NattoSumo put up his vid with the Japanese commentary, so after a one day break, my running thoughts are back
- Kaisei's just getting crushed. Looked awful in defeat to Kotoyuki. Surely he's doomed to falling to Juryo.
- I love Enho. He's a true sumo warrior stuck in a peasant's body. However, I think his smaller frame is a big advantage as he should have more endurance for these longer bouts. Gets that low center of gravity, making it hard for Yago to get any real progress against him.
- Back to the big big boys now with Chiyomaru and Toyonoshima. Chiyomaru lets Toyonoshima get too aggressive and just pushes him to the ground. Unless there's a rule protecting against that, Toyonoshima will be joining Kaisei in Juryo at this rate.
- Terutsuyoshi is one of the hopes for an underdog champion this tournament, as he faces Sadanoumi. Some good power sumo from Sadanoumi and it's enough to send Terutsuyoshi out of not only the ring, but out of the undefeated ranks. Sadanoumi having a nice run of form, having won 4 of his last 5 matches to get to 4-2.
- Kotoeko's lost 3 straight. Kagayaki's lost 2 out of his last 3. Something's gotta give here. In the end, Kagayaki scored the victory and now Kotoeko's lost 4 straight.
- Shohozan and Nishikigi, both at 2-3, could use a win to help their kachi-koshi hopes. Quick start, and Shohozan scores the win with a Kotenage. His form wasn't bad on what in my eyes looked like a modified armdrag takedown.
- Daishoho has recovered pretty well after starting 0-3, and he takes on Tochiozan who has alternated in form this tournament, going loss-win-loss-win-loss, and not getting any real consistency. After some work in the middle of the ring, Daishoho gets the advantage and uses the mawashi to push Tochiozan out of the ring.
- 4-1 Takagenji looks to stay within sight of the leaders as he faces 2-3 Okinoumi. Okinoumi seems to have the big reach advantage here against Takagenji, who can't reach his opponent's mawashi. That advantage proves too much and Takagenji goes to the ground, as do his hopes of staying within striking distance of the contenders.
- Onosho (1-4) needs a win badly. He steps in against Chiyotairu, who has nearly 80 pounds on him. Onosho starts aggressively, but Chiyotairu's one smart cookie. He uses his aggression against him and lets Onosho run himself out of the fight...but HOLD IT! Mono-ii! From the main angle on the replay, it looks like Chiyotairu might have gone out well before Onosho hit the ground. In fact, I think Chiyotairu's foot was out of the boundary while Onosho was still in the air! This should get overturned...and it does. Onosho gets the win he desperately needs. Bad luck for Chiyotairu, but there's a lesson to be learned here. Stay in bounds!
- Kotoshogiku is part of the chasing pack at 4-1, and he wants to stay there while continuing his long road back to Ozeki rank. Myogiru is 3-2 and wants to continue towards an improved Maegashira rank and an eventual return to Sekiwake. This one took awhile to get started, but once it did, Myogiru wasn't messing around. He makes quick work of the former Ozeki, and both move to 4-2.
- Tomokaze now holds the hopes of all the underdog fans in Sumo, sitting at 5-0. I hope he isn't looking past Takarafuji, who may be 1-4, but has beaten him before. A good start, but oh my! Tomokaze choked under the pressure and slipped! Bad luck, and Takarafuji gets a win through his good fortune and moves to 2-4. This leaves only the Yokozuna unbeaten, and probably ends any hope of a non-Yokozuna winning this tournament.
- Ichinojo may have something to say about my comment just now, sitting at 4-1 and facing off with Shimanoumi. Ichinosho with the nice counter and just a matter of pushing his opponent out. He's 5-1 and hoping the Yokozuna slip up at some point.
- Meisei enters this one at 0-5, and if this lethal bad form continues, he could be set to drop to the fringes of the Makuuchi division. He looks for his first win of the tournament against Hokutofuji. Another one that took an eternity to get going, but when it did, this was good. Meisei's desperation was on display as he put on a good effort, but Hokutofuji outsmarted him and scored the win with a Kotenage. Poor Meisei drops to 0-6 and is looking at a heavy drop in rank unless he can get on a roll.
- It finally gets a little easier for 2-3 Ryuden, but not much easier. His challenge today comes in the form of Sekiwake-rank fighter Mitakeumi. Neither are gonna be a factor for the championship this tournament, but both will do their cause a load of good with a win. Mitakeumi is able to get a little lower off the initial charge and just shoves Ryuden out of the ring. Mitakeumi's 4-2.
- Tamawashi will surely drop out of Sekiwake rank unless he turns around his 0-5 start. Asanoyama needs to start winning to go for Komusubi. Tamawashi realizes his predicament and just overpowers Asanoyama en route to an easy victory. He's on the board for the first time.
- Takayasu is part of that 1-loss chase group. Daieisho would like to turn it into a 2-loss chase group. Daieisho owns a win over an Ozeki already this tournament, but apparently will not own a second one because Takayasu went on the defensive and let Daieisho use his own momentum against him. Daieisho goes flying (and so does Takayasu for that matter), and Takayasu remains one behind the leading Yokozuna.
- From facing the hapless Meisei to now facing Ozeki Goeido, the difficulty starts to ramp up for Shodai. He too owns a win over Tochinoshin (I'm pretty sure I own a win over him at this point as well), but Goeido isn't broken, this will be much tougher. Great excitement from the off, a lot of near-finishes, and Shodai knocks off his second Ozeki with a strong effort.
- Abi faces Tochinoshin, but what's this? Neither fighter are in the ring. Apparently, Tochinoshin has finally given up the ghost. He'll be kadoban next tournament if what I'm reading in the thread is correct. Abi won't scoff at a free win after his absolutely brutal schedule to start the tournament, he's 2-4 and looking forward to facing people he can potentially beat. Kachi-koshi for Abi doesn't seem as farfetched now. As I didn't see Abi do the thing with his hands and take an envelope, I'm guessing this means he doesn't get paid for showing up to fight nobody today. Poor Abi, even when he wins he loses
- Endo has the tough task of trying to get back to .500 against co-leader Kakuryu. Endo shows some great spirit in going on the attack against Kakuryu, but Kakuryu just bides his time and lets Endo do all the work. He's eventually able to use the momentum against Endo and just pushes him to the ground.
- Main Event time! The pride of Bulgaria, Aoiyama, gets ready to face his second straight Yokozuna in the form of Hakuho. This one took an eternity to get started, but Aoiyama fought very well. He had Hakuho on the backfoot for awhile, but Hakuho is such a great champion, he's able to turn the tides and let Aoiyama run himself out of the ring. Hakuho was pushed, but he's 6-0. Great bout.
- After 6 days, it's as you expected. Yokozuna Hakuho and Kakuyru lead the way at 6-0. Five fighters at 5-1 hoping to be the tack that gets stuck in the foot of our leaders. Then you have 7 more at 4-2 who aren't out of it, especially if both Yokozuna do hit a few tacks along the way.