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Some final thoughts as we exit the January tournament...
- None of the Ozeki are ready for a Yokozuna run. Shodai and Asanoyama appear to be the closest, while Takakeisho took a huge step backward before he dropped out.
- Terunofuji is poised to regain Ozeki rank as long as he gets 9 or more wins in March. The next question will be this: Can his knees hold out for another 2 years to give him a fair chance at a Yokozuna run?
- Daieisho's maiden yusho in the top division has him poised to jump back to Sekiwake. He's only 27, and is in the best form of his career. Can he potentially turn this into a consistent run in the sanyaku ranks and make an Ozeki run of his own before 2021 is out?
- Is this the beginning of the end of Tochinoshin? He was recently as low as Maegashira 11 last year, and it's possible that he will be even lower when the next banzuke comes out, meaning that with another bad tournament with 10+ losses, he could be in some danger of relegation to Juryo. Will we see Tochinoshin retire before he gets relegated out of the top division?
- Speaking of the end, it looks like the end of the line for Ikioi. Yesterday's fusensho loss to Juryo champion Tsurugisho was the first time Ikioi went kyujo. He will most likely fall out of the salaried ranks, and at 34 and as injured as he is, this has potential to be the end for the former Sekiwake, who should be getting a nice retirement payment.
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