Junji Hirata (平田 淳嗣,Hirata Junji) (born December 20, 1956) is a Japanese retiredprofessional wrestler currently working as a trainer for theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, known primarily by hisring nameSuper Strong Machine (スーパー・ストロング・マシン,Sūpā Sutorongu Mashin).

Hirata applied and was approved to the New Japan dojo on May 13, 1978, and made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on August 26, againstYoshiaki Fujiwara. In November 1982, he left on an overseas training expedition toMexico, and laterCanada, where inStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling he would create the famousSuper Strong Machine persona, as well as use aFirst Nations gimmick asSonny Two Rivers (billed as the son ofBilly Two Rivers, an actual First Nations chief). In April 1986, he left NJPW withRiki Choshu for rival wrestling promotion,All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In June 1987, he returned to NJPW and would soon capture theIWGP Tag Team Championship on three separate occasions withGeorge Takano,Hiro Saito, andShinya Hashimoto as his tag team partners.

In the fall of 1986, theWorld Wrestling Federation introduced a stable of wrestlers calledThe Machines -- "The Giant Machine" (André the Giant), "Big Machine" (Blackjack Mulligan), and "Super Machine" (Bill Eadie) -- based on Junji Hirata's popular Super Strong Machine gimmick.^[4] In 1984, Hirata had tried to make his own "Machines" stable with Korean wrestler Yang Seung-hi and veteran Yasu Fuji as Strong Machine #2 and Strong Machine #3 respectively, but this version of the stable did not have the exposure or push of their American counterparts.^[5] Hirata briefly turned face and became "Super" Strong Machine, feuding with his former partners. When Hirata left for Japan Pro, Fuji retired and Yang went back to South Korea.

In December 1994, afterMasahiro Chono turned on him, he finally unmasked, dropping the Super Strong Machine character and wrestling under his real name. He revived the Super Strong Machine persona for the first time in six years in October 2000, having a brief feud with T2000 Machine (Tatsutoshi Goto). In 2005, Hirata, as the masked persona ofBlack Strong Machine, became a regular fixture on NJPW shows reconciled with Chono and part of hisBlack New Japan stable. He also had a brief stint in AJPW asSuper Love Machine, the leader of the Love Machines, this time taking as partnersArashi asLove Machine Storm andGran Hamada asMini Love Machine. Whatever role he plays, Junji Hirata is a very respected veteran and is well liked by wrestlers, officials, and fans alike.

In the late 2000s, Hirata was a founding member of the Legend andSeigigun stables.^[1] He wrestled his final match on April 2, 2014, atWataru Inoue's retirement event.^[6] He now works as a trainer at theNJPW Dojo. On April 12, 2018, it was announced that he was retiring from active competition. His retirement ceremony was held on June 19 at Korakuen Hall.^[7]

Hirata's son trained in theDragon Gate Dojo and debuted for the promotion in 2019 under the nameStrong Machine J. He formed theStrong Machine Dantai with Strong Machine F (Don Fujii), Strong Machine G (Gamma), and Strong Machine K (Shuji Kondo).

• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – withAshura Hara^[8]
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times) – withGeorge Takano (1),Hiro Saito (1) andShinya Hashimoto (1)
• Polynesian Pacific Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[9]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #105 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in thePWI 500 in 1997^[10]
• Stampede Wrestling
  • Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Junji Hirata's profile atCagematch,Internet Wrestling Database

• Japanese male professional wrestlers
• Masked wrestlers
• Living people
• People from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
• 1956 births
• Japanese professional wrestling trainers
• Stampede Wrestling alumni
• Faux First Nations professional wrestlers
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
• 20th-century male professional wrestlers
• 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers
• 21st-century male professional wrestlers
• 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers
• Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champions
• 20th-century Japanese sportsmen

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• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Japanese-language text