is a retired

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. Throughout her 14-year career, she competed in

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...

, Ibuki,

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

JWP Joshi Puroresu , also known as or simply JWP, was a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion, founded in 1992 as a splinter promotion of Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling. Celebrating its 25th anniversary at the time of its folding in 2 ...

NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling (frequently styled as NEO) was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 1997 by Kyoko Inoue. The first event took place on January 9, 1998. NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling NEO Ja ...

and

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

, among other promotions. She is best known for her Jamaican flag shirt and puffed afro that at one point stood at roughly one foot tall. She is known for wrestling in barbed wire deathmatches as well as her singles bouts. She retired from professional wrestling in January 2017.

Professional wrestling career

Kimura started her

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

career in the

promotion, making her debut on July 20, 2003. She remained with the promotion in a small role for over two years, before quitting in late 2005 and becoming a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. During the following years, Kimura made appearances for promotions such as Ibuki,

Oz Academy is a Japanese ''joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion founded by Mayumi Ozaki. The promotion's full official name is . In addition to the contracted members of the roster, Oz Academy has also employed some of the top freel ...

, and

Pro Wrestling Wave , is a women's professional wrestling, or Joshi Puroresu, promotion created in 2007 after the dissolution and closure of JDStar. The company was formed by Mikiko Futagami, or Gami, former JDStar wrestler Yumi Ohka, and former JDStar booker Tatsu ...

, while also making her debut in death matches. Kimura's first major role in professional wrestling came in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling promotion, where, in 2008, she became the leader of the villainous Revolucion Amandla

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, which also included

Tomoka Nakagawa is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. After being trained by Taka Michinoku, she started her career in his Kaientai Dojo promotion in September 2004. After leaving Kaientai Dojo in 2007, Nakagawa briefly joined Ibuki, where she underwent ...

and Atsuko Emoto, with whom Kimura held the NEO Tag Team Championship. In October 2009, Revolucion Amandla also made a tour of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Kimura remained a regular for NEO until the promotion folded in December 2010, with her stable being involved in major storyline rivalries with Las Cachorras Orientales (

Etsuko Mita is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She formed a successful tag team with her partner Mima Shimoda as ''Las Cachorras Orientales'' (Spanish for "The Oriental Bitches"; which was originally a trio with Akira Hokuto) and Toshiyo Yamada as ...

and

Mima Shimoda is a Japanese female professional wrestling, professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well kno ...

) and Passion Red (

Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

Nanae Takahashi (born December 23, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler and the founder of Seadlinnng. She has wrestled for prominent Japanese promotions All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Sun, and is a two-time women's world champion in maj ...

and

Natsuki☆Taiyo is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Making her debut for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) in January 2004, Mizushima quickly affiliated herself with Nanae Takahashi, following her out of AJW in 2006 a ...

). In May 2012, Kimura began working regularly for the

promotion, where she joined the villainous Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu Plus One stable. However, after losing a battle against Natsuki☆Taiyo for the leadership of the stable, Kimura quit the stable on August 5 and formed the new Kimura Monster-gun stable with

Hailey Hatred Angel Katherine Reece (born November 4, 1983) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Hailey Hatred. Originally debuting in July 2002, Hatred worked for several years for various promotions in both the United St ...

. From August 19 to September 30, Kimura took part in the first ever 5★Star GP, making it to the finals, before losing to

Yuzuki Aikawa is a Japanese gravure idol and retired professional wrestler. Starting her modeling career in 2003, Aikawa went on to become one of Japan's top gravure idols, earning the nickname "The Gravure Queen of the Next Generation" by appearing in variou ...

. In September, Kimura also began working regularly for the

promotion, culminating on her and Sayaka Obihiro winning the International Ribbon Tag Team and

Reina World Tag Team Championship The Reina World Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato Mundial en Parejas de Reina'' in Spanish; in Japanese) was a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by Reina Joshi Puroresu. The championship was created in September 2011 in Uni ...

s on December 19, 2012, the latter title owned by the Reina X World promotion. On January 14, 2013, Kimura received her first shot at Stardom's top title, the

World of Stardom Championship The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...

, but was defeated by the defending champion, Nanae Takahashi. On March 17, Kimura and Hatred defeated Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu (Natsuki☆Taiyo and Yoshiko) to win the

Goddess of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Title history On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference to announce the first ever Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, which would cu ...

. The following November, Kimura teamed with two other Monster-gun stablemates,

Alpha Female Marie Kristin Gabert (June 4, 1982) is a German professional wrestler and former professional powerlifter, strongwoman, bodybuilder, and mixed martial artist under the names Alpha Female and Jazzy Gabert. She is best known on the independent scene ...

and The Female Predator "Amazon", to win the

Artist of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...

. During November, Kimura also teamed with

Act Yasukawa , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Making her pro wrestling debut in 2012, she wrestled exclusively for the joshi puroresu promotion Stardom. Yasukawa's career ultimately ended in December 2015, 10 mont ...

to win the 2013 Goddesses of Stardom Tag Tournament. On January 26, 2014, Kimura became the first two-time Goddess of Stardom Champion, when she won title alongside Alpha Female. On May 4, Kimura teamed with

Command Bolshoi is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. She debuted for Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (JWP) in November 1991 and worked for its follow-up promotion JWP Joshi Puroresu from 1992 until its folding in 2017, also serving as its final president. D ...

to defeat Rabbit Miu and Tsukushi for JWP Joshi Puroresu's

vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...

Daily Sports Women's Tag Team and

JWP Tag Team Championship The JWP Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship was introduced on August 9, 1992, when Cutie Suzuki and Mayumi Ozaki defeated Dynamite Kansai and Sumiko S ...

s. On October 15, Kimura and Tomoka Nakagawa, the reformed Revolucion Amandla, won Pro Wrestling Wave's 2014 Dual Shock Wave tournament and the

Wave Tag Team Championship The Wave Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Pro Wrestling Wave Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title is nicknamed "Dual Shock Wave". The cha ...

. On January 18, 2015, Kimura formed a new version of Monster-gun, named Oedo Tai, with Act Yasukawa, Dragonita,

Heidi Lovelace Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to orld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in World Wonder Ring Stardom (a ...

, Hudson Envy and

Kris Wolf Kris Hernandez (born August 12, 1984) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Kris Wolf. She wrestled for World Wonder Ring Stardom in Japan, where she is a former High Speed Champion, as well as a founding member ...

. On April 11, 2015, Kimura made her American debut for

Shimmer Women Athletes Shimmer Women Athletes (often referred to and stylized as SHIMMER) is an American, Chicago-based independent women's professional wrestling promotion which held its first event on November 6, 2005. Established by Dave Prazak and run by both him ...

. On August 7, 2016, Kimura defeated her daughter

Hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...

in the first match between the two. Following the match, she announced she would be holding her retirement event on January 22, 2017. Kimura went on to win a championship with her daughter, when the two, along with Kagetsu, won the Artist of Stardom Championship on October 2, 2016. Kimura held her retirement event, entitled "Last Afro", on January 22, 2017, in

Korakuen Hall is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...

. In what was advertised as her retirement match, Kimura teamed with her daughter

and husband Isao in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by

Aja Kong is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by her ring name . She is the founder of the Arsion all-women professional wrestling promotion and has won several championships in both singles and tag team divisions throughout her career, prima ...

Meiko Satomura Meiko Satomura (里村明衣子, Satomura Meiko, born November 11, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the American promotion WWE performing on the NXT brand and the Japanese promotion Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestlin ...

and

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

with Satomura pinning her for the win. Afterwards, Kimura wrestled one more bonus match against her daughter, refereed by her husband.

pinned Kyoko with a

big boot Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

to end her career.

Personal life

In 2016, Kimura married professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Isao Kobayashi, better known simply as Isao. Her daughter

was also a professional wrestler until her death in 2020.

Championships and accomplishments

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gender or DDT employment status, the championship is defended " 24/7", as i ...

( 1 time) *

International Ribbon Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Ice Ribbon promotion. The championship was introduced on April 4, 2007, at an Ice Ribbon and Neo Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling co-promoted event, where the Neo Machineguns (Tanny Mou ...

( 1 time) – with

Sayaka Obihiro is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with the Japanese promotions Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling, Ice Ribbon and JWP Joshi Puroresu. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit ...

Daily Sports Women's Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Pure-J promotion. The title is named after the '' Daily Sports'' newspaper. Title history The championship was introduced by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion on August 3, 2008, ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with

(1) and

Hanako Nakamori better known by her ring name Hanako Nakamori is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time in the Japanese promotions JWP Joshi Puroresu and Pure-J. Professional wrestling career Independe ...

(1) **

JWP Openweight Championship The JWP Openweight Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. The championship, which was situated at the top of JWP's championship hierarchy, was introduced on December 2, 1992, when ...

( 1 time) **

(

) – with Command Bolshoi (1) and Hanako Nakamori (1) :*Enemy Award (2014, 2016) *

**NEO Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with

Amazing Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

(1) and Atsuko Emoto (1) *Pro Wrestling SUN **SUN Championship (1 time) *

( 1 time) – with

**6-Person Tag Tournament (2013) – with

Gami Gami may refer to: *Gämi, a village and suburb on the southeastern outskirts of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan *An alternative spelling for ''kami'' {{Disambiguation ...

and Tomoka Nakagawa **

Dual Shock Wave __NOTOC__ Dual Shock Wave is an annual professional wrestling tag team Professional wrestling tournament, tournament promoted by the Pro Wrestling Wave Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. It has been held since 2011 and takes place between ...

(

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) – with Tomoka Nakagawa *Reina X World **

( 1 time) – with Sayaka Obihiro *

(

) – with

and The Female Predator Amazon (1), and

Hana Kimura was a Japanese joshi puroresu professional wrestler. She worked for native companies in her country such as World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016 to 2020, and Wrestle-1, in addition to having made appearances for foreign companies such as Ring of H ...

and

Kagetsu (born on June 24, 1992), better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Stardom, JWP, Sendai Girls and various independent promotions. Professional wrestling career Independe ...

(1) **

( 3 times) – with

(1), Alpha Female (1), and Kagetsu (1) **

Goddesses of Stardom Tag League The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held annually by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. It was created in 2011. The Goddesses of Stardom Tag League are held under a multi-poin ...

(2013) – with

**5★Star GP Award (1 time) ***5★Star GP Fighting Spirit Award (2013) *World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana **

World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Championship The World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana World Championship (often known as the WWWD Certified World Singles Championship) is a women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Japanese professional wrestling promotions World Woman Pro-W ...

(1 time)

Mixed martial arts career

Kimura made her mixed martial arts debut against

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a form ...

at ''Pancrase Impressive Tour 11'' on . She won the fight by TKO (doctor stoppage) after Yabushita suffered an ankle injury in the first round. Kimura next faced Mizuho Sato at ''Pancrase Progress Tour 1'' on . The match ended in a unanimous draw. On , Kimura faced South Korean Kim Sung Eun at ''Pancrase Progress Tour 4'', winning the match via TKO in 61 seconds. On , Kimura suffered her first MMA loss when she was submitted by

Rin Nakai is a Japanese professional female mixed martial artist. Starting her MMA career in 2006, she has participated in the organizations Pancrase, Smackgirl, Valkyrie and the UFC. Nakai has been rated amongst Top 10 of Women's Flyweight and Bantam ...

at ''Pancrase Progress Tour 6''.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 2-1-1 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

Progress Tour 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:32 ,

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 2-0-1 , Kim Sung Eun , TKO (punches) , Pancrase Progress Tour 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

Ariake, Tokyo is a district in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It is best known as the region adjacent to and directly east of Odaiba. Ariake is subdivided into four Japanese addressing system, ''chome'' and comprises part of the Tokyo Bay Landfill No. 10 and Tokyo Rink ...

, , - , Draw , align=center, 1-0-1 , Mizuho Sato , Draw (unanimous) , Pancrase Progress Tour 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 1-0-0 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Pancrase: Impressive Tour 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Kabukicho, Tokyo,

References

External links

Big Japan Pro Wrestling Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimura, Kyoko 1977 births Living people Japanese female professional wrestlers Japanese female mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling 21st-century professional wrestlers Reina World Tag Team Champions Goddess of Stardom Champions Artist of Stardom Champions Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions