Yuki Arai is undoubtedly the greatest International Princess champion in Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling history. 

That much we know. The numbers and the vibes both bear that out. The identity of that International Princess Championship and its place in the TJPW ecosystem, though, is far less clear. 

We’re talking about a championship that is just over five years old, one that had nearly a year of inactivity, and has lacked signature matches compared to its TJPW brethren.

Arai kicked off 2024 by dethroning the bulldozing Max the Impaler for that title back in January. The member of the idol group SKE48 then proceeded to put a stranglehold on the gold.

With wins over Juria Nagano, Yuki Kamifuki, LA Taylor, Arisu Endo, and Moka Miyamoto, Arai broke new ground.

Her five successful defenses are the most in International title history. She has now held the blue belt for over 300 days, a number no previous champ reached in their reigns.

Thunder Rosa held it for 276 days, but that’s a hollow stat considering COVID-19 prevented her from actually doing anything with it. The only other champs who surpassed 200 days as champion were Hikari Noa (245) and Rika Tatsumi (205).  

In terms of longevity, Arai tops everyone who wore the crown before her. 

So much of a championship reign, however, is aura. We remember who felt like a champion, who was larger than life, whose presence fit the prop. 

Arai has that on her side, as well.

Her popularity as an idol gives her an advantage with that built-in extra audience. But Arai’s real strength is her magnetism. Even when she was still learning the ropes of the sport, she always felt like a star. That’s been true as champion even without much in the way of the storyline.

TJPW is relying on her natural charisma, and it’s worked for the most part. That belt on her shoulder just feels right.

Arai’s place atop the International Princess Championship hierarchy isn’t as much of an interesting discussion as the makeup of the championship itself.

The promotion introduced the secondary title in 2019 when Natsumi Maki (now Natsupoi) first claimed it. Yuna Manase and Maki Itoh, respectively, followed her as champs.

None of these reigns were particularly memorable. But the belt was just getting started. Its legacy was in progress. 

Then came lockdown. Thunder Rosa began 2020 with a title win before the world came to a halt. The AEW star didn’t even get a chance to defend it once. She instead had to relinquish the belt, and it wasn’t until November of that year that Yuki Kamifuku won the vacant belt. 

Hikari Noa would later defeat Kamiyu and go on to have the longest active reign to that point. She had solid matches as champ, including a strong effort opposite Miu Watanabe at All Rise ‘21. But overall, she wasn’t able to put an indelible stamp on the title. 

The International Princess Championship wasn’t anywhere near as valuable as Tokyo Joshi’s top prize, the Princess of Princess title. It was very much the C championship.

It needed some classics, some big moments, some more star power to really get some momentum. Down the road, TJPW wisely helped itself head that direction by crowning Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi, two of its most talented wrestlers. 

Miu shined against international talent like Trish Adora and Alex Windsor. She put on a show against Moka Miyamoto. 

Then Tatsumi topped with her what remains the best reign in the title’s history from an in-ring perspective.

There have only been two International Princess Championship matches rated 8.0 or higher on CageMatch.net; Rika was in both of them:

• Miu Watanabe vs. Rika Tatsumi-Grand Princess 2023 (8.47)
• Rika Tatsumi vs. Yuki Aino-Summer Sun Princess 2023 (8.12)

That small number tells us that this belt isn’t the “great matches” championship like the NEVER Openweight Championship has been to NJPW at his high points. It’s going to have to churn out a lot more classics before it’s seen in that light. 

What is it, then? 

It’s not the story-focused championship. That’s often been the Princess of Princess Championship’s role as it’s been at the heart of some of TJPW’s greatest rivalries from Miyu Yamashita vs. Shoko Nakajima to Yuki Kamifuku vs. Mizuki. The International version doesn’t boast that kind of history. At least, not yet.

Then maybe it’s the foreigner-focused prize? That would make the most sense considering its name, but TJPW’s top title gets just as many gaijin challengers. VertVixen, Billie Starkz, Masha Slamovich, among others, have all come after the Princess of Princess crown in recent years, not the international one.

And only three of the 12 total reigns were by a non-Japanese champ: Alex Windsor, Thunder Rosa, Max the Impaler. If it’s going to be the foreigner crown, more foreigners have to reign. 

The International Princess Championship doesn’t highlight a particular ring style as STARDOM’s High Speed Championship does. It isn’t focused on a particular type or size of wrestler like a junior heavyweight championship. It doesn’t lean on comedy like the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship or showcase the lower-tier stars as Sendai Girls’ Junior Championship has set out to do. 

And this lack of clear identity is partly why the International Princess Championship hasn’t felt as prestigious as TJPW’s others. It’s felt like the Diet Princess of Princess Championship.

Leaning into the foreigner angle could be a way to distinguish it, but not if the Brits, Aussies, and Americans from other companies also go after the POP. 

What TJPW may want to do is do more of what it did to some extent in 2023–make it the workhorse title. 

In that year, wrestlers defended the International Princess title 11 times while challengers wrestled for the POP eight times. Max the Impaler brought the belt with them to London and Quebec to defend it. This helped create some buzz around the international title. 

Let’s do more of that; make it the ever-present, globetrotting prize. 

The company wants to save the big POP matches for the big events. Fine. That helps make it special. 

Then have the international champ headline more of the house shows. You’d give those events some added significance and up the chances for the title to add to its collection of standout matches. 

If that’s the plan, Yuki Arai would thrive from a storyline and in-ring production perspective. Her expressiveness and fiery presence makes for great entertainment. She’d have to get craftier and more resilient as a throng of challengers came after her, as she had to fight off the likes of Suzume, Wakana Uehara, and various outsiders. 

But Arai just isn’t available for that kind of schedule. She gets pulled away to perform for SKE48. Her contract clearly isn’t as wrestling-heavy as other TJPW stars.

Arai hasn’t wrestled more than 38 matches in a year while someone like Moka Miyamoto has competed in twice that many bouts in the past.

Wherever TJPW decides to go with this championship and whoever it decides to carry its torch in the months and years ahead, it needs to think about what distinguishes it from the POP, what makes it uniquely desirable.

There’s a real chance to create a championship that stands out far more. It just needs to pick a lane and sprint down it.