Top 10 Stories Of 2020: Hana Kimura & Shad Gaspard

Throughout December, Neal Wagner will count down the top 10 stories of 2020 as voted on by The Wrestling Estate staff. Here is No. 7: the deaths of Hana Kimura and Shad Gaspard.

On May 17, tragedy would strike as former WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard would go missing after being caught in a riptide.

He was enjoying a day at Venice Beach with his wife and 10-year-old son. While swimming, Shad and his son got stuck in the current. A lifeguard swam out to save both, but Shad insisted his boy get taken care of first. The lifeguard managed to save his son, but when he turned back around, Shad was missing after a wave crashed over his head.

Many media outlets would ask for any help that could be given even as multiple search parties were out looking. The search would be called off two days later. The next day, a couple was out exercising when they noticed a body out on the beach. Police would confirm later in the day that the body was found about a mile away from where he went missing and that it was indeed Gaspard.

WWE and AEW both posted memorial graphics on their TV shows. At Double or Nothing 2020, the cold open would feature Cody talking about the hardships of the year and the importance of overcoming adversity. When he talked about the heroes that have come from that adversity, a picture of the ocean was shown and the text read “Shad Gaspard 1981-2020.”

In the days following his death, a memorial was displayed on Venice Beach. Bryan Alverez of Wrestling Observer would tweet out a picture of a group of wrestlers and friends around his memorial with the caption “over 500 people showed up tonight to celebrate Shad’s life.”

Over 500 people showed up tonight to celebrate Shad’s life. pic.twitter.com/jr9srw9s54
— Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) May 23, 2020

It would only be three days after Shad Gaspard’s death on Wednesday that tragedy would strike again.

Known for her time in Wrestle-1 and Stardom, the leader of the “Tokyo Cyber Squad” would start 2020 off with a major bang. Hana Kimura would team with Guilia against Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki in a dark match before Wrestle Kingdom 14. During this time, she would also star on the reality show Terrance House: Tokyo. An episode aired in March that would feature another character, Kai, who messed up Kimura’s Wrestle Kingdom attire in the wash. She would flip out on him and smack the baseball cap off his head. This led to much criticism and harassment online towards Kimura.

On May 23, Kimura would post several alarming and suicidal tweets that featured self-harm photos along with hate comments she had been receiving. She would be found dead by suicide in her apartment.

Her mom would reveal that she had been with Hana just days before her death and that Hana was very upset about how the producers handled the situation with her and Kai. While she admitted to being upset, it was the producers that encouraged her to get physical with him. Hana’s mom has since been vocal about everything that went down during production while the Japanese government has moved towards creating laws that would punish those posting abusive comments on social media.

As far as Terrance House goes, production would be suspended due to COVID-19, but the release of remaining episodes would be halted due to Kimura’s death. Fuji TV would shortly thereafter cancel the rest of the season altogether.

Many pro wrestling talents who crossed paths with Hana during their careers would pay tribute to her via social media posts and armband tributes. AEW would make mention of Kimura during Double or Nothing 2020.

Two tragic events like this so close to each other is just so hard to deal with on top of an already terrible year.