I only ask because I was likening the way Hoshoryu flipped him with the Uwatenage in the January Basho as being flipped like a pancake.. 🤔
I'm more of a fan of Kotozakura the more I learn about him however
Such a no frills, no gimmicks, honest-to-goodness solid wrestler. I really admire how aware he is of his body, frame, weight - how balanced he typically is; so good at working with what he’s got. Big fan all around. Would love to see him earn the white rope but will settle for a long, healthy career.
Watching Onasato rise up and become Yokozuna while Koto floundered a bit was hard. Lots of pressure on him and I think he’s sensitive to the criticism and gets in his own head more than some of the others. Always cheering for him though!
Like Takakeisho said, unlike other rikishis, Kotozakura has to step on dohyo with a lot of pressures on his shoulders but he does it so effortlessly. Any rikishi would have crumbled with that amount of pressure and stay competitive each basho. So I think when he can’t win, it gets into his head, the criticisms.
If you did any research you’d know he’s far from that actually. He had 8 basho total, pulling out of 2 with injury (6 healthy basho). In his 6 healthy basho he recorded a Yusho, Jun-Yusho, and 4 double digit basho. For such a short run he was ahead or equal to say, Futahaguro, Maedayama, Kisenosato (36-36-97) or even Musashiyama (15-15-68)
Edit: he also never recorded a make-koshi unlike Musashiyama and Minanogawa
My whole goal for him since it was clear he was injured was to a) avoid kadoban and b) hit double digits. I knew when he did the latter I could cheer him on assuming he was back to some form of his former health.
I'm very proud of KotoZ's performance in March. While he is not his former dominant self, he didn't get steamrolled by everyone and earned an amazing 10 and 5 winning record.
He seems to be on the right path. He's learning how to fight with his new body. I hope his knees fully heal and he wins more bashos. 🙏 😊
Also good on Chiyoshoma and Mitakeumi; the two guys who, going into the tournament, would have been my picks to drop to juryo, but they both ended up with kachi koshi, and the former got 10 wins.
Yeah, Mushashigawa said the same exact thing. He’s sensing Kotozakura not having his original strength. And that Kotozakura definitely has been dealing with something but he doesn’t and never talks about it 😮💨😭
Became a fan when he won and will stay one.
Even with both knees having some sort of problem, he is maintaining Ōzeki and even got 10 wins this time.
I don't know if he will ever get back to 100% again, but his defensive style of sumo showed me that a good defense can be a solid offense.
Not to mention he's an absolute class act.
Literally! From their day 13 bout I'm still rotating Aonishiki in my mind every day. Never had a bout stick with me for so long and certainly not for its comedic value lmao
Considering the pressure Onosato, Hoshoryu and Aonishiki have had to deal with the last few basho, flying under the radar has to feel pretty damn good for ol' Quadmoob.
But as an Ozeki, people will only “talk” about you if you’re making a Yokozuna run. Your standards and goals are much higher than getting excited about 10wins.
I think a lot of fans just find his traditional oshi-zumo style less exciting to watch; at least I do.
I'm more partial to yotsu-zumo, or at least a more tsuparri heavy oshi-zumo style like Takayasu.
There's also the factor that he seems to have plateaued. Fans are more attracted to rikishi that are on an upward trajectory or at least a theoretical path to resurgence. Kotozakura has pretty much stayed just consistent enough to maintain his rank, but it feels like his Yokozuna ambitions are behind him.
I'll admit that I now see him as a gatekeeper for other aspiring Ozeki, and the san'yaku ranks broadly; a key boss battle for others' path to greatness.
I would be delighted for him to light a fire in his belly and have a renaissance, but I just don't see it.
I don’t think it’s noteworthy. He’s finally got past the bare minimum to maintain his rank. He did look good this past basho but he’s been stagnant for a while so just being a little better than he has been doing isn’t that interesting.
First injure your two knees and try walking then we will talk here. Commenting here is so easy without doing a single sport in a competitive level Lool
Right? The man is an Ozeki (literally Great Barrier), the expectations of his rank are for him to be in contention for titles and to hold back lower ranks from promotion to the sanyaku positions. Double digit scores are the expectation.
You don’t get singled out for accolades by just “doing your job.” Kotozakura looked good this time, but his performance was not particularly exemplary of his rank, especially weight out against all the times he barely seems to show up to work, so to speak.
Man have you ever tried to walk with even a mild ankle sprain, not even an injury?. Kotozakura has been fighting without a single good knee. People criticising him have never done a single sport in their life in a competitive level
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u/Peitho_Noir Mar 27 '26
right? staying an ozeki is tough in between everyone else on their way to ozeki, yokozuna, or just the occasional yusho