He wanted a two-kanji name to make it easy to remember, and suggested "Ken" from his own first name, combined with the "shō" suffix common at his Oitekaze stable.

However he recovered to post 11–4 in the following tournament, and in July 2019 he won the jūryō championship with a 13–2 record to earn promotion to the top makuuchi division.

He was the eighth member of Oitekaze stable to win promotion to the top division since his stablemaster, ex-maegashira Daishōyama, opened the heya in 1998.

He entered in March but withdrew on Day 5, with the medical certificate citing a left knee anterior cruciate ligament injury.

At the September 2023 tournament, Tsurugishō put in a good performance, securing his place in the makuuchi division with an eighth victory on day eleven.

[6] He withdrew the following day, with his medical certificate stating that he would miss two months due to injuries to his left ACL, MCL and meniscus.