Gran Hamada

Gran Hamada
Gran Hamada
Birth name	Hiroaki Hamada
Born	November 27, 1950 (age 74); Maebashi, Gunma, Japan
Children	Ayako Hamada (daughter); Xóchitl Hamada (daughter);
Relatives	Pentagón Black (son-in-law); Silver King (ex-son-in-law); Tiger Mask IV (ex-son-in-law);
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	El Gran Hamada; Gran Hamada; Hiroaki Hamada; Little Hamada; Makai Masked Hurricane; Mini Love Machine
Billed height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Billed weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Debut	March 16, 1972
Retired	2018

Hiroaki Hamada (浜田広秋, Hamada Hiroaki), better known by his ring name Gran Hamada (グラン浜田, Guran Hamada, born November 27, 1950), 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 Japanese-Mexican 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 (Great Hamada).^[3] He also competed in Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, which added El (The) 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.^[3] 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 (who substituted for Gran Naniwa, who was injured) to defeat Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo and Mens Teioh (AKA "Terry Boy") 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" (Junji Hirata of New Japan, reprising his old role as "Super Strong Machine") and "Love Machine Storm" (Arashi, whose stage name literally means "storm").^[1] 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.^[4]

His daughters Xochitl and Ayako, who are half Mexican, are also professional wrestlers. On November 12, 2024, Ayako took it to Instagram to report that Hiroaki's health was pretty bad, and that he is doing his best to recover.^[2]

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling
- International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League (1984) – with Mighty Inoue^[5]
Arsion
- P*Mix Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ayako Hamada
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
- BJW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[6]
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
- NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[7]^{[Note 1]}
Michinoku Pro Wrestling
- Apex of Triangle Six–Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Great Sasuke and Tiger Mask^[1]
- Fukumen World Tag League (2000) – with Tiger Mask IV^[8]
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- One Night Eight Man Tag Team Tournament (1994) – with Shinjiro Otani, El Samurai and Great Sasuke^[10]
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #87 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003^[4]
Universal Lucha Libre
- UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time)^[11]
- UWF Super Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[12]
- WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Universal Wrestling Association
- UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (5 times)^[13]
- UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[14]
- UWA World Middleweight Championship (3 times)^[15]
- UWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Riki Choshu (1), Perro Aguayo (1) and Kendo (1)^[16]
- UWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)^[17]
- WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[18]^[19]^{[Note 2]}
World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural and final) – with Perro Aguayo^[20]

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)	Loser (wager)	Location	Event	Date	Notes
El Texano (hair)	Gran Hamada (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A
Gran Hamada (hair)	El Coloso (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A
Gran Hamada (hair)	Astro Rey (hair)	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	Live event	N/A
Gran Hamada (hair)	Flama Azul (hair)	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	Live event	N/A
Gran Hamada (hair)	César Valentino (hair)	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	Live event	N/A
Gran Hamada (hair)	René Guajardo (hair)	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	Live event	N/A	^[21]
El Signo (hair)	Gran Hamada (hair)	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	Live event	July 26, 1975	^[22]
Aníbal (mask)	Gran Hamada (hair)	Nezahualcoyotl, State of Mexico	Live event	August 22, 1980	^[23]
Gran Hamada, Enrique Vera and Kobayashi (hair)	Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo, El Texano and Negro Navarro)	Mexico City	Live event	June 7, 1981	^[24]
Gran Hamada (hair)	Black Power (mask)	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	September 12, 1991
Gran Hamada (hair)	El Engendro (hair)	Cuernavaca, Morelos	Live event	February 29, 1992

Footnotes

^ At the time EMLL was part of the National Wrestling Alliance
^ Hamada won the WWF title during a time that it was promoted by the UWA and exclusively in Mexico. The title reigns are not officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment. No reign with the championship prior to December 1997 is officially recognized or acknowledged by the World Wrestling Entertainment.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Gran Hamada". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
^ ^a ^b Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre and honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
^ ^a ^b "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 of the PWI Years: 87 Gran Hamada". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. May 21, 2003. p. 21. June 2003.
^ "AJPW Junior Tag League 1984". Pro Wrestling history. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
^ "B.J.W. Heavyweight Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ "Tiger Mask IV's Purolove profile". Purolove. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Los Angeles: WWA/NWA Americas Title (Gene LeBell & Mike LeBell)". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 295–296. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ "One Night Eight Man Tag Team Tournament". Cagematch.net. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: Universal UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Title (Hisatsune Shinma)". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 384. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Japan: Universal/FULL Federacion Universal de Lucha Libre UWF Super Middleweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 384. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: Universal Wrestling Federation Junior Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: Universal Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Middleweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 400. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: UWA WWF World Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
^ "WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Title history". Solie.org. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
^ L.L. Staff (2008). "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". Rene Guajardo (1933 - 1992) (in Spanish). Mexico. p. 49. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Signo (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. September 2007. p. 31. Tomo V.
^ Enciclopedia staff (August 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Aníbal (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. pp. 16–17. Tomo I.
^ Centella, Teddy (June 6, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 1981: Promociones Mora llega a la Arena México, Los Misioneros, pelones… Black Shadow se despide de Pantitlán". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 26, 2015.