We’re here. Shaken AND stirred. It’s Day 10. The close of Act 2 is upon us and the sumo gods have brought us a doozy. I’m going to bed but I’m sure sleep is a long way off. What on Earth have I just witnessed?
Highlight Matches
Kotoeko (7-3) defeated Meisei: Kotoeko on the defensive from Meisei’s strong tachiai. An oshi-tsuki battle, Meisei drove Kotoeko back to the bales. He couldn’t get him over so he grabbed the arm and attempted a throw. Kotoeko survived just to get charged back across the ring. At the opposite bales Kotoeko finally struck decisively, driving Meisei down to the clay. Kotoeko escaped with a sigh of relief! Hatakikomi
Wakatakakage (6-4) defeated Takayasu (5-5): Wakatakakage stepped to the side at the tachiai and (grabbing that weak left arm) pulled Takayasu down. Tsukiotoshi.
Chiyomaru (3-7) defeated Sadanoumi (4-6): A slapfest played into Chiyomaru’s hands. Chiyomaru sidestepped the tachiai but Sadanoumi recovered to face a barrage of Chiyomaru thrusts. At the decisive moment, Chiyomaru timed his pull well and forced Sadanoumi down. Hikiotoshi.
Terunofuji (9-1) defeated Shohozan (2-8): Terunofuji didn’t like the stare down and forced a reset. Finally with breathing in sync, Shohozan met Terunofuji head on and immediately Terunfouji got low, fishing for that belt. Shohozan pulled and tried to push Terunofuji down but Terunofuji maintained his balance and countered by driving Shohozan down. Hikiotoshi.
Nishikigi (4-6) defeated Shimanoumi (2-8): An entertaining and evenly matched back-and-forth ensued after the initial charge. Neither man would maintain a belt grip for long, twisting and turning at the center of the ring. Shimanoumi drove Nishikigi forward but Nishikigi twisted to his left, grabbed his opponent’s belt and drove Shimanoumi out. Yorikiri.
Kotoyuki (4-6) defeated Tochinoshin (6-4): Kotoyuki charged but Tochinoshin slipped to the side in retreat. Driven back to the bales, Tochinoshin chose the wrong time to try a pull. Kotoyuki obliged, helping push the Georgian out. Oshidashi.
Kaisei (4-6) defeated Kotoshoho (7-3): Kotoshoho pulled at the tachiai and went of the offensive but Kaisei defended well. Kotoshoho was the first to the belt, dragging Kaisei across the dohyo. Kaisei was a bit off balance while seeking that left-hand grip but hopping across he stayed up. Once he found that left-hand grip, he used the advantage to drive into Kotoshoho, force him to the edge and then throw him down. Shitatedashinage.
Ishiura (4-6) defeated Kotoshogiku (7-3): I think everyone was surprised when Ishiura met Kotoshogiku head on. Kotoshogiku used his gabburi action to drive Ishiura back but Ishiura resisted at the bales. Kotoshogiku went for a second attempt but in a deft maneuver, stepped to the side and threw Giku with the left-handed throw. Uwatedashinage.
Chiyotairyu (5-5) defeated Myogiryu (7-3): Chiyotairyu drove Myogiryu back and into the air with a strong shoulder blast. Myogiryu had no chance to recover as Chiyotairyu advanced, shoving Myogiryu out. Oshidashi.
Tamawashi (7-3) defeated Terutsuyoshi (5-5): Tamawashi charged out too quickly so the pair reset. Tamawashi absorbed Terutsuyoshi’s initial charge. With several thrusts and slaps, the former yusho winner tried to force Terutsuyoshi to stay high. After two unsuccessful pull attempts, Tamawashi was finally successful on the third, pulling his smaller opponent’s left arm to the side and thrusting his aite down as Terutsuyoshi moved forward. Hikiotoshi.
Tokushoryu (6-4) defeated Ikioi (2-8): Bravely, Ikioi charged forward, not knowing what lie in wait. Tokushoryu swung Ikioi around by the left arm, throwing Ikioi clear off the surface of the dohyo. Tottari.
Halftime
Kagayaki (4-6) defeated Enho (4-6): It always amazes me when Enho charges forward into such larger opponents. Kagayaki forced Enho back to the other side of the ring and effectively corralled the Hakuho’s deshi. Enho tried an ashitori but why is he trying to grab the other leg with the other arm? Won’t that just keep…? Oooo. Hataki-squish-ikomi.
Ryuden (4-6) defeated Kiribayama (4-6): Ryuden charged forward, securing a right handed belt grip while Kiribayama was still reaching for his own grip. Ryuden wasn’t going to just wait around and let him in so he used that right arm grip to throw Kiribayama into the center of the ring. Uwatenage
Endo (4-6) defeated Onosho (0-10): There are no outward signs of injury from Onosho. He moves well around the dohyo before the bout. But he also let Endo move easily inside to secure a belt grip. Onosho pushed Endo back to the bales but couldn’t drive him over. Onosho slid slightly as Endo pushed forward from the tawara. This left Onosho off-balance and susceptible to Endo’s quick throw. Uwatenage.
Takarafuji (4-6) defeated Yutakayama (1-9): Yutakayama showed the initiative in this bout. While Takarafuji was still pushing forward trying to get a belt grip, Yutakayama pulled and twisted, forcing Takarafuji to the ground. But wait! Mono-ii ensued as Yutakayama’s right foot rolled over as Takarafuji drove him forward? What? I sense much confusion coming from this decision. I need more replays. No, I really don’t. “Yoritaoshi.”
Sanyaku
Okinoumi (5-5) defeated Takanosho (5-5): Takanosho drove forward into Okinoumi at the initial charge. The pull attempt was ill-timed so Takanosho drove Okinoumi back to the edge. Okinoumi countered and drove back, reaching up and over his aite with the right arm and bringing it down on Takanosho’s back. Katasukashi.
Daieisho (6-4) defeated Shodai (8-2): Shodai was on the defensive from the outset as Daieisho charged forward. His pull attempt was snuffed out quickly as Daieisho maintained pressure. Once on the bales, Daieisho thrust out. It seemed like Shodai was waiting for an ACME package that never came. I hear there are still some Amazon delays? Or maybe his shipment was coming from the US and is waiting at the port for this quarantine. Tsukidashi.
Takakeisho (7-3) vs Aoiyama (3-7): Are we going to have a belt battle here? No. Lots of slaps as the two charge at each other time and time again. Aoiyama’s pull failed as Takakeisho drove forward. At the bales Takakeisho went into retreat and Aoiyama pursued. Takakeisho timed his decisive pull well and drove Aoiyama down. Hikiotoshi.
Mitakeumi (8-2) defeated Asanoyama (9-1): Asanoyama couldn’t get that left-hand on the belt but he charged forward into his opponent nonetheless. Mitakeumi pivoted, forcing Asanoyama to the outside along the bales. As he got his left hand on Asanoyama’s belt, his right snugly tucked under Asanoyama’s armpit. In retreat, Mitakeumi executed a throw and rolled Asanoyama off the dohyo. Uwatenage.
Hakuho (10-0) defeated Hokutofuji (6-4): Hakuho cast Hokutofuji from his dohyo. Tsukidashi.
Alas…no promotion for Shodai
….yet. Let’s see how the rest of his basho goes.
What? What have we just witnessed? What is it?
Also, please confirm I understood correctly. A part of Yutakayama foot that wasn’t the sole touched the ground before Takarafuji did? So all my rage was again for nothing and this is legit? Gosh I love this game.
I may respectfully suggest to Natto to translate the post Monoï announcements by the goiji in his videos. That will help (me).
Thanks guys for the hard work, as always.
If Hakuho were to go 15-0 he would be the oldest wrestler ever to pull that off, correct?
No he wouldn’r Haguroyama was 37 when he won his zensho-yusho in January 1952.
359 lbs dropped onto your back hurts! Poor Enho!
How far will Onosho drop if he goes 0-15? M12?
Geez, the Takarafuji/Yukatayama bout once again confuses me based on the decision. Did Yukatayama’s feet leave the ground first? Did the Shimpan not recognize his throw? Both rikishi were still in the ring until Takarafuji hit the ground first. What did the Shimpan say was their decision?
I guess Mitakeumi heard our comments about him always fading during the second week! Great throw!
Shodai might not get promoted now, but he’s still working towards Ozeki. I hope he wins more matches this week.
Everything changes except Hakuho being at the top of the leader board. Asanoyama will still have a chance to be in the race, but he’ll have to win out *and* beat Hakuho himself. What an intriguing situation!
No idea how far Onosho would drop, as it’s literally unprecedented: only 4 low-ranked maegashira have ever gone 0-15. If you count winless withdrawals, maybe M14?
M12 to M14 sounds about right to me. M10 feels too high and M15 or M16 seems harsh. I hope we don’t find out.
I hope he picks up a few wins. He just mustered nothing today.
I guess it was the side of Yutakayama’s foot touching, since it was something other than the sole of the foot? It was hard for me to tell on replays so torinaoshi do-over would have made sense to me, but what do I know.
Yes, that was the call.
Takakeisho did not look good at the end of that bout. Concussed?
I hope not. I’ll review it again.
It seems to be a problem with his left leg. I think he did it right at the end of the bout. Let’s hope he can shake it off.
Does look like left. Maybe ankle.
That’s what I thought. He was wobbling around for a few seconds in the middle after winning, then didn’t look clear headed when returning to his side.
The replay shows him frontally clashing heads with Big Dan three times in a row to start, before taking powerful tsuppari to the face. Crazy for there to be no immediate concussion protocol.
It’s even worse when a rikishi gets knocked out or severely injured on the dohyo. They lie there until a male doctor can reach them. This is one of sumo’s biggest elephants in the room.
Asanoyama may well be the next Kisenosato.
That’s an odd comparison. Why so?
Kisenosato took ages just to get promoted to ozeki. It’s not the case at all for Asanoyama.
Kisenosato did not take ages. Granted he didn’t get it as early as some say he should of, but he got it in well order. Promoting a Yokozuna is a HUGE deal. The times the promotion was wrong really casts a shadow on the Yokozuna council. So unless it’s a very clear and dominate display they will likely deny his first and maybe even second bid should he get that far. Why? Well the main reason will likely be because he was promoted to Ozeki having not Quite reached the needed wins.
Ohh he’s not the first to be promoted like that and I full feel he deserves it after being a bit of a detractor of his. However one BIG factor for his promotion was Takayasu lost his Ozeki rank. Goeido retired. Leaving 1 Ozeki. This is typically remedied by bringing down 1 Yokozuna to a Yokozeki rank. However well.. Look at Big K.. He often like this basho ends up pulling out… there is no telling how much longer he’ll keep going. The need for that second Ozeki was VERY strong. Asanoyama came close enough to fill that, and it was a good call.. BUT… it could count against his Yokozuna bid should he make for one.
It took seven years in makuuchi for Kisenosato to get promoted. If that’s not quite some time, then I don’t know.
Hakuho, but also Takakeisho and Asanoyama took way less time to reach the second rank.
Asanoyama may have spent less time in Makuuchi, but he was still older when becoming Ozeki. Then there is also the competition Kisenosato had to overcome and what both Takakeisho and Asanoyama faced. Kisenosato hit Sanyaku the first time in 2006 that was in the prime of Asashoryu with the prime of Hakuho quiuckly approaching and 4-5 capable Ozekis. He had to compete with Giku (future long time Ozeki), Goeido (future long time Ozeki), Baruto (very strong Ozeki with injury shortened career), Harumafuji (future Yokozuna) and Kakuryu (future Yokozuna).
Just compare that to the competition of Asanoyama and Takakeisho. Obviously Takakeisho was faster agewise, but Asanoyama just spent that time in university instead in Makuuchi.
You can’t make Hakuho the standard to meassure everyone. Kisenosato entered Makuuchi with 18. Had he been born 15 years later, he would have probably been Ozeki at the age of 20.
I think Kisenosato was still 25 when he got promoted to Ozeki, Asanoyama is already 26, so its not really that much different. I also think their fighting style is not so different. And same like Kisenosato for a long time, he is the one consistent rikishi atm.
Enho’s resounding pancake defeat today has to be the gods speaking as vocally as possible that he did truly lose the bout the day before. That is some painful karma being served. The smallest pixie seems destined for a Darwin match at best, a date with double-digit Maegashira at worst.