We come to the final day of act 2 of the Kyushu basho, and its time to review what the goals were. Act 2 is where we narrow the field to find out who has what it takes to compete for the yusho, and to start sorting the survivors from the damned. I think the sumo association hit that mark well this November. We have a yusho race between Terunofuji and Takakeisho, with Mitakeumi waiting to play spoiler in act 3. We have Abi as the dark horse at the bottom of the banzuke, and we eagerly await his test matches soon.

It’s also looking dim for Shohozan, maybe Tochinoshin, and maybe Kagayaki. There is still plenty of time for these rikishi to pull out a save. Meanwhile, a herd of athletes with middling scores are being herded toward playoff “Darwin” matches on day 15.

But first, the closing day of act 2!

Kyushu Leaderboard

Leaders: Terunofuji, Takakeisho
Hunt Group: Mitakeumi, Abi
Chasers: Tamawashi, Ura, Hokutofuji

6 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 10

Yutakayama vs Akua – A fine chance for Yutakayama to try and claw his way into the funnel, and for Akua to go to 5-5 and remain in the prime Darwin zone. Granted, it may not happen this way, but with a 2-0 career record, Yutakayama has at least a chance to bring this about today.

Kaisei vs Tochinoshin – Brutal match here, with Tochinoshin and his hurt back trying to find a win any way he can. His bad back is not going to do well against nearly 200kg Kaisei, who needs a win today to stay in the funnel. I expect pain and suffering galore on the clay for this one.

Ishiura vs Shohozan – Can Shohozan find his third win? I sure would like him to, but something is missing here, and it’s probably health related for 37 year old veteran Shohozan. He holds a 5-2 career advantage over Ishiura, so maybe he can muster some sumo.

Sadanoumi vs Hokutofuji – Sadanoumi took a hard loss on day 9 against Yutakayama, and I think he will be looking to bounce back today. Easier said than done against Hokutofuji who is looking for an 8th win and kachi-koshi today. He has a 2-0 career advantage over Sadanoumi.

Chiyomaru vs Terutsuyoshi – Chiyomaru took a face full of clay thanks to Abi on day 9, and I hope he will be a bit more careful today, as Terutsuyoshi is likely to use his speed and agility to keep Chiyomaru’s offense from connecting. Terutsuyoshi has a 5-3 career advantage.

Kagayaki vs Hidenoumi – Kagayaki is two losses away from make-koshi, so he needs to find some wins starting now. Kachi-koshi for him would require him winning 5 of the remaining 6 matches, so it may be out of the question. He has a fairly even record against Hidenoumi, who really did not have much to offer on day 9 against Tamawashi.

Kotoeko vs Chiyonokuni – Man, I just want Kotoeko to own up to whatever injury is plaguing him, go kyujo and spare us the spectacle of him being just a fraction shy of a win each and every day. Chiyonokuni already holds a 3-1 career advantage, and I see no reason why Kotoeko would present a reasonable challenge today.

Abi vs Tobizaru – A high interest match for myself, I would love to see Tobizaru get underneath / inside that long arm thrust attack of Abi-zumo, and take the fight to the mawashi. Tobizaru’s defenses are not evasive enough to endure Abi’s normal attack pattern for more than a couple of volleys, so whatever he is going to do, he needs to do it on the first step.

Ura vs Kotonowaka – Kotonowaka won their only prior match, which was in July in the Nagoya heat. November in Kyushu is a very different scenario, and Ura seems to be dialed into his sumo, and is fighting “his style” nearly every day. His main job will be to keep Kotonowaka off of his mawashi, and keep a medium-scale gap open to allow him to grab and tug any body part Kotonowaka makes the mistake of leaving open.

Shimanoumi vs Chiyotairyu – Both of these guys are squarely in the middle of the funnel, and in terms of keeping them both locked on the path to Darwin, Shimanoumi should win. He has a slight 5-4 career advantage, but I think Chiyotairyu has been fighting better this basho. I won’t mind at all if these guys both break out today.

Aoiyama vs Tamawashi – A win today is kachi-koshi for Tamawashi. He does tend to take a pounding when his opponent is Aoiyama, with Big Dan holding a 9-6 career advantage, and has taken 4 of the last 5 encounters. It may all come down to who gets the first hit. What I do not want to see is Aoiyama and Tamawashi trading arm-breaker kotonage.

Chiyoshoma vs Endo – Both come into today at 5-4, and given that Chiyoshoma is doing fairly solid, straight ahead sumo, this one could actually be a good fight. I expect Endo is going to dominate early, and will work to get a frontal grip. But that won’t spell doom for Chiyoshoma, who is quite capable of breaking that grip and returning his own. Loser gets 5-5 and joins the middle of the funnel.

Okinoumi vs Takanosho – An “outside the funnel” match, its a chance for Okinoumi to apply some of his high quality sumo, which has been far too scarce this basho, to an up and coming star. With any luck, he can either put Takanosho on the clay, or make him work quite hard for a win.

Daieisho vs Wakatakakage – Both of these rikishi are perilously close to make-koshi now. In fact a loss today by Wakatakakage will be his 8th. These two have a 2-2 career record, and it’s really anyone’s guess who will be less terrible today. Grim.

Ichinojo vs Myogiryu – Ichi-friggin-nojo, get your hand out of other people’s hair! I know it’s in the way when you are attacking because of your great height, but you are going to have to adjust. Just setting for slapping them in the face instead. I know it seems very rude and un-sportsman like, but it’s better than risking disqualification. Myogiryu holds an 11-4 career record against you, so he is probably going to wreck you anyhow.

Onosho vs Kiribayama – Both of these guys are 3-6, and they have a 2-2 career record. They are racing each other to the make-koshi line, and I am not sure who I want to jump across it first. My bet is Onosho, and rather than jump, he is going to topple forward over it in pursuit of a cherished win. Poor guy seems to struggle with his balance. Then again maybe Kiribayama will make the mistake of squaring up against him, and Onosho will shove him into the front row.

Mitakeumi vs Takarafuji – Mitakumi is at 8 wins, and there are 6 matches left. He has a solid chance to hit double digits, and may even have it in him to run up the score. He faces a struggling and likely injured Takarafuji today, and I am not sure my favorite defensive rikishi has the mojo to put up too much of a fight. Mitakeumi also holds a 9-3 career advantage.

Shodai vs Takayasu – Oh goodie. The are both 5-4, and I hope Shodai gets a full Takayasu workout today. Tuck in big man and make him grind, see how much he can hold with that “Wall of Diakon” defense. Note to the readers, Shodai has a 14-9 career advantage, but I think Takayasu may want to try out his new sumo technique.

Meisei vs Takakeisho – Takakeisho had a hard landing on day 9 against Hoshoryu, and this will be our first chance to see if he picked up any damage from that fall. He’s fairly consistent winning against Meisei (5-1), so look for an early hit amidships to get Meisei off balance.

Terunofuji vs Hoshoryu – Terunofuji has a 4-0 against Hoshoryu. Plus Hoshoryu is not fighting well this month. How long will the Yokozuna play with him before he sends him out?

A surprising lack of yorikiri wins today, as it seems everyone wanted to try something different. We saw throws, trips, twists and smash moves aplenty. Surprisingly at the end of day 9, only one rikishi is make-koshi, and 4 are now kachi-koshi. The Funnel is very much up and running with great effect, with 15 rikishi squarely in the progressively narrowing neck, pushing them to 7-7 scores on day 15.

Highlight Matches

Akua defeats Kagayaki – Akua wasted no time loading a dramatic kakenage, and pivoted as Kagayaki was looking for his fist hand hold. Kagayaki is no light weight, and that’s a lot of chanko to get airborne like that. Akua advances to 5-4.

Shohozan defeats Tochinoshin – Shohozan attempted to maximize the off angle attacks, putting Tochinoshin’s back to the test. But the former Ozeki was able to latch Shohozan to his chest, and the match was on Tochinoshin’s terms. They took their time to set up then, with Shohozan having the advantage of a double inside grip, and Tochinoshin having the advantage in possessing the strength of a bear, that has the strength of two bears. There was a power-lifting contest or two, and in the end Tochinoshin lifted Shohozan over the tawara. But a mono-ii was called, and it was decided that Tochinoshin had stepped out much earlier, and Shohozan was awarded his second win of November, improving to 2-7 and avoiding make-koshi for today.

Yutakayama defeats Sadanoumi – Good for Yutakayama! He got a solid opening combo in against Sadanoumi’s face, and got him turned to the left. Now attacking from the left flank, he advanced low and strong, sending Sadanoumi tumbling from the ring. Yutakayama improves to 3-6.

Hokutofuji defeats Kaisei – Handshake tachiai to right hand nodowa? Check! Very low hips and extra wide stance? Check! Relentless drive against center mass? Check! Yep, that’s Hokutofuji’s sumo. He put Kaisei on defense, and marched him to and fro for a while, then pushed him over the bales to advance to 7-2. There are days when being enormous is not a workable sumo strategy.

Chiyonokuni defeats Terutsuyoshi – Chiyonokuni employed a stand-up tachiai, I think expecting a deflection or side-step from Terutsuyoshi. But the two clashed head on, and Chiyonokuni got to work. Terutsuyoshi could not find a route to get his offense started, and he simply tried to endure the withering storm of blows from the Grumpy Badger. He was able to break contact once, but did not have the time or space to switch to a better offense or a better defense. Chiyonokuni takes him out to improve to 5-4.

Abi defeats Chiyotairyu – Abi opens with his traditional double arm push, and as Chiyotairyu dials up the forward pressure in response, Abi steps out of the way. Chiyotairyu hits the clay face-first, and Abi picks up his 8th win for kachi-koshi.

Chiyomaru defeats Tobizaru – Points to Tobizaru for staying in the fight during Chiyomaru’s “Stand them up / slap them down” phase. He dove in and went chest to chest with the big round guy, but then found that Chiyomaru’s mass worked a ballast for yotsu-zumo as well. A surprisingly rapid dash forward transported Tobizaru like a bug plastered against the windshield of a speeding dump truck across the tawara. Chiyomaru improves to 5-4.

Ishiura defeats Kotoeko – Kotoeko has speed, intensity and goes full out every day. And loses. Today was his 8th as he throws everything he can at Ishiura, but Kotoeko finds his kirikaeshi attempt collapsing at the edge as Ishiura shuts him down. That’s loss number 8 for Kotoeko, and make-koshi, while Ishiura improves to 4-5.

Chiyoshoma defeats Kotonowaka – Chiyoshoma’s first ever win against Kotonowaka. It was not a henka, or a trick move, rather a heft helping of straight ahead power vs power. Kimarite is listed as watashikomi, so I guess Chiyoshoma grabbed a leg in there. It was all kind of a blur. Chiyoshoma improves to 5-4.

Ura defeats Aoiyama – Aoiyama opens with a V-Twin thrust to the face region, but finds Ura has already ducked down and in, and connects with nothing but air. Aoiyama attempts to lock Ura’s right arm, and puts a lot of pressure on Ura’s elbow, getting almost to Tamawashi’s famous “arm breaker” move, but then relenting. Ura responds with a shoulder grab and swings Aoiyama down to the clay with a katasukashi. Ura improves to 7-2.

Tamawashi defeats Hidenoumi – Tamawashi’s right hand nodowa at the tachiai did a lot of work to remove most of the ring from Hidenoumi, leaving him on one foot and turned to the side. Two hands to Hidenoumi’s broad chest and it was all over in a total of 3 steps. Tamawashi improves to 7-2.

Shimanoumi defeats Takarafuji – So frustrating for a Takarafuji fan. He sets up really well, but just seems to lack about 10%-20% of his normal power face to face. Foot placement – excellent. Shutting down Shimanoumi’s attempt to get his hands positioned – excellent. Body position – excellent. But Shimanoumi is able to drive through him and take him out. Shimanoumi has the better sumo today, and improves to 4-5.

Takanosho defeats Myogiryu – Myogiryu’s. ring sense failed him today, as in the course of responding to Takanosho’s starting combo, he places a right foot over the bales and into the janome. Takanosho’s win takes him out of the funnel, and he has won 4 straight, after a shaky 1-2 start, improving to 6-3.

Okinoumi defeats Daieisho – Daieisho opens strong with attacks to the neck and chest of Okinoumi. But it seems Okinoumi’s match plan was to drain Daieisho’s early surge, and set up a solid defense. As certain as night following day, Daieisho’s guard dropped for a moment after his second combo attack, and Okinoumi got to work. 3 steps later, Daieisho was out, with both ending the day at 3-6.

Kiribayama defeats Wakatakakage – A grim match, both of these future hopefuls are having a crummy November, and started the day with matching 2-6 records. But there was some fast sumo action, with Wakatakakage attacking first, and Kiribayama responded by loading up a throw, double arm gripping Wakatakakage’s right arm. The kakenage worked a treat, improving Kiribayama to 3-6.

Onosho defeats Ichinojo – Oh dear. Ichinojo decided to try a pull against the maximum force of Onosho’s initial pushing attack. This left Ichinojo with no defense, no offense, and no route of escape. Three steps later he’s over the bales and both end the day with 3-6 records.

Mitakeumi defeats Meisei – I see matches like this, and it makes me a bit agitated. This is bloody Ozeki Mitakeumi right here. Why can’t we have this every basho? I guess the same reason we can’t have ultra-mega-Shodai most of the time, it’s just too much for these guys to maintain that intensity. Meisei made a good show of it, but this was Mitakeumi with the fire today. He picks up his 8th win and is kachi-koshi for November.

Takakeisho defeats Hoshoryu – Some nods to Hoshoryu. First, he was able to endure Takakeisho’s tsuppari for a time and remain upright and in the match. Second, he managed to get a hand on the Ozeki’s belt. But the mawashi hold did not no good, as it allowed Takakeisho to fix his range, and apply maximum pushing force at a single distance. I am sure it was like getting hit by a truck. Takakeisho improves to 9-0. I think Takakeisho took a chunk out of the dohyo with that dismount.

Endo defeats Shodai – Endo had his preferred frontal grip, and used it to encourage Shodai to progress forward, brining his body out of position, and setting up the tsukiotoshi that dropped him to the clay. Both end the day 5-4, and are solidly in the funnel. Shodai, get it together man! Shodai looked dejected as he bowed to the winner and slouched off the dohyo today.

Terunofuji defeats Takayasu – Takayasu, to his credit, decided it was chest to chest with the Yokozuna from the start. He quickly set up his angled stance that telegraphed he was settling in for a long, draining contest of stamina. But this was no contest against some rank and file rikishi. Terunofuji let Takayasu setting in, then on came that amazing strength. How he can transfer that much power to ground through those knees, I will never know. But he gets Takayasu off his feet and bucks him back, one step at a time. It’s a struggle, but Terunofuji puts Takayasu across the bales to improves to 9-0.

The middle weekend is behind us, and it’s time to crank the second half of this final basho of 2021 into action. While the yusho race will take our interest in a few days, right now I am watching to see how many rikishi the schedulers can shove into a path to get to 7-7 on the final day. Right now I count 23 rikishi who might end up at the narrow end of the funnel in 6 days. There is almost no chance there will be that many with 7-7 records to start day 15, but I am going to guess there may be as many as 10. This is the kind of things that happen when everyone turns in middling performances in week 1, and a huge crowd is bunched around the make-koshi / kachi-koshi line. Time for some of these guys to turn up the power and get their sumo in gear.

One man who is not going to get anywhere near the funnel seems to be Abi. Since his suspension in July of 2020, he sat out for 6 months, returning in the lower end of Makushita. His record since coming back into active competition is a startling 35-7, with three yusho along the way. I cite his sumo as one dimensional, and I invite anyone to help persuade me otherwise, but that same sumo is going to put him right back in the top half of Makkuchi soon. He had a 4 basho posting to Komusubi, and I am going to guess, barring injury, we will see him back there by May of next year.

Kyushu Leaderboard

Leaders: Terunofuji, Takakeisho
Hunt Group: Mitakeumi, Abi
Chasers: Tamawashi, Ura, Hokutofuji, Sadanoumi

7 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 9

Kagayaki vs Akua – Kagayaki needs to be careful now, he’s at 3-5, and low enough rank that there may be an outside chance that he could be handed a ticket on the Juryo barge of the damned. He’s only faced Akua once, and that match went to Akua. Wait, did I say Akua, no, this was a Makushita match in 2013 where Tatsu (Kagayaki) faced off against Toyononami (Akua).

Shohozan vs Tochinoshin – Speaking of that juryo barge, these two may want to consider packing their sea-bags soon. A loss today, and Shohozan is make-koshi, and the first to get piped aboard. Tochinoshin is in tough shape with 2 wins, but his M13 rank will be considered out of demotion range in most cases. They have a 24 match career record that favors Tochinoshin 16-8, but given how banged up they both are, none of that matters.

Yutakayama vs Sadanoumi – People may think I am a bit too imaginative with the funnel concept, but look at this match. 2-6 Yutakayama is on a solid make-koshi path, and Sadanoumi at 6-2 will be kachi-koshi soon enough. By making these two fight, they leave room in the torikumi to keep the 3-5s fighting 4-4s. That’s the funnel in action. Sadanoumi is going to blast Yutakayama out before he remembers what he was going to do, would be my guess.

Kaisei vs Hokutofuji – Solid test match today to see if over-demoted Hokutofuji is healthy, as pushing around someone of Kaisei’s size takes a solid performance. I suspect an early nodowa, and a quick run to the bales for Hokutofuji. But I am not so sure Kaisei will want to go along with that.

Chiyonokuni vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi needs to upgrade his playbook, because as of right now, it seems most everyone has figured out not only his opening moves, but his recovery moves, his rescue moves, and his desperation moves. Chiyonokuni will hope to keep Terutsuyoshi far enough back that he can continue hitting him for maximum sumo effectiveness. This is, indeed, their first ever match.

Chiyotairyu vs Abi – Chiyotairyu win today would see him exit the funnel. So of course they give him Abi, who is not only red-hot, but also has a 3-1 career advantage over Chiyotairyu. I wonder if Chiyotairyu remembers to thrust upward against Abi’s elbows to shut down his attack….

Chiyomaru vs Tobizaru – Tobizaru will have plenty of opportunity for lateral motion today against Chiyomaru, and in fact I strongly recommend it. Chiyomaru will look to keep Tobizaru back to sustain his tsuki/oshi attack. Tobizaru will want to get close in and try to get to the side of the round one.

Kotoeko vs Ishiura – Kotoeko can knock Ishiura out of the funnel with a win today. I don’t see that happening at all, given that Kotoeko has just a single win, achieved on day 8 with a very narrow set of conditions that even my 4 year old son could have won against Terutsuyoshi.

Kotonowaka vs Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma has never won a match against Kotonowaka in all 7 attempts. While I am delighted that Chiyoshoma has decided to up his sumo performance, I think he will hit the clay again today against Kotonowaka. My guess would be a throw to put him down.

Ura vs Aoiyama – An Ura win would more or less knock Aoiyama out of the funnel, and would put himself one win away from kachi-koshi. He just needs to not let Big Dan catch him in the head with one of those big swings he loves to take. There is ample evidence that Aoiyama is fighting hurt, and not quite up to his normal intensity.

Hidenoumi vs Tamawashi – Tamawashi is, in my opinion, on track for double digits. His match against Hidenoumi strongly favors Tamawashi in form, intensity and career record (3-1 for Tamawashi). Once Tamawashi gets his hands in the right place, he can apply an amazing amount of force into his opponent, and Hidenoumi presents a rather broad target.

Takarafuji vs Shimanoumi – Loser of this match gets to exit the funnel, winner continues the march toward 7-7. Both have matching 3-5 records coming into day 9, and both are looking tentative every day.

Myogiryu vs Takanosho – Takanosho comes into today’s matches with three straight wins, and just maybe he has his sumo back in working order. I would really like to see him back in the san’yaku, but he needs a bit better consistency to get there. After an 11-4 jun-yusho in September, 2-6 Myogiryu certainly looks over-promoted at this point.

Daieisho vs Okinoumi – Blistering tsuki / oshi vs Mr. steady-state chest to chest sumo. They have 20 career matches, and they are split an even 10-10. Both are likely on the make-koshi path, so this match is more about a clash of styles.

Wakatakakage vs Kiribayama – Both of these younger future stars are having a rough basho, after enjoying quite a bit of success the rest of this year. They have matching 2-6 records, and are either hurt or incredibly demoralized. The good news is that they both outside the funnel, and won’t have to worry about the doom march everyone gets to endure.

Ichinojo vs Onosho – Like Wakatakakage and Kiribayama, Onosho can only dream of having enough wins to be included in the funnel. Instead he is going to fight a fairly rowdy Ichinojo, who make be quite a bit more conservative today after blowing his match against Ozeki Takakeisho on day 8 with a hair pull. Should Onosho prevail today, he would likewise knock Ichinojo out of the funnel.

Mitakeumi vs Meisei – I am looking for kachi-koshi today from Mitakeumi. We are not into act 3, so I don’t think we will see any fade start today. With any luck, he can put together 3 more wins and end up with double digits, and a distant glimmer of hope for yet another Ozeki run.

Hoshoryu vs Takakeisho – Hoshoryu has got to find a belt grip, or he’s little more than ballast for the mobile launching system known as Takakeisho. Any belt grip seems to work, but in his prior 2 attempts, it was all Takakeisho. The Ozeki wants to keep pace with Terunofuji, so he will look to put Hoshoryu away in the first 10 seconds.

Shodai vs Endo – Endo is in the middle of the funnel this time, and rightly so. His opening gambits have failed more than normal, and he has shown great difficulty switching to “plan b” in most matches. The challenge fighting Shodai is that most of the time, the whole thing is going to be plan B at best. Shodai, an Ozeki, is the highest ranked member of the funnel cohort.

Terunofuji vs Takayasu – Takayasu actually has a 12-10 career advantage over Terunofuji. But he has not taken a single match from Terunofuji since Terunofuji achieve Ozeki this time through the ranks. Oh I do hope he goes for a grinding stamina match against the Yokozuna, as I am curious just how long Terunofuji can maintain his stance against that much force.

Some sumo fans thought that day 8 lacked some of the interest that the first week showed with such flair. Maybe so. A lot of mischief at the tachiai across the board. But some brilliant work by Tobizaru, a first win for Kotoeko, and Kotonowaka channeling Kotoshogiku for a moment were enough for me.

We have two rikishi kachi-koshi now, the two men at the top of the banzuke: Yokozuna Terunofuji and Ozeki Takakeisho. I think we know that the second half of this tournament are going to be those two grinding through the rest of the field, working to the last match of the last day, which I am going to guess will decide the yusho. The spoiler? Mitakeumi! He’s perfect for that role, and he is uncharacteristically consistent this November. Will he keep up the power into week 2, or suffer his traditional fade?

Highlight Matches

Sadanoumi defeats Shohozan – At least Shohozan tried to open with power. He got a good combo in again Sadanoumi. But Sadanoumi is quick enough he got to the side, sending Shohozan to the clay. Ugly tournament for home town by Shohozan now at 1-7, Sadanoumi advances to 6-2.

Kaisei defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki attacked the face, Kaisei went center mass. You have to know if someone as big as Kaisei puts force against your chest, you are moving back. What happened next was a fairly complex battle for grip and hand position that does a lot to describe the skill level of these two. This may have gone on longer, but Kagayaki gets to far forward and Kaisei puts him on the deck. Kaisei improves to 4-4 and stays in the middle of the funnel.

Akua defeats Tochinoshin – Tochinoshin tried a bit of a deflection at the tachiai, but Akua stays targeted, and presses the attack. Tochinoshin does not have the core body strength with his injured back to really supply forward pressure, and rapidly steps out. Akua improves to 4-4.

Chiyomaru defeats Ishiura – I can only image that Ishiura must also be nursing some core body injury, such as a bad back, too. He spends this match attempting to evade Chiyomaru, only to be progressively bracketed and force out. Almost no offensive sumo from Ishiura today. Chiyomaru joins the group at 4-4.

Hokutofuji defeats Chiyonokuni – Hokutofuji ensures that Chiyonokuni can’t open a gap and begin any kind of thrusting attack. From the tachiai he kept close, and kept moving forward. Once on the move, Chiyonokuni could not find a route to step aside, and took a journey in meet the lead shimpan ringside. Hokutofuji improves to 6-2.

Kotonowaka defeats Yutakayama – Kotonowaka extends his career score against Yutakayama to 4-0. Pretty standard oshi-zumo match, but I did like the finishing gaburi-yori from Kotonowaka. I think there should be a new special prize, the “Kotoshogiku-sho” for the best use of the belly bump during a basho. It comes with year’s supply of katsu-curry from CoCo Ichibanya. Kotonowaka improves to 3-5.

Abi defeats Hidenoumi – Abi with that right hand nodowa again today. I guess the guys he has been fighting don’t have a good way to break that in the first step. Before Abi’s suspension, most rikishi in the upper half of Makuuchi had ways to shut down his opening gambit. I did note that once Hidenoumi broke the hold that Abi went in close to escort him out, good follow through there. Abi improves to 7-1, and he is clearly headed higher up the banzuke for 2022. I look forward to his test matches in act 3, I wonder who they are going to pair him off against.

Kotoeko defeats Terutsuyoshi – About bloody time! Kotoeko picks up his first win by reading Terutsuyoshi’s match plan correctly. Terutsuyoshi went for a super-low tachiai, probably looking for an immediate leg pick. Kotoeko simply stood his ground, and pushed him down. First win for Kotoeko, now at 1-7.

Ura defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu chose the big-power tachiai today, directly into Ura’s twisting henka. It was a graceful, fluid grab and twist motion that put a tight 180° on Chiyotairyu before he could it the clay. Ura improves to 6-2. Hey, if you are going to henka, at least do it with flair! It looked even better on the slow motion replay.

Shimanoumi defeats Aoiyama – Solid match from both of them, with a couple of really good recoveries. But Shimanoumi catches Aoiyama too high, and a bit on his heels, and runs him out smartly. Both end the day at 3-5, and are at the bottom edge of the funnel.

Tobizaru defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi kept control of this match from the start, and his plan was to keep Tobizaru away from his mawashi no matter what. It worked brilliantly, but Tamawashi quickly ran out of ideas. For a moment the two stood center-dohyo holding hands, when Tobizaru kicked Tamawashi’s right foot out from under him. Brilliant move, just perfect Tobizaru sumo. He improves to 5-3 by handing Tamawashi just his second loss of November.

Takayasu defeats Chiyoshoma – With the spate of henka or henka-adjacent moves today, you would expect a leaping masterpiece from Chiyoshoma. Instead he took Takayasu on face to face. Takayasu dug in hard, and got a working mawashi hold, and powered through Chiyoshoma’s defenses to improve to 5-3.

Hoshoryu defeats Onosho – I think Onosho had a shot at this, but Hoshoryu’s hand placement at the tachiai was superb. In response, Onosho dials up the forward power and moves ahead. But Hoshoryu’s hands are still well placed. With Onosho’s forward momentum established, Hoshoryu thrusts him down with the second katasukashi of the day (Ura’s was first). Hoshoryu improves to 4-4.

Takanosho defeats Wakatakakage – Wakatakakage came in strong at the tachiai, but he yielded the inside position to Takanosho, who wasted no time in taking control of the match. Shifting into forward mode, Takanosho ran Wakatakakage about a bit, and then dumped him over the bales, improving to 5-3.

Kiribayama defeats Daieisho – Big power thrusting match here, Daieisho pushing against Kiribayama’s face, and Kiribayama trying to work center mass. Daieisho had the advantage at first, but the two were evenly balanced. It ended suddenly when it looked to me that Daieisho’s left leg collapsed. Kiribayama picks up a much needed second win, to advance to 2-6.

Mitakeumi defeats Okinoumi – This one was all Mitakeumi. Okinoumi had a solid tachiai, but on the second step, Mitakeumi took control and never let go. Mitakeumi improves to 7-1, staying one win behind the leaders.

Meisei defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji sets up his defend and extend sumo, but just can’t seem to hold ground. Lower back problems maybe? This is not the first day I wondered if he’s having problems transmitting power to the clay. Meisei advances to 4-4, remaining in the middle of the funnel.

Shodai defeats Myogiryu – There it was, a brief flash of the “Wall of Daikon” technique. Myogiryu launches off the shikiri-sen, Shodai stands his ground at the tachiai, and all of Meisei’s forward force breaks like the wave upon a rock. Myogiryu is off balance for his second step, and Shodai throws him down, improving to 5-3. Why even bother moving when your opponent can do all the work for you?

Takakeisho defeats Ichinojo – Where to start with this mess. Ichinojo launches early, and they trade meaty shoves. Takakeisho gets in a face slap, and moments later we see Ichinojo with a solid grip on Takakeisho’s mage (top knot). Well, that’s a problem. Ichinojo gets a right hand frontal grip. They lock up and lean into each other. Hell, it does not matter, this match was over at the hair pull. A few minutes later, Ichinojo gets his second hand on the Ozeki’s mawashi, and proceeds to apply a really powerful yorikiri to heave Takakeisho out of the ring. Well, tough toenails Boulder. Mono-ii time and you are disqualified for that big tug on the hair. Takakeisho gets his 8th win by hansoku and is kachi-koshi.

Terunofuji defeats Endo – Whatever majestic plan Endo had going into this match to dominate the Yokozuna did not survive to the second step. It looked like he wanted to take that right hand deep, but instead got a chest full of Terunofuji. Terunofuji had both hands inside against Endo’s chest, putting maximum force to the front. Three steps later, the Yokozuna had him out, and his kachi-koshi at the same moment.