Star Gazing is our new series which will add to our already growing coverage of World Wonder Ring Stardom (Also known simply as Stardom) and the Joshi scene where we will get you up to speed with members of the Stardom roster. This edition will focus on the second generation star Hana Kimura who has all the potential to be a future superstar.
At twenty-two years of age, Hana Kimura has the world at her feet. The second-generation star has become one of the main stars in Stardom ahead of their acquisition by Bushiroad and is set to carry the company forward as one of it’s biggest stars.
Starting Out & Freelancing
Hana Kimura debuted in 2016 for Wrestle-1, the promotion she was trained, and had the first of many matches against Reika Saiki. In 2016 Kimura spent her time as a freelancer winning both the JWP Junior and Princess Of Pro Wrestling titles. She would often team with her mother Kyoko Kimura and joined her Oedo Tai stable in Stardom. Kyoko retired in January of 2017 and this set Hana’s career in it’s own trajectory
Oedo Tai
With Kyoko retired Oedo Tai would become Kagetsu‘s faction. Hana Kimura slotted in as Kagetsu’s right-hand woman as Oedo Tai became one of the most popular factions in Stardom. The particular lineup above with Kagetsu, Kimura, Kris Wolf, Natsu Sumire, and Tam Nakano remains the favorite of many fans to this day. Kagetsu and Kimura won the Goddesses Of Stardom championships and would hold them for almost an entire year. For 2017 and most of 2018 Kimura would form a team with ASUKA in Wrestle-1, who she signed with. She also made appearances for Ring Of Honor, Pro Wrestling: EVE and even spent time in Mexico. Despite this her main work was in Stardom as part of Oedo Tai, the faction her mother created and the one she was affiliated with for her entire career. It was this fact that made her next move all the more surprising
Oedo Tai dances give me life. pic.twitter.com/r7Jhx2IopI
— Joshi City (@JoshiPuro) August 6, 2017
Turning On Oedo Tai
In September 2018 Kimura would take part in one of the biggest angles of the year as she turned on Oedo Tai. She attacked her former allies with a chair and lay a beating on her former tag partner Kagetsu. This would lead to a showdown between Kagetsu and Hana Kimura at Stardom True Fight 2018 in a rare No DQ matchup that saw the two brawl all over Korakuen Hall. The grudge match would end via referee’s decision as Kagetsu got a measure of revenge over the new Hana Kimura. Kimura would spend the next few months teaming with various gaijins but lacked a true direction. This all changed when she signed with Stardom full time.
Tokyo Cyber Squad
Now fully committed to Stardom Hana Kimura was placed in the Faction Draft and was given the opportunity to shake up Stardom and introduce her own faction into the mix. Kimura would draft some of Stardom’s most popular members like Konami and Jungle Kyona to her faction. With their cybergoth inspired aesthetic and housing popular talents like the two named previous TCS quickly became a hit with the Stardom audience both in Japan and internationally. In their first year Tokyo Cyber Squad has been extremely successful as they captured the Artist Of Stardom titles, the Goddesses Of Stardom titles, the High Speed Championship and Kimura herself won the prestigious Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix to cap off a breakout year for herself and her stable. While Hana would come up short against Bea Priestley in her title shot she would star in a popular reality show called Terrace House ahead of Stardom’s acquisition by Bushiroad, who also owns NJPW, to round out 2019.
2019 has been a breakout year for Hana Kimura and with Stardom’s future looking very bright she is set to be one of the names that leads the company into the future. Her look, talent, and popular faction make her a big asset for Stardom as they go into their new era and it is only a matter of time before we see her get her hands on either the Wonder Of Stardom or World Of Stardom championships.
Update: Hana Kimura passed away on May 23rd 2020. Rest in power Hana
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. And make sure to subscribe to Stardom World to see Hana Kimura’s work for yourself.
