November Tournament 2015

November 2015: Kakuryu Falls

Andy November Tournament 2015, Uncategorized ,

Kakuryu fell to Goeido in the final match and biggest upset of the day. Previously, Hakuho’s failed henka was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. Tochiozan stopped his momentum before falling out, so Hakuho had to run over and shove him a few times to get him out of the ring.

After Shohozan’s loss to Ikioi, Takayasu’s loss to Kyokushuho, and Kisenosato’s loss to Toyonoshima (arguably a bigger upset than Goeido over Kakuryu), Harumafuji stands as the lone competition trailing Hakuho who still controls his own destiny. If Harumafuji wins out, including victories over Hakuho, he will win the tournament.

November 2015, Day 9: Hakuho Rules

Andy November Tournament 2015 ,

Hakuho is back to his usual, dominant self. He forced Goeido out quickly, without trouble. Afterward, the camera panned to him as he sat ringside for Kakuryu/Tochiozan and he just seemed so bored. Tochiozan will be a more interesting matchup tomorrow as he looked great against Kakuryu today. He forced the yokozuna out so quickly, one has to wonder if Kakuryu is injured. They met head-on but Tochiozan was able to get a head of steam and send the Mongolian into the crowd with his third loss of the tournament, any yusho hopes dashed.

Ikioi proved to be a great challenge for Harumafuji in the sanyaku’s match of the day. This was a well-contested bout. The two met with a strong tachiai and Ikioi powered through Harumafuji’s nodowa, forcing a battle on the belt. Three times it looked like Ikioi might get the better of Harumafuji, forcing the yokozuna to the edge. On the third try, Harumafuji proved the master escape artist, forcing Ikioi to the ground and landing on top.

It’s been a while since Kisenosato got up to his matta-inducing trickiness. He baited Terunofuji today, I think wanting to make sure the young ozeki was committed to a strong tachiai and not prepared for a henka. However, with that bum knee he showed little resistance and Kisenosato forced him out. Kisenosato and Harumafuji remain the lone sanyaku challengers, one off Hakuho’s usual, dominant pace. Resurgent Shohozan and Takayasu are the lone rank-and-filers holding up to also get their kachi-koshi today. If they carry on, they’ll be in contention for special prizes and to find themselves back in the midst of the banzuke, where they belong.

Okinoumi picked up a great upset of Kotoshogiku. He met Giku strongly at the tachiai and defended well, for a while, against the jack rabbit thrusts. Once the ozeki had committed to going forward, Okinoumi retreated, pulling back as Kotoshogiku flopped on his belly. As such, Kotoshogiku will be hoping to play the role of spoiler tomorrow against Harumafuji, rather than as a contender.

Ichinojo looked back to his old self against Myogiryu. The sekiwake had nothing to counter the bulk and was forced out quickly. Myogiryu will face Terunofuji tomorrow. If he can’t beat the weakened ozeki, he is clearly not up to sanyaku snuff this tournament and will likely tumble down the banzuke in January.

Yoshikaze was utterly dominant versus fellow komusubi, Tochinoshin. The little guy met the Georgian head on at the tachiai and then produced drive, forcing Tochinoshin backward. Tochinoshin pivoted but Yoshikaze picked up his leg and then carried him out the other end. Yoshikaze’s probably already measuring space on his mantle for a few more special prizes. He faces Osunaarashi tomorrow while Tochinoshin will face Ichinojo. Tochinoshin has owned Ichinojo and Osunaarashi has a dominant 7-1 advantage against Yoshikaze but they should both be good matchups.

November 2015, Day 8: Hakuho Teases Myogiryu, Stays Perfect

Andy November Tournament 2015

Hakuho seems to enjoy letting guys *think* they’re going to win. At the end of their bout, Myogiryu pulled the yokozuna and it looked like he might deliver a stunning hatakikomi upset. But Hakuho demonstrated incomparable balance to not only allow Myogiryu’s momentum carry the sekiwake out first, the yokozuna stopped his own momentum cold…on one leg.

Kakuryu spun Tochinoshin till the later fell on his butt and Harumafuji sent Toyonoshima off the dohyo to his fifth loss. Toyonoshima and Tochinoshin are still in good position with three wins from their first 8 rough days. This week will ease up and they should get at least five wins this week…anything else will be bonus.

Goeido won his ozeki battle with Terunofuji. One has to wonder at why Terunofuji is even wrestling this tournament. Yes, he might still get his kachi-koshi…but he might not. And for him to get it, it’s likely he’ll have to contest this tournament will into day 13, 14, or 15. He’s an ozeki. I think it would have been better to take this whole tournament off, go kadoban, and then be ready for the next tournament. Even if he had to go kyujo for two tournaments, get demotion to sekiwake, and battle for 10 wins to regain ozeki status, I think the risk would have been better than risking his health further by contesting this tournament.

November 2015, Day 7: Hakuho Body Slams Okinoumi to Maintain Lead

Andy November Tournament 2015

Today featured quite a few thrilling bouts, punctuated by Hakuho vs. Okinoumi. Throughout the bout, winless Okinoumi looked to be giving the yokozuna a run for his money. As he began to push Hakuho to the edge, he gave a huge shove to force the pair out. But in a brilliant counter at the last second, Hakuho grabbed Okinoumi, pivoted mid-air, and body slammed Okinoumi.

Enjoy the video from Kintamayama….

For me, the ranks between Komusubi and Maegashira 2 are the real rough ranks – the “hot seat,” so to speak. Those wrestlers get blasted during the first week, facing ozeki/yokozuna-heavy bouts. Sekiwake gets a bit easier in the first week but to progress to ozeki, you need such a great record and you have to display some consistency. It’s worth it because a bad tournament at ozeki won’t automatically cost the wrester their rank. If they get all the way to yokozuna, there is no demotion – just retirement.

So far, the only one with a winning record in these “hot seat” ranks is Yoshikaze, even if extended to sekiwake and M3. Losing records basically guarantee demotion by at least a rank, even lower depending on how bad. If these sub-.500 records hold for the rest, Yoshikaze will be looking at advancement to sekiwake and Ikioi would likely be jumping way up into sanyaku.

This is unlikely to hold, however, because the their load will lighten significantly after tomorrow, so those with 3 or even two wins are still well within striking distance of kachi-koshi records. Tochinoshin and Toyonoshima are thus in great shape, even with just three wins. Toyonoshima beat both sekiwake and Tochinoshin brought down two ozeki and a sekiwake. They get to face yokozuna Kakuryu and Harumafuji, tomorrow. If either Tochinoshin or Toyonoshima can get the upset, they’ll be in a great place for a strong finish and even special prizes.