Goeido 1.5.1

Haru Day 7 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Arawashi (荒鷲), Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyonokuni (千代の国), Daiamami (大奄美), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Haru Basho 2018 (Osaka), Hidenoumi, Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Sōkokurai (蒼国来), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風), Yutakayama , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kakuryu Day 7 Dohyo Iri

All hail the wisdom of the scheduling team – tasked to begin to separate the good from the great, their will was enacted with great effect during day 7. There is some fantastic sumo action to enjoy today, so it’s another day to find Kintamayama or Jason’s sumo channels and soak in the excellence on display during the Haru basho.

It should be noted, the Oitekaze Makuuchi guys [That’s Endo, Daiesho, Daishomaru, and Daiamami –PinkMawashi] are on fire right now. They have, during past basho, had nicely above average records, but they seem to be on the march this time. I am looking towards them for some future sumo leadership, and I am seeing reasons to hope.

Highlight Matches

Myogiryu defeats Hidenoumi – I am a sucker for a strength and endurance match, and these two lower end Maegashira men provided a great example of the type. Really good form from both, and it was a pleasure to watch.

Ikioi defeats Aoiyama – Oh yes he did indeed! In spite of the pain and injuries, Ikioi explodes out of the tachiai, leaving Aoiyama on the defensive and moving backward. He tried to grab Ikioi’s head, while Ikioi dropped his hips, spread his feet and hugged the man-mountain. Aoiyama now realizes he’s in deep deep trouble, he’s high, and his heels are on the tawara. A strong and smooth shove by Ikioi and the Bulgarian is out. What a great win for a rikishi who is giving it everything in spite of his problems.

Daishomaru defeats Sokokurai – Daishomaru stays with the chasers in a really strong win over Sokokurai. Daishomaru may be one to watch, as he seems to be coming into his own, and showing some very strong sumo in the first half of Haru.

Asanoyama defeats Tochiozan – Try as he might, Tochiozan could not disrupt Asanoyama’s offense today. Asanoyama’s form was excellent today, hips low, feet wide and at 45° to the front, moving low and strongly. This is why I am sure that in a year or so, we are going to be looking at Asanoyama as a mainstay of mid to upper Makuuchi. Tochiozan fought well, but his injuries leave him at only 70% of full power.

Daiamami defeats Chiyonokuni – Both Oitekaze rikishi stay in the chase group, one off the leaders. Chiyonokuni gave Daiamami a rough ride, but Daiamami absorbed it all and worked to get into an attack position. After Chiyonokuni’s failed throw attempt, Daiamami rallied and took the Grumpy Badger to his chest. The closing uwatenage seemed to have an extra kick to it, as if Daiamami were disposing of an unpleasant burden. Excellent sumo.

Ryuden defeats Ishiura – For the second straight day, Ishiura tries doing some battle sumo. He’s not winning, but he looks to be doing better. Ryuden is getting dangerously close to the make-koshi line, and its increasing his drive to win.

Okinoumi defeats Yutakayama – As anticipated, strength and experience overcame youthful vigor to carry the day. Okinoumi is at a welcome 5-2 record at the end of the first week of sumo.

Daieisho defeats Hokutofuji – Yet another Oitekaze win. Daieisho kept in motion, with Hokutofuji pursuing. This has been a key to defeating him, as he does not move with superior stability. The throw at the tawara is a great example of Daieisho’s ability to keep himself planted to the clay, even in awkward moves.

Kaisei defeats Kagayaki – Kaisei stays in the leader group today. It was an easy bout, Kaisei moved forward, and Kagayaki stepped out and collapsed.

Chiyomaru defeats Abi – Chiyomaru’s mighty chin-bag kept Abi confused and off rhythm, never getting his thrusting attack started. As fans have noted, Abi tends to lean in quite a bit on offense, so Chiyomaru simply stepped aside and let Issac Newton do the rest.

Shodai defeats Yoshikaze – Congrats to Shodai, but what on earth happened to Yoshikaze? This is killing me, folks.

Kotoshogiku defeats Endo – Endo made the mistake of letting the Kyushu Bulldozer start the bump and grind. In his heyday, there were few who could withstand this attack, and Endo should have gone into the match with a means to prevent it. Kotoshogiku went chest to chest immediately, got his grip, and started his motor.

Tamawashi defeats Ichinojo – Big surprise for day 7. Ichinojo withered under Tamawashi’s powerful oshi-zumo. Ichinojo seems to have tried for a pull-down, but Tamawashi kept up the pressure and had the giant backward and out before he could mount a counterattack. Good work Tamawashi!

Tochinoshin defeats Arawashi – Arawashi is really in rough shape physically and provided no actual challenge to Tochinoshin. As soon as the Hatsu Yusho Winner landed his left hand, it was just a matter of when not if.

Mitakeumi defeats Chiyotairyu – I do believe Mitakeumi smells the winds of change blowing, and he knows it may be “now or never” for him to elevate his sumo. Chiyotairyu opened strong, but Mitakeumi found an opening and counter-attacked. Due to poor camera work, it’s tough to tell how the match ended, but I think Chiyotairyu touched out first.

Goeido defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji can’t buy a win, and the much feared “Bouncy Castle Mode” did not activate today for Goeido. Takarafuji battled strongly, but each time it seemed he would put the Ozeki to the clay, Goeido rallied. If any man deserves recognition for fighting spirit this basho, it’s Takarafuji.

Takayasu defeats Shohozan – Shohozan was never going to go down easy, and he opened with a blistering oshi-attack. Takayasu realized he was getting moved, and went chest to chest. Pinning Shohozan’s left arm, the Ozeki worked to contain his opponent and wear him down. A failed attempt to throw Shohozan resulted in an escape and Shohozan delivering a brutal nodowa, moving Takayasu back. Back to tsuppari, then once again chest to chest. Shohozan was going to find a way to win, no matter what! Shohozan had a right-hand shallow grip, with Takayasu pinning his left arm high and straight. They broke their grips, and the oshi-battle resumed! Both were clearly tired, and the match ended with Shohozan losing his footing, and hitting the clay. Fantastic effort from both men.

Kakuryu defeats Takakeisho – Kakuryu was in real danger two times, as Takakeisho was able to unleash his “Wave Action Tsuppari”, the force and aggression of which moved the Yokozuna back to the bales. He rallied, but Takakeisho once again attacked. The close was a chaotic tumble for Takakeisho from the west side of the dohyo. A monoii is called, as there is some question who stepped out first. Replays showed that as Takakeisho was airborne, Kakuryu’s big toe of his left foot touched the sand outside the ring. The shimpan upheld the gyoji’s decision, and even though I think it should have been a kinboshi, the result was a spotless record for the Yokozuna.

Haru Day 5 Preview

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Arawashi (荒鷲), Asanoyama (朝乃山), Chiyomaru, Chiyonokuni (千代の国), Daiamami (大奄美), Daieisho (大栄翔), Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Haru Basho 2018 (Osaka), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Nishikigi, Ryuden (竜電), Shohozan, Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tochinoshin Flying Lesson

We come to the end of the first act, and it’s clear that there are a few “sleepers” in the ranks. Rikishi who have been ranked higher who have returned to their previous, genki ways. They are now ripping their opponents apart and having marvelous runs. The pace and rhythm of a basho takes this into account. The first act is all about seeing who is hot, and who is not. Starting on Friday, act two will take the hot, feed them into increasingly difficult bouts, seeking to winnow the great from the good. This should include Aoiyama, Kaisei, Shohozan and oddly enough, an injured Ikioi.

What We Are Watching Day 5

Aoiyama vs Myogiryu – The big Bulgarian will likely continue to act as a massive, flabby wrecking ball at the bottom end of the banzuke. Myogiryu has split their career record 9-9, but right now Aoiyama seems to be a man possessed, and he is giving everyone black stars as prizes.

Ikioi vs Daiamami – How long can Ikioi keep winning? He has only faced Daiamami once, and he won that match. So far the Osaka native has had a very good run, and he is halfway to a kachi-koshi. His key to winning has been moving fast and low out of the tachiai and for most of his opponents that has left them reacting, usually poorly, to his authoritative opening moves.

Nishikigi vs Asanoyama – Both men are fairly safe in Makuuchi if they can get at least 6 wins, but both are struggling to get past two. Asanoyama showed a lot of potential during his debut tournament, Aki 2017, but seems to have lost the throttle on his sumo. He faces off against Nishikigi who is working hard to keep himself at or above 50%.

Ishiura vs Chiyonokuni – In his 5 prior matches against Chiyonokuni, Ishiura has not found a way to beat the Grumpy Badger. Like many of the younger rikishi, they seem to have hit some kind of wall and are struggling to move to higher levels of performance. Ishiura at 2-2 could get his “go ahead” win on day 5 if he can stand up to Chiyonokuni’s typically frantic attacks.

Tochiozan vs Ryuden – The first match between the two, and Tochiozan is looking questionable already. I would give a definite advantage to Ryuden.

Daieisho vs Yoshikaze – Also a first-time match, we saw some small amount of fire from Yoshikaze on day 4, and fans can begin to hope that he will return to his high-energy sumo. But then again, he does turn 36 next week. Sumo life likely takes a heavy toll on his body.

Abi vs Kagayaki – Both are tall, Abi is lanky, Kagayaki is deliberate. Abi seems to jump about and attack with rapid blows, Kagayaki plans and moves with care and power. Could be a good match, or a complete snore fest.

Chiyomaru vs Kaisei – I love me some Chiyomaru, but I am not sure if anyone is going to slow down Kaisei during week one.

Arawashi vs Shohozan – Arawashi holds a 5-3 career advantage over Shohozan, but right now “Big Guns” is on a tear, and I don’t think the winless Arawashi will have any mojo to slow him down.

Ichinojo vs Endo – Oh you wonderful schedulers. It’s time to take a couple of hard-charging, genki guys from the joi, and face them off. I could say Ichinojo holds a slight 3-2 career advantage, but that’s not going to matter this time. The Boulder has outrageous mass, love of ice cream and no fear of wolves on his side. Endo has his enchanted golden mawashi, a legion of swooning little old ladies and some kind of bionic foot it seems. Who’s going to win? Maybe Endo shows up Thursday leading a horse to the dohyo. Ichinojo loses focus and it’s easy from there. I am hoping Endo is watching Mitakeumi’s day 4 bout.

Chiyotairyu vs Tochinoshin – Sumo Elvis against the Yusho Man. I am going with Tochinoshin, as I think day 4’s loss really motivated him.

Mitakeumi vs Tamawashi – The thing to note, Mitakeumi leads their career series 9-2, so in this case, that’s a clear advantage. Tamawashi is looking “good enough” to handle Mitakeumi this time around. I would be interested to see if we get a Henka here, it is almost begging for Mitakeumi’s cannonball tachiai to meet thin air.

Takakeisho vs Goeido – Takakeisho steps onto the dohyo with a plan to dismantle nearly everyone he might face. You can see it in the way he conducts himself, and how he fights. Goeido, sadly, is riddled with doubts and worries. I think Takakeisho will psych out the Ozeki, and that we are going to see a fast match, one way or the other. Slight edge to Goeido here, as he is in his hometown, and he’s not happy about his loss to Endo.

Takayasu vs Kotoshogiku – the match of great sadness, We have an Ozeki who discarded his excellent sumo form to become a street fighter, facing off against a broken wreck of a former Ozeki who’s body can no longer support his favorite technique. Someone please just let them toss a coin and go drinking.

Kakuryu vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji has only won a single time in 13 matches against Kakuryu. So my hope is that their match does not result in further injury to the surviving Yokozuna relic.

Haru Day 2 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Arawashi (荒鷲), Chiyomaru, Chiyonokuni (千代の国), Chiyoshoma, Daiamami (大奄美), Daieisho (大栄翔), Daishomaru, Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Haru Basho 2018 (Osaka), Hidenoumi, Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Ishiura (石浦), Kagayaki (輝), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Takekaze (豪風), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風), Yutakayama , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kakuryu Osaka 2018

A quick recap of day two action from Osaka. Ichinojo looks to be the real spoiler for this basho, and as long as he keeps up this run, he’s going to be tough to beat. Takayasu seems to be off to a cold start, and Mitakeumi can smell the opportunity ripe in the air. Can he finally score double digits this time? We get to see Takakeisho unleash his wave-action attack, and Shohozan lands a beauty of a slap.

Highlight Matches

Aoiyama defeats Daiamami – It’s tough to know what plagued Aoiyama in Kyushu, but he looks to be back to his overpowering self now. At the very bottom of the Makuuchi division, he can do a lot of damage if he is healthy. The enormous left knee bandage is a worry, but he seems to be moving well enough for now.

Hidenoumi defeats Takekaze – Takekaze tries to hit and shift, but Hidenoumi stays low and engaged. Clearly, Hidenoumi knew what to expect, and read the situation well. This could be the twilight of veteran Takekaze’s time on camera.

Ikioi defeats Myogiryu – Myogiryu came out of the tachiai strong, but Ikioi very effectively blocked him, tied him up and shut him down. Myogiryu rallied, but Ikioi had the inside position and stepped back, forcing Myogiryu off balance. Ikioi charged and used his momentum to drive Myogiryu from the dohyo. Nicely done, in spite of Ikioi’s injuries.

Ishiura defeats Daishomaru – These Ishiura henkas are getting boring. This one had a nice variation, in that Ishiura rolled into a quick sukuinage.

Yutakayama defeats Chiyoshoma – Nice drive from Yutakayama, and Chiyoshoma can put up almost no resistance. Yutakayama had difficulty holding on to his Maegashira rank in his first few attempts, but he seems to have settled into the top division.

Chiyonokuni defeats Tochiozan – Tochiozan is clearly still injured, but Chiyonokuni drives hard (as he always does), and dominates Tochiozan.

Kagayaki defeats Okinoumi – Some nice work here by Kagayaki, who fights hard to get inside, and focuses on keeping control of Okinoumi’s upper body while relentlessly driving forward. The veteran can’t recover, and it’s Kagayaki’s win.

Daieisho defeats Ryuden – Daieisho came off the line hard and was nothing short of fierce in his bout today against Ryuden. At no point did he let Ryuden mount an effective defense or offense. A half step ahead from the start, Daieisho drove Ryuden from the ring.

Kaisei defeats Abi – It’s really interesting to see Abi work at this higher rank. He is encountering some big men who are fairly genki this tournament. Abi starts with nodowa and tries to convert that into a slap down, but Kaisei is too massive and too stable. Once Abi starts moving backward, Kaisei chases him down for the win.

Yoshikaze defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji really applies himself in this match and has Yoshikaze back in a hurry, and off balance. But the Berserker rallies and gets Hokutofuji in retreat. Both of them take a dive off the lip of the dohyo, with an unfortunate tea-bag delivered by Yozhikaze in the lap of a shimpan.

Shohozan defeats Chiyomaru – Trading blows from the tachiai, this match features a really energetic slap delivered to Chiyomaru’s face, which seems to disrupt his thrusting attack. From there it’s all Shohozan for the win.

Takakeisho defeats Shodai – Takakeisho takes full advantage of Shodai’s weak and high tachiai, coming in low, strong and fast. From there, he fires up the “wave action” and Shodai is doomed. Shodai tries a wave himself and receives a pride obliterating face-slap from Takakeisho. This was all Takakeisho’s sumo.

Kotoshogiku defeats Chiyotairyu – While it looked like Kotoshogiku was going to set up the Hug-N-Chug, he rolled to his right for a nice sukuinage. Chiyotairyu was defeated before he knew what happened.

Mitakeumi defeats Takarafuji – Mitakeumi battles hard immediately to block Takarafuji landing a controlling grip, and for a time the two of them struggle almost motionless in the middle of the dohyo. You can see the extreme exertion as each man tries to overpower the other. To Mitakeumi’s credit, Takarafuji breaks the scrum and manages to get Mitakeumi moving backward, but Mitakeumi takes his time and counter-attacks. Nice sumo from both men.

Tamawashi defeats Tochinoshin – Tochinoshin was driving hard for a grip, and Tamawashi used that to his advantage. Unable to get the match on his terms, Tochinoshin battled hard but it was Tamawashi who called the tune.

Ichinojo defeats Takayasu – I fear that Pooh-Bear has gotten so used to using that shoulder blast, he is not sure how to engage someone like Ichinojo. Clearly, he is off the pace and out of his element from the start, and Ichinojo gives him no quarter. Takayasu drives forward against Ichinojo’s immovable bulk, and Ichinojo helps him continue in motion all the way to the clay. The big Mongolian made it look easy.

Goeido defeats Arawashi – Good thing, too! Goeido launched early, and it should have probably been a matta. He was in Arawashi’s chest in no time and drove him back and out.

Kakuryu defeats Endo – Endo made him work hard for this win, and really put up a strong fight against the sole surviving Yokozuna. Endo drove Kakuryu back to the tawara within the first few moments, but the Yokozuna’s reactive sumo took over and got Endo off balance and moving towards the center of the ring. A well-timed hatakikomi sent Endo to the clay.

Haru Day 1 Highlights

Bruce H Abi (阿炎), Aoiyama, Arawashi (荒鷲), Chiyomaru, Chiyoshoma, Daiamami (大奄美), Endo (遠藤), Gōeidō (豪栄道), Haru Basho 2018 (Osaka), Hidenoumi, Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Ikioi (勢), Ishiura (石浦), Kaisei (魁聖), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Kotoyuki, Kyokutaisei, Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Nishikigi, Okinoumi (隠岐の海), Ryuden (竜電), Shohozan, Shōdai (正代直也), Sōkokurai (蒼国来), Takakeishō (貴景勝), Takarafuji (宝富士), Takayasu (高安), Tamawashi (玉鷲), Tochinoshin (栃ノ心), Tochiozan (栃煌山), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Haru Headliners

Overnight, the Tachiai team conducted our first successful live blog in parallel with the NHK World Live broadcast of a portion of Makuuchi. The live broadcast was a real treat, but unfortunately for viewers, the torikumi was running about 10 minuets ahead of schedule. The commentary by Murray Johnson and John Gunning was engaging and delightful, definitely a cut above the remarks that make it into the highlight show. As several people have mentioned, we were shocked and delighted when our humble sumo fan site got mentioned on air. Wow. This is a testament to the team that puts Tachiai together, and the thousands of readers who share their time with us. Thank you to everyone for helping take the sport of Sumo to a broader audience. The broadcast started just as Chiyomaru and Shodai went for the tachiai, and it was (hopefully) the shape of things to come.

Earlier today, readers may have noted I posted a story about Kisenosato taking a full year off to address his injuries. This came from a prolific sumo poster on Twitter, SumoSoul, who has been quite reliable in the past. In my sleep deprived state, I went with it. At the moment we can’t find a second source in the Japanese press, so we consider it to be more of a rumor than a story at the moment. Apologies for the lapse in the QA process.

Highlight Matches

Aoiyama defeats Kyokutaisei – Kyokutaisei up from Juryo to fill the hole caused by Onosho going kyujo. The Bulgarian Man-Mountain makes fast work of Kyokutaisei, with a forceful pull down. Hopefully whatever problems Aoiyama suffered during Kyushu are resolved.

Daiamami defeats Hidenoumi – Now THAT was a tachiai! It reverberated through the EDION arena like a thunderclap. Both men went chest to chest and fought it out in a battle of strength and stability. Solid win by Daiamami.

Nishikigi defeats Myogiryu – Quite the battle here, another explosive tachiai, and both men went quickly for each other’s mawashi. Myogiryu held the advantage for most of the fight, but Nishikigi kept him blocked, and Myogiryu could never establish control or a solid throwing grip. At the tawara, Nishikigi rallied and put Myogiryu off-balance. Nishikigi got behind and shoved. Great match, great effort from both.

Ikioi defeats Sokokurai – Straightforward win for Ikioi, but he is clearly still hurt.

Ishiura defeats Kotoyuki – Ishiura shifts to the side during the tachiai, Kotoyuki expects the move and catches Ishiura, but Ishiura evades, gets behind and takes control.

Tochiozan defeats Chiyoshoma – Bout ended by mutual slippio-toshi, with Chiyoshoma hitting the clay first. Of course, there was a monoii, and the shimpan decided Chiyoshoma touched first.

Ryuden defeats Okinoumi – Okinoumi put up a solid fight, but he is not consistently able to produce high-powered sumo right now. Ryuden is fast, strong and in good shape right now, and after a mawashi battle, he puts Okinoumi over the bales.

Abi defeats Yoshikaze – I would almost guess that whatever has impacted Yoshikaze is still causing problems. Abi produced a flurry of thrusts, and completely took control of the match. Excellent win for Abi, he looked solid. Yoshikaze needs to revert to the green mawashi.

Kaisei defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji was simply outmatched, and Kaisei appears to be back to fighting form. At one point, Hokutofuji was a solid San’yaku hopeful, but now seems to be struggling. We can only hope that he can get his sumo together soon.

Shodai defeats Chiyomaru – In spite of a sloppy tachiai, Shodai keeps up the pressure and gets Chiyomaru high, off balance, and moving backwards. From there it’s a quick trip over and out.

Shohozan defeats Takakeisho – Takakeisho never had a chance to set up his deadly “Wave Action Tsuppari”, as Shohozan took immediate control, and forced Takakeisho into reactive sumo by going chest to chest. We know Takakeisho can fight this way, but he was outmatched by the massive strength and power from Shohozan. Outstanding strategy and execution from Shohozan, that was a solid win.

Ichinojo defeats Kotoshogiku – Kotoshogiku took him to his chest and tried to set up the Hug-N-Chug attack, but Ichinojo is simply too massive. By the time his heels are on the tawara, rather than giving up Ichinojo rallies and finds Kotoshogiku can offer no resistance to that much mass in motion.

Tochinoshin defeats Takarafuji – Unlike their match at Hatsu, Takarafuji could not find a way to block Tochinoshin’s left hand grip, and from there the Hatsu yusho winner took command and used his superior strength to finish Takarafuji.

Mitakeumi defeats Arawashi – Missing his tomato red mawashi, Mitakeumi gets inside Arawashi’s defenses at the tachiai, and quickly converts to a rolling sukuinage that was all shoulder and hip power. Wow!

Tamawashi defeats Goeido – Goeido pushes inside at the tachiai, absorbing blows to his face, but can’t get Tamawashi off balance. Tamawashi keeps his sumo on track and attacks at once, and it’s Goeido who is forced to retreat. Goeido blows a shallow left mawashi grip attempt, and Tamawashi capitalizes to get behind and force him out.

Endo defeats Takayasu – I am a big Takayasu fan, but his sumo has gone to hell since Kisenosato got hurt. This match is a prime example. Endo knows his big, all or nothing shoulder blast is coming, and he is ready for it. The effort he puts into an up-front winning move leaves him unprepared for counter attack, and that’s exactly what he gets. Endo keeps him reaching forward, and unable to establish either an offensive or defensive posture. When you weigh as much as Takayasu, a clever opponent will use that mass and momentum against you. Try again Pooh-Bear.

Kakuryu defeats Chiyotairyu – I loved this match because the Yokozuna kept moving forward, landed a right-hand grip, which surprised Chiyotairyu. Kakuryu lifted hard with that injured hand and moved forward strongly. It was over in seconds. Way to win Big K!