After the Nagoya basho, I reviewed the performance of the wrestlers who debuted at Ms60 under the Makushita tsukedashi system after it was changed at the end of 2023. We then followed them at Aki. Let’s take a brief look at how our protagonists fared at Kyushu. Of the eleven rikishi in this group, ten started the basho, and nine finished it. Ms49 Gyotoku was absent for the entire tournament after withdrawing in September; apparently he’s been suffering from myocarditis. And fan favorite J3 Mita injured his knee in his day 2 bout against Kagayaki and missed the rest of the tournament. It’s not clear just how severe the injury was and when we might expect to see him again on the dohyo.

All nine full participants posted winning records, and six of them did so while fighting at their career-high rank! M5e Yoshinofuji, the rikishi formerly known as Kusano, went 9-6, posting his 10th winning record in 10 basho and earning his second technique prize. He narrowly missed out on a sanyaku debut by losing his day 15 bout against Takayasu but should be right near the top of the maegashira rankings in January. Word is that he was injured in training prior to the tournament, and his participation was in doubt. He fought much of the basho with a heavily taped calf, which makes me even more eager to see what he can accomplish when fully fit.

J12w Asasuiryu (the brother of Asakoryu; both started their careers under their family name Ishizaki) rebounded from his 7-8 sekitori debut with a 9-6 performance. I expect him to be ranked around J7 for Hatsu. Juryo debutant J13w Fujiryoga (a shikona change from Goshima) did even better, taking the yusho with a 13-2 record. A logjam at the top of Juryo will limit his rise to around J3, but he will have a good shot at earning a Makuuchi debut for Haru with another strong performance. One of his rivals for the Hatsu Juryo crown may well be Ms15w Kazuma, who got injured in his first basho in July 2024, sat out four tournaments, and has dominated since coming back, with the Jonokuchi yusho in May, the Sandanme yusho in September, and now the Makushita yusho in November. His 7-0 record from the last spot in the extended promotion zone will see him make his sekitori debut when the Juryo promotions are announced later today.

Ms11w Matsui went 4-3 and will see a bump in rank to around his Ms8 career high. Ms14w Fukuzaki debuted alongside heya-mate Fujiryoga and kept pace with him until Aki, where he hit the single-digit Makushita wall hard, finishing with a 2-5 record. He came back with a strong 6-1, losing only to the eventual champion Kazuma. This performance should take him to the Ms1-Ms5 promotion zone, with a shot at Juryo for Haru. Ms16e Hanaoka, who debuted in May, went 4-3 to post his fourth-straight kachi-koshi that will see him rise to the extended promotion zone. He’ll be joined there by the most recent debutant, Ms24w Ryusho, who improved on his first two 5-2 basho with a 6-1 performance, losing only to Kazuma in the yusho final. Finally, Jd12 Kakueizan (originally Urayama), who missed July and September with a knee injury, went 7-0 in his first comeback basho, losing the 5th-division playoff to heya-mate Ryuho. He will continue his journey in Sandanme in January, when we should also get some new Ms60TD debutants for the first time since Ryusho started in July.