Ayako Hamada

In this Japanese name, the family name is Hamada.

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Hamada and the second or maternal family name is Villarreal.

Ayako Hamada
File:Ayako Hamada adjusted.jpg Hamada during her reign as TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion at a TNA show in Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom, January 2010.
Birth name	Ayako Valentina Hamada Villarreal
Born	(1981-02-14) February 14, 1981 Mexico City, Mexico
Website	AyakoHamada.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Arisin Z Ayako Hamada Dokron Z Ebekosan Hamada Mexico Hamada
Billed height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Billed weight	65 kg (143 lb)
Billed from	Tokyo, Japan
Trained by	Aja Kong Mariko Yoshida Gran Hamada Gran Apache
Debut	August 9, 1998

Ayako Valentina Hamada Villarreal (浜田 文子, Hamada Ayako) (born February 14, 1981) is a Japanese-Mexican female professional wrestler, who is currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling Wave in Japan and Shimmer Women Athletes in the United States.

She is best known for winning several notable titles in Japanese women's pro wrestling, including both the WWWA World Championship and AAAW Single Championship in the early 2000s, while also working from 2009 to 2010 for the American promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she was a two–time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion. She is a second generation wrestler, as her father is Gran Hamada. Her older sister Xóchitl Hamada is also a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

Japan and Mexico

Ayako Hamada, who was born and raised in Mexico and is of Japanese descent, she debuted at the age of seventeen against Candy Okutsu on August 9, 1998 for the Japanese Arsion promotion. She received an immediate push and won her first title, the Twin Star of Arsion Championship with Mika Akino, on June 30, 1999, less than one year after her debut. She won the Queen of Arsion Championship from Aja Kong on December 3, 2000.

After leaving Arsion in 2001, she has won numerous women's titles in several Japanese and Mexican promotions, including the WWWA World Championship from Momoe Nakanishi on May 11, 2003 and the AAAW Single Championship from Dynamite Kansai on January 11, 2004, just one week after she had lost the WWWA title to Amazing Kong. From 2005 to 2006 Hamada performed in HUSTLE under the names Arisin Z and Dokron Z, before becoming affiliated with the Kaoru Ito Dojo.

Hamada was a regular for AAA in Mexico, for most of 2007 and 2008. On November 30, 2007, she and Mr. Niebla were involved in four-way mixed tag team match with Billy Boy and Faby Apache, Espiritu and La Diabólica and Gran and Mari Apache for the vacant World Mixed Tag Team Championship. In November 2008, she left the promotion to join Martha Villalobos's wrestling school, where she worked as a trainer.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2009–2010)

File:Hamada praying.jpg

Hamada praying before her match in TNA.

On April 8, 2009, it was announced at a press conference that the April 19 Ito Dojo show would be Hamada's final match in Japan as she had signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On August 6, 2009, Jeremy Borash announced on his Twitter page that Hamada would be starting with the company after the Hard Justice pay-per-view. On the August 27 edition of Impact!, Hamada made her debut as a face defeating Daffney in a No Disqualification match. The following week on Impact! she and Sojo Bolt were eliminated in the first round of the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament by Tara and Christy Hemme, with Hamada afterwards hitting Bolt with the Hamada Driver. On the September 24 edition of Impact! she was assaulted by Alissa Flash while giving an interview. Flash proceeded to throw Hamada down some stairs, sparking a feud between the two. On the October 15 edition of Impact! Hamada defeated Flash in a Falls Count Anywhere match. On the November 19 and December 3 editions of Impact! Hamada beat Taylor Wilde and then Sarita, the Knockouts Tag Team Champions, with the Hamada Driver. On the December 10 edition of Impact!, Hamada was granted a TNA Global Championship shot by Kevin Nash, who was in charge for the evening. The champion, Eric Young, claimed that his group of foreign wrestlers, named World Elite, had been eyeing Hamada for some time and that this would be her initiation match. Though Hamada dominated the match, Young was able to retain his title by pinning her with his feet on the ropes. The following week Hamada and her new tag team partner Awesome Kong defeated Sarita and Wilde and the Beautiful People (Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky) in a three-way non-title tag team match. On the December 31 edition of Impact! Hamada defeated Madison Rayne and Roxxi on her way to the finals of a #1 contender's tournament, where she was defeated by ODB, after going through a table brought out by Awesome Kong. The following Monday on the live three-hour edition of Impact! Hamada and Kong defeated Sarita and Wilde to win the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. On March 1 Hamada's tag team partner Awesome Kong was reportedly released from TNA Wrestling, while the team still held the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. On the March 8 Monday night edition of Impact! Hamada and Kong were stripped of the titles after allegedly failing to defend them in 30 days, even though in fact the team defended the titles just 21 days prior against Madison Rayne and Velvet Sky.

After being off television for four months, Hamada returned on July 27 at the tapings of the August 5 edition of Impact!, teaming with Taylor Wilde to defeat The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Lacey Von Erich) to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship for the second time. In October 2010 Hamada returned to Japan and shortly afterwards requested her release from TNA. After months of inactivity in TNA, it was reported on December 6 that the promotion had agreed to release Hamada and vacate her Knockouts Tag Team Championship.

Shimmer Women Athletes (2009–2013)

On November 8, 2009, Hamada made her debut under her full name for Chicago-based all female wrestling promotion Shimmer Women Athletes, defeating Mercedes Martinez in a match taped for Volume 27 and losing to Sara Del Rey in a match taped for Volume 28. On February 5, 2010, Shimmer announced that Hamada would be returning to the company on April 11 for the tapings of Volumes 31 and 32. On Volume 31 she defeated Daizee Haze and on Volume 32 she was defeated in the main event by Cheerleader Melissa. Hamada returned to Shimmer on September 11, 2010, defeating Tomoka Nakagawa in a match taped for Volume 33. Later that day on Volume 34 she was defeated by Jessie McKay in a three–way match, which also included Sara Del Rey. The following day Hamada defeated Shimmer Tag Team Champion Nicole Matthews on Volume 35 and then took part in an elimination tag team match on Volume 36, where she, Ayumi Kurihara, Cheerleader Melissa and Serena Deeb defeated Daizee Haze, Madison Eagles, Sara Del Rey and Tomoka Nakagawa. On March 26, 2011, Hamada took part in the tapings of Volumes 37 and 38, during which she defeated Jessie McKay and Ayumi Kurihara, respectively, in singles matches. The following day, after pinning Shimmer Champion Madison Eagles on Volume 39 in a tag team match, where she teamed with Cheerleader Melissa and Eagles with Sara Del Rey, Hamada was granted a shot at the Shimmer Championship. Later that day, at the tapings of Volume 40, Hamada was unsuccessful in her attempt to win the title.

On August 26, 2011, it was announced that Hamada would return to the promotion on their tapings for Volumes 41 to 44 on October 1 and 2. On October 1 at the tapings of Volume 41, Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara defeated Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. Hamada and Kurihara made their first title defense later that same day on Volume 42, defeating the Knight Dynasty (Britani and Saraya Knight). The following day the duo made successful defenses against the teams of Madison Eagles and Sara Del Rey, and the Canadian NINJAs (Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez). The team made their fourth defense of the title at a Joshi 4 Hope event in Tokyo on February 22, 2012, defeating former champions Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata. This was the first time the Shimmer Tag Team Championship was defended outside North America. Hamada returned to Shimmer on March 17, when she and Kurihara successfully defended the Shimmer Tag Team Championship against Regeneration X (Allison Danger and Leva Bates) on Volume 45. Hamada's and Kurihara's sixth successful title defense took place later that same day on Volume 46, when they defeated Hailey Hatred and Kalamity. The following day on Volume 47, Hamada and Kurihara successfully defended the title against the team of Leon and Ray. Later that day on Volume 48, Hamada and Kurihara lost the title to Courtney Rush and Sara Del Rey in a four-way elimination match, which also included the Canadian NINJAs and Regeneration X. Hamada returned to Shimmer on October 27, 2012, when she defeated Kalamity on Volume 49 and Kana on Volume 50. The following day on Volumes 51 and 52, Hamada defeated Portia Perez and Athena, respectively, to finish her weekend with a clean record of four wins out of four matches. On April 6, 2013, Hamada took part in Shimmer's first internet pay-per-view, Volume 53, where she was defeated by Athena.

Other promotions (2010–present)

On January 9, 2010, Hamada made her debut for Jersey All Pro Wrestling's Women's Division in a match, where she defeated Rachel Summerlyn. Later in the night she challenged Sara Del Rey to a match for the Women's Championship and Del Rey agreed to face her at any time and anywhere.

In December 2011, Hamada took part in American promotion Chikara's JoshiMania weekend, teaming with Cherry to defeat Mayumi Ozaki and Mio Shirai in her night one match on December 2. The following day, Hamada was defeated by Aja Kong in the main event. On the third and final night of the tour, Hamada was defeated in another main event, this time by Sara Del Rey.

Pro Wrestling Wave (2011–present)

After returning to Japan from the United States in 2011, Hamada began working for Pro Wrestling Wave, where she aligned herself with the villainous Black Dahlia stable. On July 2, 2012, Hamada signed a contract to officially make Wave her new home promotion. On October 6, 2013, Hamada and her Las Aventureras tag team partner Yuu Yamagata won the 2013 Dual Shock Wave tournament. On October 30, Hamada and Yamagata defeated the Classic Gals (Cherry and Shuu Shibutani) to win the Wave Tag Team Championship, Hamada's first title in Wave. After a reign of 270 days, the longest in the title's history, Hamada and Yamagata lost the title to Yankii Nichokenju (Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto) on July 27, 2014. They regained the title from Revolucion Amandla (Kyoko Kimura and Tomoka Nakagawa) on October 29. On February 11, 2015, Hamada became a double champion, when she defeated Hikaru Shida for the Wave Single Championship. On March 15, Hamada and Yamagata lost the Wave Tag Team Championship to Mio Shirai and Misaki Ohata. On October 30, Hamada and Yamagata won the Wave Tag Team Championship for the third time, when they defeated Kayoko Haruyama and Tsubasa Kuragaki in the finals of the 2015 Dual Shock Wave tournament. On December 27, Hamada lost the Wave Single Championship to her tag team partner Yuu Yamagata.

In wrestling

File:Ayako Hamada Driver.jpg

Hamada performing a Hamada Driver on Daffney.

Hamada headbutting Christy Hemme.

• Finishing moves
  • AP Cross (Fisherman driver)
  • AP Cross Diamond (Samoan driver)
  • Hama-chan Cutter (Elevated cutter) – adopted from her father
  • Hamada Driver (Leg hook sitout scoop slam piledriver) – TNA
  • La Ayakita (Wrist-lock with neckscissors)
  • La Ayakita 2000 (Catapult transitioned into an Indian deathlock surfboard)
• Signature moves
  • Backhand chop
  • Headbutt
  • High-angle belly-to-back suplex
  • Hurricanrana pin
  • Iconoclasm
  • Jumping DDT
  • Leg-feed enzuigiri
  • Moonsault, sometimes while springboarding to the outside or onto a standing opponent
  • Multiple kick variations
    • Jumping spinning crescent
    • Missile drop
    • Super
    • Yakuza
  • Multiple powerbomb variations
    • Pyramid Driver (Sitout powerbomb)
    • Spiral Bomb (Spinning powerbomb)
    • Thunder fire
  • Running somersault senton onto a standing opponent outside the ring
  • Super hurricanrana
  • Tornado DDT
• With Awesome Kong
  • Finishing moves
    • Falling powerbomb (Kong) / Missile dropkick (Hamada) combination
• With Taylor Wilde
  • Finishing moves
    • Samoan drop (Hamada) / Running corkscrew neckbreaker (Wilde) combination
• Entrance themes
  • "Cruz" (Arsion)
  • "Mex Storm" (Arsion / Shimmer)
  • "Driver Rock" by Dale Oliver (TNA)

Championships and accomplishments

File:Hamada TNA Knockout Tag Champion.jpg

Hamada as a TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion.

Hamada in her second reign as TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion, with her partner Taylor Wilde.

• All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling
  • WWWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • WWWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nanae Takahashi
  • Tag League the Best (2003) – with Nanae Takahashi
• Arsion
  • Queen of Arsion Championship (1 time)
  • Sky High of Arsion Championship (1 time)
  • Twin Star of Arsion Championship (2 times) – with Mika Akino (1), Michiko Omukai (1)
  • P*Mix Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Gran Hamada
• GAEA Japan
  • AAAW Single Championship (1 time)
  • AAAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Meiko Satomura
• International Wrestling Revolution Group
  • IWRG Intercontinental Women's Championship (1 time)
• NEO Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling
  • NEO Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kaoru Ito
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked her #18 of the best 50 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2011
• Pro Wrestling Wave
  • Wave Single Championship (1 time)
  • Wave Tag Team Championship (3 times, current) – with Yuu Yamagata
  • Dual Shock Wave (2013, 2015) – with Yuu Yamagata
  • Catch the Wave Best Bout Award (2013) vs. Ryo Mizunami on May 26
  • Catch the Wave Best Performance Award (2015) As part of the Wonderful World Fairy Family
• Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling
  • Battlefield War Tournament (2007)
• Shimmer Women Athletes
  • Shimmer Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ayumi Kurihara
• Tokyo Sports
  • Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize (2003)
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Awesome Kong (1) and Taylor Wilde (1)
• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA World Women's Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Association
  • WWA World Women's Championship (1 time)

Luchas de Apuestas record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas

Winner (wager)	Loser (wager)	Location	Event	Date	Notes
Ayako Hamada (hair)	Xóchitl Hamada (hair)	Tokyo, Japan	Live event	December 24, 2000

External links

• Official site, mostly in Japanese
• Chikara profile
• Pro Wrestling Wave profile