Arisu Endo stood at the precipice of another stirring, career-changing win. The underdog poised to conquer. A trophy, glory, a championship match, all within her reach.
The story did not end as she or her devoted fans would have hoped, but in the depth of defeat, we saw what was possible. We saw the future.
Endo has long been a fan favorite, and with good reason. She exudes fun. She’s arguably the most athletic wrestler on the Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling. Her hair color changes more often than Taylor Swift changes outfits at her concerts.
Her unmistakable connection to the fanbase was on display with how hard the crowd pushed for her and Suzume to win the TJPW Princess Tag Team Championship last year. Daisy Monkey’s title victory was among the best, most satisfying TJPW moments of 2024.
Fast forward several months, and Endo was in position to have another huge triumph. The speedster had battled her way past Hyper Misao, Yuki Arai, and most notably Miyu Yamashita in the TJPW Princess Cup. That gave her wins over one half of the current tag champs, a star the company is super high on, and the promotion’s end boss in Yamashita.
Would the story of this year’s tourney be Endo’s rise? Would she join her tag team partner Suzume in nabbing a singles title? It certainly was all possible. Endo just needed one more win, a finals victory against Miu Watanabe.
Watanabe had her own happy ending in sight. After losing in the finals of the Princess Cup in 2022 to Yuka Sakazaki, the jubilant powerhouse was back in the big match.
Korakuen Hall played host to these colliding narratives, Watanabe’s quest for redemption and Endo’s pursuit of being a part of TJPW’s top tier. And boy did these two wrestlers deliver.
The bout began with each wrestler tentatively on the attack, probing the other’s defenses, sticking to mat wrestling. Very quickly, Watanabe’s power advantage came into play. She overwhelmed Endo with her strength, shoulder blocking her into oblivion, manhandling her.
This dynamic allowed Endo to shine despite being on the defensive. As Watanabe wore her down, the former tag champ radiated heart. She rose on wobbly legs. Determination filled her face. She made it ever easy to root for her despite going against one of the most popular stars of the promotion.
For a good stretch, it looked like this might be painfully one-sided. Were we about to witness a beatdown rather than a battle? But then Endo pushed back, darting around the ring, attacking like a hawk swooping at its prey again and again.
Her athletic skills wowed once more. She added high-octane action to the mix. She nailed a gorgeous springboard dropkick that knocked Miu outside of the ring.
More than moves and physical prowess, though, it was Endo’s emotion that truly impressed.
You could feel her frustration as she screamed. You could sense her desperation as she pinned Watanabe after a big move. She brought the audience into her state of being, sharing her fervor with all of us.
At one point, Endo hit a diving foot stomp in the corner that knocked Miu loopy for a moment, and it felt like this could be it. The stronger foe was stunned. Endo had an opening. But it was not to be. Not on this night.
Watanabe kept her foot on the gas. She pounded on Endo. Her power snuffing out everything Endo gave.
Endo flailed. She fought back frantically. She made me believe that there was still a chance even as Watanabe fired off her biggest moves.
This was Miu’s time, though. She won the Cup finals, earned a title shot against Mizuki, and is now in position to reclaim her spot atop TJPW.
As Watanabe’s story heads toward that climax, I find myself thinking more about where Endo will go from here.
For so long, the talk surrounding the Rice Krispies treat fanatic has been around her potential. She could be the next thing. She could be a Princess of Princess champion.
In spots, she has shown us why folks predict and pine for these things for her.
Against Watanabe, however, we got some of the most concrete evidence of what’s possible for Endo yet. She was tremendous as the underdog. She rose to the challenge of being in the main event. She looked every bit like a champion. A Princess of Princess Championship reign is not a pipedream but instead something that feels inevitable.
TJPW is a place where heartbreak is everywhere and patience pays off. Shoko Nakajima lost in the finals of the Princess Cup in 2011 and fell short in her first Princess of Princess Championship match before eventually nabbing the title. Watanabe had to wait two years between her finals defeat and her championship win over Yamashita last March.
This is a company that is slow to crown new faces and tells stories that stretch out over years, our impatience be damned.
We’ve seen enough from Endo, on this night and others, that she’s likely to follow a similar path as Shoko and Miu: Hit a wall. Fall down. Get back up. Fight her way to the promised land. She’s too damn good to not finish her story as Cody Rhodes would say.
Endo’s time is coming, and it’s going to be glorious.
“Glittering Voltage” title from Work and Play by Ted Hughes
RESURA 