It's official: GAIJIN SUMO WRESTLER IS THE GREATEST

[Mulboyne]

Japan Today: Is Kotooshu destined for sumo greatness?
"Long before Kotooshu became the center of attention, back when he was still in the second-tier Juryo Division, I noticed how flexible his body was, and said to myself, 'He's going to be a fantastic wrestler.' He practices hard, and I suppose if he maintains this pace, he'll be a grand champion before long." Yoshio Ishibashi, a member of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, tells Asahi Geino (Oct 6) why he thinks Kotooshu, 22, has the makings of greatness. Referred to as the "Beckham of Sumo" by the media, the handsome Bulgarian, whose real name is Mahlyanov Kaloyan Stefanov, is also charming his female fans. By winning 12 consecutive matches in his first time at the sekiwake (junior champion) ranking, Kotooshu eclipsed a record set in the 1930s by the late grand champion Futabayama, who, along with Taiho in the 1960s, stood out as one of the greatest grapplers of all time...more...

[Taro Toporific]

Asashoryu makes history with 7th straight title
Kyodo News --- FUKUOKA, Nov. 26 KYODO
Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu made sumo history on Saturday when he defeated ozeki Kaio to become the first wrestler to capture seven Emperor's Cups in a row...more...

[AssKissinger]

Asashoryu makes history with 7th straight title
Kyodo News --- FUKUOKA, Nov. 26 KYODO
Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu made sumo history on Saturday when he defeated ozeki Kaio to become the first wrestler to capture seven Emperor's Cups in a row...more...

That's bad ass! Man, sumo doesn't even make the 4 AM ESPN out takes over here. I miss it.

[Taro Toporific]

[SIZE="7"]YAOCHO![/SIZE]

Sumo match-fixing claims in Japan
BBC News, Friday, 26 January 2007, 12:23 GMT / Tokyo-----An investigation is under way in Japan after allegations were made that the country's top sumo wrestler has been fixing matches.
Sumo's Grand Champion is a Mongolian called Asahoryu who won his 20th career title recently.
Asahoryu has not made any public comment about the claims.
The allegations come from an unnamed wrestler and another man said to be connected to the Grand Champion's training stable.
They claim, in a magazine article, that Asahoryu has been paying his opponents around $6,500 (£3,318) a match to let him win. ...
...There have been allegations of match-fixing in sumo before.
It is not well paid until you reach the highest ranks, so an offer of several thousand dollars to throw a match might be tempting.
For an established wrestler, it might make sense to fix matches to help to retain his ranking, and the high salary and sponsorship opportunities that come with it.
It is possible, though, that the claims are motivated by something else.
Asahoryu is not Japanese. Some feel, rightly or wrongly, he has not worked as hard as other foreign wrestlers to adhere to the strict code of conduct of the sumo tradition and he dominates the spor7...more...

[AssKissinger]

[SIZE="7"][font="Arial Black"]BULLSHIT!!![/font][/SIZE]

[Uhhuh35]

Sort of a Sumo "paluka" isn't it?

[Samurai_Jerk]

[SIZE="7"][font="Arial Black"]BULLSHIT!!![/font][/SIZE]

Which part?

[AssKissinger]

He's not paying those fuckers to take dives.

[Uhhuh35]

He's not paying those fuckers to take dives.

i don't know AK, there's alot of money in Sumo. A Rikishi with a great won-loss record makes for good ratings dontcha think?

[Samurai_Jerk]

He's not paying those fuckers to take dives.

I guess it's possible, but I don't really think so either. The thing with sumo though, is it's a lot harder to spot a work than it is in sports like boxing, K-1, or MMA.

I think it's more likely that he's just kicking ass consistently and people are looking for a way to explain it other than he's just better than everyone. I doubt all of the ozeki or rishing stars like Baruto are on the take since it would not be in their interest to lose. Somehow he usually whips all their butts too.

[dimwit]

Match fixing usually occurs between wrestlers who are 7 an 7 going into the last day of the tournament and need to win to retain a winning record. I can't think of any time Asa has been in that bind.

[AssKissinger]

Sure.

I believe that the wrestlers sometimes throw matches for each other to build up favors for when they are in need. Like in cases like you point out dimwit. That's a part of sumo culture that I believe most fans are willing to accept. But I don't believe Asashoryu is paying anyone to dive. There's long been sour grapes about the success of gaijin wrestlers all the way back to Konishiki. They also bad mouthed Akebono's talents and made stupid comments like 'He looks mean.'

[baka tono]

They also bad mouthed Akebono's talents and made stupid comments like 'He looks mean.'

Mean? what are you supposed to look like in a country where smiling is frowned upon. Even in the photo of myself its not a smile just an open mouth.

[AssKissinger]

Yeah, in one sense, but then again they have smile classes for company workers and I don't know how many times I heard 'Show smile!' from eikaiwa managers. Nothing could be uglier than a fake smile but nothing sells more than insincerity. Go Go Humanity!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Hakuho just won (the tournament and his final match with Asashoryu). We may finally have another yokozuna.

[AssKissinger]

Hakuho just won (the tournament and his final match with Asashoryu). We may finally have another yokozuna.

Has he won back to back tournaments?

[FG Lurker]

Has he won back to back tournaments?

Yup.

Two gaijin yokozuna and no Japanese.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Yup.

Two gaijin yokozuna and no Japanese.

No real Japanese contenders either.

[sublight]

Yep, Tochiazuma announced his retirement at the start, and Kaio's getting pretty long in the tooth. Chiyotaikai hasn't done anything very impressive in a while, but he has a yusho under his belt, which is more than Kotooshu can say. Dejima showed some of his old form this time, putting up a 12-3 record, but I don't think he has the consistency to ever make another challenge for the top.

On the news this morning they mentioned that Hakuho is among the youngest Yokozuna (22, Taiho was one year younger), and made one of the fastest climbs to the top from his debut (30 tournaments, Asashoryu made it in only 25, Takanohana took 41).

Plus, his wife is hot.

[Taro Toporific]

Two gaijin yokozuna and no Japanese.

Fun Facts #7: Latest Sumo Banzuke shows one third of top ranked are Not Japanese
debito.org --- By debito
Most recent Sumo Banzuke shows that nearly a third of all the top-ranked Sumo wrestlers in Japan are now foreign born, not to mention both of the two at the top rank of Yokozuna. And there are more coming in the lower ranks...more...

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]

Grand champion accused of faking injuries
AFP, July 26 11:16 AM US/Eastern
A fresh scandal was brewing Thursday around controversial sumo champion Asashoryu after media reports alleged that he faked injuries to cancel a charity tour.
The Mongolian, who is the fifth-ranked wrestler in sumo history, complained of lower back pain during the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, in which he swept to another title on Sunday.
His stablemaster Takasago submitted a doctor's diagnosis to the Japan Sumo Association, which agreed to let him off a tour of an earthquake-hit region, the Sports Nippon tabloid said.
But a Japanese television network aired footage purported to show the 26-year-old wrestler already back in Mongolia and cheerfully playing soccer with children...more...

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]
Stressed-out Asashoryu to see shrink on Sunday
TOKYO, Aug. 4 KYODO
Stressed-out grand champion Asashoryu is set to see a psychiatrist to help cope with his tattered mental state after he was handed a severe punishment of suspension from two grand sumo tournaments, sumo sources said Saturday.
Asashoryu, who is ensconced in his home on house restriction, has apparently been making requests to return to his homeland Mongolia because of his shaky condition, but the Japan Sumo Association appears unwilling to let the 26-year-old have his way.

[AssKissinger]

Is it common for sumo wrestlers to get put on house arrest by their employers?

[Mulboyne]

Is it common for sumo wrestlers to get put on house arrest by their employers?

I thought it seemed harsh but it is surprising how many people wanted a tougher punishment. This Yomiuri article gives some background:

...From a historical viewpoint, Asashoryu is lucky to still be drawing a wage, even if it 30 percent less than normal. There is a precedent for his behavior. In October 1949, yokozuna Maedayama was forced to retire after he was photographed with San Francisco Seals skipper Lefty O'Doul in Tokyo, days after he had pulled out of the Osaka tournament with injury.

Back in the present, Mongolian-born Kyokutenho was suspended for a tournament and took a 30 percent pay cut after he was involved in a car crash, while last year Russian rank-and-filer Roho was suspended for three days after striking a photographer after a run-in with ozeki Chiyotaikai.

These events--and the severity of Asashoryu's punishment--suggest the association wants to get tough. Making an example of "rowdy foreigners" is one way of tightening discipline. Another is to make stablemasters like Takasago--who was fined for letting Asashoryu run wild--watch and learn from strict-but-fair stablemasters like Sakaigawa and Shikoroyama (former sekiwake Terao). Their success as coaches is not in doubt--and their wrestlers don't need lessons in bowing.

[Mike Oxlong]

I thought it seemed harsh but it is surprising how many people wanted a tougher punishment. This Yomiuri article gives some background:

Not sure I'd take James H. at face value, but interesting article nontheless. Already the poll-smoking is a changin' at Yahoo! Japan.

[AssKissinger]

It's very tricky because it really does hurt the sport when they feign injuries. Especially, if they lose a couple fights and then bail before the losing record sticks. On the other hand, you don't want athletes aggravating real injuries. I think not allowing them to go out and have fun is reasonable.

[Mulboyne]

There's one Japanese opinion column here which points out that for all the talk about sumo values, Asashoryu's soccer appearance was at a charity event while the tour he avoided was a commercial enterprise.

[Hawaiibadboy]

Sorry but I'm fukin lazy so I didn't read the thread but saw an opportunity to post a pic I took with him in 2001.

All the big names blew me off while this dude was chilling outside alone. He gave me a thumbs up...(not sure why) but I needed a pic of a wrestler before I left so I got this one.

Almost fell off my chair 3years later when I saw him in the Yokozuna ceremony.

Anyway....I say hes cool so the old school assoc. membs can go blow themselves.




(edit)
Thankz for resizing the pic

[American Oyaji]

I thought that the pic was washed out until I belatedly realized that the face is obscured for a reason.

[Hawaiibadboy]

I thought that the pic was washed out until I belatedly realized that the face is obscured for a reason.

Nah,
It is a pic of a pic so thats the reflection of the flash. ( the little thing in the top middle is a thumb tack .