WAKATAKE

25 people off to a flying start with the unfortunate news.

It's not the Kyokai that was responsible for having him get the surgery. That fell straight on him and his oyakata. And his oyakata failed him by not telling him to get the surgery done. Other rikishi have gone out injured, got surgery or took as long as they needed to heal. Aand while they ended up falling back to the unsalaried ranks after sitting out for a while, they've come back to the top (Tochinoshin, Chiyonokuni, Ryuden as examples). This was a bad decision by Kisenosato and Tagonoura Oyakata.

A tragic end to a storied career. My hope is that the way he handled his injury will be a lesson learned for a lot of rikishi aspiring to reach the top. Sometimes you need to have that corrective surgery. The NSK would have been more than happy to let him have a couple of basho off in order for him to completely heal, instead of the debacle that we saw for the last two years. I can't be mad at Kise more than be mad at his oyakata. We have seen that many rikishi have mounted a comeback after having had the corrective surgery, Kise in hindsight should have done the same. He still is in the record books for having achieved 700 makuuchi wins, that is a major achievement. Though he could not achieve all he set out to do as a yokozuna, he still made it to the top, nobody can take that away from him. Hopefully Araiso oyakata will be able to raise many successful rikishi some day.

4. Gagamaru

5. Goeido

The following players have not posted a default pick: @Tenshinhan, @Benihana, @Fujisan, @Gaijingai If you wish to use a default pick, please post here in the thread or send me a pm, thanks!

Day 3 submissions: wolfgangho - Enho Jejima - Hakuyozan WAKATAKE - Enho chishafuwaku - Ishiura Flohru - Tomokaze Rocks - Jokoryu Tenshinhan - Chiyonoumi Achiyama - Sokokurai Fujisan - Toyonoshima Gaijingai - Toyonoshima Enho and Toyonoshima get the most votes at 2 players each.

Day 2 Results: Enho - loss (wolfgangho) Hakuyozan - loss (Jejima, Tenshinhan, Fujisan, Gaijingai) Kyokushuho - loss (Kyokushuho) Toyonoshima - win (chishafuwaku) Tomokaze - loss (Flohru) Kyokutaisei - loss (Rocks, Achiyama) The field for day 2 was obliterated, and a win by Toyonoshima prevented an all loss day with chishafuwaku emerging the only player unscathed. Hatsu basho active streaks: 1 - chishafuwaku

Day 2 Submissions: wolfgangho - Enho Jejima - Hakuyozan WAKATAKE - Kyokushuho chishafuwaku - Toyonoshima Flohru - Tomokaze Rocks - Kyokutaisei Tenshinhan - Hakuyozan Achiyama - Kyokutaisei Fujisan - Hakuyozan Gaijingai - Hakuyozan Hakuyozan was the top choice for day 2.

Day 1 Results: Enho - win (wolfgangho) Hakuyozan - win (Jejima) Terutsuyoshi - win (WAKATAKE) Toyonoshima - loss (chishafuwaku, Gaijingai) Tomokaze - win (Flohru) Sokokurai - loss (Rocks) Wakatakakage - loss (Tenshinhan, Achiyama, Fujisan) Kyokutaisei - win (Benihana) 5 players start off their 2019 JWS with wins. Hatsu basho active streaks: 1 - wolfgangho, Jejima, WAKATAKE, Flohru, Benihana Cumulative active streaks: 2 - WAKATAKE, Benihana 1 - wolfgangho, Jejima, Flohru

Time for updates! Day 1 submissions: wolfgangho - Enho Jejima - Hakuyozan WAKATAKE - Terutsuyoshi chishafuwaku - Toyonoshima Flohru - Tomokaze Rocks - Sokokurai Tenshinhan - Wakatakakage Achiyama - Wakatakakage Benihana - Kyokutaisei Fujisan - Wakatakakage Gaijingai - Toyonoshima Wakatakakage was the top choice for day 1.

4. Goeido

2 - Kyokushuho

Currently active streaks: 2 - chishafuwaku 1 - WAKATAKE 1 - Achiyama 1 - Tenshinhan 1 - Benihana 1 - Fujisan

Kakuryu Onosho Toyonoshima Wakamotoharu Ura Yoshoyama Hatooka Shimomura