On May 23, pro wrestling and reality TV fans alike heard the tragic news that Japanese wrestler Hana Kimura had passed away. She was 22.
Stardom, the Japanese promotion that she worked for, made the announcement:
Kimura had joined the reality TV show "Terrace House" in 2019.
While the cause of her death was not mentioned, Kimura had received criticism, death threats and online abuse after an altercation with another member of the "Terrace House" cast.
Her final post of Instagram was a photo of herself and her cat, with the caption: "I love you, have a long, happy life. I'm sorry."
Respected across the wrestling world
Other tributes poured in, including from American wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling:
World Wrestling Entertainment's Paige:
New Japan Pro Wrestling's Hiroshi Tanahashi:
And British wrestler Will Ospreay:
Born to wrestle
Kimura was a second-generation wrestler, following in her mother's footsteps.
She was the daughter of Kyoko Kimura, a decorated professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
The elder Kimura wrestled her last match against her daughter before retiring in 2017.
The younger Kimura was steeped in the pro wrestling culture from a very early age.
She "wrestled" her first match when she was just eight years old, winning the DDT Ironman Heavyweight championship in 2005, before losing it to her mother.
Kimura trained at the WRESTLE-1 school in Japan, and made her official debut in 2016.
She picked up her first title (as an adult) in the same year, wrestling for JWP Joshi Puroresu and winning their Junior championship.
She made appearances for a number of promotions, including Stardom, WRESTLE-1 and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling, winning fans over with her charisma and technical skills.
A career highlight was winning the Goddess of Stardom Championship with her partner Kagetsu in 2017.
Photo from Joshi Puroresu Blogspot.
2018 saw Kimura venture outside Japan and wrestle for Ring of Honor in America, and various promotions in Mexico.
She would achieve other career highlights, such as wrestling in the hallowed Tokyo Dome and winning other titles in Stardom, before her untimely demise.
The experience of one Singaporean fan
But aside from her undoubted talent in the ring, one Singaporean remembers the sweet, warm side of Kimura's personality when interacting with her fans.
Naufal, who turns 30 this year, is a catering executive who runs the Singapore Wrestling Society Facebook fan page in his spare time.
He is a big fan of Kimura, and posted a tribute when the news was announced.
Naufal admired the fact that she worked in various promotions to gain experience and hone her craft, when most other joshi wrestlers mainly worked in one promotion during their early years.
He got the chance to meet her for the first time in 2018, when he travelled to Tokyo, Japan to watch a wrestling show at the Shin Kiba 1st Ring arena.
The meet and greet after the show was held outside during winter, but despite the cold, Naufal braved it to meet with Kimura.
She spotted a cat plush toy he was holding and exclaimed "Kawaii!"
Naufal bought a photo of Kimura and Kagetsu, and Kimura got her partner to sign it too, without Naufal having to line up again while in the cold.
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
She misspelled his name a little before correcting it, but Naufal didn't mind. And here's the photo they took:
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
Naufal met Kimura again in Jan. 2019, also in Tokyo.
Kimura remembered him when he introduced herself and mentioned the cat toy, and thanked him for saying that she was his favourite wrestler.
She even took a photo together with him with her own polaroid camera:
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
Up close
Naufal was in a front row seat for another match featuring Kimura in Oct. 2019.
Kimura had won the 5 Star GP tournament to earn a World of Stardom Championship match against the reigning champion Bea Priestly.
During the match, the action spilled to the outside. Kimura got Naufal to move aside, grabbed the chair beside him and used it to whack Priestly. The moment was captured on camera:
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society/Stardom World.
Naufal recalled,
"I was sad at the end of the match because Hana lost but she put on a great match with Bea. It's a shame she never got to win the World of Stardom Championship which she would have one day. Sadly, she didn't live to see that day."
Tragic news
Naufal remembers feeling "gutted" and "shaken" when he heard the terrible news that Kimura had passed away.
He said it felt like losing a loved one, even though he was just a fan.
Of the cyberbullying, he said: "Yes, she made a mistake on Terrace House but that does not justify bullying her for months and asking her to kill herself."
Naufal said he was excited for Kimura to join the TV show as fans could see a different side to her, outside of wrestling. But he feels that she would still be alive today if she hadn't joined the show.
Naufal admired Kimura's personality, someone who took pride in her mixed Japanese/Indonesian heritage, someone who didn't conform to the expectations of a woman by Japanese society and blazed her own trail.
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
Appreciating her fans
He also described her dedication to her fans, which he glimpsed while he was waiting in the line to meet her.
"She took her time with each fan and made sure the experience was a memorable one for them," Naufal said.
He recalled one high school girl who told Kimura how much she admired her.
Naufal added, "Hana then said some words of encouragement to her and wished her the best of luck on her exams and dreams."
Another fan had brought her child along to wait in line, and Kimura left her table during the meet and greet to interact with the child.
But it was their last meeting that Naufal would always remember.
She asked him how long he was staying in Tokyo, and after hearing that he would be flying back the next day, she expressed her disappointment. After getting an autograph and a photo, she waved at him and wished him a safe journey instead of immediately attending to the next fan.
"And that really touched me. I will never forget that moment. I have met many wrestlers but none have treated me with so much love and care like Hana has.
She is special. There is no one else like Hana Kimura."
Photo from Singapore Wrestling Society.
Top image from Singapore Wrestling Society.