Quick Facts

For the majority of us, life is not a bed of roses. Many of us like complaining about life’s difficulties and blaming our luck, while others gracefully overcome misfortune. Kyoko Kimura is one of these individuals.Kyoko is a professional wrestler and mixed martial artist by trade.

Kyoko is best renowned for her Afro-styled hair and her powerpack wrestling ability. Her daughter’s controversial death also garnered considerable public attention.

Kyoko has traveled far and wide and seen both highs and lows in life, but has remained steadfast in her pursuit of becoming a professional wrestler. In her 14-year career, she has fought in prestigious promotions and won numerous trophies.

How much is the Net worth of Kyoko Kimura?

Kyoko Kimura is not particularly forthcoming regarding her personal life. Similarly, her net wealth and lifestyle remain unknown. However, we do know that she is currently retired and living in Tokyo with her husband and kitties.

Childhood and Family:

Kyoko was born in the Japanese city of Yokohoma on 19 March 1977. Her father and mother are unknown. In interviews, she has hinted that her father is not there and that her family consists of three people. Her elder sister owns and operates an okonomiyaki restaurant.

Kyoko fell in love with wrestling after watching Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher vs. Terry and Dory Funk in the epic AJPW battle. It was 1993, and she was a freshman in high school. Kyoko saw a documentary about the sheik and immediately decided to pursue a career in wrestling. She subsequently dropped out of school and enrolled in the FMW dojo.

While Kyoko was developing her skills, he was forced to quit early due to a knee injury. She then considered her choices. She relocated to Mexico and began studying lucha libre. However, she ran out of money and was forced to return to Japan.

Asia Backpacking

Kyoko was a free spirit and a seeker of adventure. She worked a few jobs, accumulated money, and traveled throughout Asia.She spent the majority of her time traveling throughout Southeast Asia and working part-time jobs to support herself.She met and fell in love with a man during her stay in Bali. He was a tour guide and a genuinely nice man.

Kimura then married her nameless lover and returned to Japan with him. Hana’s parents were opposed to the relationship due to her husband’s nationality. In 1997, they welcomed a daughter, Hana. The young couple worked tirelessly day and night to provide their daughter with a wonderful existence.

However, staying in Japan proved to be too much of a cultural shock for Hana’s father, who returned to Indonesia. Kyoko found herself in a difficult predicament for two reasons. One, due to her early age and the social stigma associated with single mothers in Asian countries. Despite the obstacles, Kyoko reared Hana alone while following her aspirations.

Kyoko Kimura | Back-To-Training

Kimura re-started his training at the JWP dojo in Tokyo while still caring for Hana. She used to ride her bicycle with Hana, and young Hana stayed behind to watch her train. Kyoko, also, graduated from the JWP dojo in 2003. After graduation, the time had come to begin wrestling professionally. She joined the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion and made her debut on July 20, 2003.

She had a little role in this elevation and remained in the position for more than two years. In 2005, she resigned from that position and began working as a freelancer. She worked at Ibuki, Oz Academy, and took on difficult tasks such as deathmatches.

Kyoko Kimura’s Career:

Kyoko’s most notable involvement in wrestling occurred in 2008, when she was the leader of the evil Revolucion Amandia stable in the NEO Japan ladies pro wrestling promotion. In October 2009, she toured Mexico with Revolucion Amandia. Additionally, she was a regular with NEO until December 2010. She began working for the global wonder ring’s stardom part in May 2012

Kimura also began working frequently for the ice ribbon promotion the following September. She won the International ribbon tag team and Reiner world tag team championships during this time period. In 2012, she advanced to the first-ever five-star Grand Prix finals but was defeated by Yuzuki Aikawa.

In November 2013, she and two monster gun stablemates won the Artist of the Stardom title. She also won the goddesses of fame tag competition that month. She won another goddess of stardom championship in January 2014, making her the first person to win the title twice. Also, she made her American wrestling debut in 2015 with the shimmer women’s championship.

MMA

Kimura made his MMA debut on November 11 at the Pancrase Impressive tour. Kimura defeated Megumi Yabushita via TKO in this fight. Similarly, Kyoko’s next match took place in January 2012 as part of the Pancrase Progress Tour.

She squared off against Mizuho Sato, but the bout ended in a draw. In April 2012, the Japanese wrestler defeated South Korean mixed martial artist Kim Sung Eun. Her subsequent match was against Rin Nakai on the Pancrase advancement tour, which she lost. This is her first MMA defeat.

Who is Kyoko Kimura married to?

Kyoko, who has become a household figure in the Japanese wrestling community, married Isao Kobayashi in February 2016. He is also a professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, for those who are unaware.

Furthermore, Isao is eleven years younger than Kyoko. And, as expected, when they came out as a couple, a few eyebrows were raised here and there. There is no information on how they met, but we may assume it was during a wrestling tournament, given they are both wrestlers!

Retirement of Kyoko Kimura:

Kyoko, a renowned wrestler, announced her retirement on January 22, 2017 at a magnificent retirement celebration held at Korakuen Hall. She competed in competitions alongside her daughter and spouse at this event dubbed ‘The last Afro.’

Similarly, Aja Kong, Meiko Satomura, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Hana Isao and Kyoko in a six-person tag team match. Additionally, Kimura engaged in a bonus bout with Hana following the main event, which Hana won with a massive boot.

A daughter holds a special place in her mother’s heart. Hana was no less important to Kyoko. Kyoko gave birth to Hana when she was just 19, and she battled wars to ensure Hana received a good upbringing. Not to mention that they were both wrestlers and even fought each other. This was the quintessential mother-daughter pairing.

Hana, meanwhile, grew up watching her mother wrestle and developed an interest in it. Despite her mother’s best efforts, Hana’s childhood was anything but easy. Indeed, little Hana was frequently bullied as a result of her mixed heritage and frequently returned home in tears. Fortunately, she thrived despite these hardships.

Apart from that, Hana was passionate in modeling and dance. She desired celebrity! She used to communicate to her mother her wish to face the camera. Nonetheless, She was overjoyed when young Kimura made her wrestling debut in 2016. The combination has competed in a number of matches together.

In October 2016, the team won the ‘Artist of Stardom’ title alongside Partner Kagetsu. Additionally, the two faced off in individual contests. Hana lost their first such bout, but she eventually defeated Kyoko in tag team competition in 2016.

Terrace House and the Death of Hana

Hana agreed to join the Japanese reality show ‘Terrace House’ in 2019. Her reason for this action was undoubtedly her obvious fondness for the camera and an innate desire to raise awareness for female wrestlers. Terrace house is a rather popular show in Japan, with Fuji TV and Netflix Japan airing it.

This show chronicles the temporary cohabitation of six strangers and their attempts to get to know one another. Hana’s schedule, on the other hand, became more frantic as a result of the show. In addition to her wrestling battles, she had to shoot for the show day and night. By the end of 2019, she had already shown interest in leaving the show.

Hana began receiving online abuse and bullying shortly after the series began airing on Netflix. The vitriol was primarily directed towards one episode in which she gets into a confrontation with a cast member. Hana was discovered dead by suicide on May 23, 2020. She was sequestered at her home during this period due to a covid epidemic.

Earlier that day, she had sent a series of tweets hinting suicidal feelings and shared photographs of herself self-harming in response to some hate messages she had received.

Aftermath

This act sparked outrage across the country, as well as among worldwide wrestling enthusiasts. The ugly followers of ‘Terrace house’ have been chastised for their anti-social behavior. Kyoko then filed a complaint with Japan’s Human Rights Committee against cyberbullies who targeted Hana.

She also pledged to fight cyberbullying’s heinous culture and to implement legislation to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future Later, a person who made death threats to Hana via text messages was arrested. This individual apologized through email to Hana’s family.

Kimura spoke out against the presentation, claiming that the entire episode was staged and Hana was coerced into acting in that manner. Fuji TV conducted an internal investigation into the event following the incident without involving any third parties. She continued by stating that the report was full of fabrications and misrepresented the truth.

Kyoko Kimura | Memorial Exhibitions & Shopping

Kyoko announced an online memorial shop for Hana in early February. This shop sells Hana-themed goods. Proceeds from the shop will be used to cover trial and attorney fees associated with Hana’s case. Additionally, Kyoko has announced a memorial match for Hana titled ‘See You Again’ for the anniversary of her passing.

The show will take place in Korakuen Hall. Tickets will be available for purchase towards the end of February. Kimura is also collaborating with Kai Koboyasi, Hana’s Terrace House roommate who was also involved in the fight event, to kickstart the process in any way possible.

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