Grand Sumo Breakdown

The boys try their hand at seeing the future and make some predictions on how they think the bashos of 2026 will shake out. Join the guys and see if you agree with their divination. Who do you think has the best chance of introducing the podcast episodes in 2027? 

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Kick off 2026 with the boys as we talk about our newest Ozeki! And other stuff too I guess.

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The boys wrap up 2025 in (their version of) style.

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Shodai ruins Ryan's day yet again.

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This banzuke sucks and Ryan isn't happy about it.

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That's right, I'm running for the head office of the United States Sumo Federation for the 2026-2030 term and Justin Kizzart of Dark Circle Sumo is my VP running mate. If you know me and Justin, you know that keeping this discussion to only two hours was already tough for us, but if you don't have the time to check out the whole thing, here are some highlights and links to help you get involved.

Our platform has 4 major goals for the next 4 years of the USSF:

 1: Win an international gold m...

The GSB Crew talks about the exciting final days of the basho, the repercussions of the final result, and probably a bit too much about rock, paper, scissors.

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**Spoilers thru Day 8**

The GSB crew discusses the first week and how henkas are impacting the Yusho race.

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The GSB crew discusses the upcoming November tournament hoping for more of the same from Aki. Aonishiki's current run and potential for Ozeki and more is also explored.

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We asked, you voted, now the results are in! Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2025 Sumo Popularity poll! We had a record number of responses this year and couldn't wait to dive into the data. Join the guys as they review the results provided by YOU!

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The boys check in on the news in the world of sumo since the last basho, featuring an interview with our listener Thomas, who was able to attend and report on the London exhibition tournament!

London coverage starts at 47:45

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Ryan snaps the losing streak and gets back in the saddle with a very solid prediction.

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Ryan and Jake return after what feels like a long off-season to take a stab at the rankings for the November tournament.

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Take the GSB Annual Popularity Poll!

Another one in the books that absolutely delivered. Join us to cover the excellent September basho.

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The short handed GSB crew discuss the first week of the not at all wacky Aki as the two Yokozuna lead the pack. 

The Aki Basho is upon us!  Will Hoshoryu be able to finish a tournament? Will Onosato be the favored rikishi the time around? Will Kotoshoho survive now that he's M5? Join the GSB guys as they discuss what they hope to see from the upcoming tournament and what they think will happen.

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Can Ryan get back to his winning ways? Will the banzuke committee make any sense this basho? 

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Ryan looks to get back to his winning ways in the banzuke prediction game, so he's taking a few swings.

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Not a tremendous amount of news this month while the wrestlers are off on their off-season tour.

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Well, how did you like that basho? As totally predicted from the Midway Episode, the GSB crew was…..not even close on picking who would win. Join the guys as they discuss how the Nagoya 2025 tournament wound up.

Make sure to stay tuned after the credits for Mak's punishment from a prior basho.

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The GSB Crew discusses the surprises and the henkas of week one of the Nagoya basho.

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The July basho is right around the corner, so join us to discuss our pair of Yokozuna and the rest of the field looking to slow them down.

Make sure to stay tuned after the credits for Mak's punishment from a prior basho.

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Well let's get this over with. Not a great year for predicting banzukes. See if you can guess Ryan's heartrate as we go through this disaster.

Watch us on youtube to follow along visually as we discuss the banzuke.

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Ryan walks Jake through his guesses for July tournament rankings and we even get some fun extra math at the end.

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Lots of yokozuna news: one on the way up, one on the way out. Join us for our thoughts on Onosato, Hakuho, and the rest of the off-the-dohyo news for the month.

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Well that sure was fun. Welcome to the future, sumo fans!

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*SPOILERS THRU DAY 8*

Join us to break down week one of the May Basho, where our leaderboard is about as fun as we could have possibly asked for.

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Mak has a bad time while you have a good time. Also we revive our segment on GSB earning a sumo black belt.

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Oof.

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Not a super busy month, but we cover the basics of what's been going on between the Haru and Natsu bashos.

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It's that time once again! Join Ryan and Jake as Ryan attempts to divine how the Natsu Banzuke will shake out based on the results of the Haru Basho.

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Haru was a roller coaster, join GSB to try to make sense of what's next.

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*SPOILERS THRU DAY 8*

Ryan and Mak's sheer audacity to have personal lives has led them to being unavailable this week, so Flyric and Jake are joined by two guests from our friends at Honu Sumo to discuss week 1 of the Haru Basho.

Check out more from Nathan and Mengkin at Maximum Effort Studios.

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Join GSB to discuss the first basho for the 74th Yokozuna, Hoshoryu! We also begin our quest to cover all the vocab on the path to earning a sumo black belt, this episodes vocab words are:

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Ryan absolutely nails the prediction for the yokozuna rank. Really good stuff, high level knowledge. 

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If you'd like to try your hand at guessing the banzuke alongside Ryan (a.k.a. Goshobiyama), go to: dichne.com/Guess

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First update to the top rank in over 3 years?! How will this massive news affect the rest of the banzuke? Actually not too much, but it's still neat.

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New Yokozuna! There's some other news too, I guess.

Did anything consequential happen this basho? Anything? Anything at all? Certainly no huge news is coming out right about now, right?

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SPOILERS THRU DAY 8

Way too much to pack in today so let's get right to it, all the way from the elephant in the room down to who might actually still be in the running.

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Hope everyone ate like a sumo wrestler over the holidays! Welcome back to a new year of sumo, let's get down to discussing the exciting potential at the top of the rankings and help Mak explore his inner hater. 

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A new sumo year is upon us, and with it, the changing of the guard. Join the boys as a new start to the show is introduced in glorious fashion and see how they prognosticate on 2025. How many Yokozuna will there be? How many Ozeki? Do you agree with what the guys think will happen?

A belated look at the rankings going into the first pro sumo tournament of the new year.

Ryan, Jake, and Mak do their best to keep up with sumo news over the holidays. Fortunately for them, there kinda isn't a ton to cover.

As the year comes to a close, Ryan predicts what we'll see on the banzuke for the first tournament of 2025.

Can you believe another year as come and gone? Neither can we. Join us as we recount the biggest stories of the year. We also revisit our predictions they made at the beginning of the year and see who wound up with the most points. The winner gets the immense honor of introducing each of our episodes in 2025!

We asked, you voted, now the results are in! Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2024 Sumo Popularity poll. How did it all shake out? Join us as we review and discuss the results.

Ryan, Flyric, and Jake (and kinda Mak?) go over the final basho of 2024 and what it means for sumo going into the new year. Flyric has a near death experience with some wings, and Ryan graces us with another song from a listener.

*SPOILERS THRU DAY 8*

It's turning out to be an excellent Kyushu basho. Join us to discuss the highlights so far and what to expect in week 2.

Check out our video on youtube later today for a breakdown of Jake and Flyric's matches at this year's Midwest Open, and as always keep an eye on sumo411.com for more amateur events.

Ryan, Jake, and Mak soldier on without their spirit animal, as Flyric had to miss due to scheduling conflicts. Is there anything worth talking about other than our new Ozeki Onosato?! Well yes, of course, but he's gotta be the headline, right? 

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Ryan stays #1 despite a weird, shaky banzuke

Onosato is now an Ozeki! Unfortunately, that's just about the only sure thing on this banzuke...

Today Jake sits down with Honu Sumo's JJ Jones, the 2024 head coach for Team USA, to talk about how the Sumo World Championships went for our Americans. JJ's been a busy man this year, as he also hosted US Nationals just 4 months ago. Make sure to keep up with him and his team on YouTube at Maximum Effort Studios.

Join (most of) the crew for our first off-season news update! We plan to check in between each basho on the general goings-on in the world of professional sumo. Let us know if there are any other types of things you'd like to see us cover.

Make sure to take our 2024 Grand Sumo Popularity Poll! This is the 6th year in a row we're running it and we'll have a podcast to discuss the results before the next basho.

For now though, join us to cover the spectacular Aki tournament and the ascension of the new chosen one!

***SPOILERS THRU DAY 8***

A Mak-less GSB soldiers on to cover what is turning out to be a pretty excellent basho so far

Gearing up for the September basho and there are storylines aplenty. We cover the turmoil at the top of the banzuke all the way down to the promising newcomers.

Etan Perez burst onto the sumo scene in 2023, winning the Texas State Championship in her very first year and representing America at the World Championships. Next up: she's headed to Europe with Team USA for Worlds '24.

*Watch the Sumo World Championships with English commentary on the World of Sumo YouTube channel on September 7th and 8th*

It has finally happened. Ryan not only reclaims his Best Banzuke Guy status in the Guess the Banzuke rankings, but he also got 1st place in the whole dang contest. Certainly this won't go to his head.

With less than 2 weeks until the Sumo World Championships in Poland, we sit down with Mighty Eagle Sumo's Jay Scriven, the 2024 men's heavyweight national champ. 

*Watch the world championships on September 7th and 8th on the World of Sumo youtube channel*

This one makes sense until the end where a bomb goes off...

Today we check on the progress of the year-long predictions we made in January and see who is doing the least bad so far.

Join a short-handed GSB team as they flounder through the 2024 July tournament without their beloved bus driver.

***SPOILERS THRU DAY 8***

The standings after week 1 tell the whole story so far. Will we see the ending we expect or can someone step up to make it dramatic?

The 4th pro sumo tournament of the year is upon us. Will Onosato continue his ascent or can one of the veterans finally slow him down?

Ryan keeps Jake captive long enough to explain the 2 massive crimes committed by the makers of the Nagoya banzuke.

Ryan and Jake take a look at a banzuke with some wild gaps that need filling.

The US National Sumo Tournament took place June 1st in San Diego, hosted by Honu Sumo. Join us to talk about it with Raijin Sumo's Sensei Seth Adams and Honu's Mengkin Ragan! We talk about how Seth got into sumo and go through the results of the tournament.

The May tournament started out wild and the finale didn't disappoint. The guys break down this second consecutive historic basho.

Check out this link to get an Onosato shirt from our friend SumoBola!

*SPOILERS THRU DAY 8*

This basho is plagued by injuries, but we don't let that dampen our sumo hype! Mostly. Probably. Kinda.

Salt City Sumo's Goose and JJ join us to talk about their show and our recent meeting at the Rollertown Showdown in Dallas. Also featuring a special guest making his amateur sumo bonus episode debut: Iowa Sumo/GSB's very own Flyric!

After Takerufuji's historic win, the story this time seems to be a bit more pessimistic as the Ghost of Injuries Past comes to haunt the Natsu basho....

So where did Takerufuji land? And more importantly, was Ryan able to hang on to his Best Banzuke Guy trophy after a tough prediction?

Where the heck does Takerufuji deserve to be on the next banzuke? Ryan has a lot to say about it.

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So uh... this new kid's pretty good, huh?

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SPOILERS THRU DAY 8

Topsy turvy Haru so far. Where can it go from here?

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All eyes seem to be at the top of the banzuke for the March basho. We cover the favorites for the tournament as well as the big news from Miyagino stable.

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Let's take a look at the banzuke for March and see if Ryan will remain #1 Banzuke Guy or if he'll have to fly to Japan to fight some fools.

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Join us for our third annual GSB Hall of Fame bonus episode, where we induct some of our favorite moments, people, and stories that might not otherwise get their time to shine. As always, we also have the dreaded Hall of Shame for things that bum us out.

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"I don't like it, but I  get it" is the motto of this next banzuke prediction episode.

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The Hatsu basho welcomed in the new year with some serious action. Plenty of stories from this basho to cover, so cozy up next to the fire with a nice hot cup of podcast.

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Spoilers Thru Day 8

A crowded leaderboard and a pile of injuries. Join us to discuss.

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Jake catches up with JJ Jones of Honu sumo ahead of the 2nd annual SoCal Open, coming up on February 24th in San Diego. We also talk about Honu's incredible experience at the 2023 World Championships and their next big adventure: 2024 US Nationals!

Check out Honu Sumo on Instagram and Maximum Effort Studios on YouTube!

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It wouldn't be GSB if we didn't make a competition out of it, so here's some of our big predictions we'll be keeping an eye on in the new year.

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First basho of the year and it looks to be an important one. Will Terunofuji keep going? Can Kirishima get the rope? Can the new generation stake their claim in the top division?

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Uh, woops. Looks like Jake forgot to upload this episode to the podcast apps when he put it on youtube. Regardless, he is joined by Kyle Ferriter, Sake & Sumo, and the Sumo Punx to take a look back at 2023 and dole out awards for some of the amateur wrestlers who made the biggest waves. If you're looking for spoilers, skip ahead to 2:34:30 for a recap of the winners.

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Thank you to everyone in the online sumo community for spending another great year with us. Join us one last time in 2023 to cover the highlights of the year and go over our favorite bits of the year that was.

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This one went... ok. Ryan walks us through his thoughts on a banzuke that departed somewhat from recent convention even if only in just a couple key ways.

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Ryan and Jake take a look at what the first banzuke of the year might look like, including a possible return to normalcy in the san'yaku ranks for the first time in a year and a half. 

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The results of our 2023 Popularity Poll are in! Join us to see who topped each of the lists and play along with the guys as Ryan quizzes the rest of us on the results.

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No more sumo until next year makes GSB some sad boys. In the meantime, make sure to take our 2023 Rikishi Popularity Poll! And a big thank you to Rich Mushrooms for being our sponsor for this basho! If you'd like to taste the amazingness that was this delectable treat, check them out here! https://richmushrooms.com/

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Spoilers thru day 8

With Jake and Flyric away, Mak and Ryan break down an exciting week 1 to the Kyushu basho

A big thank you to Rich Mushrooms for being our sponsor for this episode! If you'd like to taste the amazingness that was this delectable treat, check them out here! https://richmushrooms.com/

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GSB discusses the upcoming final tournament of the year. Jake eats some jerky and bends the rules a little on his punishment?

A big thank you to Rich Mushrooms for being our sponsor for this episode! If you'd like to taste the amazingness that was this delectable treat, check them out here! https://richmushrooms.com/

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Ryan and Jake review the Kyushu banzuke and how Ryan's prediction did, plus a special new award?

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Join Jake and Ryan for a sumo trivia pop quiz! Oh also we look at the banzuke for November.

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Today Jake is joined by another Jake. A bigger, better, stronger Jake. One that probably listens to more GSB than we do ourselves....

Keep an eye out for Ohayo Sumo, an association of clubs on the rise and one of the main groups driving the growth of sumo in the American Midwest.

Full event video of the 2023 Beer City Open can be found on the Grand Sumo Breakdown YouTube page.

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The second week of Aki turned out just as weird as the first. Join us to recap the September tournament and what it means going forward.

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***Spoilers thru day 8***

Anyone who claims to know what is going to happen in this "Wacky Aki" basho is a liar.

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Straight from the GSB "delayed due to technical difficulties" Vault, comes a double header of US sumo interviews! Our second episode today is Jake catching up with Stan "Panda" Kocol" out of Washington state's Iron Goat Sumo Club after the Harvest Days tournament in Midvale, Utah.

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Straight from the GSB "delayed due to technical difficulties" Vault, comes a double header of US sumo interviews! First up, Jake sits down with Raijin Sumo's Edobor Konyeha and Dallas's Corey Morrison to talk about Edo and his epic run at the 2023 Cowboy Cup.

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The top of the banzuke looks a little beat up this tournament. Who will be left standing when the dust clears? Also towards the end of the episode, check out Ryan's excellent punishment for losing the Nagoya prediction bet.

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