Late news from the infirmary that Takayasu kyujo, again. Kotonowaka will receive the default win and Nishikifuji will visit from Juryo to fill out the numbers.

Asanoyama leads and could be the first to clinch his kachi-koshi. With tomorrow’s torikumi out, it looks like the Kyokai has decided to throw Onosho at Asanoyama, first, rather than Onosato as I had speculated. They are clearly going to start challenging these low-ranked guys with 1 loss by moving them up. Onosato will face Meisei tomorrow, 100x more of a challenge than Endo has proven to be, so far this tournament.

Makuuchi Torikumi Results

Nishikifuji (Juryo, 6-2) defeated Bushozan (4-4). Nishikifuji circled away as Bushozan charged forward. In retreat, Nishikifuji continued to press down on Bushozan’s shoulder until he fell out. Tsukiotoshi.

Onosho (7-1) defeated Shimazuumi (4-4). Onosho is pumped. You got the sense from the start that despite Shimazuumi’s strength, Onosho was not going to accept defeat. He pressed forward into Shimazuumi’s right shoulder, held him high and forced him into reverse. At the edge, Shimazuumi resisted so Onosho finished him with a twisting throw. Sukuinage.

Takarafuji (4-4) defeated Churanoumi (4-4). A mirror image of the Nishikifuji bout, the Takarabune cruised the coastline draping Churanoumi out the back like a fishing net. Hikiotoshi.

Onosato (7-1) defeated Endo (1-7). Three great shoves and Onosato dropped Endo. How do you cut to commercial when the cameraman found two adorable toddlers with Onosato hats rushing down to the hanamichi to greet their hero? Oshidashi.

Takanosho (5-3) defeated Tomokaze (1-7). Takanosho hit Tomokaze with a nodowa at the tachiai. Tomokaze retaliated with his own fierce shove to force Takanosho back to the edge. But it was bait for Takanosho’s sidestep. Tomokaze was all-in, over-committed, and Takanosho knew it. So, he slipped away to the right and shoved Tomokaze down. Tsukiotoshi.

Tsurugisho (3-5) defeated Myogiryu (2-6). Tsurugisho had this hit-and-shift planned out and executed beautifully. He hit Myogiryu at the tachiai, then shifted left while grasping Myogiryu’s mawashi. With the belt grip, he used Myogiryu’s momentum and swung him out, over the bales. Uwatenage.

Oho (6-2) defeated Kotoshoho (5-3). Oho let Kotoshoho drive forward at the tachiai. Like Tsurugisho, he shifted to the left. Unlike Tsurugisho, he didn’t go for Kotoshoho’s belt. Instead, he brought his hands up behind Kotoshoho’s head and shoulders and dragged him down. Hatakikomi.

Sadanoumi (3-5) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-5). Sadanoumi tried to deflect Ichiyamamoto’s tsuppari but enough landed to seemingly annoy the hell out of Sadanoumi. So, Sadanoumi yanked back on Ichiyamamoto’s arms. Ichiyamamoto stumbled forward but kept his balance. Sadanoumi then drove through Ichiyamamoto’s slapdown attempt and shoved him off the dohyo. Oshidashi.

Tamawashi (5-3) defeated – and may have broken – Asanoyama (7-1). Asanoyama’s right ankle rolled at the end here, and he struggled to get back up to the dohyo. Thrilling bout with Tamawashi blasting away with his trademark tsuppari. Asanoyama was a bit too desperate to bring an end to the onslaught and reached in deep for a belt grip. Tamawashi hopped backwards, extending Asanoyama’s reach, and threw him to the side. Sukuinage.

Kinbozan (4-4) defeated Mitakeumi (4-4). Wakanohana called out Kinbozan’s effective arm positioning here. It was a quick bout because of that effective use of the right arm. Kinbozan reached in with his right hand for a shallow grip on Mitakeumi’s belt while squeezing Mitakeumi’s left arm. Mitakeumi had to extract his left hand and try to get an outside grip but he was already moving backwards quickly. Unable to recover, Mitakeumi was quickly ushered from the dohyo by Kinbozan. Excellent belt technique from Kinbozan. That is quite the surprise coming from a tsuki-oshi guy like Kinbozan. He had been exposed a few times this tournament for a lack of belt skill. But this was well planned and well executed. Yorikiri.

Halftime

Meisei (5-3) destroyed Shonannoumi (1-7). Meisei employed the same trick Kinbozan used on Mitakeumi. Except Meisei plowed into Shonannoumi harder at the tachiai. This drive meant that Shonannoumi was kept too high. While he tried to extract his left arm, Meisei bulldozed him into the ringside gyoji. Yorikiri.

Nishikigi (5-3) defeated Hiradoumi (4-4). Hiradoumi jumped early. Reset. I wonder if the matta slowed Hiradoumi’s second tachiai a bit. He hit Nishikigi but it didn’t seem to be with as much speed and power. Nishikigi just overpowered Hiradoumi after the initial charge and pressed him out quickly. Oshidashi.

Abi (2-6) defeated Shodai (4-4). Insert Rent too damn high. Shodai’s tachiai was too damn high! Abi-zumo here today. Fierce nodowa forced Shodai back and over the edge. Oshidashi.

Atamifuji (2-6) defeated Gonoyama (4-4). Gonoyama was aggressive and on the offensive. Atamifuji was in trouble and being driven back from the power of Gonoyama’s shoves. At the last moment he used that reach advantage to grab the back of Gonoyama’s belt with the left hand and pulled, hard. Rotating to the left, he threw Gonoyama into the crowd. Uwatenage.

Sanyaku

Wakamotoharu (5-3) defeated Ura (1-7). Ura locked in quick and spun Wakamotoharu around. He tried to drive forward into Wakamotoharu but then pulled on Wakamotoharu’s left arm. Wakamotoharu charged forward with the retreating Ura and dropped him into the crowd. Oshidashi.

Kotonowaka (7-1) fusen win. Takayasu (2-4-2) kyujo, again.

Daieisho defeated Midorifuji. Midorifuji timed his sidestep well and nearly caught Daieisho by pulling on his shoulder. Daieisho recovered and allowed Midorifuji to continue his attack. As Daieisho backed to the tawara again, he slipped to the side as Midorifuji charged forward and tugged Midorifuji down and off the dohyo. Hatakikomi.

Hoshoryu (6-2) defeated Hokutofuji (4-4). Hokutofuji gave it his all. Nodowa, headbutt, forward rush, pull…he threw everything at Hoshoryu but Hoshoryu maintained his balance and stayed in the ring. As Hokutofuji pulled, Hoshoryu rushed forward and helped Hokutofuji’s momentum carry him from the dohyo. Initially, it looked like Hokutofuji was injured in the fall. I was terrified that it was his back. But he looks to have tweaked his knee prior to the fall. Oshitaoshi.

Tobizaru (4-4) defeated Kirishima (6-2). Kirishima tried a hasty pull. He tried to bring Tobizaru down but Tobizaru moved forward into the Ozeki, shoving him from the dohyo. Kirishima should have either been more patient, or come in with a plan. He seemed to be figuring Tobizaru out “on the fly.” He seemed a bit pissed off at Tobizaru’s pre-tachiai antics. He nearly got his hands down, then pulled them back up…hovered a bit… he was living in Kirishima’s head, rent-free. He’s probably still there, penthouse view. Oshidashi.

Terunofuji (6-2) defeated Ryuden (3-5). Both men locked in at the tachiai, opposing maemitsu belt grips. Ryuden tried to press forward, legs churning, but he didn’t make any headway. It should be rather telling to watch as Ryuden’s legs slid backwards each time he tried to budge the Yokozuna. Gif-worthy action there. Terunofuji eventually took the initiative and wrenched free from Ryuden’s grip. Terunofuji wrapped him up awkwardly, Ryuden’s powerful right arm dangling high and useless. Terunofuji pressed forward, forcing Ryuden from the dohyo. Brilliant. Great work from both men. Yorikiri.

Wrap-up

Hokutofuji will surely join the growing kyujo queue tomorrow. This makes me sad. Based on the fact that he couldn’t walk and needed the big wheelchair, I am assuming he will not return this tournament and we will be lucky if he didn’t duplicate Aoiyama’s ACL injury. Someone needs to dig up the squid and re-do the dohyo matsuri.

Kotonowaka got to rest today and now sits atop the leaderboard, but he will have to earn his kachi-koshi tomorrow against the formidable Daieisho, who is now one loss behind the leaders. Asanoyama was denied his kachi-koshi and will fight Onosho tomorrow. Based on the outcome of today’s matches, Onosho flip-flops and becomes the instant favorite to capture his kachi-koshi. Asanoyama will be a fierce competitor but any tweak of that ankle will be exposed.

He’s not going to do it, and I am wasting my breath by even speculating this here. But with 7 wins, Asanoyama will likely maintain his rank in the next banzuke, regardless. At most, he will face a drop of a rank or two (if they are harsh). Without a lot of strong performances there will be a void there in the banzuke and he is safe. Therefore, if he has any type of injury which will get worse over the course of the tournament, he should sit down now. Wait until Osaka and come back fresh. He will start accumulating black stars and might even miss out on any kind of recognition in the form of special prizes. If he ends this tournament at 9-6 or 10-5, rising into the joi with a new mild injury, just to have a crappy Osaka, it is not worth it. Go kyujo now, while it’s in style.

Onosato will take on Meisei. This should be a highlight bout and Onosato’s biggest real test in the top division, so far. Meisei did very well today but he is not impregnable.

Terunofuji leads the chase group with his sage breakdown of Ryuden. He will face Nishikigi tomorrow. That could be a highlight but it should be a much faster-paced bout. That could bring more of a challenge to the Kaiju. He seemed to have time with Ryuden to figure out the puzzle of, “how do I beat this guy who is slamming his topknot into my jaw? It is most uncomfortable. I must stop it. Aha!”

Kirishima’s Yokozuna run is on life support, aided by the fact that Asanoyama did not only lose but seemed to get injured. He has drawn the Shodai wildcard for tomorrow and will need to defeat all comers (Shodai, Kotonowaka, Terunofuji, everyone) if he still hopes for the rope.

Hoshoryu clings on in the chase group with rather defensive sumo. That defense will be tested by Ryuden tomorrow. If Hoshoryu was paying attention today, he will already have a blueprint for how to attack. Lastly, Oho will take on Shimazuumi in their first-ever meeting.