And we have a winner! Ms27e Oshoryu pulled down Ms39e Kawazoe to finish as the sole 7-0 rikishi in the third division and take the yusho. He will be rewarded with a spot in the promotion zone in May, which will be his highest career rank. Debuting in 2019, Oshoryu (then known as Motobayashi) got off to a scorching start, becoming one of only a handful of wrestlers to ever start 21-0, with consecutive yusho in the three lowest divisions. He ran his record to 24-0 in the next basho, his Makushita debut, before picking up his first loss and finishing 4-3. Oshoryu struggled in upper Makushita for the next couple of years, and since then has had two injury stints that dropped him to Jonidan and Sandanme, respectively. Let’s see if he can convert his rank in May into a sekitori debut five years after it seemed like an inevitability.

The last man before Oshoryu to start his career 21-0 was none other than fan favorite Ms30w Enho (6-1), whose only loss was to Oshoryu and who himself is coming back from a neck injury that dropped him all the way down to Jonokuchi. Since returning last July, he’s posted five consecutive 6-1 records. He should be ranked around Ms11 in May, so he’d need a 7-0 record for a Juryo promotion, which might be tough given the likely competition, but a good score should put him in good position to earn promotion in July.

Among those competing for the Makushita yusho in May will be another injury victim, former Ozeki Asanoyama, who took the Sandanme yusho without much credible opposition. It’s not a guarantee, but he’s very likely to be ranked Ms15 or higher, where another 7-0 would return him to Juryo. Others to keep an eye on in May include Kawazoe (6-1), who may or may not just make it into the extended promotion zone, as well as our two impressive Ms60TD debutants from Fujishima beya, Goshima (6-1) and Fukuzaki (5-2). The Natsu third-division yusho race promises a lot of excitement!