2025 Natsu Basho: Day 4 results and analysis

Wanna see some spoilers?

Four days in and, even though it’s still early, the main narratives for this basho are starting to take shape.

Day 4 itself was a lot of fun. Most of the top division matches were action packed and there were some great finishes, including a rare fisherman’s throw!

Some of the must-see bouts of the day were Gonoyama vs. Tamawashi, Ichiyamamoto vs. Chiyoshoma, Aonishiki vs. Meisei and Endo vs. Shishi. Of course you’ve got to check out Hoshoryu vs. Abi and Onosato vs. Oho, too.

Scroll down to see what happened in those fights and read my analysis.

The bonus gif today is Wakamotoharu huffing and puffing.

SPOILERS BELOW

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Results

• Asakoryu (3-1) def. Kayo (0-4) via yorikiri (frontal force out)

• Nishikigi (4-0) def. Fujiseiun via amiuchi (fisherman’s throw)*

• Ryuden (2-2) def. Tamashoho (1-3) via yorikiri*

• Tochitaikai (3-1) def. Shonannoumi (1-3) via tsukiotoshi (thrust down)*

• Sadanoumi (2-2) def. Tokihayate (2-2) via yorikiri

• Roga (3-1) def. Takanosho (2-2) via hatakikomi (slap down)

• Endo (4-0) def. Shishi (0-4) via hatakikomi after mono-ii (judges review) reverses original decision*

• Atamifuji (3-1) def. Shodai (2-2) via yorikiri

• Aonishiki (3-1) def. Meisei (2-2) via uwatedashinage (pulling over arm throw)*

• Kinbozan (2-2) def. Midorifuji (0-4) via tsukidashi (frontal thrust out)*

• Hakuoho (4-0) def. Onokatsu (2-2) via yorikiri*

• Tobizaru (3-1) def. Churanoumi (1-3) via hatakikomi*

• Oshoma (2-2) def. Ura (0-4) via hatakikomi*

• Ichiyamamoto (2-2) def. Chiyoshoma (0-4) via yoritaoshi (frontal crush out)*

• Tamawashi (2-2) def. Gonoyama (0-4) via hatakikomi*

• Wakatakakage (3-1) def. Takerufuji (3-1) via yorikiri*

• Daieisho (4-0) def. Takayasu (1-3) via oshidashi (frontal push out)*

• Kirishima (3-1) def. Hiradoumi (2-2) via oshidashi*

• Onosato (4-0) def. Oho (3-1) via oshidashi*

• Kotozakura (2-2) def. Wakamotoharu (0-4) via yorikiri*

• Abi (1-3) def. Hoshoryu (2-2) via hikiotoshi (hand pull down)*

*Must see bouts!

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Leaderboard

• Too early!

Analysis

Oh boy. Hoshoryu is now in a 2-2 hole after losing to Abi on Day 4. See that match below, which ended with a quick hikiotoshi (hand pull down).

We’ve seen this story before. Check out what happened at the November tournament:

Abi has now beaten Hoshoryu four times in a row. This is Abi’s fourth kinboshi (gold star). His others were earned over Hakuho, Kakuryu and Terunofuji.

This loss comes a day after I praised Onosato for how he handled Abi. Look below at the freeze frames from today’s Hoshoryu vs. Abi’s bout and yesterday’s Onosato vs. Abi bout.

Onosato backed up from this position, confidently letting Abi come forwards before breaking his grip on his throat and bundling him out.

Hoshoryu, despite being in this position before, didn’t back up to relieve pressure or find an angle. He was caught standing still. You’ll notice that Abi’s approach is slightly different in the Hoshoryu match. He has two hands raised there and not one.

When Abi has two hands he’s looking for the hikiotoshi. When he has one hand raised, he’s either looking to win with a thrust/push out or he’s going to jump back for a slap down.

Watch the Hoshoryu vs. Abi bout at .25 speed on YouTube and you’ll see why Abi needed to start this bout with two hands up. He used his right hand to grab a firm hold of Hoshoryu’s left forearm and then yank him down. It’s hard to see from the below image, but Abi really locked hard onto that limb.

Pulling down on the arm and stepping back, to allow Hoshoryu’s stored energy to blast forwards, led to our yokozuna taking a dirt bath.

It’s still early but… it feels like it’s going to take a lot for Hoshoryu to get the cup this month.

Hoshoryu’s struggles are being amplified with the ease at which Onosato seems to be operating. He cruised to victory over Oho on Day 4. And that’s an Oho who has looked very good so far with wins over Hoshoryu, Kotozakura and Kirishima.

Onosato took a big hit off the tachiai (again showing that he needs to tighten that up a little). Oho tried to follow up with some big strikes, but once Onosato gathered himself and started moving forwards Oho couldn’t do anything to stop him. Onosato looked for an inside position with his right arm, but soon realized that—through sheer force—he had already backed Oho to the straw and that a little nudge was all he needed to finish the job.

Again, it’s early, but who is going to stop this kid?

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Will it be Daieisho? The Battle Pug is also undefeated after four days. Last night he pushed around the usually sturdy Takayasu. In this bout Daieisho did a great job of timing Takayasu’s attacks and bracing against them. That gave him great footing for launching his own attacks back at him.

Daieisho and Onosato are joined at 4-0 by Hakuoho, Nishikigi and Endo. Nishikigi bounced out juryo call-up Fujiseun with the rare amiuichi (fisherman’s throw) and Endo survived a gruelling bout with Shishi. Initially Shishi was ruled the winner of that after forcing Endo out over the north side of the ring. However, the mono-ii determined that Shishi stepped out of bounds before that happened. When Endo jumped out the ring he landed on his right foot and immediately went down. This is like what we saw in the last tournament, where Endo seemed to injure his ankle or knee.

Hakuoho got to 4-0 with a technical yotsu (belt grappling) battle with Onokatsu. Both these guys prefer the hidari-yotsu (left arm inside, right arm outside grip). However, Hakuoho made sure we wouldn’t see any ai-yotsu (‘together’ yotsu where two guys comfortable fit into their shared favourite hold). Instead, Hakuoho secured moro-zashi (double underhooks) off the tachiai and used that to power out his rival.

That covers our haves, but how about the have-nots?

Remarkably, we’ve got seven rikishi who are still yet to get wins in this tournament. The most high profile of those is Wakamotoharu. Just like Hakuoho, Kotozakura used a moro-zashi to nulify a hidari-yotsu player for the win.

The ever-popular Ura is also 0-4. He lost to Oshoma. Ura decided to do a front flip on his way to the dirt in this one. This kind of feels like how Ric Flair would really ‘sell’ his opponent’s moves in the ring, to the point where his taking the bump overshadowed the offense of his opponent. This almost feels like Ura is trying to steal the show, by being so bouncy and bizarre in defeat. I’d rather he’d just win.a

Gonoyama is 0-4 after a loss to Tamawashi. Gonoyama has been very aggressive this tournament, but also very sloppy. He’s standing in front of opponents and firing away with thrusts, but not showing any kind of evasion or trickery. Tamawashi was able to clinch him up in their bout and then dump him with a slap down.

Our other 0-4 wrestlers are Kayo, Shishi, Midorifuji and Chiyoshoma.

Kayo, who looks like an easter egg with his bright yellow mawashi, is making his debut top division tournament. He was hurt on tour, though, so we’re not seeing his best effort.

Shishi is competing in some fun brawls, but he might be overmatched at his highest ever ranking (maegashira 11).

Midorifuji is struggling against higher ranked opposition, too. He lost to Kinbozan last night. Midorifuji did a false start to set up a henka attempt on Kinbozan. The henka didn’t work, though, and Kinbozan was able to blast him out the ring. Despite his size Midorifuji hardly ever attempts the henka. Him going to it last night might suggest he’s starting to feel a little desperate.

Chiyoshoma is definitely overmatched at maegashira 5. He and Ichiyamamoto put on a fun bout on Day 4. Ichiyamamoto was able to sling Chiyoshoma out after a long stalemate in the middle of the ring.

There’s no footage of it I can share, but Aonishiki looked tremendous in his win over Meisei. After some hard pushing and thrusting, Meisei executed a perfect shoulder roll, that put Aonishiki off balance and heading out of bounds. However, Aonishiki used amazing footwork and awareness, to pivot and avoid Meisei’s follow-up thrust. As he did that, Aonishiki grabbed onto the back of Meisei’s belt and pulled him down and out. Aonishiki is 3-1 now and looking like he’ll prove his debut 11-4 record was no fluke.

Lastly, Wakatakakage beat Takerufuji in their first ever meeting. These two must have shook the building with their tachiai, meeting head-on with a massive amount of force. Wakatakakage was able to get moro-zashi (our technique of the day!) for the yorikiri win. That gives both men a 3-1 record.

Tomorrow Hoshoryu will take on Gonoyama. These two have a pretty frosty relationship. If Gonoyama manages to win we might not see Hoshoryu finish the tournament.

Onosato will take on the Iron Man Tamawashi (whom he is 2-0 against). Daieisho will try and stay perfect when he takes on Oho.

Can’t wait!

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