hana changed her dark persona to a more Cyber Goth aesthetic, a version that she considered a truer version of herself. Tokyo Cyber Squad became Stardom’s Island of Misfit Toys. Hana wanted to take ‘misfits’ and turn them into gems, with an intense wrestling style and Cyber Goth style that quickly made them rise in popularity.
Photo credit: ABS-CBN News
On January 4, 2020, Hana wrestled in a tag team match with Donna Del Mondo leader Giulia against Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshki at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 in a dark match. This was the first women’s match at the Tokyo Dome since 2002.
Her final wrestling match at Stardom’s Cinderella Tournament 2020 happened on March 24, 2020. She wrestled Mayu Iwatani in the first round, ending in a draw.
During her career, Hanna won the Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship once. During her Stardom career, Hana won the Artist of Stardom Championship twice, the Goddess of Stardom Championship once, the 2019 5★Star GP tournament, and the Sta0rdom Fighting Spirit Award; she was ranked number 60 in the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Women’s 100 in 2018; in JWP Joshi Puroresu, she won the Princess of Pro-Wrestling Championship and JWP Junior Championship once, as well as their JWP Junior Championship and Princess of Pro-Wrestling tournaments.
In September 2019, Hana joined the reality television series Terrace House: Tokyo, the fifth installment of the Terrace House franchise. Terrace House follows the lives of six strangers who live under the same roof while building relationships with one another. An episode filmed in January 2020 showed Hana arguing with her housemate for damaging her wrestling attire. This episode would air in March 2020, where Hana received racist abuse, name-calling, and harassment from some viewers.
Hana Kimura took her own life on May 23, 2020. In the hours before, she posted self-harm images on social media along with hate comments she received. That night during the Double or Nothing pay-per-view, AEW honored the lives of Hana and Shad Gaspard, who had died earlier that week after trying to save his son from drowning.
Other companies also sent their condolences. Four days later, on May 27, WWE NXT stars Io Shirai and Mauro Ranallo paid tribute to Hana stating that “Hana was one of the most talented female wrestlers in the world, and I was looking forward to watching her grow to see how far she could go. I will always remember her smile that would brighten up any room she walked into. It is so important that we all love and treat each other with respect.” On May 29, Mercedes Moné wore a black armband with Hana’s name on it. On June 7, at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, Dakota Kai dyed her hair pink, contributing the dye to Hana. On June 21, Stardom’s first event during the COVID-19 pandemic had a ten-bell salute for Hana.
On March 30, 2021, an Osaka man was indicted for his online abuse, being issued a ¥9000 fine. Another man would be charged on April 5, 2021. On June 14, 2022, the Japanese parliament passed a law where “online insults” were punishable by being jailed for one year or fined ¥300,000 in response to her online harassment. Kyoko Kimura filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against a third man; Judge Momoko Ikehara ordered the man to pay ¥1.29 million due to the hateful messages and emotional distress he sent to and caused the Kimura family.
Photo credit: SEScoops
Hana continues to inspire after her death. Mercedes Moné had dreams of going to Japan before WWE called her. After walking out of WWE on May 16, 2022, and being unable to come to terms with a new contract in December 2022, Mercedes made her New Japan debut during the Battle in the Valley event on February 18, 2023. Moné's gear during the match was bright blue with a green tail cape, gas mask, and blue-furred leg warmers - staple pieces of Hana's Cyber Goth aesthetic. Mercedes also included pink streaks in her hair and gear, signatures of Hana's style. After the match, Mercedes tweeted Hana's name with a blue heart and cherry blossom emoji; Kyoko tweeted her appreciation for Mercedes after the match as well.
I think it is so hard to explain to people who have never experienced her what is so magical about Hana Kimura. Hana herself is magic. I see her everywhere: in the sunlight, in laughter, in pink hair dye, in cherry blossoms. I see her in my friend Adriana, in her passion about joshi wrestling and the respect joshi wrestlers deserve from a Western audience. Hana’s suicide is something that has a deep impact on everyone who knew her, either as a fan or personally. Hana Kimura is different and special, and I will carry her in my heart forever
If you want to honor Hana’s life, please consider donating to the Remembering Hana organization, which was created by her mother. The website ProWrestlingTees also has shirts in Hana’s honor, all of which are sold by her mother.
If you or anyone you know are struggling with your mental health, help is out there. The US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7 support, you can contact them by calling 800-273-TALK (8255).
You can find links to the Remember Hana organization, her ProWrestlingTees shirts, and an internationalist of suicide prevention hotlines below.
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