Getting Back To Business…

Day three saw a marked improvement in what had been a slate of lackluster bouts for the first two days. As of day three, all Yokozuna are undefeated, along with the Yokozuna hopeful, Goeido.

On the topic of Goeido, two days in a row, rikishi facing him have ended the match by falling down. Now both of these guys (Takayasu and Yoshikaze) had no problem taking Goeido’s lunch money, at will, in the past. For now I will work to hold my opinion.

But it was not all stinking like 3 week old rubbery squid! Two Ozeki hit the dirt in some really exciting action, and kadoban Ozeki Terunofuji was able to score out a win.

Of course the big, historic news is that Yokozuna Hakuho scored his 1,000th win against Kaisei, who put up a strong fight.

Notable highlights

Ishiura defeats Hidenoumi – Wow, Ishiura is really showing some great sumo! Ishiura and Hidenoumi grappled to the tarawa, then Ishiura grabbed a leg and pivoted to throw Hidenoumi with a nice Shitatenage. This guy has potential. Hidenoumi was slow to get up, and Tachiai hopes he is ok.

Ikioi defeats Kagayaki – Now 3 wins, 0 losses, Ikioi is looking strong. He had little trouble with Kagayaki, and finished him with a decent throw. Ikioi does well as a mid-Maegashira, so he is comfortable at this rank.

Takanoiwa defeats Myogiryu – This is more like it, more like what I expect during Honbasho. Takanoiwa had two losses to start, but he is far from giving up. Myogiryu nearly had him out, but Takanoiwa rallied with gusto and put him away with a solid left hand grip.

Tochinoshin defeats Chiyonokuni – His early record (1-2) does not show it, but Tochinoshin is actually putting in a serious effort this basho.

Shodai defeats Shohozan – Shodai is really fully engaged (3-0), and healthy. He made fast work of Shohozan

Takayasu defeats Mitakeumi – No dodgy slip-and-fall today, Mitakeumi tried hard to overpower him, and at one point attempted to pull him forward and down. Takayasu showed his superior strength and balance and applied a Kubinage with great effect. I still like Takayasu’s chances at Ozeki.

Endo defeats Kisenosato – Yes, that’s right! Endo really brought his sumo today, and the Great Pumpkin was off balance and out in a blink of an eye. Fantastic effort from Endo.

Goeido defeats Yoshikaze – I have no doubt that the current Goeido can defeat Yoshikaze straight up. This match stunk, not as bad as yesterday’s Takayasu-Goeido match, but this was a huge disappointment. Come on guys, make Goeido work for it! Very nice stare down – maybe that was for dramatic effect of what came afterwards?

Terunofuji defeats Okinoumi – In today’s battle of the injured, nobody really won, but Terunofuji finally has his first win

Kakuryu defeats Aoiyama – The REAL Kakuryu is here for Kyushu. If he keeps this up, A) Goeido is dissolved by not having proper, vigorous warm-ups against Yoshikaze and Takayasu B) The Yokozuna action week 2 is going to be quite epic. Aoiyama is giving it everything, but he is simply out matched by a resurgent Kakuryu

Hakuho defeats Kaisei – 1000th victory! Kaisei put up a strong fight, but Hakuho used one of his frequent closing moves, spinning the Brazilian to the clay. Celebration, flowers raucous cheers from fans in the stands holding banners – all around a fantastic day for the champ.

Special Note – Ichiro Young won his 3rd match, and we look forward to his induction ceremony soon!