Sumo, like nature, abhors a vacuum.

It¡¯s an aspect of the sport that has resulted in Hakuho¡¯s long goodbye causing half the men in the top division to rush in and try and fill the massive gap left by the legendary yokozuna.

The lack of a clear successor to Hakuho, however, has instead created a kind of wild parity where, incredibly, even Asanoyama¡¯s nightmarish 0-3 start to the current tournament hasn¡¯t ruled the ozeki out of title contention.