It wasn¡¯t supposed to be like this.

When Onosato ascended to yokozuna last summer following a dominant stretch, then added a fifth Emperor¡¯s Cup, in just 11 top division tournaments, in September, it appeared as if sumo¡¯s next great champion had arrived.

Then when Aonishiki¡¯s rapid ascent saw the young Ukrainian breeze through the sanyaku ranks, reach ¨­³ú±ð°ì¾± a year after debuting in the makuuchi division and claim a second title in January, an era with two elite rikishi battling it out for glory every tournament seemed tantalizingly close.?