You should never right off an ozeki, even one that seems to be chronically underperforming. And yet since my last post, the misfiring Shodai has come from being at 0-3 to an impressive 8-5. It was almost as if he had read my text personally and taken umbrage. Well, so much the better as he has thankfully lost the dreaded kadoban status. Now, if only he can develop a positive consistency!

It is hard to see who might join Terunofuji in the rarefied ranks of the yokozuna, one fine day. I doubt that it will come from the current crop of ozeki. But there are some up and coming wrestlers who are very promising and demonstrate a fighting spirit. I fancy Wakatakakage or Kotonowaka, both good prospects for ozeki in the future. And who knows what beyond that?