No changes in attendance today but we have news that Takerufuji will show up on Day 8. He will fight Onokatsu on Day 1. Geez, no relief for the weary!
Down in Juryo, Onokatsu and Shishi lead the pack at 6-1. So, Takerufuji is being immediately injected into the second division yusho race by fighting one of the leaders.
In retirement news, we do have an announcement that Asabenkei, a former Juryo-level wrestler from Takasago-beya, is throwing in the towel. He has battled injury over the past few years. We wish him well in his next career.
On to the action. NHK videos available here.
Day 7 Makuuchi Action
Chiyoshoma(2-0-5) defeated Mitoryu (3-4). Chiyoshoma slammed into Mitoryu and dictated the pace of action. He grabbed Mitoryu’s right arm and rolled the big man down to the floor. Tottari.
Wakatakakage (5-2) defeated Nishikifuji (3-4). Wakatakakage hit Nishikifuji hard and drove him back to the bales. Nishikifuji tried to lose Wakatakakage by shifting left along the bales but Wakatakakage was not fooled and rotated with him. Yorikiri.
Kagayaki (4-3) defeated Takarafuji (2-5). Kagayaki planted his big paw in Takarafuji’s chest and shoved him backwards to the tawara. He followed up with another shove to send Takarafuji over. Oshidashi.
Bushozan (4-3) defeated Hokutofuji (3-4). Hokutofuji brought both arms up behind Bushozan’s head and tried to shove him down. Bushozan kept his balance and moved forward, forcing Hokutofuji from the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Bushozan will face Takarafuji. At this stage, Takarafuji appears to be the one who should have stayed in Juryo.
Endo (3-4) defeated Nishikigi (0-7). Endo executed the slowest shift ever at the tachiai, popping Nishikigi right in the head with his head. Nishikigi shifted with him and pressed forward. Endo shoved down on Nishikigi’s arms and brought him down. Hikiotoshi.
Asakoryu will visit from Juryo to face Endo. Nishikigi will face Chiyoshoma. If Chiyonoshoma has any sense of mercy, he might want to dust off his henka-ing boots.
Roga (4-3) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-4). Roga shifted left at the tachiai and grabbed at Ichiyamamoto’s upper body as Ichi ran past. Roga then twisted and yanked Ichi down by his shoulder. Sukuinage.
Roga will fight Hokutofuji. Ichiyamamoto will square up against Kagayaki.
Churanoumi (5-2) defeated Midorifuji (4-3). A wild brawl. Churanoumi pulled Midorifuji down. Hatakikomi.
Churanoumi will face Nishikifuji on Nakabi.
Shodai (5-2) defeated Sadanoumi (2-5). Shodai got inside Sadanoumi and pursued well as Sadanoumi rotated and retreated. Sadanoumi ran out of space and Shodai forced him over the bales and off the dohyo. Yorikiri.
Shodai will fight Wakatakakage as the Kyokai seek to whittle down the challenger group.
Kotoshoho (5-2) defeated Ryuden (2-5). Ryuden’s power has been absent this basho and he has not been able to find his usual belt grip. Today, Kotoshoho grabbed the front of Ryuden’s belt with his right hand and rotated, dragging Ryuden to the floor. Shitatedashinage.
Ryuden will fight Midorifuji.
Oho (4-3) defeated Tamawashi (4-3). Oho got his hand into Tamawashi’s armpit and shoved upward. Moving forward, Oho drove Tamawashi from the ring. Oshidashi.
Tamawashi will fight Sadanoumi.
Halftime
Kinbozan (2-5) defeated Takanosho (4-3). This bout had three phases. In the first phase, both men tussled for a belt grip. Kinbozan drove forward during the tussle, forcingin Takanosho to the edge. At the edge, Takanosho planted his foot and seized Kinbozan’s belt, stopping Kinobozan’s forward progress and starting Phase Two. In Phase Two, Takanosho asserted more pressure and both men were locked in a Yotsu position. Takanosho pulled up and drove Kinbozan backwards. Kinbozan was able to stop Takanosho at the edge and shift toward Phase Three. In Phase Three, Kinbozan reasserted his control and pressed forward, forcing Takanosho out. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan will fight Kotoshoho.
Shonannoumi (5-2) defeated Oshoma (4-3). Shonannoumi punished Oshoma for his henka by grabbing him and driving him into the ground. Hatakikomi.
Oshoma will face Oho.
Wakamotoharu (4-3) defeated Gonoyama (2-5). Wakamotoharu fought aggressively today. Hi hit Gonoyama with a kachiage at the tachiai and pressed forward with a fierce nodowa and tsuppari. Gonoyama resisted at the bales but Wakamotoharu reset by seizing Gonoyama’s belt. He hoisted upward, pivoted, and drove Gonoyama from the ring. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Daieisho (5-2) defeated Meisei (2-5). Blast and pivot, blast and pivot. Meisei tried a slapdown but missed. Daieisho drove forward and caught Meisei with a finishing blast as he was changing direction. Oshitaoshi.
Onosato (4-3) defeated Atamifuji (2-5). Onosato tried hard to keep Atamifuji’s right arm off his belt but to no avail. Atamifuji was able to lock on with both hands. However, he was not able to use the grip to generate offense. Instead, Onosato churned forward with his right arm inside and left arm shoving hard into Atamifuji. It was almost a half-yotsu, half-oshi attack as he pressed forward and drove Atamifuji from the ring. Yorikiri.
Atamifuji will fight Wakamotoharu on Nakabi.
Abi (3-4) defeated Mitakeumi (3-4). Brutal nodowa from Abi and he put all of his weight and drive into it. At the edge, Mitakeumi twisted and threw him to the side but the counter attack was too late as both tumbled into the crowd. Abi had won. Oshidashi.
Abi will fight Gonoyama and Mitakeumi will take on Takanosho.
Hiradoumi (4-3) defeated Takakeisho (2-5). Takakeisho opened with his Old Faithful: the wave action. It was completely without power. As if Takakeisho was playing patty-cake, Hiradoumi generated forward pressure and drove into Takakeisho. The Ozeki switched things up, swinging with wild haymakers, then turning in retreat. He tried to lose Hiradoumi but Hiradoumi followed well. As Takakeisho tired at the edge, Hiradoumi wrapped him up and drove the Ozeki from the ring. Yorikiri.
Hiradoumi versus Meisei could be a great brawl.
Kirishima (4-3) defeated Hoshoryu (4-3). A quick shift and pulldown from Kirishima and Hoshoryu fell forward. Hikiotoshi.
Kirishima will fight Takakeisho. WOW. Must win for each. Hoshoryu will face Daieisho.
Kotozakura (5-2) defeated Tobizaru (4-3). Tobizaru pulled and Kotozakura pressed forward. Both fell and the gunbai went to the forward-moving rikishi. No mono-ii. Meanwhile Tobizaru fell into and destroyed the Yobidashi station, knocking his bucket over and chair away. My old “Office of Safety”-hat comes out of me as I am reminded of the tripping hazards everywhere. Oshidashi.
Kotozakura will face Ura. Tobizaru gets Onosato.
Terunofuji (7-0) defeated Ura (3-4). The crowd applauded and gave an appreciative “ooh” as yobidashi bring more and more banners onto the dohyo. The crowd applauded and yelled much louder after the action on the dohyo. What a bout! Ura took it to the Yokozuna. He had one of those fancy things called, “a game plan.” That plan was to grab Terunofuji’s arm and drag him down. It nearly worked, too! Ura had Terunofuji on the edge but the Yokozuna kept his balance. As he regrouped, Ura launched another attack, and another. Each attack was progressively less powerful and Terunofuji began to assert his size advantage, eventually succeeding in wrapping up Ura at the edge. One can imagine a quiet plea from the condemned, “I’m tired. Be gentle,” as Terunofuji eased Ura over the bales. Yorikiri.
Terunofuji will fight…checks notes…Shonannoumi. Interesting. This bout should not be interesting, though. Should be one-sided. We’ll see how it works out.
Wrap-up
It is always a good day when the musubi-no-ichiban brings us the bout-of-the-day. Terunofuji showed both his vulnerability and his strength in that bout as he remains undefeated. Pretty much the entire field is in a small band between 2 and 5 wins; Terunofuji alone on top and Nishikigi on the other end with no wins. Tomorrow, on Nakabi, Terunofuji can be the first in the division to secure kachi-koshi while Nishikigi is heading for Juryo with Asanoyama. If he keeps up this pace, he will be at the front of the line. I put together a quick little graphic to show just how tightly distributed the field is here, with a ton of guys on 4 wins. This is sumo, so that might actually be a couple of tons of guys at 4 wins, to be honest.
Kirishima won today but still looks shaky and has a long road ahead. Takakeisho’s road seems even longer now and the pair will be pitted against each other tomorrow. If folks are scratching their heads about how Terunofuji got paired with Shonannoumi, this should be the lowest-ranked fighter to take on the Yokozuna this tournament. Takayasu and Onosho are kyujo and Atamifuji is from the same stable. From here in, the Yokozuna will start churning through sanyaku competition as the title race heats up in Week Two.
