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Hana Kimura Memorial Show (2021)

Hana Kimura Memorial Show
Promotional poster featuring Hana Kimura
DateMay 23, 2021[1]
CityTokyo, Japan
VenueKorakuen Hall[2]
Attendance714[a][3]
Tagline(s)Matane
See You Again
Hana Kimura Memorial Show chronology
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The Hana Kimura Memorial Show (木村花メモリアルマッチ『またね』, Kimura Hana Memoriaru Matchi "Matane") was a Japanese professional wrestling memorial show and pay-per-view and the first event promoted by Kyoko Kimura to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of her daughter Hana Kimura, who committed suicide on May 23, 2020. The event took place on May 23, 2021 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan with a limited attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Kagetsu and Hazuki, who both retired in 2019, made one-off in-ring returns at the event, participating in both the semi-main and main event matches.[5]

The event was presented internationally as a live pay-per-view via the FITE TV service, with Ring of Honor's Ian Riccaboni, Sumie Sakai, and World Famous CB serving as the English commentary team during the broadcast.[6]

Background

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On May 23, 2020, Hana Kimura committed suicide at age 22.[7][8] Early that morning, Kimura posted self-harm images on Twitter and Instagram while sharing some of the hateful comments she received.[9][10][11][12] In late 2020 and early 2021, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested and charged multiple men for the cyberbullying that contributed to Hana's death.[13][14][15]

In early 2021, Hana's mother Kyoko Kimura announced her intentions to run a memorial show in honor of her late daughter; the event was later scheduled for May 23.[4] On May 7, FITE TV announced that they would be airing the event and that Super Delfin, Hub, Yuko Miyamoto, Munenori Sawa, Kaori Yoneyama, Cherry, Hanako Nakamori, Yuki Miyazaki, Asuka, Mio Momono, and Mika Iwata would be making appearances at the show.[16]

Event

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The show began with a concert performed by Japanese performer Hiroko Yamamura[17] – Yamamura was Hana Kimura's favourite DJ and also a former professional wrestler. Ilk Park performed a dance number soundtracked by Awaniko – Awaniko was the idol group that Hana used to be a member of.[18] A video then played showcasing Hana's Ribera jacket entrances from her tenure in Wrestle-1.[19]

Following the main event match, the wrestlers who participated on the card paid tribute to Hana.[20] Hana's mother Kyoko Kimura stood in the ring with a portrait of her and was then joined by Hana's former teammates Asuka and Kagetsu. The three did the Tokyo Cyber Squad pose.[19] This was followed by a fifteen-minute video package that recapped Hana's career from start to finish. The video was followed by a moment of silence and a ten-bell salute, during which the bell was rung by Jungle Kyona. The event concluded with a series of video tributes, notably tributes were sent in by Yoshihiro Tajiri, Keiji Mutoh, The Great Sasuke, WWE wrestlers Io Shirai, Kairi Sane, Meiko Satomura and Xia Brookside as well as All Elite Wrestling's Hikaru Shida and Kenny Omega. The final image of the broadcast was Kyoko saying "Matane" followed by "We love Hana, Hana loves everyone."[19]

Results

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No.Results[19]StipulationsTimes[21]
1Hub, Shisaou, and Eisa8 defeated Shota, Fuma and Mil MongooseSix-man tag team match15:57
2Ram Kaicho won by lastly eliminating Cima and Masato Tanaka[b]28-person All-Star Battle Royal30:05
3Asuka, Syuri, Natsupoi, and Mio Momono defeated Oedo Tai (Kagetsu and Hazuki) and Tokyo Cyber Squad (Konami and Death Yama-san)Eight-woman tag team match15:54
4Asuka defeated KagetsuSingles match14:16

Notes

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  1. ^ The event was held with a limited audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.
  2. ^ Other battle royal participants included Super Delfin, Miyuki Takase, Mika Iwata, Dash Chisako, Shotaro Ashino, Fuminori Abe, Menso-re Oyaji, Seigo Tachibana, Hagane Shinnou, Yuko Miyamoto, Chihiro Hashimoto, Ram Kaicho, Cherry, Yuki Miyazaki, Hanako Nakamori, Moeka Haruhi, Banana Senga, Gabai Jichan, Lingerie Mutoh, Yusuke Kodama, Aiger, Andras Miyagi, Sakura Hirota, Jun Kasai, and Jinsei Shinzaki.

References

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  1. ^ Daly, Wayne (May 7, 2021). "Hana Kimura Memorial Show To Air Live On FITE TV". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Walsh, Shannon (April 23, 2021). "HANA KIMURA MEMORIAL SHOW TO STREAM LIVE". pwinsider.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (May 23, 2021). "Hana Kimura Memorial Produce Matane". cagematch.net (in German). Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Rose, Bryan (February 15, 2021). "HANA KIMURA MEMORIAL SHOW ANNOUNCED FOR MAY 23". f4wonline.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Wyatt, Liam (March 5, 2021). "Kagetsu Coming Out Of Retirement For Hana Kimura Tribute Show". itrwrestling.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Edwards, Scott (May 7, 2021). "Hana Kimura Memorial Show Airing Live on FITE TV". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  7. ^ DeFelice, Robert (May 22, 2020). "Hana Kimura Has Passed Away". Fightful. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "『テラハ』出演の木村花さんが死去 22歳 所属のスターダムが発表" [Hana Kimura, who appeared on "[Terrace House]", dies at 22 years old, Stardom announced] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  9. ^ Stedman, Alex (May 22, 2020). "Hana Kimura, Pro Wrestler and 'Terrace House' Cast Member, Dies at 22". Variety. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "木村花(HANA)". Instagram. May 22, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Haring, Bruce (May 23, 2020). "Hana Kimura Dies: Star Of Netflix's Reality Show 'Terrace House' And Wrestler Was 22". Deadline. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "Hana Kimura: Netflix star and Japanese wrestler dies at 22". BBC. May 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Frater, Patrick (17 December 2020). "Kimura Hana Death: Japan Police Open Case Against Alleged Bully". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Terrace House: Japanese man fined $80 after Netflix star's suicide". BBC News. 31 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Second prosecution referral over 'Terrace House' star Hana Kimura's suicide". The Japan Times. 2021-04-05. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  16. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 7, 2021). "Hana Kimura Memorial Show To Air On FITE TV". fightful.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "Hiroko Yamamura · Artist RA - Resident Advisor". RA.co. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  18. ^ 琉球放送 (October 16, 2011). リングに来ないかっ！. ent-mabui.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d Klyn, Parker (May 22, 2021). "HANA KIMURA MEMORIAL SHOW LIVE RESULTS: KAGETSU, OTHERS IN ACTION". f4wonline.com. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Dangoor, Louis (May 23, 2021). "Hana Kimura Memorial Show Results". wrestletalk.com. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Walsh, Shannon (May 23, 2021). "HANA KIMURA MEMORIAL SHOW RESULTS FROM TOKYO, JAPAN". pwinsider.com. Retrieved May 23, 2021.