Stardom Wrestler Hana Kimura Has Died
Written by SOURCE on May 23, 2020
Japanese professional wrestler Hana Kimura has died.
The 22-year-old was a cast member on the most recent season of the Netflix reality show Terrace House and was a member of Stardom Wrestling. The organization issued a statement on Friday.
“We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away,” the organization tweeted. “Please be respectful and allow some time for things to process, and keep your thoughts and prayers with her family and friends.”
The cause of Kimura’s death is not yet known. Variety reports that one of the last photos the wrestler posted on her Instagram Story was an image of her with her cat, alongside a caption that read, “goodbye.” She also wrote some worrisome tweets, one that read that she didn’t “want to be a human anymore.”
Another message suggested that Kimura had been cyberbullied: “Thank you to everyone who supported me,” she wrote. “I love it. I’m weak, I’m sorry.”
WWE wrestler Dakota Kai seemed to confirm in a tweet that Kimura was dealing with bullies, writing, “F bullies. Y’all need to wake up.. these are REAL people. Not just characters in a TV show, movie or whatever. Tragic.”
Kimura’s spirit for wrestling was in her bloodline from an early age, as her mother, Kyoko Kimura, was also a pro wrestler. The 22-year-old made her debut at Wrestle-1 in 2016, subsequently winning her first title, the JWP Junior Championship, later that year. She wrestled for Stardom at the same time, ultimately leaving Wrestle-1 to commit to Stardom in 2019, where she headed the Tokyo Cyber Squad group. She became a two-time winner of the Artist of Stardom Championship and nabbed one Goddess of Stardom Championship.
Kimura was a member of the most recent season of Terrace House: Tokyo, a Japanese reality show where six young adults are thrown in a house together. She became part of the cast in the 20th episode and was a current cast member of the series until Netflix halted productions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
