Ozeki Kakuryu got on the war path in his first yokozuna promotion bid, dispatching rising star Endo on the opening day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.
It was far from pretty as the ozeki nearly found himself on the losing end, but he rebounded in the nick of time to kick off his campaign on a winning note at Bodymaker Colosseum.
Kakuryu lost on the first day of the New Year basho before winning his next 14 bouts, including beating Hakuho on the final day, although he lost to the yokozuna in a playoff. The ozeki could get the green light for promotion to the top rank by winning his career first title with at least 13 wins.