Alex Gracia Recalls Hana Kimura Helping Gaijin Performers in STARDOM, Being Made to Feel Comfortable There

Alex Gracia shared her memories of working in STARDOM and with the late Hana Kimura in a new interview. Gracia spoke with Fightful for a new interview and recalled her experience working in the company and how Kimura went out of her way to make non-Japanese talent feel at ease. You can see highlights and the full video below:

On Kimura helping non-Japanese talent be more comfortable working there: “She was considered the gaijin helper because she would always be like, ‘Speak English to me’ and she was just so sweet. There was a night specifically. We were, I think, in Osaka or something, I don’t know if it was the homesickness was getting to some of us or the internet can be cruel, too. We were just all kinda down for some reason that night. She’s like, ‘We’re going to dinner.’ We went to dinner and we just had the best night with her. She’s always so sweet. Even if it’s like, if I wasn’t in their match, she would just come up to me be like, ‘You okay? You feel good?’” It just felt good to have someone there that you knew genuinely cared, and she was just such a sweet soul. She wanted to learn all these languages and just get better. You could just see that. She was a natural star in and outside of the ring. She was just a presence. She walks in the room and she was that ‘it’ girl. So, yeah, that was horrible and very tough and all that comes with it too is just from the internet. So, just hopefully people start to be aware that, especially, she was so young. It’s hard for anyone to hear those things. But, especially, at that age I couldn’t imagine.”

On STARDOM talent doing their best to help gaijin fit in: “A lot of the girls, like I said, especially her, just want to make sure you’re comfortable. Because they know you’re away from home. They know that his is different for you. You’re just there trying to figure out how to fit in the best you can and do your best. She was just always so great and so sweet and I know that she was close with a lot of the girls that went there. So, it was very tough.”

On being made to feel comfortable from her first day: “Oh, yeah. Like, day one. But, that’s what I thought was so cool. Funny story, when I went there, we flew in and the very next day was the first show. So, I’m already freakin’ terrified and then on top of that, I’m asking Sonny, who’s kinda like helping with the foreigners ‘cause he knows English, ‘Okay, so, like show me where I go out for my entrance, and this and that.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, you’re first match, by the way.’ ‘Cause I’m was like, ‘Well, at least I can watch somebody first.’ It’s the very first match of 2019, or whatever year, and so, I’m like, ‘Okay, I can just watch somebody and I’ll be fine with that,’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, you’re first match and you’re the first person to come out. You’re starting the year off.’ I was like, ‘Okay, okay.’

“So, I’m terrified out of my mind, but that match specifically I had no clicking. But, after that, once I was a little relaxed, we had gotten to go to training and I figured it out, throughout the process I agree 100% with what those other girls were saying. We can go out there and make magic and it felt good. They know what they’re doing and they’re bringing you up to try to be to where you’re able to comprehend and work, and I felt like I grew so much over there that I’m still always scared and always anxious and nervous before matches. But, when I came back to America, I was like, ‘If I gain anything from that it’s that I feel like I can go in the ring with anybody.’”