Panther Risako

## Story

Risako and Blade Uehara joined New Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling at the same time, and climbed the ranks to the top division together, becoming IWWF Asia Tag Team Champions with little difficulty. Training and studying the intricacies of wrestling side by side for years (as an indication of their closeness, Risako is the only person in the saga who calls Uehara by her given name "Kyoko"), each helped the other attain her current skill level.

Risako challenges the reigning New Japan ace Dragon Fujiko for the IWWF Asia Heavyweight Champion title and wins, but Fujiko ends up permanently crippled from a spine injury. Despite Fujiko not blaming her, Risako herself is henceforth so haunted by guilt that she can no longer wrestle to her full potential in the ring, as she has a constant fear of injuring her opponents.

Uehara becomes exasperated by Risako's attitude, which she considers unacceptable for the leader of New Japan who should be setting an example of giving one's all in every match. The two end up quarreling in front of the entire promotion. Risako argues that if they carry on wrestling without safety considerations, it is only a matter of time before crippling (or worse) incidents escalate in frequency, which will just lead to more and more New Japan members having their careers cut short by one another, ultimately to the detriment of New Japan as a whole, and that she is trying to develop a new wrestling style that does not carry risk of irreparable damage. Uehara retorts that Risako will end up turning New Japan into a finishing school, and argues that holding back is contrary to what wrestling is supposed to be in the first place, and is thus the real danger to New Japan. This ideological divergence also divides their listening juniors who agree with one side or the other. Seeing no other way forward, Uehara declares that she will contest for the New Japan leadership herself. As Uehara raises her Rebel Army, Misato Okamura, Glory Kasahara and Teddy Cat Hori flock to Risako's Regular Army in reaction. Risako reluctantly faces Uehara in the ring and wins unimpressively, disappointing her former tag partner who had hoped that the match would help Risako recover.

Following Uehara's subsequent disappearance from New Japan, Risako further defends her title from successive challenges by All-Japan Karate Champion Mimi Yoshihara and World Women's Pro-Wrestling ace Dread Miyagi, but remains depressed and uninterested in pursuing additional titles.

It is ultimately Mighty Yukiko who narrowly ends Risako's undefeated record and becomes new IWWF Asia Heavyweight Champion. While Yukiko expresses doubt that she could have won had Risako been in top form, Risako assures Yukiko that she will one day become IWWF World Heavyweight Champion, and encourages her to carry herself with confidence as New Japan's new leader. Thus passing the torch to Yukiko, whom she recognizes as Fujiko's deserving heir, Risako leaves the ring having finally found inner peace.

Retiring from competition, Risako (now wearing glasses) continues working for New Japan as receptionist, manager, coach and ringside commentator all under her birth name, and otherwise supports the promotion from the sidelines in every way she can. She also begins dating her longtime colleague/admirer Foul Tip Fukuzawa, the New Japan ring announcer, and soon marries him.

Her loyal fans still hope that she will make a comeback to the ring someday.

## Personality

With the aura of a saintly queen both in and out of the ring, Risako is the personification of kindness and caring. Her beauty and elegance are not products of conscious effort, but merely reflect her soul. As a New Japan leader, she never speaks harshly even when admonishing those below her, and always places the welfare of others above her own personal gain. While she herself is absolutely loyal to New Japan, which she considers to be her home, she is also happy to offer praise, encouragement or advice to individual junior wrestlers from rival promotions whom she believes may benefit from it.

As the best wrestler of her generation along with Uehara, Risako displays not only technical mastery (her Capture Suplex is executed with such precision that it often leads to a clean knockout) but also personal expression. Best known for converting her opponents' intended attacks into her own via subtle positional adjustments, every throw she performs is a further extension of her soul, thus always looks effortlessly executed and is a visual pleasure to watch. This is further enhanced when she in a tag team with Uehara who adds her exciting aerial attacks to the performance, along with the dramatically different but also mutually complementary looks of the duo, which made both into top fan favorites back in their day.