Hana Kimura Memorial Book 2024
Released Spring 2024

Background: Giulia joined Stardom in 2019, and quickly began a feud with Stardom wrestler Hana Kimura. Tragically, Hana passed away in May of 2020. Since her passing, every year her mother Kyoko Kimura puts on a memorial show. For the 2024 event, Giulia was scheduled to have a match in memory of her former friend and in-ring adversary.

— Translation begins below —

Giulia: The first exchange I had with Hana: “Ah, it’s me!”

The Fighting Spirit of Girlhood.
Fighting with Hana.

Fumi Saito: I would like to talk about your relationship with Hana Kimura, or rather, about your encounter with Hana.

Giulia: October 14, 2019, Korakuen Hall. The day I announced I was joining Stardom. It was the day I stood in the Stardom ring for the first time. That day, Hana fought for the red belt. It was a title match in the main event. Just before I stepped into the ring, we were in the waiting room together for a short time. At that time, our eyes met, and I remember one thing that Hana said to me.

Saito: What was the one thing?

Giulia: “Ah, it’s me!” she said. She looked at me and said “it’s me!”

Saito: What did she mean by that? It sounds as if there are two of her.

Giulia: We were kind of eye to eye and she looked at me and said “Ah, it’s me!”, and then she stopped for a second or two. Then she just went away with that cheerful excitement.

Saito: That was a shocking encounter.

Giulia: I had been wondering what kind of wrestler Hana Kimura was. She looks really good, she is half Japanese, and I had seen her on SNS and in magazines, so I was like, ‘Oh it’s Hana Kimura!’. It was the first time I heard her voice, and it left a big impression.

Saito: When was the next time you met?

Giulia: It was not at a match, but a press conference. At the press conference to announce that Stardom had joined Bushiroad, I said “I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you, but I’ve decided to join the group”, and Hana interrupted. She said something like “You’re making things difficult for everyone. I’m the only half member”. Then we got into a fight. ‘Ah, this person is really strong minded’, I thought. But I already knew that. Hana is younger than me, but in my late teens and early 20’s, I was also very bossy. I could see she had a rough temperament, and she was coming in with guns blazing, so I knew I could not step back from her. I had to take a stand against Hana.

Saito: I can understand Hana’s temperament, or rather her personality.

Giulia: I had a fighting spirit since I was a small child. But, at the time I was moving from Ice Ribbon to Stardom, I was feeling beaten up and really down, and I felt like I could not show myself. But Hana’s gung-ho attitude revived my fighting spirit, and it brought it back to life. I thought to myself, ‘Ah, this person, she’s really going to come at me. I need to be aggressive too’. Then there was the brawl at Shin-Kiba, with cameras following us to the waiting room.

Saito: You could hear the banging of the building’s shutters outside of the fans’ sight.

Giulia: When I was in elementary school, I had fights. This was the first time since then. I was like a kid again pretending to go horseback-riding, seeing someone I could get messed up with and wrestle. At that time, I thought ‘This is what being a pro-wrestler is all about’. Until then, I had never felt that way. Even when I was playing against seniors who pissed me off or whom I hated, I didn’t know how to turn on the switch, and I felt frustrated like that for a long time.

Saito: It was great you were able to clash with Hana in the ring at Stardom.

Giulia: I don’t think anyone wanted to get involved with me at that time. I felt that everyone wanted to avoid getting involved with me as much as possible.

Saito: Was there an atmosphere like that?

Giulia: There was. Among the wrestlers. I was beaten up so much, and I don’t have a good image. I had only been with Ice Ribbon for less than two years, and before that I was just an ordinary person. So, the slander on the internet was a big shock to me back then.

Saito: Why did you decide to become a professional wrestler in the first place?

Giulia: I don’t know if I can explain it well, but when I was still a fan, I used to go women’s wrestling and there were people who looked like they could beat her easily. Like, this isn’t a fight. Every time I saw a match like that, I thought to myself, ‘I’ll do it, too’. But when I tried it, I realized I didn’t have any talent, and I didn’t make any progress for over a year.

Saito: Once you made your debut, did you notice any contradictions within yourself?

Giulia: I did. I debuted at 24 and that’s when I saw the reality. After a year I gave up, and I thought about retiring. I thought that if I didn’t quit quickly, my body would just get worn out, I wouldn’t be able to earn money, and my life would be a mess.

Saito: Then the opportunity to move to Stardom presented itself?

Giulia: The choice was to retire or to start over as a trainee at Stardom. It was a gamble for me. Stardom was a great company and I had always admired them. Hana Kimura, Mayu Iwatani, Iyo, Kairi, all the stars were there. When Iyo said “I’m going to WWE” at Ryogoku, I was at the venue watching it. I thought that if I was serious about wrestling, this was the environment for me. It was a time when I was really worried about wrestling.

Saito: Have you always been aware of Hana Kimura?

Giulia: I mean, a girl that flashy, you can’t help but notice her, even if you’ve never met her. A really cool woman in Stardom. I’ve known about her since W-1, and she’s often appeared in the media since she joined Stardom.

Saito: Hana was active for four years, but only one year with Stardom.

Giulia: Oh, only four years? A legend was created in four years.

Drawn to Hana.
Encounter with VENY

[Editor’s Note: Giulia was scheduled to have a match against VENY on the Hana Kimura Memorial Show on 5/23/24, but it was cancelled due to Giulia being injured]

Saito: Do you know VENY, who you’ll be fighting this time?

Giulia: Yes, I know her. She’s Asuka right? I saw her fight with Syuri in Hana’s memorial match. I also saw her match with Sareee.

Saito: This is your first match. You’ve never even come into contact with each other?

Giulia: Not at all.

Saito:  There’s a relationship between Hana Kimura and Giulia. There’s a relationship between Hana Kimura and VENY. It is because of Hana Kimura that this singles match was made possible, right?

Giulia: If that hadn’t happened, I don’t think we would have this fight. I think wrestling can sometimes be a mysterious connection. I think Hana has drawn in all kinds of things to me in this way.

Saito: Can you imagine what kind of match this will be?

Giulia: Hana and I had some fierce matches. I think Hana likes that kind of thing. So I hope that when Hana watches my match with VENY she gets excited.

Full Original Interview:

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