Wakanosho will make his top-division debut at the May 2026 Natsu Basho, capping a Juryo run of 23-7 across his last two tournaments — including a championship in January and a runner-up finish in March — that has earned him the lone debutant spot on the Natsu banzuke.
The 26-year-old, ranked Juryo 3 West coming into Natsu, has been one of Juryo's most efficient wrestlers across the past year. The January 2026 yusho was his second-division championship, and the strong runner-up finish in Osaka in March came in a tournament where Juryo's promotion math was particularly tight. Wakanosho's combined record across the two basho was the cleanest in Juryo and earned him the natural promotion to Makuuchi.
The bottom of the May banzuke reads as a microcosm of sumo's promotion mechanics. Wakanosho is the sole new top-division wrestler. Ryuden returns from Juryo for the second time in three tournaments, his back-and-forth pattern one of the most pronounced of the past two years. Two former Ozeki — Asanoyama and Mitakeumi — sit in the lower-middle and lower Maegashira ranks respectively, both still capable of Makuuchi-level sumo but unable to consistently translate it into the win totals required to climb the rankings.
The debutant spot is the easier story. Wakanosho's path through Juryo has been characterised by efficient yotsu-zumo (mawashi-grip-based sumo) rather than oshi-zumo (push-thrust). His basic tachiai (initial charge) has been refined over multiple tournaments, and his lateral movement around the dohyo edge has improved enough to win matches he might have given up earlier in his career.
The Makuuchi debut question is straightforward: can he hold the rank? The bottom-of-Maegashira rounds — typically Maegashira 14, 15, 16 and 17 — are punishing for first-tournament Makuuchi wrestlers. The pace is faster, the wrestlers are heavier in the upper-body push, and the variety of styles is wider. Most debutants finish 5-10 or 6-9, demote back to Juryo, then start a slow climb back up.
Wakanosho's Juryo dominance suggests he may be different. The 23-7 record across two tournaments shows a wrestler who does not have an obvious weakness against any single Juryo style — yotsu, oshi, or hybrid. The Makuuchi version of those styles is more aggressive and harder to manage, but the underlying skill profile typically translates.
The rest of the lower banzuke includes Maegashira 17 East holdover Fujiryoga, who got seven wins in his debut tournament and lucked into holding his spot. Maegashira 15 East holds Tobizaru, the once-prolific maverick now in clear decline. Maegashira 13 West holds Tamawashi, set to start his 100th career Makuuchi tournament. Maegashira 13 East is Kotoeho, the younger brother of Sekiwake debutant Kotoshōhō, climbing four spots after a strong March.
For Wakanosho, the immediate goal is the kachikoshi (winning record) at his debut rank. Eight wins or more would lock in a second Makuuchi tournament and likely a small banzuke promotion. Anything less, and the demotion math will pull him straight back to Juryo for July.