WWE Signs Former Sumo Wrestler

A former amateur sumo wrestler and collegiate American football player has signed with WWE.

PWInsider has reported that Hidetora Hanada has been signed by WWE to an NXT contract. Hanada had already been signed to a WWE NIL deal since February 2025, which provides a pathway for college athletes to join WWE when they finish university.

Hanada was a star in amateur sumo and he won the 2020 All Japan Sumo Championship and earned a gold medal at the 2022 World Games. Hanada had the nickname Sumo Genius but he transitioned to American football in 2023, joining Colorado State University as a defensive lineman.

Hanada only appeared in two games during his junior year in 2023, however, and he did not play at all in 2024 due to a shoulder injury. Hanada graduated from university in December 2025 and focused on being selected in the NFL International Player Pathway Program, but he was not chosen.

Hanada is the latest developmental signing by WWE, with the likes of Elly Finch, Tayleigh Robertson, Gabriela Martinez Asensi, and Silvia Likki all joining the company in recent weeks after previously participating in WWE tryouts.