WWE has been keeping an eye on Hidetora Hanada for a while, and now things have apparently gotten a lot more serious. More than a year after he first got involved with the company, the 24-year-old Japanese athlete is taking the next step toward becoming an actual WWE Superstar.
According to PWInsider, WWE has signed Hanada to an NXT contract. The 6-foot-1, 280-pound prospect brings a pretty unusual résumé with him, having already competed in both sumo wrestling and American football before making the move into WWE.
This is a big step up from where things stood back in February 2025. At the time, Hanada announced that he had received an offer through WWE’s NIL program while playing defensive line for Colorado State. He was also set to intern with WWE as part of his school curriculum, giving him a chance to see how the company operated behind the scenes.
Hanada even got invited to the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, and the experience clearly got his attention. He talked about being blown away by the atmosphere and how different WWE felt compared to football and sumo.
“The crowd erupted with deafening cheers every time a star wrestler appeared. The sheer intensity and excitement of WWE were unlike anything I had ever experienced, completely different from football or sumo wrestling.”
He was also fascinated by everything WWE handled behind the scenes, from cameras and sound to stage production and set design.
“Experiencing this entirely new world firsthand, I am incredibly grateful to be involved with WWE, one of the highest levels of entertainment. I hope to learn a lot from this invaluable experience and apply it to my future endeavors!”
Apparently that experience didn’t end with an internship. Hanada has a legit combat sports background from before his football days. He competed in sumo internationally in Japan in 2018 and Taiwan in 2019 before appearing at the 2022 World Games in Alabama.
He transitioned into American football in 2022 and eventually played for Colorado State. Hanada also tried to take things further by pursuing an NFL opportunity, but he wasn’t selected following the tryout process.
Now his next shot is coming inside WWE. Going from sumo to college football to WWE is already a pretty wild career path, and Hanada’s move from an NIL deal to an actual NXT contract shows the company saw enough during that process to keep him around. There’s no word yet on when he’ll make his NXT debut, so the next thing to watch is how quickly WWE can turn all that athletic experience into something that works inside a wrestling ring.
What do you want to see from this talent once he eventually makes his way onto NXT television? Let us know what you think in the comments.
