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We've got another tournament just around the corner. After the excitement from the upper ranks last tournament, we might be settling into a bit more of a normal tournament this time, albeit with July's champion coming in with a big promotion and also having a big opportunity in front of him. Once again, the top dog will be sitting this one out to recover, but the upper ranks feel more solid now. Let's take a look at the rankings:
Maegashira: No debuting wrestlers this time, but two men will be making their top-division returns. Kagayaki and Atamifuji are both veterans, but I wouldn't expect any fireworks from either of them, and we'll be sorely missing the fresh crop of talented debutants we had last tournament. Speaking of whom, let's just jump up the rankings a bit and get right to them. All three had fantastic double-digit winning tournaments, and we'll skip over the elephant in the room for now, and start with Shonannoumi who has bounced up to M5. He had a fantastic July, picking up a special prize and winning 10 matches. It'll be great to see him at this high rank, and though another double-digit winning tournament is probably too much to ask for, he can have a kachikoshi in his sights. Alongside him is Gonoyama who also went 10-5, and also picked up the Kanto-sho in July. Same goes for him, they're both very talented and should be looking to settle in at the top of the Maegashira ranks for now.
And then there's golden boy Hakuoho who did even better with 11 wins in july, a win over a sanyaku wrestler (Abi), and TWO special prizes. Probably the most exciting young prospect, and wouldn't you know it... he had to get shoulder surgery and will be sitting this one out and possibly missing more tournaments. It's a common story, and everyone should be crossing their fingers that he comes out of the surgery, recovers well, and doesn't have any long-term issues with his shoulder. He could be the future of the sport, and just needs to keep healthy. Hopefully his stablemaster's ability to avoid injuries for most of his career rubs off on him, he gets proper training and recovers (all of which I think is pretty likely) and doesn't get held back.
It's also important to mention Asanoyama at least briefly. His return to the top division was a bit underwhelming, but injuries didn't help him either. His recovery has hopefully been going well, and although he hasn't been full-throttle in preparation for the tournament, he is committed to participating. I'm just looking for 8 wins here for him, nothing too spectacular.
Sanyaku: One of the biggest surprises in the sport recently for me has been the resurgence of Nishikigi. He'll be making his Sanyaku debut this tournament, and it's certainly well-deserved. He's been putting in very solid performances lately, and had an excellent tournament in July. After bouncing around the bottom of the top division and Juryo in 2020 and 2021, he returned to the top division with a vengeance and has looked like a completely different wrestler. Really hoping he can do well here and stay a force to be reckoned with at the top of the ranks, but he's no spring chicken. Kotonowaka also gets a nice promotion and will be making his Sekiwake debut this tournament. He's alongside two men who had opportunities for Ozeki promotion in July and came up short. I still believe in both of them though, and Wakamotoharu and Daieisho will both basically be starting their Ozeki runs from scratch.
Ozeki: At the sport's second-highest rank we have wrestlers in a few different situations facing very different challenges. For new Ozeki and defending champion Hoshoryu, it'll all be about rising to meet expectations. He'll be used to pressure, so I expect him to do well this tournament and get over the Ozeki debut jitters. Could we see another yusho from him? He might be the favorite.... Takakeisho should be returning from injury and will be kadoban again and facing demotion, as will Kirishima in his second tournament at the rank. They're both solid, they can both get their 8 wins, but the question is can either put up a challenge for the Yusho....
Yokozuna: Unfortunately, Terunofuji will be sitting this one out. Hopefully with a few of the upper ranked guys making big moves and showing their quality, he feels a bit less pressure to compete, but I'm sure the drive is still there and he'll be disappointed not to be appearing. I'm not sure how much longer he'll feel he can dance in and out of tournaments though, and his injuries seem like they're here to stay at this point.
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So there you go!
Viewing options: I can never remember who's around posting highlights and stuff these days, so hopefully we'll get some YouTube channels posted here early on! Kintamayama should be posting highlights on Rumble, Natto should be posting on Youtube as well but you'll want to get those while they're hot as he takes the videos down quickly.
And it's always great to have new people join the fun and start following the sport, but it's definitely not the easiest sport to understand when you first start watching. If you're new, feel free to ask questions! Also feel free to head over to the Introduction to SUMO thread to get a basic (although very outdated) introduction to the sport.
Hakke-yoi!
(as usual I'll just @ everyone that has posted about sumo or posted in sumo threads, hopefully it works)
@EL CORINTHIAN @shincheckin @rmongler @JkMMA @PurpleStorm @Asurah @Sano @Okajima @RJ Green @winterbike @LC Shepard @Bluesbreaker @s_o_c_a_r @Slick_36 @Muppettoker @Oshime2 @DatCutman @catchwrestle @rodgerdodger @Sapp @Apollo33 @MoreKane @BoxingMMA @ChickenBrother @what-wut @Adjaar @TheRuthlessOne @elreece @Tone C @Nameless King @GSP_37 @Kaybee @Fluffernutter @Stormtrooper85 @Jin Akutsu @AZ103 @Sumomike @listrahtes @BananaManPoo @Emporio Alnino @pv3Hpv3p @Jose Beehive @Nova44 @Sticko @650lb Sumo @Fox by the Sea @Paolo Delutis @JacJeanFinger @Fork @Dadbod Dorado @moonwolf @MoreKane @DonkeyKong @Chokez @PBAC @Rob Battisti @Vogg @Macaque @don't ask @Smokes
