Report Card: 2025 Aki Basho - Part 3

Continuing to grade the top division rikishi who were involved in the September tournament.

Hey all, I’m continuing my look back at the September tournament and grading the top division rikishi who appeared there. We don’t have long before the November basho starts up, so this will serve as a good reminder for how some of these fellas fared last time out.

This time around I’m grading the rest of the maegashira. This means this post will start with Wakamotoharu and end with Tamawashi. There’s a few good performances among this bunch, but also some real stinkers.

This is a premium post. The cut off is part way through the Hakuōhō section. So you’ll need to pony up if you want to read the Abi and Tamawashi sections.

Paid subscriptions are what keep me writing about sumo. They are especially useful right now as I continue my college re-run on route to a career change (that I’m really looking forward to).

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Bonus gif today are some Atami-pudding fans!

Also, for my fellow Canadians out there, check out how we did at the World Championships this year! (link) I’ve recently started volunteering with Sumo Canada, which means writing some things for them here and there.

Anyways, time to grade.

Wakamotoharu

Rank: Maegashira 4 West
Record: 9-6
Grade: B+

I was worried Wakamotoharu might be on the decline, but this 9-6 from within the jōi showed that he might still be a san’yaku quality wrestler. In September he lost to the yokozuna, Kotozakura and Takayasu, but he took a fair number of wins off of wrestlers ranked above him including Ōhō, Kirishima, Hakuōhō and—most impressively—Aonishiki. Takayasu is the only wrestler he lost to who finished with a losing record.

The win over Aonishiki featured Wakamotoharu locking onto the Ukrainian and forcing him to stay upright. That position took away a lot of Aonishiki’s dynamic offense. We saw a few yotsu-zumō practitioners (belt grapplers) employ this tactic on Aonishiki and find success with it.

Wakamotoharu didn’t change his game-plan for that Aonishiki bout, that’s how he fought the entire tournament. He was always on the hunt for his favoured hidari-yotsu (left arm inside, right arm outside grip) and he got it more often than not. Whenever he gets that he’s still very hard to stop. Just ask Kirishima.

He was very good at securing the hidari-yotsu in September, both off the tachiai (as he did on Kusano) and after a prolonged battle (like with Ōnokatsu, who he softened up with strikes).

This record has put him up to maegashira 2 for November. I think there’s opportunities in the next tournament for him to pick up another winning record at this level. So we might see Wakamotoharu back in the san’yaku to start 2026.

Hiradoumi

Rank: Maegashira 4 East
Record: 8-7
Grade: C

Hiradoumi was steady, but not spectacular in November. This is his second 8-7 record in a row. With so many other jōi-boys struggling, an 8-7 should be heralded as a big success at this tournament. Hiradoumi secured his kachi-koshi with a Darwin Match win over Kinbōzan. The match with Kinbōzan was a great example of Hiradoumi just wanting it more. Like his stablemate Sadanoumi, Hiradoumi always does a good job of fighting with intensity and desire. I’d love to see what he can do in truly meaningful bout, one that could lead to a yushō, but right now he seems too inconsistent to go on the long streak needed to set something like that up.

You can see some of that classic Hiradoumi heart and fire below, in his bout with Atamifuji.

Hiradoumi’s issues in this tournament, which prevented him from doing better than 8-7, stemmed from the fact that his sumō is not very varied. He does mix in oshi-zumō and yotsu-zumō skills well, but everything is the same direction and same pace. This means when an opponent can move around laterally Hiradoumi struggled to stay locked onto them.

This is what has made him falter against the bigger names, who can match him for strength, but have a lot more creativity, mobility and nuance to their games. In September he lost to Kotozakura, Hōshōryū and Ōnosato. He’s now just 3-22 against that cohort. To get over the hump he’s going to need to figure out a way to get a few more wins against them. I think if he could develop a devastating side-step that would help him a lot.

Gōnoyama

Rank: Maegashira 3 West
Record: 1-14
Grade: F-

Gōnoyama’s September tournament was hard to watch.

Other than his one win over Abi, Gōnoyama could not convert his hard opening pushes into victory. He was able to get a lot of his opponents moving backwards off the tachiai, but all those opponents (other than the hapless Abi, who we’ll get to) were able to either put on the breaks or turn Gōnoyama around, using an underhook or a side-step. In both instances, opponents were able to quickly take back the momentum from Gōnoyama.

It looked like Gōnoyama had neither the strength to complete his opening attack nor the cardio to respond when it failed. For someone who fancies themselves as a hard pusher/thruster, that has to change.

In the jōi, right now, Gōnoyama is an easy meal for the elite wrestlers. He only knows one gear and one direction. This is similar to Hiradoumi, but Gōnoyama is also fighting with his head down as he charges forward making him far more easier to pull down or step around.

For wrestlers with advanced games, whether that are oshi-zumō or yotsu-zumō, Gōnoyama is far too easy to predict. Gōnoyama was being dunked on in a manner that was, frankly, embarrassing. He often looked like a student being schooled by masters.

My lasting image of Gōnoyama from this tournament is when Ōnosato withstood his opening rush then pushed him into the third row. It was a humiliating bout and a humiliating tournament for a man who just hasn’t progressed at all between his second and third years in makuuchi.

He’s been demoted to maegashira 13 for Kyushu. This is his lowest rank since he was first promoted to the top division in July 2023. I’m keen to see if he’s able to put up a big number at that ranking (he debuted with a 10-5 there). If he can’t, then Gōnoyama’s ceiling might be the bottom half of the division.

Atamifuji

Rank: Maegashira 3 East
Record: 5-10
Grade: D-

It’s another one step forwards, two steps back for Atamifuji. After his 11-4 jun-yushō in July vaulted him back to the jōi this 5-10 has dropped him back to the mid maegashira ranks. Atamifuji’s tournament came off the rails quickly in September, after he went 1-5. That included losses to Aonishiki, Kirishima, Hōshōryū and Ōnosato. Those are hard opponents, but even so, he’s fared quite well against some of them in the past (he’s got a 5-4 record against Hōshōryū).

In the Kirishima bout Atamifuji appeared anxious. See below how he struggled to get set, only for a frustrated looking Kirishima to force him out quickly (and hit him with a little staredown). This was reminiscent of when Atamifuji fought Kirishima with a cup on the line back in 2023.

Atamifuji’s vulnerability, and sweetness, have made him a fan favorite. But at times it seems he lacks a certain hardness that is required to earn the best results possible in combat sports.

Atamifuji’s best weapon is the gaburi-yori (torso thrust), but we didn’t see much of that in September. Though, on Day 1 he was perfect with this technique to beat Takayasu.

After losing to the big names in the first week of the tournament, Atamifuji really needed to pick up wins against lesser threats in the second week. He struggled to do that, though, losing to Ōhō, Abi and Meisei — all wrestlers who were able to unsettle him with their pushing and thrusting.

It seems pretty well known that Atamifuji will withdraw if you hurt him with harite (palm strikers). I think some of the more violent wrestlers out there look to exploit that against him. Hōshōryū did that in September, too, likely desperate to avoid another loss to the youngster.

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Ōhō

Rank: Maegashira 2 West
Record: 10-5
Grade: A

Ōhō put up a big number in September. Though, his performance flew under-the-radar. His only losses were to the yokozuna, sekiwake and Wakamotoharu (who had a very good tournament himself). And he was able to notch wins over Kotozakura, Takayasu and Aonishiki. Still, he was never close to title contention that month.

The win over Aonishiki was especially impressive. I think a lot of wrestlers have suffered from being too passive with Aonishiki. I think they are intimidated by his style and focus on defense, hoping not to leave themselves open to his pulling down techniques.

See below how Ōhō showed zero fear.

Sometimes you see wrestlers freeze when they clinch with Aonishiki. I think because he is so leaned over, opponents often want to gather themselves and then plan a way to pull him backwards or force him down. In this bout, though, Ōhō goes forwards and breaks Aonishiki’s preferred posture. He uses gaburi-yori to make Aonishiki more upright and then executes one of the best kotenage (armlock throws) I’ve seen all year. That’s only the ninth kotenage of Ōhō’s career. Ōhō has only ever hit one uwatenage (over arm throw) in his career and has never won with a shitatenage (underarm throw).

I love that Ōhō pounced with an unfamiliar move/style when the situation presented itself. That shows an aggressiveness that we’re seeing blossom in Ōhō lately, as he reaches mental and emotional maturity (he turns 26 in February).

That aggressiveness was on display with Ōhō’s thrusting, too. As a younger wrestler his thrusts were quite slow and methodical. Now they have a lot more snap to them. They are well placed, too. When he is technically so clean with his pushing/thrusting he can be very tough to handle — given how much weight he can put into those attacks and how his height allows him to drive down on his opponents.

Ōhō still struggles when an opponent gets an inside position. However, if he keeps hunting for kotenage finishes, that could make this less of a weakness. He did that against Kusano in September, using the kotenage attempt to bring about a push out. If he starts doing this regular against yotsu guys, then Ōhō might be able to breakthrough as a serious contender.

Hakuōhō

Rank: Maegashira 2 East
Record: 8-7, shukun-shō (outstanding performance prize), kinboshi
Grade: C+

Hakuōhō continues to slowly, but surely, prove he belongs in the top third of the makuuchi. This is now his fifth straight kachi-koshi since returning to the top division, after his first stint was cut short due to a shoulder injury/surgery. It’s impressive that he’s managed to dig in and get that winning record each time, even as the level of difficulty increases. Yes, he’s not blowing us away like Aonishiki has and Ōnosato did before him. And yes Hakuōhō was projected to do just that. But the early injury and all the upheaval with Miyagino has taken its toll on Hakuhō’s former protege. I think, with all he’s had to deal with, finishing his first full year in the makuuchi at maegashira 1 is a fantastic achievement.

In addition to getting a winning record, he also took home a shukun-shō and a kinboshi for besting Ōnosato on Day 4.

In this bout…