Gran Hamada Dead, Original NJPW Star & Legendary Lucha Libre Pioneer Dies At 74

On February 15, 2025, Realidad San Luis, a local news outlet in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, broke the news that Japanese wrestling legend Hiroaki Hamada, better known by his ring name of Gran Hamada, had passed away at the age of 74, with no cause of death being revealed at the time of writing.

Hamada was one of the first trainees at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo, being nicknamed "Little Hamada" due to his short stature. He would go on to be a regular part of NJPW's first set of events in 1972, where he would be thrown around by Tatsumi Fujinami for months on end. In 1975, he was sent on an excursion to Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association due to his lack of size, but this would end up being a gamechanger for Hamada as he adapted quickly to the Lucha Libre style, and would be so adored by the Mexican fans that he would earn the name El Gran Hamada (which translates to The Great Hamada).

Hamada would become one of the true innovators of the junior heavyweight/cruiserweight style of wrestling, winning championships and tournaments in NJPW and UWA, as well as All Japan Pro Wrestling, EMLL (now known as CMLL), and Michinoku Pro. Hamada would go on to found his own promotion, UWF Japan, in 1990, which even had a working relationship with WWE, with Hamada and Perro Aguayo becoming the first, and only, WWE Intercontinental Tag Team Champions. While not known to make many appearances in the United States, he was part of history as he competed at Extreme Championship Wrestling's inaugural pay-per-view, Barely Legal, in April 1997 representing Michinoku Pro, but would spend the rest of his career in Mexico and Japan until his retirement in 2018.

Wrestling Inc. extends our condolences to Hiroaki Hamada's friends and family at this time.