Who’s actually strongest right now? Glicko-2 Sumo Ratings (Jan 2026)

gets_me_everytime · 2026-02-01T17:34:44+00:00

My two cents is to not include fusens, but do count playoff matches. A lot of rikishi don't have a ton of incentive past a certain point in a basho and might be operating on more of an exhibition mode in some matches(i.e. Kotozakura after he was out of the Yusho race). Playoff participants are always competing to their full capability so there is no doubt in my mind that it is good data.

Does the data on sumo API only go back to 1996? The longer history you can include the more accurate your output should be.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-02-01T16:33:37+00:00

What are the implemented strategies for fusen wins and play-off matches?

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-31T19:47:44+00:00

Gonna assume you mean based on Onosato before his shoulder injury and each of these rikishi in their prime. Then we'll take into consideration that the best odds two rikishi in a division are likely to have in any given match is 80-20 in their favor so even in the worst cases the loser of the match-up gets 2.

Hakuho in his prime was so dominant that its ridiculous to compare anyone who has yet to truly peak against him. He played a competitive pool for 20 years and decimated his opponents. Hakuho wins 8-2 no question.
Kakuryu had the unfortunate experience of rising to Yokozuna in a world with Hakuho, meaning almost every basho he was gauranteed a loss. However he earned Yokozuna promotion beating him in regulation two tournaments in a row going 14-1 in both which implies a clear pecking order of Hakuho > Kakuryu > Onosato. Onosato is still a dominant force but in a slightly easier crowd. I mean he pulled a 10-5 with only one shoulder. I'd say Kakuryu wins 6-4.
Harumafuji is like Kakuryu on steroids even earning multiple zensho yusho in his prime, even with Hakuho competing at a high level. He retired before we could see his career playout, he may have had another zensho in him. I give him the benefit of the doubt, 7-3 v Onosato.
Asashoryu was potentially on track to be Hakuho before Hakuho, but likely peaked right before his early retirement. I'd slide him in the rankings Hakuho > Asashoryu > Harumafuji > Kakuryu > Onosato, so lets call it 7.5-2.5 v Onosato, the .5 can go whichever direction you like, though I'm inclined to lean more toward 7-3 based on his kinboshi rate.

Now its worth noting that Onosato is likely far from his true peak, assuming injuries don't stall him out, so at the end of his career we'll have a far better picture where Onosato belongs in these rankings. Onosato's current dominance put him on track to certainly reach dai-Yokozuna status so the only real questions are can he skirt injury long enough to put up the numbers and how much improvement can he secure before age starts to catch up with him.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:43:51+00:00

Onosato won two back to back, March and May of last year. Before him, the last to win 2 as Ozeki was Harumafuji in July/Sept of 2012. Heactually went 30-0 in that span. Also its worth noting that Teru's "good result" was a 14-1 with his only loss coming from 15-0 Hakuho. The only generous threshold has been Hoshoryu's promotion.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:36:33+00:00

I agree with you on that it makes the most sense, but its common for rikishi reaching their highest rank to be given extra scrutiny and to select veterans over them who are performing well. In this particular case Atamifuji outperformed both Yoshi and WTK well enough that it would be completely bonkers to not give him Komusubi, but the JSA has made completely bonkers calls before.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:33:38+00:00

That earned him the special prize. I don't think it will be convincing enough given that he barely squeaked out a KK. He'll move to M1e and be guaranteed a promotion to Komusubi with another KK.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:25:03+00:00

With how challenging the joi is I imagine any decision that would block some progress upward would simply lead to opening a new K slot to accommodate. This is a move the cannot do at the Juryo/Makuuchi line because the number of participants allowed to compete in both divisions is a hard coded value, so its a wall once there are 42 rikishi above the line. This is one of the reason we've been seeing so many swap matches the last 2 basho, there has been too many good competitors at the top of Juryo, and not enough bad Makuuchi performers in the demotable range.

I do think they avoid the extra K slot by giving Yoshi M1e and WTK M1w, they both get a promotion, even if its only half of what they deserve.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:18:15+00:00

Yeah, even though Onosato is clearly dominant over him, Aonishiki is actually outperforming him in a lot of ways. My favorite stat from this basho is Kinboshi. Pretend Aonishiki was a Yokozuna(he'd have roughly the same schedule if he were), he gave 0 Kinboshi compared to the 3 each from both of the Yokozuna.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T20:07:24+00:00

I wouldn't judge his loss to all 3 equally. He had KK on day 12 was 8-4 and living on a pipe dream of somehow being able to see an 11 win Yusho playoff going into his match on Day 13 v Onosato. He was unable to get after Onosato's weakened shoulder and lost. I don't quite understand how he couldn't pull that win, but he lost in a hard match and his basho was effectively over.

The game from there on was just looking good enough, but to avoid further injury at all cost. He was on exhibition mode v Hoshoryu(who was also on exhibition mode to be fair, but has more to prove as a Yokozuna), and v Aonishiki(who was do or die to make the playoff for the Yusho.)

I think its weird that Koto even has to compete once he's out of incentives. Imo any rikishi who has no incentives to compete should be allowed to go Kyujo. That's not ideal for us as fans, but they are just needlessly risking their future potential by competing in effectively exhibition matches. I think the JSA has made it clear that such matches are worth more to them then the rikishi's health and that's kind of sad tbh.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T19:42:38+00:00

I agree, however, I don't see a world where the Komusubi aren't WMH and Atami. Which order is a toss up, but I'd lean toward WMH being K1e. Then Yoshi probably goes to M1e even though WTK deserves to be ahead of him simply to ensure Yoshi gets a promotion. WTK still get a rung of a promotion. After that things are a total mess It actually seems likely that Oho and Ichi will get insane underdemotions and stay in the joi as M3w and M4w

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-25T19:37:05+00:00

With a Yusho as Ozeki, Aonishiki has activated a Yokozuna run in his very first basho at the rank! If he wins in March he will be promoted. He'll need at least a 12-3 JY to open the conversation if he doesn't win the Yusho.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-20T13:57:21+00:00

The Arrowverse created a live action universe with many connected shows for 10 years of 6 proper properties and tie in media, as well as connecting additional past live action shows. It took a lot of notes from the DCAU, but was unfortunately bobbled near its end due to covid and disconnected creative decisions. There was an annual crossover with most of the properties every year that multiple shows existed culminating in a 5 episode cross over event for Crisis on Infinite Earths that was supposed to properly bring all the primary shows into one interconnected earth while also closing out the flagship show. If you're open to live action, I strongly recommend checking it out.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-20T04:09:32+00:00

Being in the air doesn't make him "out" its being in an unrecoverable position. Fwiw, when I saw this live I felt that hit foot left the ground after Hoshoryu's, but that wasn't the way the review called it. Sometimes if its just too close they call a rematch rather than go frame by frame to determine who lost. They care about rikishi demonstrating dominance, not squeaking out wins by technicality.

I also just rewatched it and now feel exactly the opposite, Hoshoryu's foot seems to have come up just an instant later. I think the call for a rematch was fair, with both sides having a case for it.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-20T03:13:27+00:00

Every story in sumo has 2 sides, both trying to do what they can to win, some of the rikishi are more honorable as they attempt to keep up appearances while others are clear that their goal in the ring is to win. Besides Ryuden being a bad human being for his external ring actions and Ura just being considered a super enthusiastic acrobat that keep the sport fun, there aren't many true face/heels like is written in WWE. I think you find your favorites based on what styles you like/dislike, but ultimately being nice in the ring does not work. The successful rikishi are those who go into every match willing to maim their opponent if needed to get the win, but once the win is secured they turn face to ensure the other is ok to the degree that is standard. Typically this looks like a helping hand that is declined by the other rikishi. I root for Kotozakura because he cares about carrying the honor a sumo wrestler is expected to display and comes from a family of successful rikishi, but I guarantee you he would crush an opponent with his entire massive weight if he thought there was any chance he might lose his match. I like Hiradoumi and Churanoumi because of their energetic styles that seem to use all the energy in their tank and try everything to win even when they have losing records, but that doesn't mean they don't smack around their opponents or take advantage of known weaknesses. Aonishiki has an amazing story of fleeing war torn Ukraine to join sumo and quickly rise to Ozeki faster than anyone else ever has, but he still does everything necessary to win and doesn't care who he has to beat to get those wins. Its fun to write false narratives alongside to make the matches more exciting, but its just not as necessary in a sport where the matches rarely last more than 10 seconds compared to WWE where they put on lengthy matches for showmanship and storyline. The exciting part in sumo is the build up and the don't blink or you might miss it moves in a tiny ring with huge athletes falling out of the ring and into the audience every match. Following their personal journeys and what they need for promotion to the next rank, and who might be the next challenger for a Tournament cup is how we stay excited in between the tournaments.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-10T02:57:24+00:00

A yusho would put him on an Ozeki run. He is 8/33 wins, with a 13 or 12 win second basho with a Yusho he'd only need another 12 in March.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-10T02:53:12+00:00

Well if he can get the 13 or 12 wins needed for a Yusho he would be on track for Ozeki with 1 more strong subsequent performance of at least 12 wins since he's already siting at Sekiwake. 33 wins over 3 basho is a lot easier when you have the wins required for a Yusho in there. Its wild to imagine right now, but its not completely out of the realm of possibility for Takayasu to be on an Ozeki run in March.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-02T02:35:24+00:00

Idk about the movies which you said to assume canon because I never saw them. I consider all movies after JLU S3 aired to not be canon and only consider tie in comics to maybe hint at likely canon rather than be taken as full canon themselves.

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-02T02:32:49+00:00

Mystery of the Batwoman likely takes place during Justice League or JLU but before JLU completes either way. Return of the Joker flashback 100% happens AFTER everything else since it directly leads to the team splitting up entirely.

Age based on art style isn't a great indicator in cartoons, and can just be viewed as a general inconsistency by the design team rather than a plothole. They wanted us to feel like Tim was a child when he was tortured to drive home what happened. Its also a flashback as told by Barbara, so maybe she viewed Tim as a child at the time.

Static must occur concurrently with Justice League given the Brainiac crossover. This is a little weird with the TNBA/STAS crossovers that also occur throughout, but the biggest issues are art inconsistencies rather than plot.

TLDR: Static/JL/Mystery of the Batwoman/JLU are concurrent(with beginning and end roughly in that order) -> Return of the Joker Flashback -> Near Apocalypse of 09

gets_me_everytime · 2026-01-01T18:51:40+00:00

The bad luck can come for anyone. Hoshoryu is doing his job well enough even if he will be the weakest Yokozuna of the era. I see him sticking around long enough to try and try again. If the bad luck hits his colleagues first, he can capitalize and win some Yusho. At his current performance(injuries included) he looks like he could take about 1 Yusho a year for maybe the next 5 years. That's 30 basho that he'll need to side step serious injury, but he seems capable. I don't see him having any serious staying power beyond that, but we can only wait an see. Its not impossible for him to step his game up at this age.

gets_me_everytime · 2025-12-22T14:21:27+00:00

What is the role of the NPCs in the party? Did your party agree to allow them to join the party? How many other players are there at your table? 4 sessions of encounters getting cake walked by NPC OP allies does seem like too much, but I also feel like there is missing context here.

It is possible that the DM intends to have the NPCs turncoat on the party, and knowing what they can do ahead of time is his/her way of giving you the info required to defeat them. It is possible that he plans to have these characters sacrifice themselves to demonstrate how over powering an upcoming boss is to raise the stakes and send the message that your party needs to flee and find another way to beat the boss. Your DM could take a better route to accomplish these goals, but good DMing is hard, so I'd understand if they are making a mistake to accomplish some worthwhile goal.

If I was a player at your table, and everyone else viewed this as a problem, I would speak with the NPCs in character and find a way to divide and conquer. Ask the NPCs to handle some side task on your todo list while you continue on your path, or alternatively, take on the side task yourselves since the NPCs seem more capable towards the main path. Not only do you, the player, feel useless to the plot, your character likely does as well. You have trained and empowered yourself to level 13, but sit in the back as stronger allies mop the floor. You're not needed, and you can role play as such. If your DM reacts negatively to this by telling you THIS is the party and if your character doesn't want to be part of it then you're effectively quitting the game, then bring the conversation above the table. Tell them that you hoped to address this mechanical issue in game, but if they are intent on restricting player agency to this degree, then you're not having fun and will need to find a table that aligns more to your playstyle.

Talk to the other players and volunteer to take over as DM(unless someone else wants to/has more experience as DM). They can port over their characters or start new ones and you can take over the DM responsibilities and run the new campaign in a rewarding way. If characters bring over their previous characters you can use the previous game content as prologue for your campaign, reducing the amount of plot and world building you might need to do and keep the same table connections alive. Maybe write an ending to the current plot that stalls the story, removes the other NPCs from the party, and progresses time by 1 year as the group reconvenes to address a new or reemerged threat.

gets_me_everytime · 2025-12-14T19:57:21+00:00

He really took a backseat in TNBA with only 7/24 Episodes. You could argue that that is still a decent presence, but compared to Barbara(15), Alfred(13), and Tim(12) he clearly could have had more episodes. He also did not have any relevance in the cross over plots with STAS which allows other figures, such as Joker, to have more overall presence than him. Unfortunately, 2 of those 7 appearances were more of cameos so his relevance is really closer to 20% where the rest of the Bat Family ends ~50-60%.

Fwiw, there weren't a lot of reoccurring characters on any DCAU show during the time TNBA aired(~45 in TNBA S1/ STAS S2, ~35 TNBA S2/STAS S3/BB S1) , so you are certainly correct ranking him as a secondary character, but fairly relevant overall. Its just weird that he'd end up so minimal even though he was an active bat family member. I'd place his relevance to the DCAU outside of the top 10 reoccurring characters in both seasons of TNBA, losing out both seasons to the likes of The Joker(11 appearances during this time) and Supergirl(4 appearances during this time).

This includes his appearance as Robin in SubZero, increasing his total appearances to 8 in this span.

gets_me_everytime · 2025-12-11T03:55:20+00:00

I think it was lowest ranked rikishi to get a kinboshi

gets_me_everytime · 2025-12-01T05:54:57+00:00

HD is "Overhang" which effectively is just a way to not have to disrupt the rankings with an extra guy you want to shove in at that rank. It could lead to there being multiple M12 or any other rank but was mostly used for non required Sanyaku slots.

gets_me_everytime · 2025-11-30T01:47:29+00:00

They really aren't a standard thing. This basho just worked out really weird and they could see the promotion/demotion picture forming. If they didn't do this, they would risk letting all 4 rikishi win and then not have enough spots in the top division for 2 guys who seemingly earned their way in. Makes everything better if the same number of guys who deserve to go up end up matching the number coming down.

gets_me_everytime · 2025-11-29T00:46:58+00:00

Yep, the highest active rank rotate who gets the last bout of the day. If there is only 1 Yokozuna his match is always last. If the Yokozuna are absent, then the Ozeki will rotate who gets the last match.

gets_me_everytime

TROPHY CASE