(born November 21, 1979) is a retired

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler and current

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, signed to

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...

(BJW) in the Strong BJ division.

Sumo career

Hama joined sumo in July 1995, and he fought for the

Hakkaku stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was established in September 1993 by former ''yokozuna'' Hokutoumi, who took with him four wrestlers from Kokonoe stable. The stable has so far produced nine ...

run by former ''

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

Hokutoumi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 61st ''yokozuna'' and won eight top division championships. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable, as did Chiyonofuji, and the two were the first ''yokozuna'' stablemat ...

. His ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' was Hokutoarashi (meaning "North Victory Storm") and he reached a highest rank of ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

6'' in November 2001. Injury-prone in his knees, he fell greatly in rank and announced his retirement in May 2008. His career record was 235 wins to 169 losses, with 114 absences due to injury.

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2008–2013)

After retiring from sumo, Hama became a professional wrestler. Hama debuted in professional wrestling on November 3, 2008 losing to former Sumo champion Akebono. On September 23, 2009, Hama and Akebono, known collectively as SMOP (Super Megaton Ohzumo Powers), won the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

, defeating

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

and

Nosawa Rongai , better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions. Career Early career (19952004) Nos ...

. With Akebono as his partner, Hama participated in the 2009 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing 5th out of 9 teams with four victories and four defeats. While still holding the All Asia Tag Team Championship, Hama won the

Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. History The championship was established after the unification of its then-flagship title the PWF World Heavyweight Championshi ...

, defeating champion

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wrest ...

on March 21, 2010. Hama holds the record for fastest superstar to attain the Triple Crown title, winning the title 503 days after his debut. In 2010, Hama was also part of

Suwama is a Japanese professional wrestler better known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former record eight-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also ...

's New Generation Force

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, which rivaled Minoru Suzuki and his Partisan Forces faction. After internal trouble in the group, Hama faced fellow member

Masayuki Kono is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently working as a freelancer. He is best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he is a former two-time Wrestle-1 Champion. Career All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003� ...

in a special match, but Kono defeated him thanks to the help of

Kenso is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion in the lat ...

and

Voodoo Murders Voodoo-Murders (stylised in all capital letters), or more simply as VDM, is a professional wrestling stable and the main heel group in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011. In 2013, the group was reformed in Diamond Ring. They perform ...

, leading Kono to leave New Generation Force and join them. The stable then dissolved, with Hama following Suwama while the other two remaining members,

Manabu Soya is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working regularly for the Maximum Pro Wrestling promotion. He is c ...

and

Seiya Sanada , better known by his ring name Sanada (stylized as SANADA), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a member of the stable ''Los Ingobernables de Japón''. As part of NJPW, Sanada is mostly ...

, went apart. Hama finished the 2010

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

in 4th place in Block A. He earned 4 points having defeated Minoru Suzuki and Seiya Sanada. Hama and Akebono ended up losing the All Asia Tag Team Championship at the hands of Voodoo Murders' Taru and Big Daddy Voodoo on April 29, 2010. Three days later, on May 2, 2010, he lost the Triple Crown Championship in a match against Minoru Suzuki. On June 19, 2013, Hama announced his resignation from All Japan out of loyalty to

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Ne ...

, who had left the promotion when Nobuo Shiraishi took over as its new president at the beginning of the month.

Wrestle-1 (2013–2016)

On July 10, 2013, Hama was announced as part of Keiji Mutoh's new

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by ...

(W-1) promotion. Hama wrestled on the promotion's inaugural event on September 8, teaming with

Yasufumi Nakanoue is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name , currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he is the current BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. He started his career in All Japan P ...

in a tag team match, where they were defeated by the

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

team of

Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami a ...

and

Ryoji Sai (born Choi Young-ii June 3, 1980) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and promoter who currently owns and operates Pro Wrestling Land's End, where he is a former All Asia Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for working fo ...

. He adopted clothing and mannerisms inspired on WWF's

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...

, like his trademark

thong The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at the b ...

and Stink Face maneuver. On September 21, 2014, Hama entered the

Wrestle-1 Championship The was the top professional wrestling title owned by the Wrestle-1 (W-1) promotion. In Japanese the title's name includes the katakana term for "championship", , derived from the English language instead of the more common kanji term . The title ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, but was defeated in his first round match by Akira. Through Wrestle-1's working relationship with American promotion

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

(TNA), Hama worked TNA's Bound for Glory event in Tokyo on October 12, losing to

Ethan Carter III Michael Hutter (born March 18, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Ethan Carter III (or simply EC3). EC3 is a co-founder of Control Your Narrative. He also performs on the independent circuit. He ...

. On June 28, 2016, Hama announced he was leaving Wrestle-1 due to his contract with the company expiring.

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2015–present)

In 2015, whilst signed with Wrestle-1, Hama formed a tag team with Hideyoshi Kamitani named Hamakami in

(BJW). They competed in that years Saikyou Tag League as part of the Strong Block. Despite missing the semi-finals, they defeated eventual winners and new

BJW Tag Team Champions The is the top tag team title defended in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The championship has been the leading tag team championship in the promotion since 1997. There have been a total of 57 reigns share ...

Strong BJ (

Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyw ...

and

Yuji Okabayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He has been working in BJW since his debut in June 2008. He is best known as part of a tag team with Daisuke Sekimoto, with whom he ...

). On December 30, they challenged Strong BJ to a rematch and won the BJW Tag Team Championship. On January 24, 2016, Hama unsuccessfully challenge Okabayashi for the

BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the Japanese Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) promotion. It is one of two heavyweight championships promoted by BJW, the other being the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championshi ...

. Hamakami also lost the BJW Tag Team Championship to Kohei Sato and

Shuji Ishikawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, World Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2017 Champion Carnival. Ishikawa is also known f ...

on May 30. After leaving Wrestle-1, Hama participated in Pro Wrestling Zero1's

Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling Zero1 to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August. Within the English-speaking professional wrestling world, th ...

and briefly re-formed SMOP in BJW. At Ryogokutan 2016, on July 24, SMOP unsuccessfully challenged Sato and Ishikawa for the BJW Tag Team Championship. Later they entered the 2016 Saikyo Tag League as part of the Strong B Block, cruising through the block to win undefeated. On October 14, they lost to Strong BJ in the quarter finals. On February 23, 2017, at a Diamond Stars Wrestling event, Hama unsuccessfully challenged

Tim Storm Timothy Scoggins (born February 18, 1964), better known by his ring name Tim Storm, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Professional wre ...

for the

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

. On May 25, he teamed with former Wrestle-1 talent Yasufumi Nakanoue to challenge BJW Tag Team Champions Strong BJ and lost. In July, Hama officially signed with BJW. Hama continued teaming with Nakanoue and they won the

Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling six-man tag team championship owned by the Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) promotion. The title was created on August 4, 2012. As the name suggests, the title is usuall ...

with

Shogun Okamoto , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

from Moon Vulcan (

Hideki Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). He previously wrestled in WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand under the ring name Hachiman as a member of Diamond Mine, and also worked as a coach at ...

Takuya Nomura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the professional wrestling promotions Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). Professional wrestling career Indep ...

and Yoshihisa Uto) on July 3. From September 6 and October 15, Hama and Nakanoue participated in the 2017 Saikyo Tag League as part of the Strong Block; they failed to advance to the semi-finals with only four points. On December 17, Hama, Nakanoue and Okamoto lost the Yokohama Shopping Street title to Daisuke Sekimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani and Kohei Sato. Hama entered the 2018 Ikkitousen Strong Climb in Block A but failed to progress to the semi-finals. On April 21, Hama, Nakanoue and Yoshihisa Uto won the Yokohama Shopping Street title from Sekimoto, Kamitani and Sato. From May 22 to June 20, they lost and regained the championship on three occasions, before losing the titles permanently to the 3rd Generation Chimidoro Brothers (Masaya Takahashi, Takayuki Ueki and Toshiyuki Sakuda) on July 24. Starting on August 12, Hama and Nakanoue entered the 2018 Saikyo Tag League where the vacant BJW Tag Team Championship was held up. They dominated the Strong Block, gaining ten points from five wins, and defeated

Abdullah Kobayashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his ring name after Abdullah the Butcher, who was one of his trainers. Professional wrestling career He began his career in 1995 as one of the main wrestlers in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in ...

and Yoshihisa Uto in the semi-finals on October 16. Three days later, they won the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship from the 3rd Generation Chimidoro Brothers with Takeshi Irei. On October 25, Hama and Nakanoue won the Saikyo Tag League and BJW Tag Team Championship when they defeated Daichi Hashimoto and Hideyoshi Kamitani. At Ryogokutan 2018, on November 11, they successfully defended their titles against Takayuki Ueki and Toshiyuki Sakuda, but lost the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship to the 3rd Generation Chimidoro Brothers six days later. On December 9, after Hama and Nakanoue made their second successful title defence against Strong BJ, Hama challenged Daisuke Sekimoto for the BJW Strong World Heavyweight Championship. On January 2, 2019, he lost to Sekimoto. On July 21, Hama and Nakanoue lost the BJW Tag Team Championship to Sekimoto and The Bodyguard.

Sumo career record

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) – with Akebono :*

( 1 time) :* F-1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

Koriki Choshu (born , February 5, 1972 in the city of Nishi-Tokyo, Tokyo) is a Japanese comedian. He is most famous for his act in which he mocks a famous Japanese professional wrestler Riki Choshu due to his resemblance. ''Koriki'' is a wordplay on Riki's ...

¹ :*Akiho Yoshizawa Cup (2010) – with

and

Masakatsu Funaki is a Japanese actor, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler known professionally as , who has previously wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), Newborn UWF (UWF), ...

BJW Tag Team Championship The is the top tag team title defended in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The championship has been the leading tag team championship in the promotion since 1997. There have been a total of 57 reigns shared ...

(

) – with Hideyoshi Kamitani (1) and

(1) :*

( 6 times) – with

and Yasufumi Nakanoue (1), Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yoshihisa Uto (4), and Yasufumi Nakanoue and Takeshi Irei (1) :* Saikyo Tag League (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) – with Yasufumi Nakanoue *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' :*Ranked No. 24 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 2010 *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

'' :* Best Tag Team Award (2009) – with Akebono :* Newcomer Award (2009) ¹This championship is not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.

References

External links

Wrestle-1 profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hama, Ryota Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers People from Ibaraki, Osaka Sportspeople from Osaka Prefecture 1979 births Living people All Asia Tag Team Champions Triple Crown Heavyweight Champions F-1 Tag Team Champions 21st-century professional wrestlers BJW Tag Team Champions Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions