Kaz Hayashi

2 hours ago, waters44 said:

Thank you @Kaz Hayashi for these posts it’s been really interesting! I got really invested by the end of the tournament, hopefully NHK show the next one too

Ive never watched sumo before but man I was surprised how brutal it can be. Some of the falls the wrestlers take off the ring are crazy, there must have been some serious injuries over the years!

A couple of quick questions if you don’t mind - what are the bits of paper given to the winner by the referee after the bouts? Also you mentioned the technique awards, what was that all about? Was that based on the one match or the tournament as a whole?

Finally have you got any idea what the wrestlers earn for these fights?

Yeah no worries.

Wrestlers are on salaries based on rank.   

They get a monthly salary of:

Yokozuna - ¥3 million (approx $26,500)

Ozeki - ¥2.5 million (approx $22,000)

Sekiwake/Komusubi - ¥1.8 million (approx $16,000)

Maegashira- ¥1.4 million (approx $12,500)

They get a bonus at every Basho, and the bonus is larger based on performance. More wins = more bonus. Also If a Maegashira beats a Yokozuna = another bonus.

They get an additional ¥10 million if they are the overall winner of a basho.

The envelopes are sponsorship payments. So all of those flags that appear right at the start of each day, well they are sponsors. Each sponsor pays approx ¥70k to display their flag and that money is divided between the association, and the winners of the big fights. Proper prizefighting style. ¥60k goes to the winner (contents of the envelope handed out after winning the match). 1/2 of that is put in to that sumo’s retirement fund pot.

So when the winner of a big fight at the end of each day is handed a fat stack... well you can multiply that ¥60k by the amount of envelopes. Big coin, just look at his happy chops... 

9 hours ago, Dan Williams said:

Didn't Matt confirm on the podcast this week they were a zombie sailor product and that they were just pushing them as they were a new "retros" style line that him Brian and Mark all love? He also spilled that they are designed by Ron rudat who designed the original Hasbro's which is quite cool.

Yeah Ron is indeed designing them which is mint. In regards to who is involved with what, I don’t believe much of what any of them say. I think it’s completely impossible to know if people are being worked the majority of the time. Less than a month ago a big toy trader cut a video kicking off at Matt saying he completely screwed him over. It was a 10 min video absolutely ripping Matt a new arsehole, incredibly graphic, calling Matt a fraud and incredibly sketchy based on some bad deals. Within 24 hours the video is deleted and a week later they’re promoting each other. So yeah, while I appreciate his status in the collecting community, I don’t but in to any of the craic when their aim is to make a lot of money.

I’ve also heard that Matt is now heavily involved in the American wrestle crate subscription. Rumours are that they’re getting Micro Brawlers made for an upcoming crate, but apparently insisted that the packaging was changed from standard, and that all packaging for all Micro Brawlers change from now on to a blister pack. The general feeling from those annoyed by the change is that it’ll likely end up with more expensive “limited run” versions amongst other things.

Basically, he’s nailed it in regards to business moves, and making money from the collectors scene (doing the same with trading cards too) but it fucks it up a bit for general collectors. He was also gifted a number of figures from manufacturers/PR deals, and then upsells them on eBay. I don’t think he denies it.

I will stress, It doesn’t bother me personally at all, however, I’m not a fan boy hanging on his every word, and I’m not one for believing what he says, because he’s naturally looking for ways to make quids. He’s managed to take the carny from wrestling and implement it in to other avenues. He’s done well.

1 hour ago, Roy said:

The Hasbro UK letter on that link details "Ravishing Rick Rude (2nd Edition)" and "Jake the Snake Roberts (2nd Edition)" coming in assortment 4. Anyone know what that was about? I don't recall seeing two versions of either of these.

There wasn’t, maybe it was considered or they simply made additional or the originals, but there was never official different versions of Jake or Rude, and there has never been any mention, discuss or proto shots suggesting as much.

4 minutes ago, IANdrewDiceClay said:

I bet you any money if Hasbro released a Sabu back in the day, that turban would be moulded on his head, like the Mountain or Sgt Slaughter's gimmicks.

Yup, basically the Slaughter we all wanted

Cardona and crew recently announced their new line, based on Hasbro style figures, and will be somewhat competing with the new Chella Toys company (doing the same style).

Cardona and his designers have now announced including the design, of the first additional name, added to his and Myers line. 
 

edit - ZST is stating that it’s their own independent company, so there’s a bit of confusion regarding how much Cardona is involved. He is heavily promoting them though.

Cardona has unearthed the 2up proto figures, linked to the mini Royal Rumble figures. Now we know what Hasbros would look like if they were Galoobs.

10 hours ago, Carbomb said:

I'm definitely here for this. Looking forward to the March Basho. Thanks for starting this thread and providing all the breakdowns.

Thinking that each basho should get its own thread, always good to have trackable, individuated content.

Cool, yeah that makes sense. This month we were figuring out the best way cover it on the pod, we had day 1, day 8 and day 15 as the main shows, with a 1 min upload of results every day. In March there will be 3 of us chatting on the main 3 days (1, 8, 15) but also taking part in a fantasy league. So a lot of my harping on will cover my stable.

The league is dead easy, it’s an existing one online that runs each basho and there was 40+ players this month, possibly more).   
You choose 5 sumos from 5 tiers (so you can’t only pick the top 5 ranked fighters, so a maximum of:   
1 from Yoko - Ozeki   
1 from Sekiwake - Komusubi    
2 from Maegashira (rank 1 -8)    
2 from the Maegashira (rank 9+) 

Once you pick them, that’s your team, no subbing to do, no messing around, the game provides points automatically etc and the league table is updated after each fight day has ended. So aye, piece of piss & a bit of a laugh. We’re sorting a trophy & medals for out little gathering of people taking part in the game, anyone who plays can take part in our sub league with no extra effort (just let me know).

So yeah, if anyone else fancies it, I’ll post a link to the game, you can set a stable up and can chat results in March thread. I highly doubt many/from ukff will give a shit, fair enough really, but the option is there.
 

1 hour ago, Cannibal Man said:

he needed 9 people to curtain him off so he could go for a piss when I saw him, whereas the lad dressed up as Undertaker was letting you hold his collection of yellow and blue Intercontinental belts and fucking all sorts, even the lad dressed as Doink was better at fan interaction.

That U.K. Undertaker tribute lad might have to freshen his act up now though
Would a free photo of you, holding IC titles, stood with a tall lad in a hunting jacket, a Navy Seals bandana, who hates modern men and Road Rash still be of interest?

I think he’s full of shit and is playing to a perceived audience. 
I was running a Grapple Arcade gaming area at a wrestling convention in 2019, when Undertaker was there. I saw him look over a few times, and I could tell he was dying to have a blast on In Your House on the Saturn against Virgil. 

He wasn’t messing around.

The Hatsu Basho 2021 winner is... Daieisho, with a fantastic 13-2 record. He steamrolled Okinoumi today. Based on this, there was no need for a play off. In fact, Asanoyama defeated Shodai, so Shodai simply wasn’t up for challenging today.

The final standings, (courtesy of Natto’s graphic):

I also want to point out that Terunofuji & Midorifuji were both awarded Gino-sho technique awards today. Those awards are pretty scarce and you only see a couple handed out each year on average, let alone 2 in the same basho. The award is a cash prize of ¥2 million (approx £14k) each. What’s even more impressive is that they both belong to the same Heya (Isegahama stable). Great work indeed.

I’ll piss off for now unless folks want to chat about matches, and if anyone has an interest I’ll happily do this again for the March Basho. 

On 1/21/2021 at 7:10 PM, Tamura said:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/?p=result&mode=all&key=all&keyword=sumo&type=tvEpisode&

Why bother with illicit streams and suchlike when NHK World does a daily show with all the makuuchi bouts with English commentary?

Sometimes that search returns 0 results, if it does refreshing the page fixes it (unless it's between basho, as each show is only available for 14 days).

Fair point, I watch via consoles, so it’s not an option unfortunately.

...

Quick update heading in to tomorrow, day 15 and the final of this months basho tournament.

It’s been a hell of a week, with some incredible results and still everything to play for.

The good:

Daieisho finishes day 14 with a record of 12-2. He’s been a joy to watch and the no question he needs to be promoted in rank regardless of the outcome on day 15. He is currently ranked 1 in the general pool of Maegashira rikishi, so he has a lot to play for.

Shodai the Ozeki finishes day 14 with 11-3. If he wins on day 15 and Daieisho loses, then the 2 will go head to head in a play off to determine the overall winner of this basho. Shodai seems a bit nervous. He has his eyes on a Yokozuna spot.

Asanoyama the Ozeki has had a brilliant basho too. He’s on 10-4 after day 14. Reaching double numbers definitely catches the attention of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. So with both Ozeki having a great Basho, some serious decisions need to be considered after tomorrow’s bouts.

Terunofuji the Sekiwake is also on 10-4, so there’s a natural progression to Ozeki if the spot indeed becomes available.

Takayasu the Komusubi is on 9-5. If he wins tomorrow, there could be consideration of a promotion for him too.

The interesting:

After a very dominant week 1, Akiseyama dropped off the map with several losses, but he’s not willing to throw it all away and has bounced back somewhat. He’s joined by Takayasu, Takarafuji, Ichinojo & Hoshoryu on 9-5 heading in to the final. All looking for a double figure conclusion to this basho.

The bad:

Kotoshoho who was ranked 3rd in the general pool of Maegashira rikishi, has had an absolute disaster. He enters the final day on 3-11. Nightmare.

Tokushoryu, Ryuden and Tochinoshin all finish day 14 on 4-10, which is pretty poor to say the least. More was expected from them considering their ranks.

Sadanoumi is on 5-9 and he’s ranked 17th. He needs to be concerned as he’s a prime candidate to be demoted in division, considering his rank and performance.

So yeah, a lot could happen based on the outcomes of tomorrow and March is going to be a very, very interesting Basho, we’ll have to wait and see what changes of the guard occur. Until then, day 15 will be a beast. I’ll pop back in with results and final standings after the event and before we upload a pod.

2021 - “The retro games market has run out of nostalgia, so is creating its own subculture.”

That time big Trev hosted the WWF events centre.

4 hours ago, cobra_gordo said:

I think I prefer this other one they're doing, if only because of the front pocket print. Could have probably used a better image for the back than what looks like two blokes having a chat.

I’ve been chatting to the designer. He has a series of shirts being designed in this style. So if this is you style, then there’s more to come. He’s apparently had mixed feedback, some love the C4 shirt, myself included, but a number of people have had a dig about them not being official.

This Viz beauty popped up on my TL again from 2017:

Pal sent me it, a random post from FB. Possibly a post in the Wrestling Trading Fanatics page, based on the groups he goes on.

I was going to post this in it’s own thread because it deserves it. But then I just thought it would end up as a mirror image to this thread from 4 months ago.

Anyway, look at this, just look at it. 

24 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

Is this basho on Eurosport? Might try and catch the rest.

EDIT: Oh, wow - I just decided to Google to see what happened with Tatsuhikari, and found out he died in 2011  

Seems I was wrong - he never got past Maegashira.

Yeah mate, as expected, the young death rate is pretty high unfortunately. 
No idea if it’s on Eurosport, I can sort you with a link via DM if you want one. It’s becoming incredibly difficult to watch these days over here.

I thought it made sense to drop a playlist in here.

Sumo Drop

The playlist is for anyone who has any interest in Sumo, old fans, new fans, or for those with an interest but no idea of rules or terminology.
Episode 1 is a basic guide to sumo in layman’s terms, explaining rules, rankings and terminology. All other episodes focus on the January tournament, including our thoughts, ramblings, results and predictions. 
We’ll carry it on in March, and every tournament thereafter. The pod consists of myself, artist Adam Hogarth, and new member Matt Stogdon from the Sequelisers movie pod. 
Cheers

We’re over 1/2 through this tournament, 9 days/matches in to be precise, meaning depending on how rikishi’s have done so far, it’s now time to go for it.

Shock results so far:

Takakeisho - He hasn’t been able to pull it back. As I said in the OP, he won November’s Basho, was a favourite to be promoted to Yoko based on how he does this Basho, but my god, he’s been on his arse. After day 9 he’s now at 2-7. This means in order for him to bounce back and salvage a kachi-koshi (more wins than losses out of 15 fights) he needs to win every single match. Bad craic.

Kotoshoho - When it rains it pours. The lad gained kachi-koshi at his 6 bashos, he was destined for good things. He has lost every fight so far this basho and is 0-9. What a nightmare.

No one is undefeated but Daiesho is at 8-1. He is absolutely ready to step up in rank providing he bounces back from his first defeat today, and goes back to winning ways.

Shodai is performing very well, and is the best performing, highest ranked fighter in the Basho. He’s currently at Ozeki rank, he’s at 7-2 and if he continues with his winning ways, he’s a big contender to take over a Yokozuna spot.

In our pod on day 1, I mentioned that my “one to watch” was general (Maegashira) ranked sumo, Meisei. He’s doing me proud. He’s at the top end of the table, currently at 6-3. Saying that, he’s joined by 9 others at 6-3, so he needs to be careful and keep his eyes on the prize to be considered for rank promotion.
 

They look absolutely stunning @chokeout and that cake @tiger_rick looks delicious.

Virgil just cut a promo about Cameo bookings, and the whole time his bollock was out.

and the video link if you’re feeling a bit erotic.

Yes mate, Dejima won a summer 99 Basho, got to Ozeki, but dropped off a couple of years later. He went on to become an elder. You mentioned Wakanohana, he actually later became the head of the Japan Sumo Association for a few years. 
In terms of Mongolians, they still love it man. There’s 6 or 7 in the Makuuchi as we speak, including both Yokozuna who aren’t competing this month. 

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

Honestly, man - loving these posts. If I wasn't already oversubscribed to too many podcasts, I'd be following yours. 

Oh mate don’t worry about that, I went out of my way to try and not promote these like a pod shill, I very much enjoy posting articles on here for what they are, so if people enjoy reading them, I’m happy to keep posting. I’ll do my best to post everything in layman’s terms.

Great matches today (day 5).

We still have 3 unbeaten, with 5-0. One of which is Meisei. After day 1, I mentioned on the pod that he was my ‘one to watch’ this Basho. He was promoted into the top division in September, he finished with a record of 9-6, he again finished with 9-6 in November and is doing me proud so far. He defeated Tokushoryu today.

Takakeisho has finally got a win, making him 1-4. He won the overall November Basho with a record of 13-2 but until today has had a horrid start. If he bounces back and goes of a win streak, he’s still got a chance of staying in Yokozuna consideration. He has to win every match from now until the end. He defeated Kotoshoho today.

Akiseyama entered this Basho as a ranked outsider. He was ranked at 16th, which is basically joint bottom of the division, and he’s currently on a 5-0 win streak. He defeated Hoshoryu today.

The other guy with a 5-0 win streak is Daieisho. He was ranked joint no.1 (in the general pool) meaning if he puts on a good tournament, he can be promoted up to elite ranks, to Komusubi, maybe even Sekiwake depending on who else moves around. He defeated Takayasu today.

None of the unbeaten 3 are currently elite ranked, they are all fighters from the general pool of Madgashira wrestlers, which is great to see. Everything to play for as we’re a 1/3 through the tournament.

I won’t do these updates every day like I do on the pod, but I’ll do an update on day 10 and again on the final day, 15. Happy to chat obviously if anyone has an interest and can point people where to watch it if interested.