Another year has passed since one of the brightest rising stars in wrestling left us. While I always recommend watching the beautiful celebration of life that are the Hana Kimura shows, make sure you are in the right headspace to watch it. If you feel the need to take a break and come back when you are ready, no judgment here. If you are having a difficult time, please seek out counseling and support services because you matter.
Terima Kasih is Indonesian for “Thank you” with heavy stress on gratitude and acceptance with love. (I highly recommend these IndonesianPod 101 notes for added context and usage.
RESULTS
- Rina defeated YUNA via submission
- Fluffy Battle Royal: Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota) defeated Banana Senga, Cherry, Fuminori Abe, Hanako Nakamori, Lingerie Muto, Seigo Tachibana (w/Kuroshio TOKYO Japan), Shotaro Ashino, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsutomu Oosugi and Yumiko Hotta
- Lucha Libre Rules Six Man Tag: Aja Kong, Jinsei Shinzaki & Ram Kaicho defeated Menso-re Oyaji, Shisaou & Super Delfin – Kong pinned Menso-re
- Hardcore Tag: DASH Chisako & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Masato Tanaka & Ryo Mizunami – Miyamoto pinned Mizunami
- Three Way Trios Tag: Chihiro Hashimoto, Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase defeated Death Yama-san, Mio Momono & Sareee and Konami, Saori Anou & Syuri – Iwata pinned Death Yama-san
- Utami Hayashishita defeated VENY – High Jack BT Bomb/Pin
Unlike my other show reports, I feel like dissecting the show into match picks diminishes the purpose of a memorial show. I don’t think anyone’s match ought to be prioritized over the others. Mourning and celebrating are different for every individual, so I would recommend watching the shows (yes, all of them) in their entirety because you get the full scope of lives Hana touched and how interconnected the wrestling community is, especially in the Japanese scene.
Today’s show and all three previous Hana Kimura Memorial Shows are available on TrillerTV (formerly FITE) for purchase.
Last-Minute Card Change
At MARIGOLD’s Foundation show earlier this week, Giulia sustained a right wrist fracture, requiring her to wear a cast up to her elbow. Unfortunately, this resulted in Giulia’s long-awaited first appearance at a Hana Kimura Memorial Show becoming a last-minute cancellation. Giulia was looking forward to finally being able to participate and honor Hana’s memory, citing that one of her favorite matches of all time was her singles match against Hana shortly after her joining STARDOM in 2019.
Shortly after MARIGOLD’s announcement, Giulia released an apology, where she joked, “I’m certain Hana would say I am totally lame (for getting hurt and missing the show), and she’s right.” She announced that she would be tagging in Utami Hayashishita as her replacement in the main event match. “While I cannot participate in the ring, I will definitely be (at Korakuen)!”
Show Opening
The show opened with Referee Keigo Yoshino. He reviewed the house rules for the show, stressing that all paper streamers should only be thrown at the show’s end, and not during any other point of the show. Giulia would join Kyoko in the ring to welcome the audience and apologize again for her fractured wrist and being unable to wrestle VENY. She greeted the audience with a big “What’s up Korakuen Hall? What’s up Hana?!” She closed her remarks, changing one of her catchphrases to “Giulia, who loves, loves, loves Hana very much.”
Note: Any mentions of Hana’s previous faction in STARDOM, Tokyo Cyber Squad will be abbreviated as TCS.
Single Match [Feelings]: Rina (STARDOM) defeated Yuna (Sendai Girls) (9:49) via submission
Rina was the youngest member of Hana’s TCS, inheriting not only one of Hana’s costumes but also her signature moves. She has participated in two previous shows (2022 & 2023). Yuna is one of the latest members of Sendai Girls, having only wrestled for nine months. However, seeing her in one of Hana’s signature looks (the Ribera jacket cheerleader), I had to do a double take.
This was a no-frills wrestling match, showcasing Rina’s growth since Hana’s passing and the potential in Yuna, who is only just getting started.
Fluffy Battle Royale [Ichiban Cutest Battle]: NEW Hana Kimura (NEW Sakura Hirota) defeated Banana Senga, Cherry, Fuminori Abe, Hanako Nakamori, Lingerie Muto, Seigo Tachibana (w/Kuroshio TOKYO Japan), Shotaro Ashino, Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsutomu Oosugi and Yumiko Hotta (No Time Limit)
At MATA, NE (2021) Sakura Hirota made Kyoko Kimura laugh until she cried with her budget, comedy cosplay of Hana. Since then, it has become an annual tradition that Hirota honors Hana in her own way. She entered first to Hana’s TCS theme. The rest of the participants entered all together in fun costumes, silly wigs, and toy weapons. The memorial battle royal is a comedy wrestling buffet full of names from throughout Hana’s career and life, growing up on the wrestling road with her mother. My personal favorite costume aside from Hirota is Shotaro Ashino wearing a Toy Story Space Alien hat with a towel connected to it. If you don’t like fun, I don’t know what to tell you.
Lucha Libre Rules Six Man [OKINAWA] Aja Kong, Jinsei Shinzaki & Ram Kaicho defeated Menso-re Oyaji, Shisaou & Super Delfin – Kong pinned Menso-re
When Hana was in high school, she was part of an idol group produced by Okinawa Pro-Wrestling, so each year OPW, led by Super Delfin, celebrated her time with them by participating in the show. Jinsei Shinzaki roped Super Delfin into a tightrope walk, which is always a joy to see. If you love a clash of super heavyweights, you’ll definitely enjoy Aja Kong vs. Shisa-Oh (King Lion) squaring off. Much like the Battle Royal, this is another match of friends of Hana just having a slow-paced, friendly match. Those in attendance simply enjoyed the spectacle.
Hardcore Tag [LOVE]: DASH Chisako & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Masato Tanaka & Ryo Mizunami – Miyamoto pinned Mizunami
At the first press conference for the 4th show, Chisako told Kyoko she wanted to show Hana her love by having a hardcore match. Kyoko promised to find her some opponents, and what a trio she found. While Tanaka and Miyamoto are known for their hardcore matches, the outlier was Mizunami, who only had a handful of matches in WAVE, but did tag with Kyoko at the Sendai Girls’ 10th Anniversary Show against Chisako (2016). Honestly, I loved seeing Mizunami out of her element, but she was determined to put on the best match possible with some of the biggest names in the JP scene. Didn’t expect Aniki (Mizunami) to be the first to start bleeding in the match either, but that made it more special as it was practically a given from the others.
Double Main Event 1 Miracle Trios Match [RAINBOW]: Chihiro Hashimoto, Mika Iwata & Miyuki Takase defeated Death Yama-san, Mio Momono & Sareee and Konami, Saori Anou & Syuri – Referee (STARDOM’s Daichi Maruyama) – Iwata pinned Death Yama-san
In one of the more serious matches on the card, this was a pure joshi showcase of women from multiple promotions who held Hana near and dear to their hearts. With nine of the most talented women in Japan in the ring, this might be one of the fan-favorite matches of the night purely because of the level of wrestling and multiple homages throughout. There were so many subtle nods to Hana like the trio of two octopus stretches (and Hashimoto with a Cobra Twist), and the not-so-subtle ones like Death Yama-san and Konami with the Hana’s TCS “YES, SIR!” salute – which yanks at my heartstrings every single time. There are many combinations of matches I would love to see as future outcomes from this match, but more than anything else, I want to see Syuri vs. Mika Iwata.
Double Main Event 2 [COMRADES] Utami Hayashishita defeated VENY – High Jack BT Bomb/Pin
While many were looking forward to finally seeing Giulia and VENY square off, Utami stepping up was also a unique substitute as –like Giulia – she has never participated in an HK Memorial Show until today. VENY wrestled in a pink Terima Kasih tee and fluffy kick pad covers in Hana’s signature style and color. When Hana was in Stardom, Utami was in the midst of her super rookie era. While they had multiple tag matches against one another, they unfortunately never had a singles match.
Much like other special singles matches that honored Hana, for example, Giulia vs. Mayu Iwatani or Jungle Kyona vs. Kyoko Kimura, you could feel that there was a third participant in this match. While VENY and Utami have never faced one another, they had a natural chemistry and had a hard-hitting, emotional match. Much like her matches with Kagetsu (now Yu Ishino; 2021) and Syuri (2022), VENY gave her very best, and despite having never wrestled Utami had an exceptional match. This was a very fresh pairing for both of them, and I really believe Hana enjoyed it.
Show Closing
My hope is that in the future, Giulia will be able to fulfill her promise to Hana and Kyoko and perform at a Memorial Show. After the main event, Kyoko joined VENY and Utami in the ring as they prepared to close the show. A beautiful and emotional video package centering around Hana and Giulia was shown, especially as their feud upon Giulia’s arrival in Stardom centered on their both having mixed heritage (Hana as Japanese-Indonesian and Giulia as Italian-Japanese). No sooner did the video start, did I start crying, and I am not the least bit ashamed or apologetic for it.
Hana being “Half-Japanese” was a central focus point around the cyberbullying and harassment she received from fans after her appearance on the reality TV show, Terrace House (2020) during the pandemic. Survived by her mother, Kyoko, and several family members, they’ve been actively fighting for stricter regulations and penalties with regard to cyberbullying and harassment since. Hana, Giulia, and Syuri (half-Filipina) actively embrace their mixed heritages, refusing to allow others to consider them “less Japanese,” instead choosing to celebrate it.
The show closed with all the participants and a surprise appearance by Jungle Kyona (currently away from wrestling due to requiring additional corrective surgery on her knees), saying the show’s name and a special thank you to the sponsors.
Final Thoughts
Although the world became a little dimmer on May 23, 2020, with each passing year those affected by the loss of Hana heal more and more. To say I was looking forward to a memorial show sounds morbid, but it’s an annual, bittersweet reminder that life does go on, but those who we love can always remain in our hearts. It gives me pause not simply to think of what the wrestling scene could be with Hana still in it, but how much harder we need to work as a community to be kinder, work together, and make it better.
Often, wrestlers talk about how all rings around are interconnected, and when I watch these memorial shows, where all brand allegiances are cast aside for a common cause, it reminds me of why I became a wrestling fan in the first place. Corporate tribalism is checked at the door and people simply come together to reminisce, heal, and have a good time together. It’s like a big class reunion.
