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The story
Sports Hochi has learned that former amateur yokozuna Hidetora Hanada (24) has given up on joining professional sumo. Since he turns 25 in October, his final decision came down to skipping the new recruit physical (September 4) for the Autumn Tournament (opening day September 13). He won the amateur yokozuna title while at Nippon Sport Science University and even defeated the now-yokozuna Onosato in 2022, but he later left for Colorado State University in the US to pursue an NFL career, then returned to Japan after that path grew unlikely. On the forum, posts split between those suspecting a blood tie to former yokozuna Wakanohana (now Toraakira Hanada) given the shared surname “Hanada” and the character “tora” (tiger), and others correcting them that the two are actually unrelated — with opinions also divided on what he’ll do next.
Sports Hochi has learned that former amateur yokozuna Hidetora Hanada (24) has given up on entering professional sumo, as confirmed on the 30th. Because he turns 25 in October, age-limit rules meant that stepping into the ring for the first time at the Autumn Tournament (opening day September 13, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo) was his final deadline to join the sumo world — but it has now come to light that he will skip that tournament’s new recruit physical (September 4).
As a freshman at Nippon Sport Science University in 2020, he not only won the amateur yokozuna title but also drew attention in 2022 by defeating Onosato (26, Nishonoseki stable) — then a year above him and now a reigning yokozuna — in the heavyweight final at the World Games in the United States. He then enrolled at Colorado State University to chase a spot in American football’s top league, the NFL. But this past January, an NFL career became extremely unlikely, and he returned to Japan.
Since then, he had been weighing joining professional sumo as one option, and moved into the sumo club dormitory at his alma mater, Nippon Sport Science University. This spring he even trained with a professional sumo stable as a guest. Since returning to Japan, he had revealed he was considering not just sumo but also America’s WWE pro wrestling, another shot at American football, and business ventures. He had previously said, “I want to live life on a big scale. I want to think it through carefully before deciding.” Attention now turns to what path he’ll choose next.
Source: hochi.news / Original article here
What people said
Same as any young guy — hits a wall and just picks a different option.
The surname and the "tora" (tiger) character in his given name make it so confusing!
This guy was born long before Wakanohana even changed his name to Toraakira.
Yeah he's good-looking
Both face and physique.
A confusingly similar name.
Why would a guy who did sumo in Japan think he could break into a sport packed with the absolute top-of-the-top American college athletes?
Same with wrestling — it's WWE we're talking about.
Having this many things line up and still being a total stranger with zero blood relation to that Wakanohana is kind of amazing in its own way.
Apparently they do meet up occasionally like father and son though
NFL players are all monsters who could've easily gone pro in basketball or baseball too.
This guy just hasn't reached pro level in anything, which is a bit of a problem.
In America, it's the guys who couldn't cut it in baseball or basketball who end up playing football — doesn't need technique.
Except for QB, that is.
No, they really are father and son.
They are not father and son.
Funny thing is, his mother's name is actually Emi lol
American football
Hanada
Tiger
Family runs a chanko restaurant
Younger brother is a shoemaker
No way he's actually unrelated to Toraakira Hanada with all that……
The last two are made up though (´･ω･`)
That's a mix of stuff that doesn't even match Hidetora's actual profile…
In any pro sport, it's all monsters who've spent basically their whole lives on that one thing, so switching over is never easy.
He'd built a name for himself in the sumo community so it got framed that way, but
he probably never intended to actually go pro in sumo from the start.
Stuff like being banned from drinking protein shakes because it makes you gain weight the wrong way — in the 21st century, seriously, feels like the stone age…
there's rules like that and more
The relationships are just way too close-knit — you're stuck with jerks you can't stand around the clock, the stress was insane.
Well, that's just how sumo stables are.
Patrons (tanimachi) exist because they want to dote on wrestlers who uphold tradition.
Now that college athletes can actually get paid,
American football is overwhelmingly the number one choice.
That said, if a guy can't even physically hold down a starting spot at a lower-tier school…
he'd only get paid less than a typical salaryman's salary.
Though if he transferred to a top-tier school and became a starter, he'd be looking at a guaranteed $60,000-70,000.
Ah, that makes sense
With that personality, maybe combat sports are the only option
Going by the OP he sounds like a physical elite, so I'd like him to pick a path early and focus on competing.
Starting from maezumo, it'd take at least a year to reach sekitori no matter how good he is.
Even Asahifuji lost in his second tournament, after all.
Half-assed at everything
At defensive line, being in the 180cm range makes him short, and he doesn't have the speed for linebacker either.
Well yeah, Masaru only changed his name to Toraakira about 10 years after this guy was born.
Background and Key Points of This Story
There’s an upper age limit for the new recruit physical, and as the article notes, the moment right before he turned 25 was his last chance to enter professional sumo. Because of the shared surname “Hanada” and the character “tora” (tiger), a string of posts speculated about a blood tie to former yokozuna Wakanohana (now Toraakira Hanada), but others on the thread pointed out this is just coincidence with no actual family relation — worth keeping straight rather than conflating the two. Where opinion split was over whether he ever seriously considered joining professional sumo in the first place: some viewed his turn away from it, after building a track record as amateur yokozuna, in a positive light, while others saw it as aimless drifting with no fixed direction. On the subject of chasing the NFL or WWE, a poster with actual American football experience in the US offered a level-headed take grounded in just how deep the talent pool is in US college sports.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Newsflash+) thread “Former amateur yokozuna Hidetora Hanada gives up on professional sumo — attention turns to WWE, another shot at football, business, and other paths as he skips the Autumn Tournament new recruit physical“.
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