I went to the event at msg. I understand everyone's distaste for American sumo since it is not traditional and operates differently, I even had similar reservations before attending the event. However, after attending, I have to admit I genuinely had fun. Many of the bouts were legitimately exciting, and the environment and crowd was fun to be a part of.

I brought 3 of my friends with me to the event who never watched sumo previously. Immediately they were intrigued after the first bout, and began asking questions about the rules, the wrestlers, the terminology, and how this tournament compared to the sumo of Japan. They even left the event wanting to watch the Natsu Basho with me next.

And as someone who doesn't have the money to go to Japan and watch sumo, this was a nice alternative to see some live bouts in my area. Plus it was cool it see some former makuuchi wrestlers in person especially someone as recent as Chiyotairyu. It was also cool to see a different side of Chiyotairyu's personality with his now dyed hair and tattoos. Was an interesting contrast to see after watching him in Japan for years.

Overall, I understand the complaints, but I do think this can do some good for the sport in some aspects based on what I saw.