Day Two was rather eventful. Wakamotoharu picked up the biggest win of the night but there were several great bouts and, with the exception of a rusty Terunofuji, it was great to see a strong collective performance from the sanyaku.
Makuuchi Highlights
Bushozan (1-2) defeated Aoiyama (0-3). Aoiyama glided straight back and stepped out under Bushozan’s tsuppari. Oshidashi.
Shimazuumi (3-0) defeated Takarafuji (2-1). Shimazuumi fought hard to get his lefthand inside grip. Failing that, he wrapped Takarafuji up in a bear hug and drove forward with all his might. Impressive start for the rookie. Yorikiri.
Onosho (2-1) defeated Onosato (2-1). Onosho charged forward too early, matta. Reset. At the tachiai, Onosho blasted Onosato, drove him straight back and out. This is Onosato’s first loss in the top division. Oshidashi.
Kotoshoho (2-1) defeated (0-3) Tomokaze. Kachiage from Tomokaze at the tachiai but Kotoshoho was able to shove Tomokaze back, almost to the straw bales. Both men blasted their opponent with powerful tsuppari. Tomokaze generated some forward motion under the power of his slaps. As the pair started to move across the ring, Kotoshoho grabbed Tomokaze by the armpit and yanked him forward over the bales. Hikkake.
Myogiryu (1-2) defeated Endo (1-2). Just as Endo drove Myogiryu to the edge, Myogiryu stepped to the side and shoved Endo down, hard. Tsukiotoshi.
Takanosho (2-1) defeated Churanoumi (2-1). Another powerful oshi contest. Takanosho demonstrated the most powerful shoving ability, pushing Churanoumi out. Oshidashi.
Oho (2-1) defeated Sadanoumi (1-2). Oho yanked Sadanoumi around and shoved him out. Another oshidashi.
Tamawashi (2-1) defeated Tsurugisho (1-2). What the hell is this? Tsurugisho forced Tamawashi into a belt battle? Tsurugisho wrapped up Tamawashi with his left-hand inside. He drove Tamawashi across the ring but Tamawashi used his own grip to counter, guiding Tsurugisho over the bales – and over the edge! Impressive power from Tamawashi. He fought Tsurugisho at Tsurugisho’s game and won. Nice. Thank you, Tamawashi. Yorikiri.
Meisei (1-2) defeated Hiradoumi (2-1). Back to the oshi-tsuki battles. Meisei won this one with powerful thrusts, shoving Hiradoumi off the dohyo and into the crowd. Oshidashi.
Mitakeumi (2-1) defeated Hokuseiho (1-2). Mitakeumi denied Hokuseiho a grip by crushing him, driving forward powerfully, and quickly out. Oshidashi.
Asanoyama (3-0) defeated Shonannoumi (1-2). Asanoyama is strong. He drove forcefully into Shonannoumi, forcing him back. Shonannoumi tried to slip to the side at the edge but Asanoyama had him wrapped up, kept his opponent in front of him and drove him out. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Kinbozan (2-1) defeated Ichiyamamoto (0-3). Ichiyamamoto hit Kinbozan with a strong tachiai but Kinbozan was far too powerful for Ichiyamamoto. Kinbozan drove forward and thrust Ichi out. Tsukidashi.
Nishikigi (2-1) defeated Shodai (2-1). Nishikigi did not allow Shodai to escape. The winning formula was simple: Move forward, push out. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (2-1) defeated Ryuden (0-3). Tobizaru fought hard for that morozashi. Once he got that right hand grip in there, he yanked Ryuden around, powerfully. He nearly got the shitatenage but Ryuden kept his balance and resisted with all his might at the edge. Tobizaru drove forward and finished him by shoving him over the bales. Excellent effort from both men but Tobizaru was the stronger man today.
Sanyaku
Gonoyama (1-2) fusensho. Takayasu (1-2) kyujo.
Hokutofuji (2-1) defeated Daieisho (2-1). Daieisho, what the hell was that? “I’m going to use my powerful tsuppari to blast Hokutofuji…and then give up and let him run me out the other side of the dohyo.” Seriously, he hit Hokutofuji hard, blasts him with tsuppari and drove him back to the tawara. Then he completely gave up and Hokutofuji chased him out. Yes, Daieisho tried to slip to the side and tried to catch him with a hatakikomi. But Hokutofuji maintained his balance this time, kept his sights on Daieisho, and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Kotonowaka (3-0) defeated Midorifuji (0-3). Kotonowaka was in total control. Impressive. Katasukashi. That’s usually Midorifuji’s thing but in the center of the ring, Kotonowaka yanked Midorifuji down by the shoulder, almost crushing him with that weight.
Hoshoryu (3-0) defeated Ura (0-3). Ura locked on to Hoshoryu’s belt and drove forward with purpose. Hoshoryu tried to trip him but completely whiffed, sending him, off balance toward the edge. At the last moment, Hoshoryu summoned all of the strength he had to twist and throw Ura to the ground. Wow. Where did that come from? He was off-balance and about to go out. Sukuinage.
Kirishima (3-0) defeated Atamifuji (0-3). Kirishima’s hatakikomi didn’t work, so he tried to topple Atamifuji with a throw. Atamifuji resisted and grabbed on to Kirishima’s belt but his back was on the ropes. Kirishima grabbed him and drove forward, dumping Atamifuji into the crowd below. Yorikiri.
Wakamotoharu (2-1) defeated Takakeisho (2-1). Takakeisho tried to use his tsuppari and was able to force Wakamotoharu to the edge. But he tired quickly and Wakamotoharu thrust him through the ring and out for his second consecutive scalp. Tsukidashi.
Terunofuji (2-1) defeated Abi (0-3). Terunofuji grabbed Abi by the arm and yanked him forward to the floor. Tottari.
Wrap-up
Takayasu’s kyujo was a bit of a surprise to me so I will report on any updates I find about the length of his absence. If he is out for the whole tournament, he will basically have until March to recover and will fall into the midst of the rank-and-file.
Some rather wintery weather here means this summary will be a bit brief while we dig out. Wakamotoharu has now scored two great upset victories, prepping him for special prizes and a return to sanyaku if his performance holds out.
Other than some rather “blah” hiramaku bouts, we did get some humdingers in sanyaku, especially that Ura/Hoshoryu bout. That was a thrill and I still don’t know how Hoshoryu not only recovered but slammed Ura so hard after throwing himself off-balance after whiffing on that trip — all while being shoved by Ura. That was impressive. The Ozeki were definitely tested, with only Takakeisho falling to WMH. Kotonowaka was the most in control and dominant against Midorifuji, defeating him by Midori’s own signature katasukashi. Kotonowaka’s size difference gave a bit of a katasu-crushy flavor.
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minor correction – Hokuseiho (1-2)
Thank you! Should be fixed now.
Early days but it seems pretty clear that the Ozeki have sent Atamifuji a message. Namely that size, hype, and his current Sumo skill set are not enough to join them in the elite ranks.
He may still “feast” on lower rankers and should be good for a 9-6 record and with Takayasu out and Ura floundering he will make Komusubi for March. However, it’s clear he can’t hang with the “Made Men” and needs some more time in school.
Will be interesting to see if Kotonowaka continues the lessons on day 4.
A bit disappointed by Onosato, but I already noticed that he has problems with competent pusher thrusters. He was too high and unsure of what to do. VERY impressed by kotonowaka, he was in command all the time. Still trying to figure out how hoshoryu managed to escape… as for Teru, he won so all is well but under normal conditions He would have shown Abi the way out in far less time. We will see. Down in juryo Takerufuji strongly reminds me of pre injury Hakuhoho. The future looks bright.
Terunofuji looked maybe bit shaky in this bout but not too bad. Abi is in the class of wrestlers most able to give the yokozuna trouble, fast paced pusher-thrusters, and I think we saw that here. That Abi himself usually loses is due to his risky approach to footwork and I think we saw that here too.
Good point, and yet tip top Terunofuji would have close the deal after the first exchange. All in all, if we can keep this form of Yokozuna till senshuraku it will be a blessing. Let me just pray Ura will get.. 5 wins? Am I too optimistic? How can you not root for the guy? He himself could not figure out how he ended up biting the dirt…
I think Ura gets his 8. He almost got Hoshoryu today.
Hmmm…. Hokuseih…needs to get some game…BLERGH!….
“Terunofuji defeated Abi (0-3). Another Tottari, just a coincidence? or his he working at a distance so no one can lock up..? I’ll be curious to see if this becomes a pattern for now….
Comment of the day. You called it. He is definitely working that technique. Today’s call is uwatenage because of the belt throw but the arm-bar was there, too. I’ll be watching that. His opponents should be, too.