Who will make the next step

[Guest shountaikai]

Just wondering... the poll is actually what i prefer 1st to 3rd, Chiyo is my favorite wrestler but looking to inconsistent lately to make a run for Yokozuna, though i was glad he beat Asashoryu this Tornament and in the China demo.

[Naifuzan]

I voted Kaio for yokozuna with Wakanosato as a close 2nd. But if sato is to become Ozeki he needs a bit more stability.

[Guest shountaikai]

I voted Kaio for yokozuna with Wakanosato as a close 2nd. But if sato is to become Ozeki he needs a bit more stability.

yes agreed ... yet on the other hand, if he had been ozeki for a while now i think he'd be a darn good one., he just can't get those big double digit wins together., it seems like he's always getting 9-6 lets hope for a 12 or 13 next basho, i want him to compete for the championship! not just sustain his rank then ill be a happy B-)

[Kaikitsune Makoto]

Wakanosato could be a rikishi who'd grow into ozekihood when promoted but now he is very bad on some days and every such loss would be frownded upon as ozeki. He has ozeki level strength and some really convincing moves but he is lacking something which is hard to put into words. He hasn't been even close to ozeki promotion yet so in that sense it is a bit far-fetched idea at this point. Both KaioU and Chiyotaikai has had real chances for yokozuna promotion with many yusho as ozeki but Wakanosato is still waiting for the first real chance to clinch an ozeki promotion in a honbasho X.

[Kaikitsune Makoto]

he is lacking something which is hard to put into words

Yes it can! Wakanosato has too short limbs.

[Guest shountaikai]

I think he's lacking the fire in the belly., something Chiyotaikai, Asashoryu, Kakizoe(sp?), and even Kokai and Kotomitsuki have. just a tad would be enough

[Guest shountaikai]

He hasn't been even close to ozeki promotion yet so in that sense it is a bit far-fetched idea at this point.

im a newbie to sumo but I thought the magic number is 33 in 3 basho? He's been close hasn't he or no?

[aderechelsea]

why isn't "none of the above" an option ?

i choose this ...

[Kashunowaka]

He hasn't been even close to ozeki promotion yet so in that sense it is a bit far-fetched idea at this point.

im a newbie to sumo but I thought the magic number is 33 in 3 basho? He's been close hasn't he or no?

He has never been close, 30 is his best. Although he sets a new record every basho for longest run near the top, he has never got more than 11 wins in makuuchi. Without at least one 12-3 basho or better, it gets well-nigh impossible to reach those 33 wins. He won't be seriously mentioned as an ozeki candidate without at least 21 wins over two basho, or preferably 22. He has done 21 once - followed by a 7-8 makekoshi.

[Fujisan]

I voted for Kaio-

If he makes Yokuzuna in November,Wakanosato could be Ozeki in January and Taikai could be Yokozuna in March then everyone will be happy,well except Asashoryu anyway.

Well it is possible at least. (Blushing...)

[Guest shountaikai]

I voted for Kaio-

If he makes Yokuzuna in November,Wakanosato could be Ozeki in January and Taikai could be Yokozuna in March then everyone will be happy,well except Asashoryu anyway.

Well it is possible at least. (Clapping wildly...)

Thad be great.., then we'd have more yokozunas then we would Ozeki.. then Tochiazuma needs to step his game up. Hope he's healthy for next tornament. :-P

[Jakusotsu]

Thad be great.., then we'd have more yokozunas then we would Ozeki..

The last time we had this was Haru 2000 with Yokozuna Takanohana, Akebono, Musashimaru and Wakanohana and Ozeki Dejima, Chiyotaikai and Takanonami. Wakanohana retired during that basho and Musoyama was promoted to Ozeki with a jun-yusho after his only yusho (so far (Clapping wildly...) ). And what's more, this was the basho with M14 Takatoriki taking the yusho - those were the days... :-P

Edited September 30, 2004 by Jakusotsu

[Guest shountaikai]

those were the days... :-P

I wish i was watching in those days.. ive only been able to see Musashimaru at the end of his career and Asashoryu

[Kashunowaka]

I instinctively voted Kaio for yokozuna, but thinking a little harder about it, I have changed my mind. Don't get me wrong - of course I want Kaio to succeed. But if Kaio becomes yokozuna (which I doubt) it will be a short end to an already long and very successful career. If he retires tomorrow, it will still be a successful career. But if Wakanosato never makes it to ozeki, it would be a tragedy ... So if I have to choose one, I would prefer Wakanosato as ozeki.

[Doitsuyama]

I can't see why it'd be a tragedy if Wakanosato never makes it to Ozeki. I mean, he wasn't really anywhere close to becoming Ozeki, so there is no tragic look back. Kaio on the other hand has racked up more yusho than any ex-Ozeki, so there definitely is some tragic impact here if he never makes it to Yokozuna.

Is his career is shortened as Yokozuna? I don't know, but I actually believe Kaio might be a perfect case for the other direction, prolonging his career as Yokozuna compared to Ozeki. Especially with kosho abolition, a demotion from Ozeki might go faster than you wish. And will Kaio retire when demoted from Ozeki? Actually I hope so. Being Yokozuna would give Kaio a lot more leeway to heal injuries skipping a basho if necessary.

[Guest shountaikai]

well its tough for us Sato fans cuz he's been the only consistent sanyaku man ... well in komesubi Sekiwaki rankings that is.., so seeing him up there for so long gets frustrating when he can't get those 1 or 2 wins extra per basho to lift him up over to Ozeki rankings. Hasn't he been san yaku for some record number (you stat guys might know) like 13 basho in a row or something.. not sure on that number...I think he'll get it done in due time (Feeling guilty...)

[Asashosakari]

I love easy-to-answer questions like this. (Feeling guilty...) From the most recent Banzuke Topics...

This is Wakanosato's fourteenth tournament holding a sekiwake rank. This puts him in a tie with Annenyama and Daikirin (Oshiogawa Oyakata) at eighth place on the modern era career ranking list for most tournaments at sekiwake.

This is Wakanosato's twenty-second tournament holding a sanyaku (sekiwake or komusubi) rank. (sekiwake - fourteen tournaments, komusubi - eight tournaments) This puts him in a tie with Daikirin (Oshiogawa Oyakata) at eighth place on the modern era career ranking list for most tournaments holding a sanyaku rank.

This is Wakanosato's seventeenth consecutive tournament holding a sanyaku (sekiwake or komusubi) rank, dating from the 2002 January Grand Sumo Tournament. This breaks his own record for the longest consecutive run maintaining a sanyaku rank in the modern era.

This is Wakanosato's twenty-fourth consecutive tournament ranked at maegashira #1 or above, dating from the 2000 November Grand Sumo Tournament. This breaks his own modern era record for the longest run near the very top of the banzuke below the ranks of yokozuna and ozeki.

I do think it would be a bit of a tragedy if Sato never makes it to Ozeki, considering that he's well on the way to being the best ever lower sanyaku wrestler, and perhaps already is. (By that I mean specifically his performance in lower sanyaku...one could probably make a case that somebody else, such as Kotonishiki, was the best-ever rikishi below Ozeki. But Sato is beating everyone for sheer consistency.)

One can argue back and forth over whether it would be good for his career in the long run, and the future assessment of it, of course (similarly to Kaio's potentially turning "best Ozeki in the modern era" into "just another mediocre Yokozuna" if he does get promoted).

Edited October 1, 2004 by Asashosakari

[sekihiryu]

I just did some research on Wakanosato, I never realized the meteoric rise up the ranks he and in 2000 and 2001 after dropping down to Juryo after a long first stint in Makuuchi. He came back with avengence

5/2000 Juryo 11 12-3 Juryo Yusho (2)

7/2000 Juryo 1 13-2 Juryo Yusho (3)

9/2000 Maegashira 10 11-4 Kanto-sho (2)

11/2000 Komusubi 9-6 Shukun-sho (1)

1/2001 Sekiwake 10-5 Shukun-sho (2)

Juryo 11 to Sekiwake in 5 Basho wow!

[Zentoryu]

It should be pointed out his drop to Juryo was due to a bad injury.

So when he came back he was essentially a rikishi of Sanyaku strength fighting in lower Juryo. That is the reason he was able to storm back up the banzuke as fast as he did.

[Araiwa]

I do think it would be a bit of a tragedy if Sato never makes it to Ozeki

I would say it would be damn tragic when he never competes as ozeki. When you see him fighting you can see that in his good bouts he is ozeki material and yokozuna material. After Kaio Wakanosato is second strongest rikishi I'd say. He is a Herakles and if he gets promoted someday he will be the east ozeki very often. Wakanosato has leg strenght, arm strenght and a very good technique. Maybe he never was close to the 33 wins, but is sumo is very close to ozeki sumo on some days. Well I'm already happy if he makes kk in Kyushu this time. (Feeling guilty...)

[Elenrian]

I am really sure abiut Chiyotaikai: he will NOT become Yokozuna... For Kaio and Wakanosato, it is too difficult to say... Perhaps Wakanosato...

[hoshidango]

he is lacking something which is hard to put into words

Yes it can! Wakanosato has too short limbs.

Right! And that affects his sumo! Often disadvantaged at nage-no-uchiai & tachai with large fellas..