WWE Sign Hidetora Hanada To NXT Contract

WWE has signed Hidetora Hanada.

Hidetora Hanada has a decorated athletics history. When he was a teenager, the Wakayama native won two consecutive as an openweight in the Junior World Sumo Championships in 2018 and 2019. Notable past winners of this same tournament include multiple professionals in the sport. Now, it seems like he’s taking on a new venture.

According to an update from Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Japanese sumo and football player, Hidetora Hanada, has signed an NXT contract with WWE. The 24-year-old previously signed a WWE NIL deal last year a little while after expressing his interest in the sport.

“WWE has signed Japanese sumo and football athlete Hidetora Hanada, 24, to an NXT contract.”

-PWInsider

Perhaps his biggest accomplishment in Sumo happened a few years later in 2022 when he won the gold medal in the World Games heavyweight division, beating future Yokozuna, Ōnosato Daiki, then known under his birth name of Daiki Nakamura.

Hanada would go on to depart from the sport in 2022 to attempt a career in American football. He would go on to play for Colorado State in 2023 as a defensive tackle.

Following an injury to his hand, Hanada would be forced to miss the 2024 season, which would end up being his final year as he graduated in the spring of 2025. Before that, however, he would sign an NIL deal with WWE. Notable wrestlers signed by WWE after first being NIL athletes include Oba Femi and Kendal Grey.

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As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Hidetora Hanada signing with WWE as soon as we hear more.