Ragebaton

If memory serves, Kintaro's musings referred to Asanowaka as little salt to Mitoizumi's big salt

Placement in the list of first time Makuuchi KK in age and attempts?

Alright, thank you. The assumed potential bridge for critique was with respect to the role that is played in the decision to promote.

While there is the general point not to reflect badly on the stable on the dohyo, would the reading that the potential embarrassment had more to do with to the role of the shisho in the judging department?

If you add such a qualifier, for example an Ozeki that spent multiple years at the rank but never made Yokuzuna, it certainly becomes far more unusual. If the cancelled basho was simply ignored, that was the three basho streak for Goeido. Seemingly now enjoying better health than his also not that young peers, it will be interesting to see how they compare in the end.

And yet our two other Ozeki are fairly similar in this regard, 1 and 3 that is, counting the cancelled basho as a continuum, string of three double-digit performance for the lot of them .

Seems the early 2016 recruits may indeed provide the long-term help for Takasago legacy in time

At that point Takanohana had gone through numerous ailments and was clearly declining. Had he opt not to go into senshuraku with two chances to win, the basho would have finished with an incredible dud and he might very well just have ended with 21. Now then that vincing, remarkably emotional posture and facial expression after the ketteisen is a lasting memory in a great career otherwise without much flair. He was clearly badly injured going into day 15, what further damage was done, who knows but he must have felt that was likely the last hooray. As for these other people, someone like Endo would never get to same heights, kensho and popularity as he has been after a long time off, Maybe it was calculated on his part to try to ride the wave a bit longer. Who knows if he even wants to duke it out for a decade. Most rikishi carry some injuries. Terunofuji on the other hand sure seems like someone who should not have competed as of late.

It is apt Tochiozan is the final day opponent, another wrinkle in their rivalry. The way Tochiozan's fingers look, seems unlikely he is to ever reach the same rank and Goeido has been doing well lately vs. him. Orora's reaction suggests there were smiles from Kitanoumi too, another side. There is always one great basho left, hopefully many more in Harumafuji. Ikioi looks competent vs. joi opponents for the first time, this Yoshikaze phenom might be inspiring many vets.

We watch a sport where the action happens in a split second. So often there is a different explanation why someone did not take the obvious grib (miss, hidden finger injury etc etc). The point was made here a while back, that even in lenghty games there is element of chance, let alone in a 15-day 15-bout basho within which rikishi might have a bowl problem, sleep deprivation or ermm headache on any given day. People who start with the premise, that the best rikishi should win whenever he wants to (especially since we now have a supposedly perfect Dai-yokozuna) start data mining from within a match and with any error they then detect is supposed proof that the fix was on. Paranoia grows and grows over time and the obvious understanding of a bout becomes more and more secondary. And yes in this basho there were a handfull of highly suspect bouts, last one avoidable with scheduling, at least should think no betting this time around. Coupled with several career-changing injuries an exciting basho is a mixed bag. The final bout is historic on many levels.