Kaya Toribami always seemed on the verge of breaking out. Her talent a stick of dynamite ready to birth an impending explosion. But the wick never fully burned down.
Toribami just never fully put her stamp on Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling.
Her story was one of potential. Until now.
She has shed the Toribami skin and morphed into a far more potent being. As Sakura Hattori, her whole narrative has changed in a short time. There’s an energy crackling around her, and she wields a convincing momentum much as a ninja wields a sword.
When Toribami debuted in 2021, she was an intriguing addition to the roster. She sported a unique bird-inspired mask. Her athleticism stood out. She had the move set to bring a high-speed style to the TJPW mix.
She began her career teaming with a variety of partners, from MIRAI to Shoko Nakajima. As many a rookie does, she lost a lot of matches, falling to the likes of Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi, and Miu Watanabe.
Toribami would have to fight her way up the TJPW hierarchy.
That battle was a slow one. She didn’t earn her first singles win until she beat Arisu Endo in June of 2022 and didn’t earn back-to-back singles victories until the summer of 2023. Toribami suffered first-round exits in the Tokyo Princess Cup in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
But beyond the stats, she wasn’t creating the spark you’d hope to see. Fellow class of 2021 member Endo was growing faster, ensnaring the audience’s attention, tapping into her potential. Toribami, meanwhile, felt like she was treading water.
Pretty good not great. A forever midcarder.
Up until her standout match against Shoko Nakajima last year, it would have been hard to name a handful of memorable matches on her resume. There was always flashes of excellence, a deft dive or acrobatic turn of the body, but never a significant string of these moments.
Toribami began to team regularly with Miyu Yamashita in 2025. That intriguing pairing seemed like an ideal chance for her to take a big step in her career. To learn alongside Miyu, to be the lighting to Yamashita’s thunder. However, the tag team never really hit a high gear.
Yes, they won the SETUP tag champs, but they produced little to remember. Some nice moments, never a true banger.
She was closer than ever before, but the masked woman still hadn’t fully hit her stride. So, when word came out that that Toribami would undergo a gimmick change, it made perfect sense. What was there to lose? Might as well switch things up and see what happens.
She wrestled her final match as Toribami against HIMAWARI ahead of Grand Princess, and that was the end of that chapter.
During TJPW’s Texas tour, she re-debuted in Austin with a fresh look, new set of moves, and wholly different energy. Gone was the dashing bird and a darker, edgier warrior with a samurai menpo-style mask stood in its place.
Sakura Hattori’s story began now.
This was more than an outfit change and a rebranding. This was a full-on transformation. Hattori looked energized by this shift, more confident, more compelling.
Hattori whipped out martial arts-inspired attacks. She incorporated some ritualistic hand movements. She fully embodied this new persona.
The Texas Stampede tour became her debutante ball. Hattori shined in singles matches in all four shows. This was some of her most intriguing in-ring work to date, and the crowd took notice.
Hattori received plenty of love from the Texas fans.
She carried this newfound energy with her to Vancouver for TJPW’s two-show stop in Canada. In tag action, Hattori was more aggressive than she ever was as Toribami. She came off as cold and focused. As a contender.
TJPW awarding her an International Princess Championship match against Suzume was fitting. Hattori suddenly feels like someone who could win a significant title.
Plus, the company had now begun to book her as a threat. Ahead of her title bout with Suzume in Las Vegas, Hattori had piled up six straight wins in singles competition. And as of this writing, Hattori has eight singles victories this year (per CageMatch.net) which is many as she had all of last year and two away from her career high. She’s currently sitting at a .889 winning percentage in one-on-one action.
This is a clear sign from TJPW that Hattori is not Toribami in an alternate mask. Since emerging from her chrysalis, she’s someone else entirely.
We saw that most clearly in that International Princess Championship match during WrestleMania weekend. Hattori vs. Suzuki ended up being the best match of the TJPW show. Suzume was the ideal opponent to showcase the new Hattori. She’s fast and agile and could push the challenger physically.
Hattori flung Suzume from the top rope and hung upside down in the corner. She scored some mighty convincing near-falls. She cracked the champ with karate strikes.
A sense of desire flowed through all of it. You could feel how badly Hattori wanted that belt and she was a believable threat.
In just a matter of weeks, Hattori’s trajectory has changed. She’s looking like a far more promising prospect. She’s making it clear that she’s ready to step out of midcard purgatory.
Suddenly, there’s a fresh excitement about what’s next for her rather than the nebulous sense of “maybe someday…” that hung over her in recent years.
This sneering masked fighter you see before you is not Toribami. They share the same body and the same face that sits under a mask. But this is a new entity, blooming with new life.
RESURA 