And that’s a wrap. The final day of the 2024 Natsu basho did not disappoint. There were a lot of possible outcomes on this day, but I’m pretty happy with ending we were served up.
You can see the results, along with my highlights and analysis, over on The Fight Site now (link).
The tournament deciding bouts on the day were:
Daiesho vs. Kotoshoho
Onosato vs. Abi
Hoshoryu vs. Kotozakura
We also had two Darwin matches:
Tamawashi vs. Ichiyamamoto
Atamifuji vs. Takanosho
Other bouts that really delivered included Hiradoumi vs. Mitakeumi, Roga vs. Tokihayate, Ura vs. Wakamotoharu and Gonoyama vs. Takayasu.
Well, that’s a wrap for May. I hope you enjoyed following me alongside the tournament. As always, I’ve loved covering all the action and I can’t wait to do it again in June.
If you’ve enjoyed Sumo Stomp! this month, please consider picking up a paid subscription. Paid subscriptions help me dedicate time to improving this blog/newsletter. Right now I’m thinking about expanding what I do here and also starting a store for some merch.
Funding from subscriptions will make all that happen.
Thank you everyone for checking out Sumo Stomp! this month. I hope to see you again for the next basho. In the meantime there will be my report cards for everyone who competed in the makuuchi this basho. I will also have a spotlight piece on Onosato.
Bonus gif today is head gyoji Inosuke giving us one of the moments of the tournament.
Takerfuji vs. Onosato next basho will be lit
Not so long ago Atamifuji was the next big thing, but since then the other guys have figured him out. They've had three tournaments to figure out Onosato, but I don't think they've done it yet. The guy's got ozeki and maybe Yokozuna written all over him.
Really glad to see Ura end on a happy note, even if it was against Wakamotoharu.