Good grief! We are finally at the final day of act 1! Act 1 in Tachiai terms represents the first block of 5 days of a tournament. The goal of act 1 is scrape off the ring rust, and find out who is hot and who is not.

As odd as it may sound, Ichinojo is the epitome of hot right now in the hot town of Nagoya this summer. The Mongolian Behemoth (as Mortia Hiroshi calls him) has a perfect record, and has overpowered every opponent thus far. I expect him to pick up his first loss today as he faces Yokozuna Terunofuji, but I would not be surprised to see Ichinojo turn in double digits this July when the final tally is known.

There are 9 rikishi was 1-3 records starting today, and poor Terutsuyoshi at 0-4. But we have to make special mention of the san’yaku. Out of the 8 men in the named ranks, three of them have 1-3 records, including one of the Ozeki. Overall the san’yaku record is an embarrassing 15-17. These are the top men in the sport. Only Abi and Terunofuji have winning records to start day 5.

Do not be surprised if the middle weekend does not have a real yusho race, and expect one of the biggest Darwin Funnels ever to start on Saturday. In fact I think the funnel and the leaderboard may overlap until act 3 if not later.

Also of note, Daiamami has returned from kyujo, and so the banzuke imbalance is back and we will have daily Juryo visitors.

What We Are Watching Day 5

Azumaryu vs Daiamami – Welcome back, Daiamami! Time to see how banged up that ankle is. Hopefully it was nothing major, because I think 1-3 Azumaryu wants back in the top division, and he may be willing to beat the stuffing out of people to get there. Daiamami holds a narrow 7-6 lead in their career matches, so expect a fight that will be decided by how hurt Daiamami’s ankle still is.

Onosho vs Oho – First time ever match, mostly because its unusual to see Onosho ranked this low. Both have 2-2 scores, and I am hoping Onosho’s balance problems were mostly due to ring rust. Oho fights well enough, but he has yet to show any real inspiration in his matches. They all seem very rote or mechanical. The man needs to loosen up.

Nishikifuji vs Tsurugisho – These two have met 4 times in Juryo, and have split them 2 each. They have traded wins back and forth, so I am going to call this one an even match. Tsurugisho has an enormous 40kg weight advantage, but Nishikifuji does not seem to mind.

Myogiryu vs Chiyomaru – Both men are at 2-2, and are riding the make/kachi-koshi center line for now. Chiyomaru can occassionally do his “Stand them up – Pull them down” routine right now, but like a bagel left out too long, it’s getting stale fast.

Ichiyamamoto vs Chiyoshoma – Ichiyamamoto has manage to get this far with a 4-0 record, and has never lost to Chiyoshoma. So he may be the leader at the end of day 5, which would be perfect for how sumo tournaments are going these days. Chiyoshoma is fighting well enough at 2-2, but something about a double arm thrust to the face really an disrupt your sumo.

Terutsuyoshi vs Yutakayama – Terutsuyoshi at 0-4 is the last man in the arasoi, and I feel for him. This is the same guy who has in the past turned in some amazing fights, but just can’t seem to summon the mojo to win right now. He is up against 3-1 Yutakayama who has a 7-5 career advantage on the clay.

Kotoshoho vs Takarafuji – 1-3 Takarafuji has not lost to Kotoshoho in 2 prior attempts, and he could really use more wins as early as he can get them. So just maybe he can take one from the Sadogatake man today. Kotoshoho has been ranked as high as M3e in the past, so him floating about this far down the banzuke with a 2-2 record may indicate some mechanical injury.

Chiyotairyu vs Midorifuji – People love the big man / little man sumo format, and it’s the basis for this match. If Chiyotairyu can connect at the tachiai, he acn send Midorifuji into the upper seat. But I am certain that this July, Midorifuji has the better sumo, and we may see Chiyotairyu pick up his 3rd loss today.

Shimanoumi vs Meisei – Neither one of these guys have been able to show us much good sumo yet. They are free to up their performance at any time, and just maybe they will today. Shimanoumi had a terrible 0-3 start, winning his first yesterday on day 4. Maybe that’s the start of a turn around for him.

Tochinoshin vs Nishikigi – I look at this match and have to wonder. They have 9 career fights that Tochinoshin leads 5-4. Nishikigi has a perfect 4-0 record, and seems to be moving very well right now. But he insists on fighting chest to chest, and I just see Tochinoshin getting his left hand outside grip and proceeding to toss Nishikigi about.

Kotoeko vs Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji has a 4-0 career record against Kotoeko, but given how dull Hokutofuji’s sumo has been this far, I hope he really can find his second win of the tournament today.

Aoiyama vs Tobizaru – Both men are 3-1, and they both like mobile, fast-paced contests. I would guess that if Aoiyama fires up the V-Twin and can connect against Tobizaru’s head, that’s the match right there. But I know that sumo’s flying monkey will keep it lively, and if Aoiyama wants to hit him, he needs to find a moment where Tobizaru is not moving.

Okinoumi vs Sadanoumi – Both of these men are 1-3 (you can see the schedulers having fun with numbers again), and Okinoumi is heavily favored with an 11-5 career advantage over speed demon Sadanoumi. Both of them need to tune up their sumo at once, in my opinion. They should be doing quite a bit better than this.

Kotonowaka vs Endo – Having completed his tour of the Ozeki and Yokozuna, it’s time for Kotonowaka to fight some rank and file rikishi. Both of them come into day 5 with 2-2 records, and Endo with a 3-1 career advantage. The one note is that Kotonowaka won their last contest, in March of this year.

Kiribayama vs Takanosho – Takanosho has a 11-1 career record against Kiribayama, and I will be quite surprised if Onigiri-kun can’t rally and overcome his 1-3 crummy sumo badge and put Kiribayama on the clay today. Usually kimarite for this match up is Takanosho with a hearty oshidashi against Kiribayama.

Abi vs Daieisho – Two big thrusters with an even 7-7 career record. This sounds like fun! Daieisho has been struggling thus far to get much offense going in this fights. He can land a big push, but he won a yusho January of 2021 by linking these pushes together into unstoppable combo attacks that flattened everyone. I would love to see him fight like that again.

Wakatakakage vs Hoshoryu – Battle of the up and coming young rikishi. Both are facing disimal 1-3 records, and it’s not too soon to start wondering about Wakatakakage going make-koshi this time out. It would reset his Ozeki clock for 2023, and do quite a bit to shuffle the san’yaku. His sumo is excellent, but he needs one or two step improvements to get to Ozeki in my opinion.

Takakeisho vs Tamawashi – If these two stick to pusher/thruster fighting, things favor Takakeisho quite a bit (11-7). If Tamawashi feels a bit “sporty”, he can grab the Ozeki’s mawashi and stand a very good chance of disabling any offense the Grand Tadpole might use.

Wakamotoharu vs Shodai – Both of these rikishi have 1-3 records to start the day. The fact that I have to wonder if an Ozeki is going to be able to best a Maegashira 4 underscores just how busted the top ranks are as of today. They still have plenty of time to get it together. But this is a shame.

Ura vs Mitakeumi – The other kadoban Ozeki gets Ura today. Mitakeumi has never lost to the man in pink, and I don’t know if he will today. But Ura has looked really good the last two days. He may have had some ring rust that he will be able to shed today, and we will see him fighting in good form in act 2.

Terunofuji vs Ichinojo – I know that Ichinojo can beat Terunofuji. I am also fairly sure that he won’t win against the Yokozuna. Ichinojo is intimidated by Terunofuji, and has said so before. I understand, he’s a giant hulking legendary creature, and he’s libel to tear your spine out and show it to you if he gets too cranked up. So I am predicting that this will be Ichinojo’s first loss today.

Day 4, and I am sure the scheduling group is already trying to figure out what to do in the middle weekend. So far nobody except Ichinojo has shown any “break out” potential, and they need to try and construct a yusho race within the next 4 days. The Ozeki are moribund, the Yokozuna is not close to full power, both Sekiwake are at 1-2, and only Abi has managed a winning record at Komusubi. It’s still early days, but this has to be giving them quite the puzzle to crack.

This tournament may be like Natsu this past May: No clear yusho race until day 10.

What We Are Watching Day 4

Onosho vs Chiyomaru – Onosho tends to do well against Chiyomaru, but that may not be the case today. Chiyomaru has honed his slap down to a fine point this July, and Onosho is proving daily that he left his balance in the other akeni back in Chiba. I worry that Onosho is usually “hot” or “cold” and a poorly balanced Onosho at M15 may be Juryo bound unless he can get things in trim. There can be only one answer, send a tsukibeto back to Chiba to get the otehr akeni, and bring that bright red mawashi with you.

Myogiryu vs Nishikifuji – First ever match, mostly because Nishikifuji is so new and Myogiryu has been a top division man since before they invented dirt. Nishikifuji is still getting confidence at this level, but is coming into day 4 with 2-1 record, which is good enough for now. I expect that Myogiryu will attempt a pull or slap down by the third step from the tachiai, so Nishikifuji would be advised to mind his balance.

Yutakayama vs Tsurugisho – Yutakayama had started pretty well, but his day 3 loss to Chiyomaru was a let down. He knew it too, and you could see it on his face following the match. He has a chance to bounce back against Tsurugisho today, but he will have to work hard to get there. Tsurugisho has won 2 of their last 3 match ups, and I am looking for him to try a tsukiotoshi early in the match.

Oho vs Chiyoshoma – Another first ever match up. I am not sure why, but I keep expecting Oho to be a bit more dominant than he has turned out thus far. I wonder if this is about as high as we are going to see him any time soon. I almost wonder if he’s too bulky for his sumo, as it sort of seems like he is.

Kotoshoho vs Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto is unbeaten so far, and that surprises me a little. But only a little because he had an impressive 5-0 start in May, but only managed an 8-7 final score. Injury? Personally, I would love to see Kotoshoho elevate his sumo and become a middle / upper Maegashira mainstay, but he’s not ready for that yet. Ichiyamamoto leads the series 4-1.

Chiyotairyu vs Takarafuji – I continue to worry that both of these guys are too injured to fight properly, maybe for the rest of their careers. It would be a shame in that Takarafuji has / had the best defense in all of sumo, and Chiyotairyu had one of the biggest tachiai’s I have seen in a decade. Normally this would be a great clash of styles, but I worry both men are too banged up to give us a proper show of skill.

Terutsuyoshi vs Meisei – One of these days, Terutsuyoshi is going to win his first match. It may as well be today. He holds a 6-3 career record over Meisei, including 4 of the last 5. Could I enter a request for a hearty shitatehineri?

Midorifuji vs Kotoeko – Both men come into today’s match with 2-1 records, and both of them are compact power-house rikishi. Kotoeko has won both of their prior matches, both with *dashi techniques. Some pushing and shoving today, shall we predict?

Shimanoumi vs Hokutofuji – Ah, this might appear like a “duds and spuds” match to most, but it might be to see which one of these two can earn their place to compete for the most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo. Most would rightfully say, “None can ever best Hokutofuji!”, and they may be right. But given the fabulous prizes that come with the title, its long since past the diem someone else vie for it.

Aoiyama vs Nishikigi – Oh goodie, the schedulers are starting to put the 3-0 rikishi against each other, trying to narrow the number with perfect scores. This is a nice match in that Nishikigi will attempt to apply his favored battle-hug, and Aoiyama will likely try to stay mobile and use his awesome tsuppari technique to bludgeon Nishikigi into submission. Bring it on!

Tochinoshin vs Tobizaru – Tobizaru certainly seems to have a good formula for taking away each and every one of Tochinoshin’s strong move, putting him in a losing position and finishing him off. He holds a 3-1 career lead over the former Ozeki, and he tends to come at bigger opponents (like Tochinoshin) with a lot of speed, and multi-path branching combo attacks. It can give you a headache trying to figure it out, so just do what I do. Watch and smile.

Endo vs Okinoumi – Twenty two career matches, with Endo having a narrow 12-10 lead over Okinoumi. This match will come down to who is more banged up right now. Both have 1-2 records before the tachiai, and may struggle to find 8 this July in the Nagoya head.

Tamawashi vs Sadanoumi – I have to wonder what they are doing with this match. We have 3-0 Tamawashi, and 0-3 Sadanoumi. Yes, Sadanoumi who had an 11-4 jun-yusho in May is struggling to find his first win. He has a 9-4 career advantage over Tamawashi, so maybe this is his best change to pick up his first white star. Tamawashi is unbeaten at 3-0.

Wakamotoharu vs Ura – Wakamotoharu has never lost to Ura in their three match history. Both are 1-2 starting day 3, not really showing excellent sumo yet. I think Ura struggles with Wakamotoharu because he presents a very compact attack profile to Ura’s brand of sumo. He does not offer stray arms or legs to grab and tug. He is not usually taking large steps or spreading his limbs. But maybe today is the day Ura finds a way to put him on the clay.

Wakatakakage vs Abi – Much as I think Wakatakakage is going to be a big deal soon, I would like to see him get spanked quite a bit this basho. So I am pulling for Abi to pick up his first ever win against the future Ozeki.

Takanosho vs Daieisho – Both of these fine rikishi are having a tough start in Nagoya. At 1-2 each, they are both in a bit of a hole now. The winner will pull of even at 2-2, the loser will go to 1-3 and have a lot of work to do. They have a 7-6 career record that slightly favors Takanosho, including him winning 4 of the last 5, but neither one of them has really been able to fight with “their brand of sumo” yet this July.

Hoshoryu vs Shodai – When you go to see a movie like Titanic. You know that boat is going to sink and a lot of people are going to die. This feels a bit like that. Is Shodai capable of chucking Hoshoryu into the front you. He is. Will he be able to do it today, or anything similar for the next 11 days? I now doubt it. I hate it when we have Ozekiwake, but it seems we may have at least one.

Kiribayama vs Mitakeumi – Or maybe make that two. Mitakeumi has an even 5-5 record against Kiribayama, so we know the kadoban Ozeki knows how to win matches against him, but Mitakeumi is in the worst condition of his sumo career is my guess. I want nothing more than the Original Tadpole to clear kadoban, but he’s going to need some extra mojo to get there.

Takakeisho vs Ichinojo – Probably the most interesting match of the day. Ichinojo is in the best form I have seen him in for a long time. Takakeisho is probably good enough right now to make his 8. He has a 9-6 career record against The Boulder, but I honestly wonder if Takakeisho’s reduced pushing power might not be enough to move Ichinojo at this point. All it takes is one giant meaty hand on that mawashi, and Takakeisho starts to look an awful lot like a bowling ball.

Terunofuji vs Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka is slowly putting together the sumo presence to beat someone like Terunofuji. We know that right now by his 0-3 record, he is not quite there yet. Terunofuji is, at best, at 75% normal kaiju power, so Kotonowaka may have a chance today to sneak in a kinboshi.

I think it is a good sign that many of the rikishi who had yet to win a match picked up their first white star today. There are still 5 in competition without a win, and that balances against the five rikishi without a loss at the end of day 3. There are four days to go before the middle weekend, and there will need to be some kind of yusho race starting to emerge by the end of nakabi.

Of course 2 of the 3 Ozeki continue to drop matches like they are mae-zumo recruits still trying to figure out how to shiko. Maybe a more coherent grumble on that on for this afternoon’s preview.

The group of unbeaten rikishi was narrowed today when Kotonowaka failed to best Takakeisho, but I have to give special mention to Ichinojo. When that guy is healthy and rested, he can just have his way with nearly anyone. I know he will lose to Terunofuji, as he is completely intimidated by the Yokozuna, but he is fighting very well right now.

Highlight Matches

Chiyomaru defeats Yutakayama – As predicted, Chiyomaru’s strategy was to lift then pull early in the match. I can’t believe Yutakayama fell for it. Actually if you look at the footage, Yutakayama can’t believe he fell for it either. Yutakayama picks up his first loss, and both end the day 2-1.

Nishikifuji defeats Oho – Impressive that Nishikifuji was denied twice his win by Oho’s solid defense, but he continued to press forward. I am aware that everyone expects Oho to eventually be a big deal, and maybe he will. But this far I just don’t see excellence. I see strong Juryo level sumo, but not really top division class work – yet. Nishikifuji gamberizes for all he is worth, and gets the win to advance to 2-1.

Onosho defeats Myogiryu – Onosho picks up his first win of July. He had a solid tachiai, but was once again too far forward, but had good hand placement against Myogiryu’s body. Myogiryu thought he had this one easy, and pulled Onosho forward and down. To his credit, Onosho was able to work with this, and used the pull to ram Myogiryu center mass, sending him out before Onosho himself exited the ring. He improves to 1-2.

Takarafuji defeats Tsurugisho – Takarafuji picks up his first win after Tsurugisho does not pay attention to his foot place.. Tsurugisho attacks well, but has his feet aligned by the third step, and that’s not a mistake to make around Takarafuji. He loads the throw and sends Tsurugisho to the clay for his first win.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Terutsuyoshi – I really liked the attempt at the leg sweep that Terutsuyoshi threw into that match. But appart from that bold move, Terutsuyoshi had zero offense, and Ichiyamamoto pushed him around with his double arm thrusts and sent him over the salt basket and out into the crowd. A 3-0 start to Nagoya for Ichiyamamoto, and still no wins for Terutsuyoshi.

Midorifuji defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma got a left hand inside grip at the tachiai, and set to work getting Midorifuji under control. Midorifuji did not have much of a grip in return, but kept low, and maintained enough pressure on Chiyoshoma that Chiyoshoma could not really finish off Midorifuji. This evolved into a protracted strength contest, with Midorifuji being the aggressor and Chiyoshoma trying to wait him out. Chiyoshoma decided to try to win before he had consolidated or improved his position. Chiyoshoma nearly prevailed, but a swift throw in reverse gave Midorifuji the win to end the day 2-1. Solid match from both.

Kotoshoho defeats Chiyotairyu – Sauce for the goose – Chiyotairyu receives a perfect copy of the combo that he has used for most of his matches in the last 6 months: stand them up then slap them down. It’s not great sumo, but it did give Kotoshoho his second win to improve to 2-1.

Kotoeko defeats Meisei – Meisei attacks out of the tachiai, and has Kotoeko on the bales. But somehow Kotoeko finds enough room to pivot and throw Meisei to the clay with his right hand inside grip. I had to watch it a few times myself, that was some surprising sumo. Kotoeko improves to 2-1.

Tochinoshin defeats Shimanoumi – Shimanoumi is part of the winless crew, and is not really able to perform quality sumo right now. Maybe some injury. Tochinoshin makes fast work of him with a hatakikomi on the second step from the tachiai. Tochinoshin improves to 2-1.

Nishikigi defeats Hokutofuji – They traded pull attempts in their opening moves, neither of which had any effect. Nishikigi followed up with a right hand inside, and suddenly Hokutofuji seems to have forgotten his defensive sumo. Unable to hold ground, Hokutofuji was marched back and placed over the bales by Nishikigi. He remains part of the no-loss group at 3-0.

Aoiyama defeats Okinoumi – In the first of two battles of grizzled veterans, we had a very sloppy match. A good tachiai from both, Aoiyama pulled and looked to be in trouble, but both men lost traction and fell to the clay, Okinoumi landing first. Aoiyama manages to keep a perfect record at 3-0.

Tobizaru defeats Sadanoumi – I think Sadanoumi was pivoting for a throw, but did not have his hands in position or his feet set. As a result, Sadanoumi’s sumo went all directions at the same time. Tobizaru scooped up the mess and escorted Sadanoumi out of the ring, improving to 2-1.

Tamawashi defeats Endo – The second battle of the grizzled, we get treated to Tamawashi’s “who are you and why are you hear?” routine. He dismisses Endo utterly, bundling him up and shoving him back from where he came from (West side cushions). Tamawashi remains unbeaten at 3-0.

Ichinojo defeats Hoshoryu – A rested Ichinojo is a fearsome rikishi. He systemically dismantled Hoshoryu a piece at a time, and had the size, strength and stamina to maintain control as he tightened his grip bit by bit. Hoshoryu worked hard to keep Ichinojo away from his mawashi, but once the Boulder had that left hand deep, it was all over and even Hoshoryu knew there was no stoping him. Ichinojo now 3-0.

Daieisho defeats Wakamotoharu – Daieisho picks up his first win by a clever escape and counter-attack combo at the tawara. Wakamotoharu opened strong and was delivering force center-mass to Daieisho, and Daieisho could not hold his ground. With Wakamotoharu advancing, Daieisho pivoted and thrust Wakamotoharu down. Daieisho improves to 1-2.

Wakatakakage defeats Ura – Wakatakakage picks up his first win of Nagoya, by staying focused and keeping his body compact and low. He left Ura no spot to grab and no appendage to tug. From there it was power against power, and when Ura pivoted to his right, Wakatakakage poured on the pressure and ran him out. 1-2 for Wakatakakage.

Abi defeats Mitakeumi – Its wild to watch Abi be such a flailing mess of a human being, and ultimately dominate an Ozeki like that. But I guess it’s that he’s concentrating on his double arm thrusts against Mitakeumi’s neck and face, and the rest of his body does whatever it take to ramp up the pressure flowing through those arms. Abi improves to 2-1.

Takakeisho defeats Kotonowaka – At least Takakeisho can still manage to muster a reduced form of his Ozeki sumo. He puts a lot of power into his attack and breaks through Kotonowaka’s defenses. No third Ozeki scalp for you, young rising star. Takakeisho improves to 2-1.

Kiribayama defeats Shodai – This is the third consecutive basho where Shodai has lost his first 3 matches. Ever since his jun-yusho in January of 2021, he’s not been in solid fighting form. Its a shame to watch a rikishi with that much talent wither away as he is. Kiribayama locks up Shodai, gets him turned to the side and runs him out the ring for an okuridashi. He improves to 2-1.

Terunofuji defeats Takanosho – There were at least three places where Takanosho could have won that match, but Terunofuji stayed upright, balanced and in the fight. Clearly the Yokozuna is not fighting as well as he had recently, but today he picked up that win because he was able to stay in the fight, and take an opening and turn the match to his advantage. I did like how he bodily threw Takanosho down to finish. Nice touch. Terunofuji 2-1.