The day two action featured fewer matta than day one, so let’s just chalk that up to everyone settling into the tournament. Twelve rikishi are off to perfect 2-0 starts, and there are some stand out performers already. As stated in the run up to the basho, I suspect Abi is going to absolutely wreck the lower and mid banzuke competition, and it may put him in contention for the cup later on in week two. Given how sumo ranking works, there really was not much of a choice given he sat out the entire Aki tournament in September.

As a follower of Tobizaru for some time, it’s possible he is finally coming into his own, and I think that is wonderful. Is frantic and chaotic energy during his matches are a significant challenge for most rikishi, and his presence in the joi-jin is causing everyone to elevate their sumo. That elevation power goes double for Wakatakakage, who is not going to go 0-5 to start this tournament. He decided he was going to be strong early, and the sparks certainly did fly today in his match against Kiribayama.

Highlight Matches

Hiradoumi defeats Chiyomaru – This match was lost on the second step. Chiyomaru gets in a good first hit, then immeidately tries to slap Hiradoumi down. Hiradoumi keeps his feet, but the slap down attempt left Chiyomaru’s chest wide open. Hiradoumi grapples well and goes on to dominate the match. Good effort by Chiyomaru to break contact, but he could not convert that into any kind of recovery. Hiradoumi starts Kyushu at 2-0. Oh, and the gyoji missed the first step out, which made the ending happen twice.

Kagayaki defeats Terutsuyoshi – Still more evidence that Terutsuyoshi is fighting with only a fraction of his expected sumo power. Kagayaki uses a stand up tachiai, perhaps to avoid any starting mischief. Terutsuyoshi slams into him, and that is the end of any offensive power that he brings to this match. Kagayaki calmly contains Terutsuyoshi, and escorts him out, finishing the day at 2-0.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Atamifuji – Much beloved newcomer Atamifuji loses for a second day at the open, and I think everyone hopes he can rally. I think today he was expecting the usual full thrust double attack from Ichiyamamoto, and that was the opening volley, but Ichiyamamoto converted to a double hand pull down, and Atamifuji hit the clay. 2-0 for Ichiyamamoto.

Oho defeats Azumaryu – This match was won by Oho keeping his power focused against Azumaryu’s center mass. He did a masterful job of getting his hands inside, and keeping his line of force directly ahead of him, and running through the middle of Azumaryu’s chest. Oho with his first win of November, now 1-1.

Chiyotairyu defeats Kotoeko – Chiyotairyu reverts to his normal form, with a cannonball tachiai. Kotoeko tries to hold on, and manages to get Chiyotairyu off balance, but it seems Chiyotairyu fell late enough that Kotoeko stepped out first. Replay showed what should have been a rematch, but no monoii was called. Both end the day 1-1.

Kotoshoho defeats Okinoumi – After a brief fight for hand placement inside at the tachiai, Kotoshoho reached a hand outside and pulled Okinoumi from the shoulder. The move brought Okinoumi down to all fours, and the match ended with Kotoshoho advancing to 2-0 with a hikiotoshi.

Onosho defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama’s injured left knee seems to have left him with almost now forward power. Granted he was up against Onosho today, who can generate a lot of pressure. But after the tachiai, it was all Onosho, who overcame Aoiyama’s defenses and ran him out. Onosho starts Kyushu 2-0.

Abi defeats Chiyoshoma – Abi seems to be in fighting form, and that spells trouble for folks in the lower and middle parts of the banzuke. Today he tore through Chiyoshoma without too much trouble, collapsing Chiyoshoma at the bales a moment after he had stepped out. Abi improves to 2-0.

Takanosho defeats Takarafuji – Whatever injury has robbed Takarafuji of his defensive sumo seems to still be active. Takanosho makes contact, dials up the pressure and Takarafuji cannot hold ground. From there it was a quick walk back and a loss, giving Takanosho a 2-0 start to this basho.

Tochinoshin defeats Myogiryu – Excellent use of body position today by Tochinoshin. He absorbed Myogiryu’s tachiai, stepped back and dropped him by hatakikomi. Simple, clean and effective. Both are now 1-1.

Nishikigi defeats Endo – First ever win for Nishikigi over Endo. Endo opened strong, and had Nishikigi on one foot, and most of the way to toppling over. But in a rather impressive move, Nishikigi pivoted and attacked. This took Endo (and myself) by surprise, and netted Nishikigi his first win, bringing him to 1-1.

Nishikifuji defeats Ryuden – I really like how Nishikifuji kept in the match, and was able to gain offensive advantage in this match. He took a fair amount of tsuppari from Ryuden to get there, but he really earned todays win. Nishikifuji at 2-0 to start Kyushu.

Hokutofuji defeats Wakamotoharu – What was hoped to be an interesting clash of styles did not really materialize. Wakamotoharu attempted a shift to the side at the tachiai, but Hokutofuji was able to adjust, and captured Wakamotoharu with a bit of additional effort. At that point, I think Wakamotoharu assumed it could be his match, as he would build his position and strike when he was ready. But Hokutofuji did not give him the time to put that together, he switched on the power and drove Wakamotoharu out. Solid win, and both are now 1-1 for November.

Midorifuji defeats Sadanoumi – Did not see blazing speed from Sadanoumi today, I think he went for power and making sure that Midorifuji stayed where he wanted him. This gave him a pretty good position at the initial merge, but Sadanoumi did not guard his arm well, and Midorifuji delivered yet another brilliant katasukashi. Frankly, he could do that all the time and I won’t get tired of it. Both retire from the ring with 1-1 scores.

Daieisho defeats Ura – Ura did not evade Daieisho, even for a moment. As a result, he took the full force of repeated mega-thrusts right to his face. Granted, if anyone could turn that into a win, it would be Ura, but Daieisho had him bracketed, and pounded him straight out of the ring. Daieisho picks up his first win and is 1-1.

Tobizaru defeats Meisei – I give a lot of credit to Meisei for giving Tobizaru a vigorous fight. Tobizaru for his part was his typical frantic self, and was throwing together wild combos that kept Meisei guessing. The advantage was Meisei’s as he kept his feet in good position, and nibbled forward a bit at a time. Tobizaru almost took a loss, but Meisei’s final lunge was side stepped, and Tobizaru slapped him to the clay. Tobizaru ended the match with a small amount of bonus fan service, nice touch. Flying Monkey sumo starts Kyushu 2-0.

Wakatakakage defeats Kiribayama – Nice, fierce sumo from these two. A big fight, and a lot of power from both men as they struggle for dominance among a talented group of rising stars in the sumo world. Kiribayama had a clear early advantage, and in response we get to see Wakatakakage really work hard to fight back. Amazing that Kiribayama tired of holding himself that low first, and Wakatakakage attacked, ending the match three steps later. Excellent fight, both are now 1-1.

Mitakeumi defeats Ichinojo – Strong open by Ichinojo, but did not hold ground when Mitakeumi broke contact and counter-attacked. While its great to see Ichinojo win, Mitakeumi needs to rack up as many as he can in week one to try to make it to 10. He’s 2-0 and off to a good start.

Hoshoryu defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi was the clear aggressor, but did not seem to have good control of his lower body today. Hoshoryu did much to deflect Tamawashi’s attacks, and it worked out well. As Tamawashi moved to adjust to Hoshoryu’s latest step to the side, Hoshoryu used his hold on Tamawashi’s arm to swing him outside of the ring. Hoshoryu improves to 2-0.

Takakeisho defeats Kotonowaka – Solid, straightforward match from Takakeisho put Kotonowaka in the passenger seat, and leaves him there. It’s odd that this is what constitutes Ozeki sumo right now. Takakeisho is the only Ozeki that is not kadoban or mucking about at Ozekiwake. But, hey, we got spoiled by the 2015-2018 era, I suppose. Takakeisho dominant at 2-0.

Shodai defeats Takayasu – For folks like myself who were eager to see the “Wall of Daikon”, today was our day. But wow, that left hand on Takayasu was just unmovable for the opening segments of this fight. Once Shodai broke that left hand grip, he used his big body to just muscle forward and took Takayasu out. I wonder if he did not re-injure that knee on day one, and that limited how much forward pressure he could withstand. Good for Shodai to get his first win against a strong and capable opponent, both are now 1-1.