Sumo - Quick November Basho 2012 thoughts

Sumo - Quick November Basho 2012 thoughts

I just watched most of the November Basho from 2012 through youtube but I wasn't really writing stuff down. So, I will just give some quick thoughts on the tournament.

The Yokozuna
- Hakuho(Yokozuna) was pretty much the man here. He won the basho and should have gone 15-0, but he had a weird hiccup and lost the one match. I swear that the match he lost was fixed as him and his opponent both stalled for a while and after Hakuho tapped him on the side, he lost. Hakuho appeared to put up no fight in losing and it definitely seemed like something was off. Aside from that, he was on a different level than anyone else. No one seemed to give him too much trouble and it was overall a great performance.

- Harumafuji(Yokozuna) is the newest Yokozuna and this was his debut tournament as a Yokozuna. It wasn't a good one though. He went 9-6 which is an awful record for a Yokozuna. I don't really know what happened, but it should be noted that few Yokozuna do good in their first basho. He appeared to still be at an Ozeki rank and he has to be careful because he will have huge problems if he can't crack 10 wins next time.

The Ozeki
- Baruto got demoted during this tournament, due to two straight tournaments with a losing record. However, he got a losing a record because he got injured and had to forfeit all remaining matches. I really don't like people getting demoted because of injury and I thought this was really unfair, especially since he might have had a long shot at becoming a Yokozuna earlier in the year. His knee looked pretty bad and I'm curious to see if he can come back at full strength.

- Kotooshu was at 9-6 and wasn't particularly impressive, minus the odd Hakuho win. The announcers pointed out his odd habit of falling with his opponents, which can't be good longterm. I always seem him as an underacheiver because he has the height and could put on more weight to be more of a force.

- Kotoshogiku had a disappointing tournament. He started out well but he slipped and got side stepped to take a few losses. He was in his hometown and should have done better.

- I don't have alot of thoughts on Kakuryu but Kisenosato looked good out there.  He had a good tournament at 10-5 and looked pretty strong. Hopefully, he improves even more next tournament. Alot of people are expecting him to become a Yokozuna within the next year.

The Others
- Shohozan was one of the big highlights of the tournament. He had some really nice wins, got a promotion and showed alot of fighting spirit. He is definitely is going to be one to watch.

- Tochinowaka went 13-2 after a 7-0 start and looked pretty good. He has the height and is surely going to be someone to watch for in the future. I definitely think he will be a long term prospect, but he is a little akward with his height.

-Masunoyama is fun to watch and a really sympathetic figure. He is absolutely huge, but he has a breathing problem and appears like he is going to die after 15 seconds. I have to feel bad for him because his body is just not meant for this.

- Aoiyama was one of the better looking guys out there until his injury. He looked like he might have been a challenger for the win but the injury took him out. I'm really interested to see what he does in a week as the next tournament begins.

- I didn't see much of Takanoyama, but I'm interested to see what happens with him. He is Czech, tall and very thin for a sumo. His technique is great and he's great to watch.

Overall, it was a fun basho with some good stuff in it. It's definitely worth a look if you are interested. If you would like to watch Sumo in English, I recommend checking out this youtube channel as Jason provides daily coverage and commentary and is a joy to watch: http://www.youtube.com/user/JasonsinJapan?feature=watch

I may do more sumo and better sumo in the future, but it depends on time and availability. I'm looking forward to the January Basho, so lets see how things go and maybe sumo will become a common feature on ProWresBlog.