Gran Hamada


Hiroaki Hamada, better known by his ring name Gran Hamada, is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro, and All Japan Pro Wrestling, and was the founder of Universal Lucha Libre. He has also had stints with the World Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling in the United States. His daughters Xóchitl Hamada and Ayako Hamada are professional wrestlers.

Professional wrestling career

He was one of the first dojo trainees at New Japan Pro Wrestling, being known as Little Hamada in the beginning. He was sent to Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association because of his lack of size, and he found a lot of success there - so much so that Mexican fans and promoters began calling him Gran Hamada. He also competed in Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, which added El to the front of his name: El Gran Hamada.
In 1984 he became a member of the initial roster of the original Japanese UWF, but found that his flamboyantly acrobatic style clashed with the martial arts-inspired style and focus on realism of the UWF, and soon left for All Japan Pro Wrestling. He eventually broke off from AJPW to form his own promotion in 1990: Universal Lucha Libre. However, wrestlers began to leave the group in 1993, and in 1995 Hamada closed the promotion to join Michinoku Pro, which had been formed by former Universal Lucha Libre wrestlers. On April 13, 1997, Hamada teamed with Great Sasuke and Masato Yakushiji to defeat Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo and Mens Teioh at ECW Barely Legal.
In 2001 he began competing for All Japan again, this time as a free agent. He briefly was part of the "Love Machines" stable under a mask as "Mini Love Machine" with "Super Love Machine" and "Love Machine Storm". They used Morning Musume's hit song "Love Machine" as their entrance theme. He would also briefly work for New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Land brand as Makai Masked Hurricane but only wrestled two shows under that name.
His daughters Xochitl and Ayako, who are half-Mexican, are also professional wrestlers.

Championships and accomplishments

Winner Loser LocationEventDateNotes
El Texano Gran Hamada N/ALive eventN/A
Gran Hamada El Coloso N/ALive eventN/A
Gran Hamada Astro Rey Naucalpan, State of MexicoLive eventN/A
Gran Hamada Flama Azul Naucalpan, State of MexicoLive eventN/A
Gran Hamada César Valentino Naucalpan, State of MexicoLive eventN/A
Gran Hamada René Guajardo Naucalpan, State of MexicoLive eventN/A
El Signo Gran Hamada Naucalpan, State of MexicoLive event
Aníbal Gran Hamada Nezahualcoyotl, State of MexicoLive event
Gran Hamada, Enrique Vera and Kobayashi Los Misioneros de la Muerte
Mexico CityLive event
Gran Hamada Black Power Tokyo, JapanLive event
Gran Hamada El Engendro Cuernavaca, MorelosLive event

Footnotes