MATCH OF THE DAY: I’m breaking my no match of the day san’yaku rule because I’m yapping so much in the overall summary section (sorry). But oh my gosh, what a match. Kirishima vs Kotoeiho was promised to be a great matchup and it did not disappoint. At points, I thought both rikishi were bound for the clay and at the end, they were literally arm in arm, teetering on the edge. Kirishima tumbled down but Kotoeiho touched down a split second before him, though the gyoji called it in his favor; there was a mono-ii to call the bout in Kirishima’s favor instead. It was not the gyoji’s fault really; he couldn’t see their hands because of their legs, which is fair, but since he made the wrong call as the highest ranked gyoji, he had to submit his letter of resignation. It was ceremonial, so I’m relatively sure they said no, but what a strange rule. Kirishima strolled down the hanamichi, went in for the bro hug from his tsukebito attendant, and watched the replay ASAP. He knows he’s awesome.

KIMARITE OF THE DAY: I’m not a big Wakatakakage fan, though I do have a soft spot for injured guys like him, but today he came up against Tobizaru and I became a diehard fan in an instant. I just really don’t like the Flying Monkey, I guess. Wakatakakage, as the kids say, has a hell of a lot of aura. Today, he tolerated a few seconds of Tobizaru and then picked him up and deposited him in the shimpan’s lap. Guess we need someone to be a ripped badass when Hoshoryu and Asakoryu aren’t here. But damn.

PINK MAWASHI DAY THIRTEEN: I love Yoshinofuji and his sumo, and I was really, really torn up about this bout, I’m not gonna lie. I have wanted Yoshinofuji to win a yusho since his debut, but I love Ura very deeply, and I cannot root against him. I was neither surprised nor completely despaired when Yoshinofuji powered Ura out, though Ura almost managed a hatakikomi slap down; my heart aches for the Pink Man of Kise-beya. But, as I’ve decided to rationalize this to myself, if he was going to lose to anyone in the top division, I would absolutely have it be to Yoshinofuji in this sitatuation. But still… Ura.

OVERALL SUMMARY: We are now left with one leader: the Once and Future Ozeki and the backbender of the century, Kirishima. He is chased by Wakatakakage, Yoshinofuji, and Kotoeiho. Wakatakakage will fight Kotoeiho, the Sekiwake will faceoff, and Kirishima will finish it off against Hakunofuji, who is apparently not injured and doing great! Also, Ura is going to fight Fujinokawa, the Muscle Hamster himself, trying to avoid makekoshi. This, too, will break my heart. And Yoshinofuji is fighting Fujiryoga in my personal highlight bout, since I really hate the fact that Ura is fighting all my other faves.

In Juryo, great things happened and I was pleased. Kazekeno and Kazuma fought, and the Kise boy took Kazekeno out to even out their records. Kazu-Kazu is fantastic and I would very much like for him to take this yusho out of Kazekeno’s hands. In addition, Onokatsu and Takerufuji are all but ready to come back up to the top division, with Daiseizan still on the edge of kachi-koshi. Enho joins the Kachi Club today with a win over Meisei, two great Maegashira of another era. Kind of sad, but a very good bout–one of the best throws that I’ve seen in a long time. Go watch it.

Down in Makushita, Mudoho triumphed over Akua to the delight of the crowd, which I personally suspect gathered early to watch Enho and ended up playing it safe and seeinng a good chunk of Makushita go. But hey, if you’re there early enough to watch Makushita, you have my respect. And my jealousy. Anyways, he did great; there will be seven men in Makushita battling for the championship.

In Sandanme, Kiryuko had a brilliant win over a very sad-looking Tenshoyama; well done by Kiryuko! I am very impressed with him. However, I saw one of the most anticlimactic bouts I’ve ever seen after: Asahifuji vs Mita. I was really, really looking forward for the young star to fight the older young star, but Mita had literally nothing against Asahifuji’s pushes. And I don’t mean he wasn’t strong enough; I mean he just teetered backwards and stepped out without resisting, such that even Asahifuji looked extremely confused. I have never seen anyone lose like that, which raises some… questions about Mita’s health. But, a fun fact: this is Asahifuji and Kiryuko’s second playoff in a row, which is very cool. So, good luck to them both (*cough* Kiryuko mostly *cough*) and to our seven combatants in Makushita come Sunday.