Catalin B

A few Juryo thoughts: - What a second week for Akiseyama! Happy to see him stick around. - A bit harsh on J13 Chiyonoumi to have to face yusho frontrunner Kotoshoho on the last day for his potential KK? - My expectations were already low for the match between Hidenoumi and Yago, two guys I really like, but this was a real downer, Hidenoumi just allowing Yago to fall into a sea of sadness. Makuuchi was really fun. Kakuryu was looking calm and I was hoping he could deliver the upset - it wasn't to be. I hope we have Natsu, in any form that may be.

What was the explanation for that? The replay clearly showed Daieisho going out first.

Is Daieisho just going to steamroll through everyone after losing to argually the top 3 guys he could face this basho (considering Takakeisho's poor form)? Looking forward to him facing Abi on day 10. Okinoumi vs Tokushoryu could be another very interesting match-up. And I hope Hokutofuji can bounce back against Myogiryu. Though I've seen both guys recover from poor starts in recent tournaments.

I was unpleasantly surprised by Kotonowaka's promotion when first seeing the banzuke. Turns out it was a great decision, he's looking very confident and is pretty enjoyable to watch in makuuchi. Too bad about Chiyomaru, he had a strong start. Any chance they test him for the virus and he returns in time to fight for a KK if it turns out it's nothing serious?

Cool story! I have to say I was uncomfortable watching those kids ram their heads into poles and such. Even if what you're hitting is not brick hard, that stuff can't be good for you. Can't believe they do it that early in their careers/lives.

A professional wrestling test-of-strength in a sumo bout?! Every basho with Enho in makuuchi brings something new and amazing. Daieisho at 0-3 while still looking strong, Takayasu not so much... :(

Is the direct encounter between Daiamami and Kotonowaka something they would take into account? Because in this case, Daiamami should be the clear favourite. With M18 also being created, Nishikigi and Daiamami for Kotoeko and the open slot seems like the straight-forward way to go; beyond that, bringing up Kotonowaka for either Kotoyuki or Meisei feels a bit unfair... unless they want to force both Kotonowaka and Hidenoumi over the injured rikishi? Does Kotonowaka have a historically Much better case than Hidenoumi, btw?

Amazing end to this basho! I hope Tokushoryu does well in the higher M ranks, but who cares if he doesn't? Well deserved win, really good interview and moments for him and sumo fans to cherish for years to come. Other things I would note: Tsurugisho seems magically healed since yesterday and actually got 3 wins since getting wheeled out, securing his place in makuuchi. Not sure how to feel about this, as it serves to shut down criticism of rikishi fighting through injury. Not the first time Onosho has a solid basho in spite of a poor run of results, 8 wins in the last 10 matches. Takayasu finally avoided dropping further down the joi ranks and he might do more than stick around for a while if he can keep bringing whatever he brought in these last few days.

Now that you mention this... noob question: what's the deal with Chiyoshoma? What are the bad bits that you speak of? Some rikishi do seem to dislike him from what I've seen.

Quite amazing to see Enho fighting the very best rikishi left in this tournament - and doing more than just hang with them. At the same time, disappointing to see Asanoyama in somewhat of a rut, but I'd bet he will make a serious case for Ozeki soon And gotta love Hokutofuji's lower body resilience. I hope it helps tomorrow when he faces Endo. Last year in Nagoya, he lost to the same guy on senshuraku, allowing Endo to leapfrog him for the Komusubi spot even though Hokutofuji was at 9 wins from M1w... and a loss this time could again open him up for banzuke misfortune.

I'm a bit surprised that so far Endo is the only one to be promoted to Makuuchi from J13 - that is if my query attempt on sumodb was correct. Regardless, it's exciting to see Terunofuji in with a chance at repeating that. As things stand now in Juryo, he even seems the strongest bet for a promotable record save for perhaps Daishoho.

Great quote. Really, what is he hoping for? Even if he somehow pulls off another win, it shouldn't be enough for him to stay in makuuchi. And what about those matta calls today piling on his misery?

Yeah, doesn't look to me like he intended any extra damage. Interestingly, his last push to finish off Kotoeko today seemed harder than needed, but I also feel like attributing that to Kotoeko being prone to flying around. Maybe Tokushoryu just gets caught up in the intensity of the fight and sometimes fails to give his aite that extra care rather than giving cold blooded extra shoves.

Terrible day for rikishi health. One thing I am legitimately curious about: is the Kyokai known to ever take action or raise concern about the way cleansing rituals (such as yumitori-shiki) are performed amidst injury hell like we are currently experiencing? Otherwise, one-armed Meisei and 1-and-1/2-armed Takayasu are painful to watch. On the positive side, I've been enjoying Okinoumi's wrestling and Tokushoryu's spirited performance - he seems on track to prove himself in makuuchi after almost missing out on promotion from J1w, I hope he gets a KK.

Is this where Hakuho draws inspiration for his elbow smashes? Here is the big man in the front row at New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest show of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 14. The show, traditionally taking place on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome, this time was scheduled for two days, drawing 40k fans yesterday and 30k today.

Congratulations, Shatsume! KK in spite of promoting Abi is more than I could hope for. Should be very interesting to analyse the mid-maegashira insanity, where I had a strong mix of totally right and dead wrong.

Should they want to promote Abi to sekiwake, is it impossible for Endo to retain his K1w with a 7-8 makekoshi? From my research, it hasn't happened before (in this case, we can add that an M2 going to komusubi with 8 wins is quite common), but is there a rule against it?

Well, this was fun. First time I try it, will it be lucky? :D

They don't. Okinoumi is facing Takakeisho, so one of them will have 12 points at the end of the day, therefore only they and Mitakeumi are still in. I would have also gone for Takakeisho - Abi - a sanyaku matchup that we are now not seeing in a basho where three top guys are out. It's almost like they are punishing Okinoumi for the bad shimpan call.

Wow, what a weird day in makuuchi! So was Endo's heel definitely not out? Abema TV kept replaying the throw instead of the moment that triggered the call. And would it have been a torinaoshi if they had done a mono-ii and deemed the initial call wrong, since the gyoji was already ignoring the moments after?

Were gyojis today trying to make Inosuke look less bad or what? Props to the people hyping up Tsurugisho's chances since a few days ago. Looks like he has a great chance of going 12-3 and perhaps being the only one to do so. Of course, it's anyone's game, even Goeido is back in with a shot now, though I doubt he has the cool to dispose of both Mitakeumi and desperate Tochinoshin (assuming the Georgian beats Myogiryu tomorrow).

Very happy for my man Hokutofuji so far this week! I've also been enjoying Takarafuji's wrestling, so looking forward to his match against Enho on day 12 and potentially his bid for unlikely winner of this basho. Takakeisho, of course, is the favourite unless his knee buckles again in the following days - and things have been looking pretty scary for him since his loss on day 6. Still rooting for someone else to take this but also hope Takakeisho can stay out of trouble.

It kind of irks me that Kakuryu now has a good shot at losing this after looking better than everyone else for 12 days straight, but that's how it is in life and sports. Way to go Tomokaze and Terutsuyoshi!

That was lovely from Toyonoshima! I hope he stays in makuuchi. And cool to see Tomokaze pitted against the big boys. Did he just completely lack the chikara today against Ichinojo?

I "WAAA"'d out loud during Enho's match today. Had a lot of fun with this basho in spite of the shimpan silliness.