Jake is joined by Kyle Ferriter, Sake & Sumo, and the Sumo Punx to take a look back at 2023 and dole out awards for some of the amateur wrestlers who made the biggest waves. If you’re looking for spoilers, skip ahead to 2:34:30 for a recap of the winners.
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Welcome to Grand Sumo breakdown The Unofficial Sumo podcast for official Sumo fans welcome to I guess amateur Sumo breakdown Kyle this this what We’ve joked about is our new show right um yes sir back when I had you on the show like three weeks in a row or something like
That um yeah and somehow I just magically became the co-host magically now I’m just one of the podcast people exactly so I’m I’m Jake I’m here with my co-host Kyle and our guests on amate Sumo breakdown Sumo punks how are you guys doing doing great awesome and we have sake and
Sumo yay they brought the Amateur hour it is literally amateur hour H sucking suumo so yes literally Amateur hour I would be just bewildered if we managed to keep this to only an hour and I’m sure if you’re listening to this you can see by the length of the video that this
Is probably well over what we were allotting but we are assembled we are gathered here today to pay our respects to accomplishments in amateur sumo wrestling in the year of Our Lord 20 20 20 and3 so yes of Our Lord hakuho uh I mean I feel like we’ve had 20 or so of
Those in a row yeah okay our chaos Lord Shai Pro Sumo talk here our our Sith Lord uh hak hold on this is amateur Sumo breakdown I don’t talk about Pro Sumo this is well established I don’t care I don’t know who these people are I have
SC that from my brain for the evening so so um we did this last year go check it out we had uh let’s see I think last year it was me and Caleb and Matt and Sabrina um and we are expanding a little bit every year so by three
Years from now I think everyone in amateur Sumo will be part of the show which will be like 20 damn people true democracy it’ll be a 24hour live stream because we’re all just shooting the [ __ ] the whole time no dude we’re it’ll be a straight up for like like uh what do you
Call it the like the emies you know we’ll all be in like in fake tuxedos we’ll be in fake tuxedos Matt dressed up for the occasion we be at a little a little dining area and then you know you get up and actually get a little a little you
Know a little thick boy award is that a centaur Sumo Tori you never seen those mine has a pink oh he’s amazing and then oh here’s the best part squee all the time we love them all right I think I figured out what the prize should be for these
Awards we need to make an an actual like a sumo guy award as this thing gets bigger like seriously every year that that like it just has to go out yeah just say but why does it like go no show speaking of awards why don’t we start
Off the evening with uh an award that will not be very dramatic because this one’s kind of so our first award we’re going to talk about the women’s wrestler of the year in 2023 we have a couple nominations that are there for uh I guess filling out the
Category because we have we have a gimme if you’re listening to this show it’s because you care about amateur Sumo and you probably have a guess where this award is going oh yeah so why don’t we go through a couple of our other our other nominees who would who are
Absolutely nominees it’s just that this year is it’s we know who it’s going to here’s here’s a here’s where you put the little Breakaway the the nominees of the year yeah exactly so so we make all of us real small as I as I’m reading from the card and we have like highlight
Matches of Helen Del poo uh winning uh let’s see what division was it this year she won lightweight this yearwe this year so I think she’s won three different weight classes and a total of like 10 plus national titles yeah and yeah she came to she came to
Nationals this year went undefeated and went back to Japan for what the millionth time for for uh World titles incredible incredible career um also going to Japan uh was Christina Griffin Jones um Christina uh uh let’s see what other tournaments did she do she was at the um um cons cup she
Was at the cons cup she was at the SoCal open uh running helping run uh the first San Diego event down there and they are looking to do that again this coming year honu Sumo see two months February this year or next year I guess next year
For another week this coming year 2023 is done we’re done and uh we also have an omni iton Perez who is yeah your teammates at Dallas Sumo and firsttime Texas state champion um itan was everywhere oh yeah what’s that Caleb she dominated Texas state champion this year no one was even
Cler by like tournament two she was like I got this yeah even just at this most recent tournament it was funny she would just dominate somebody and then help them up and Pat him on the B be like you did good you know yeah no she she uh
She’s also the champion of uh braiding people’s hair which I really appreciate because I’m am not good at braiding so if you ever are at an Afterparty after a tournament with iton you will get your hair braided she got nice french braids well maybe not some of you but the ones
Who have hair yeah she braided Rick’s beard was like this won’t happen braid so I I first heard the story of itan uh stress braiding uh coming back from Worlds uh because one of the things that the rest of the team did to like help her stay focused and
Stay in the moment was they sat her down with the winner of this award nice transition Jake kellyanne ball yeah sat down and yeah braided Kelly’s hair just as like uh you know getting ready for the day and Kelly showed up with some fly braids on the day of
Competition but uh yeah so like I said this one was kind of a gimme because not only was kellyanne dual national champion in heavyweight and open weight but she is also the first individual World medalist in women’s Sumo from the United States and she did it make a
Small correction two time World medalist two time World medalist she I I was correct I was correct she said I said that she was the first medalist she was also the second individual medalist yeah no [ __ ] Al together she’s gotten three now in one year yep
Three new no us people period that had that many world medals and she did she is the goat she she is the uh the bar yeah like this this award should like already next year might as well be called the kellyanne ball award for women’s wrestler of the Year calm down
Calm down also I wanted to mention she got Matt and I um some really lovely housewarming gifts her and Brenda did when we moved into our new house and um that also makes her cool so I mean I’d say it’s about on par with all the medals you know but two equal
Achievements yeah yes that’s exactly equal but no kellyan uh so it was I believe it was Bronze in individual heavyweight at Worlds Bronze in the team competition along with Christina iton and Madison um and then just like what two weeks later at the combat game she got
Silver and then just just you know just just got on an airplane and you know and just did it again and just went to another country just another country just did it again she meddled on her third continent of the year uh like that’s ridic no [ __ ] impressive I want to point out
Though uh if you’re watching the world’s uh the world championships this year it was uh Christina that got us all pumped up because after a bunch of losses it was Christina Jones that came out beat the crap out of the first girl she faced and it was already in the
Like something like all of us online we were all talking like oh my God we can win something the pace it was Christina Jones that finally got us all pumped up and Christina could just win on Vibes alone that girl is I mean she lifts everyone else up with herself you know
That’s I all all four of the girls on the women’s team um well you know we we can talk about that later but I just love all those girls they did a f fantastic job but definitely kellyanne for bringing home all that hardware for sure yeah leading leading the charge to
Make uh the United States a force in a women’s Sumo and incredible incredible year like I said this particular award not super dramatic we all knew that one was coming yeah easy to follow that up this one is another one that uh doesn’t have a ton of drama to it but the
Women’s youth wrestler of the year um not as much uh not as many nominees here there was kind of a clear standout uh our women’s youth lightweight champion National Champion uh was Zariah Whittington out of Houston Zo then also went to Japan and competed there um and by herself yeah exactly by herself I didn’t know that yeah she’s a she’s a little she’s a young girl who travel internationally both to to Japan and to the Middle East by herself 14 how old she is uh no she’s 15 now
But to travel across the world by herself you know she had like other people who were traveling to these events too an eye out for but yeah but uh you know that’s that’s pretty impressive I know when I was like 14 15 I would have literally pissed myself if
I had to jump on a plane and go to Japan without any adult supervision no kidding I feel like I am I am I am now just I don’t know a worker in this country I don’t know where I would be where I live now yeah yeah but I
Didn’t want to tell one story about zarya real quick um when we were at Nationals um I was handling the weigh-ins and I was handling the brackets and everything and uh there was only one other girl in the youth women’s division in Nationals this year and uh
She comes up to me and she’s just like hey uh yeah I wish there were more people and I was like well tell you what if you will wrestle I’ll sign you up for the um adult league uh adult Division and she’s like wait you do that well uh
You sure about that I’m like yeah I’ll just cover it for you and took care of that and then I was like hey any chance you want to sign up for the Riad League uh or the world combat games one to and yeah because the North Americans had to
Be run separately from the US title yeah complicated there was one there was one Canadian and so she ended up doing uh four pets um youth women’s uh lightweight women American openweight women American and then uh lightweight women North American and oh wow ended up putting on a show in the North American
League and it was just extremely impressive and uh I was just thrilled so because we just uh made sure she was covered for that so yeah yeah she she’s awesome and other like if if all I saw was the way that she wrestled never would have guessed that she was a
Teenager you know she abely H in there with the rest of the adult women in all of those brackets that was super cool and then topping it international travel just hell of a year yeah even at Nationals Jake and I were watching one of her matches I think
It was against Helen um she’s getting pushed out of bounds and she’s sticking out her hand trying to break her fall realizes oh if I touch first and this is like her third match ever and she sucks it back in real quick and then pivots and it’s just that body awareness was
Phenomenal to see and uh she sticks with it I think I think she can seriously go places I don’t have body awareness like that I’m always running into the door or something trying to get through it so you know get on her seen happen but yeah considering that that
That we didn’t even have a youth division in Nationals prior to 2023 well I mean long ago yeah but like in the current in the current ERA here um Nationals went from zero youth to I think we had sevenish youth competitors in 2023 and I already
Know of several that are planning to do 2024 several other guys that have been added since so like us yeah youth as a whole is is awesome right now we’re so happy to see it so let’s move to the men’s division and I know this one is
Going to have a little bit more discussion because we are not all agreed on this on this next award the last two were kind of easy unanimous but this one’s going to be a bit of a chat so I’m going to put a timer on it let’s make
Sure that we only go about 10 minutes on this but okay okay senior men’s wrestler of the Year let me go through the nominations real quick that we have on here uh we have senior senior as in like 18 or old not not senior citizen Justin that’s that’s your Division damn it did say that to him I’m older than Justin wait are you older than me yeah wait I okay 1982 1982 January oh okay you’re you’re five months you’re five months older than me God damn Caleb got you both by a couple years it sounds like you are my
Senior okay yeah Co all right let me go through our nominees real quick here so we’re going to start off with uh last year’s wrestler uh men’s wrestler of the Year Edo Kena uh absolutely deserves to be on this list again this year oh yeah yeah no
[ __ ] yeah yeah old news uh at the time of 2023 Nationals he was not yet a citizen so he couldn’t compete there but in he made up for it by competing at basically every single other tournament and winning almost every single [ __ ] tournament always I don’t know I don’t
Know where I dude we we all had a joke of him being like the like a Nigerian prince or whatever were like just like where does he have this endless amount of money to be able to come to every single tournament but he did it hey and
It was amazing and he does incredibly every time 20 2023 was a good year for this guy yeah hell yeah he entered the cowboy Cup in every single weight Division and won Gold in every single division at that tournament oh [ __ ] which technically shouldn’t happen but
Yes yes it did happen not going to take away from under the weight he was under the required weight for every weight so he was fine in my book so technically yeah um we also have uh Gilberto delator nominated for men’s wrestler of the Year Gil has been around for a little bit
Here but definitely turned a corner in 23 um medal at Nationals um he went on to uh uh like the Harvest Days festival in August was another one of his best showings uh he went on the did he go to both uh world events too um no no was it just uh
Just no he did wait I should have written this down better um regardless I know that uh he was he he’s traveled a lot but it’s also been uh he’s he’s earned those slots to to travel you know he’s he’s definitely um in there with the with the rest of
The elite heavyweights when um you know I I certainly think that his Sumo has improved this last year and and has certainly moved him into that very top tier especially in men’s heavyweight specifically yeah um speaking of men’s heavyweight uh Mark Jones Mark Jones he didn’t have like an Edo level
Of uh travel by any means um but whenever he showed up when he did show up exactly exactly undefeated at National roller Town undefeated uh beating uh Edo um that roller being open he rag do Edo that I’ve never seen i’ never seen Edo like carried like a child
Across the ring he’s like ah ah get out of here someone did it yeah yeah exactly it’s funny that as like the the United States heavyweight champion the the win that we all remember is hey remember that time he lifted up a lightweight and we’re all like oh that was so cool I
Mean it was though that was one of his best I me but it was pretty [ __ ] cool you’re leaving out an important detail there who that lightweight was exactly I know I mean because you know because Edo Ed is is the is America’s greatest hope
As far as like like a d David and Goliath kind of style uh uh and the fact that like Goliath actually like flicked you know David’s Rock away kind of thing gu you could say and was like I I just that was the only time that was the only
Time this year that I’ve ever seen Edo uh get caught in the Trap yeah in 2023 I’ve I’ve I have watched every single match that that kid has has you know has fought and that was the only time that I saw him get caught in a trap
[ __ ] under hooked and then and then just watched muscle just like just just like like reverse that [ __ ] Ed lost a couple matches this year but that one was like he got beat yeah no yeah losing like there’s a difference like losing a match okay cool know it’s
Sumo hako loses matches that’s fine I’m but I’m talking like too good like caught like completely caught in a trap that I I I think that was the first time that in his in in Edo’s career that I’ve seen a that I’ve seen a man catch catch
Him sure like and and let power just just you know just take over yeah so so regardless though Mark Jones absolutely on this list for that uh oh and and he also went to Japan and uh did he get one he is the only man that that made it to
The semi-finals there you go yeah did he finish fourth was it or something like that yeah roughly fourth orth SAR he did pretty he did pretty solid uh until his match with I I think it was Mongolian H Ruiz yeah yeah yeah so he had a match yeah that’s right he had a
Match with ruiz and and uh then uh he learn he learned uh what Next Level Sumo is and and he’s back to the drawing board and he’s he understands what he’s got to do you know he understands the assignment hell yeah um also but I’ve been down to
Train with Mark plenty of times down in Daytona that guy he can put a hurting on you he has an incredible T but also if you give him a really strong one he knows how to absorb it like anyone else his footwork is probably his best uh feature um yes big
Guy no go ahead I’m not even I’m not saying for a big guy I’m saying his footwork is incredible just period full stop if he does more footwork drills than anyone else in the country so uh he’s just incredible at it and uh that’s where he got caught in the um at Worlds
Against ruy was just because he was running his feet and uh just got a little bit offc Center but he almost won that match too it was a close match if we if you watch it back yep shout out for all of his uh uh involvement in getting kids doing sumo
Down there too works a lot with his kids football team yeah y also also at Worlds this year and having some very impressive International success was three-time three-time three-time National lightweight champion Joe Poneto um who had some excellent uh I I can’t remember if it was lightweight or
If it was in openweight later but he had a couple like really awesome big throws uh that were just super cool and like more dominant like like really like beating the crap out of a guy in in international competition any win like that is already like a huge feather in the
Cap man I love watching Jo one of the he has one of the funkiest Styles you’ve ever seen in Sumo it’s almost I know that’s what Justin wanted to say but he doesn’t like being okay no those were the weirdest throws that you are not used to seeing
In Sumo at all and if you go from the perspective of I watch Pro suumo this is what I want to see you do not like watching you will be surprised me who loves watching who is a wrestler primarily and then does Sumo and tries to bring wrestling to Sumo I love Joe’s
Style it’s one of the most fun styles to watch Justin probably hates it okay no well let me give my perspective as a guy who’s who stays in the ring with this man I I respect it like I don’t have to like it I respect Ed and that and and it
Is it traditional Sumo no not at all he’s a defensive fighter all the way through um and but but his defense is scary and it’s and it’s unpredictable and it like I I like to see patterns in people and and you and every fighter tends to have patterns uh and but but
But this guy I have learn I’ve learned over the years I’ve learned over the years to respect him because of how like how insanely predict unpredictable um like he he like he is he can adapt to anything and I respect it and so um I do
I I was very very happy because of that unpredictability you know most people could like I I will say he did get a a really good lucky draw um because you know Italy dude had had not a scuff on his Masashi and and and then and Iran but
Also but you know seriously like I mean he is he’s amazing had a solid uh under you know the like uh under category which was really cool uh but he held I will say the the most resp like like what really gained my respect was his solid ass
Fight with uh the Japanese guy uh in in in the Middle East yeah the world combat games seeing could see of him in the world it was close it was it was super close uh and that that already I mean of course I respect Joe and and as a
Fighter and and uh but that fight said it all not you know it wasn’t the Iranian guy who had never fought and or the Italian guy it was the it was him taking a win on the Japanese guy that said yeah Joe’s Joe’s a [ __ ] man well
So and that’s that’s that’s exactly what I love about his style too it’s like you know seeing his non-traditional style because it’s you know some would argue that uh you know since it’s not you know traditionally Sumo that it’s a kind of an ugly style they John Jax was telling
Me that I love ugly Sumo I I do to but John jackon was saying that that some of the Japanese were uh calling some of the Hawaiian Sumo ugly because it’s not traditional it’s just powerful and to me it’s like Joe Ponto has a very reactive style but his reactive style is very
Fluid it’s like water he’s adaptable and that’s his style is he could just kind of adapt to whatever the hell it is it’s so annoying he’s the shield hero you see the rising of The Shield yeah the shield hero doesn’t have weapons to attack it’s just that but he can use his defensive
Capabilities as attacks you know as ways to to Vanquish folks this has become an anime podcast now very much respect the style of sumo and I even though you know it’s a non-traditional style of sumo it’s effective it works and I I kind of sense a little bit of you know Bruce Lee
Philosophy in there so I well it’s traditional Sumo speaking of nontraditional Sumo Sumo and a cowboy hat our next nominee let’s move on yeah our sorry no no you’re you’re you’re good there Joe uh uh Joe’s just won three three national titles in a row so real quick I got to
Take a quick pause I’m gonna step away but why don’t you guys talk about Hayden our fifth nominee here okay so Hayden to me you know no no go for it go for go for it sing the praise so I got to personally witness you know Hayden’s you know Sumo growth
When I first fought Hayden it was uh before the 2022 uh US Open and uh he was he came to Dallas to train with us before you know he went out to California and I beat him on accident so like he never stopped talking about it so you know so he you
Know slammed into me at the Tachi but like you know the way that I just kind of deflected him he lost his footing in his balance and he stepped out you know his footing has gotten significantly better since then that’s what I was exactly what I was going to say his
Footing his balance his power his technique that boy practices his Tachi on a heavy bag every day we mentioned uh we mentioned real quick that Gilberto had kind of turned a corner in 2023 Hayden didn’t even do Sumo until 2023 and no in in a oneyear span like watching this kid like
Just it was I remember I actually remember when he had first start I think I was there for uh his second practice uh we had done a joint uh a Dayo that’s the one and yeah yeah and we had done a joint a Dayo and Corey was like oh yeah
It’s his second practice whatever and he seems so he seems so like not confident at first and so I didn’t really even like I didn’t even have him like on like like a radar or whatever but this kid something turned on this kid yeah something turned on in
This kid and [ __ ] started clicking and he was just like I’m just G like and I’m like and I I love that I love that about the Simo Community because like people come into themselves in within Sumo and stuff like and yeah I see people you know people like Lucy
People there there’s several people who who I just I like I watch them I don’t know if it’s my like old man like like teaching but you see Sumo making Bloom you can see them you can see them molding like right before your eyes every single time you see them and
They’re just like they’re confident in themselves and and and Hayden Hayden just embodies that beautiful Sumo spirit that I and I want I almost want to say American Sumo Spirit be like it it just watching them go from all right no no okay win no win or lose I’m
Saying the personal journey I I like I like I’m personally invented certain people beat my ass this year that there you go justifi Justified that you’re a little salty I’m totally good with that I understand the Sal well okay but okay cayb but I mean you
And I are on on on a whole another old man Journey we’re we’re we are we are proving we are proving our own bodies in a different way I’m just saying on a on like like a just a personal level of watching human growth within within the you know the
The sphere of of of sumo I I’ve never outside of him and and and I want to shout out to Lucy uh like I’ve never seen such such personal growth in human beings with with the Catalyst being being Sumo and win lose whatever was freaking Kyle over here y Kyle back in
Utah in 1920 I mean I’m sorry 1920 1920 listen you’re dating yourself listen hold on back in 1920 me and Justin M Kyle in in a Utah 21 I want to say 2021 was it 2020 because it was the first like postco event of anything ever yes because it
Was like people were commenting online about you should not be out here even though it was outside during it was outside everything but K was a little shy boy K was a little shy boy you barely talked to any of us and then the conss cup months later he still didn’t
Want to talk really to people he would like say like a couple sentences and then like and now he’s like one of the best people to talk to Sumo just G to come completely out of a shell yeah that’s what like like every single one like whether whether you know
It’s in my club or anywhere else like I I I observe and watch the growth of the of people and that and like it’s a beautiful it’s a beautiful thing for those of you guys watching the show like you know yes I mean we see each other
All the time and hang out and stuff like that and like all of us who are you know semi extroverts or whatever our story is that’s fine you know for some people this like this thing is a pit like this this thing that we do is lifechanging it is it’s a catalyst
For personal lifechanging for personal growth and I and I just I’m I I I don’t I want those who are watching to to know that like like you know we see you and and at Le I don’t know I don’t know if everybody I’m I’m a Sentimental old
Watch like yeah I I love seeing people and watching them grow and watching them from the time they hit Sumo to the time they start bringing home hardware and seeing you know that confidence I love that [ __ ] and it like it gets me in my
Old man heart you know and because I I just want to hug them be like you’re doing good these old guys are just going to keep going and going aren’t they we are cut I think it’s time to move so going back to Hayden I’m gonna tell One More
Story and then I’m going to move it on um at the beginning of the year I F the first time at 2023 Nationals um and I beat him pretty handily so handily that I went uh the rollertown cup came around um I didn’t take him seriously and we
Ended up trading matches one in one that day and my consulates he was kicking the [ __ ] out of me his Tachi has gotten so much better uh over the course of the year and he is an incredible wrestler and then uh going into the slap fighting
Thing that he’s doing now too he is starting to expand out and he’s gotten extremely confident that said um this award is for men’s wrestler of the year the most improved award is really the performance award that we go into later that’s why for me my vote is going
Towards Mark Jones the only man to make it to the semi-finals from America y we do got to move to the yeah we’re at 20 minutes on our 10-minute award here for men’s wrestler of the Year true to so I I’m I’m with Kyle here I think that uh I
Think I gotta go with Mark for uh that just dominance at Nationals dominance at rollertown and the best showing of any American man at uh at Worlds um he also I I forgot to mention he was also at the US Open and the only guy to beat him was Mendy
Um so that’s another another big feather in his cap so no no American has beaten Mark Jones this year I think is probably oh that’s a good point that’s a good is a good point that is a that’s actually a vote changing point for me I’ll go ahead
Go with honestly vote changing point for me too I was gonna vote for Edo just after watching him win literally every match in every division of the cowboy cup uh and him being like a real life action figure basically but yeah Mark Jones was the one to beat him so I I
Mean before we go on I just want to say he got Edo got five gold medals on one day yeah yeah I W to say I do want no no he actually got six and a couple of those were against Hayden listen he he got six
Only because I give him a personal award I will pass my award on to him for best ass in two months hey there you go that is another strong category not number one on that Justin I must say go on you are still the gold medalist of
Cakes it’s it’s just it’s true you really do are card call you yeah that’s you are cakes kard in our house all right so Justin now that we pumped Justin back up we uh we’ll make it official there we have uh we have at least four votes here we’re going Mark
Jones for men’s wrestler of the Year 202% 100% strong category though like I said every everybody in there deserve to be in there and so many others deserve to be mentioned that we just can’t spend all night here um but men’s youth wrestler of the year um this is uh and
And same same goes for the the women’s youth award this is here to for known as the John jocks award for youth Sumo uh asked him about that and he was flattered and didn’t want me to do it but I convinced him right let’s spend 20 minutes arguing
About this one too Bingo because I know this one is also contentious among our group let me go through the nominees real quick and then we can start talk before we say anything okay yep nominees SL slide cards slide cards similar to last year there was only or last year
There was only one youth wrestler at all that was nominated here uh and that is Ben shco out of Tennessee Iron Mountain Sumo absolutely on the list again this year uh we have Perry pacina Cadence uh Caleb’s teammate out of s San Antonio heavyweight um which was he heavyweight
Champion or openweight champion at he was the heavyweight champion he got heavweight champion and second in the other division yeah um and then the other two we got two new Californians who started doing Sumo since Nationals so they weren’t even there yeah we have Giani Talbert out of
OC sumo and Malik Ben Musa out of honu um both those guys are um wrestling a very much on the level of the adults that I’ve seen them wrestle yeah uh but yeah so let’s talk about who we think should take this one but uh the the highlights here uh Ben
Shutko his his strengths of course are that he is all over the place like first put on a mawashi in October last year and I don’t think he’s taken it off since yes Perry’s strength is of course that heavyweight title at Nationals and also wrestling against adults ever since yeah
He’s he’s my rival yeah he did roller town he’s uh what was he at like uh the other Texas events all the Texas events I think he went to all of them except for Cowboys Cup and the last one um but yeah yeah I know I saw him at consulates uh
Wrestling adults again um Giani uh I personally Gian is the only one on this list that I that I wrestled this year uh and that was during training at rollertown and I did not know he was a kid at that point I ran into him and like injured myself immediately so I so
I wrestled with him and like I was like okay who’s this new you know half black eye kind of thing and and and I I hit him like an adult I lean lean forward for us Justin your mic’s acting up again oh sorry no
So I like no I tached him like an adult and I probably shouldn’t have I I didn’t know I didn’t know that he was a youth uh but maybe I know no like afterwards I was like oh [ __ ] he’s like a child oh [Laughter]
No but I mean you know I guess you know maybe it taught him like okay okay this was a this is what a hard toui feels like I don’t know whatever but that kid he took it like a he took it like a champ and and he’s been dishing it out since
Yeah out the punishment music too yeah the I when when I fought him uh it was in San Diego at the at the very first SoCal open and because I I didn’t know who he was was like okay who the you know this kid or
This dude you know I thought he was like I thought he was like maybe in his his early 20s I he was like 2021 but I was like okay he he looks grown I don’t know he’s like one of those guys that’s just like made out of iron too like he’s
Just yeah and that’s what and so I was like okay let me not underestimate him and I hit him like a like a like a grown ass man and yeah he’s he’s he took it and dude he’s been dishing it like like solid him and Malik probably some of the
Best youth matches I’ve seen yeah um easily thus far easily I was like oh they are going and not not just for Americans watching watching their tenacity together let me know okay these two have real potential for internation because you know the inter you’ve seen the international kids they’re [ __ ]
They’re those kids are mean 30 years old yeah yeah they’re they’re they’re one guy from Brazil you remember oh my God pc pc holy [ __ ] dude that guy’s already got a mortgage yeah was that Jared tadlock was like oh that kid’s already got like two kids and a mortgage yeah
That guy can buy me alcohol that’s that’s PC like such a fan I such a fan all right but before we go off on PC let’s continue with yeah so sorry sorry sorry yeah a little bit more I really would like to see Giani on the international
Stage I think that would be really freaking I think it’s very possible we will in the coming year uh same same for Malik Malik took uh Malik actually took third in the adult men’s division at consulates cup yeah that was that was pretty cool great shortss we were talking about Giani
Whose strength is kind of just you you know strength whereas Malik Malik has a lot more slickness to him and he he’s definitely got a lot of uh a lot of that Judo that that they teach at home yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah but now but imagine both of them Malik and
Giani they’re still skinny [ __ ] yeah like can you imagine can you imagine I I can only imagine they’re probably about like may like at best 130 like 130 can you imagine if they if when they when they tip the scale of of lightweight I think gian’s a lot closer than that
But yeah I think they definitely have think I don’t think you could see that’s that’s at least 150 170 buddy what they’re solid kids 170 Justin I’m a high school wrestling coach I could tell what 150 to 170 looks like yes okay I don’t think you know
What 125 pounds looks like all these kid yeah I don’t I don’t know what the [ __ ] that looks like I’m just saying you’re skinny kids okay you’re fair this is fair 125 looks like a stick figure bro no matter how little they are I don’t I don’t know I wish that
They had had a chance to uh to qualify to go to Worlds um but you know the youth competitors that we did have that that went to Worlds or that were uh qualified even were also um really amazing I’m really proud of like Ben for doing that
After after last year when he had like just gotten into Sumo you know and I don’t know he’s such a little spaz you know but everybody just kind of loves him for it because he he just walked on to this thing and he made it his thing and he’s he’s every he’s everybody’s
Sumo little brother yes exactly and he’s learning from some Heavy Hitters like he’s learning from some like the best in the country yeah exactly he is a like like I don’t know I I I wish I wish there was more he like his Dynamic and and what he’s
Going like what he you know what he gets to experience I wish there was more youth that that could have that experience because out of any of them out of Malik or or Giani and something like that like he’s he is just he gets the country and train with all these
Different Sumo clubs all over the country and he gets to go to all these different tournaments and you can see how that has really like improved his skill and helped him like grow in his his abilities and he’s now trained at a ha yes in Japan oh my God in Japan
What what kid under 18 has has has done that yet I think it’s I can think of I I I think uh why don’t we move it on to let’s let’s start talking votes because like I was GNA I was going to expand on
That where my my vote is is going to be for Ben not not just because he’s able to be at all these places but also because of like the spirit that he brings to all the places and the enthusiasm he brings exactly learn as far as my for Ben because because of the
The carrier he’s the he’s the carrier of our future right and in three or four years when he is as old as Giani and Malik you know he’ll probably if he keeps up at Sumo he’ll be just as built as those guys by right but yeah he’s
Wait till he throws on 40 pounds oh my God Kyle sound accurate as far as a weight guess can can Ben put on about 40 pounds you think am I right I don’t even know how Ben is is he 13 or 14 I think he’s 13 or 14’s 14
Yeah oh okay one of the two doesn’t matter but yeah hope hopefully he can put on some size soon otherwise but for being as small as he is and having that much tenacity I have to say uh that’s going to be a vote for Ben from me as well next year I’m pretty
Positive because this is the second time in the year that I voted for him and seeing these other uh youth men’s competitors that have been popping up this year uh Ben’s gonna have a run for his money but for 2023 that’s going to be my vote yeah absolutely Fair going
With the only person’s voting for someone else so I guess I should talk yeah yeah yeah last I’m sorry nothing okay make sure to mute your mic Justin go ahead I still had couple things I wanted to say oh go ahead go ahead since
Go ahead okay so no I wanted to to touch on the fact that Perry is my rival you know Perry’s older Perry’s like you know he’s kind of like one foot in the children’s division one foot in the adults division how old is now he’s like
15 he just turned 16 all this year 16 okay’s 15 he’s a grown ass man if he decides to stick with sumo you know I I have a feeling I’m just waiting for Perry to get the strength and the fighting Spirit to eventually beat me I
Like being Perry’s hurdle and I want to see that kid like go places I’m excited to see what Perry’s capable of I can’t wait for the I cannot wait for the and then like with Giani GI is my bud like he is like my pal we we listen
To Black Metal we listen to thrash you know we’re we’re like both Giani and I have the exact same taste in music like seriously we trade music back and forth all the time we’re both Headbangers yeah it’s so like like I love that kid gian’s
A bad dude and I love seeing his style of sumo like I I I know that the world of sumo is in great hands with Perry and Ben and Malik and Zeus you know I know like if they just stick gonna be bad ass but um you know
Malik to me I think Malik has earned the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball award because the way that kid popped into the Sumo scene was just freaking incredible he made a huge Splash and he’s got those crazy shorts he’s got that long Surfer boy hair you know he’s got an image you
Knowf he’s Surfer boy he sticks in my mind you know I’m like oh Malik yeah that Surfer boy yeah but so like him and him and Gio are like freaking like Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter though they really are they’re the Sumo Ken and
Ryu a minute to say his to say his bit on uh on Perry here before we move on to the go ahead go ahead Caleb but yes absolutely Caleb so the reason why I’m going with Perry which I get it he’s from my team so I may be a little biased
However he showed up to a demo in late January with me and Justin he was just going through a asan festival and saw his wrestling and was like hey can I try that that was late January three weeks later he was at the Met competing and he
Beat not only did he beat all the youth in in one the you thing but then he like got into the to the open weight men’s and the team men’s and beat a lot of the adult men he be he’d be like a powerlifter and
He’d beat a Paul a twice he beat like he beat a lot of people and that was his first tournament and he goes and wins Nationals and then he just he kicked the crap out of people all year yeah and he qualified for worlds too he straight up was Talent had
A solid run in in Florida he had a solid run in Florida absolutely yeah he did he screwed up on a little little hinka on the open he probably would have had like a open end the heavyweight but still I I thought he had an incredible year and
That’s why I’m going to pick him for this one and he tried very freaking hard and I mean none of y’all saw him working so that makes I’m proud I’m proud of Perry I didn’t see him like actually I saw him Koo or anything like that but
Just to fight him at the tournaments that I fought him at you know throughout the year seeing his exuberance you know so I fought him at the Met I fought him at roller town I fought him at consulates and every time I fought him he’s hard and more difficult and more
Skilled like he’s freaking turning into like a little Boulder when I first fought Perry he was like he was a teddy bear and now that I’m fighting Perry the last time I fought Perry he was a Grizzly so you know he’s he’s getting ferocious and I’m proud of that kid I I
Honestly I want to get good so I could be harder for Perry to beat because when he finally does beat me I want him to I want it to mean something make I will say all these guys have beaten each other this year like anybody dominating any of these
Tournaments they all beat each other at least once if not more often so that’s also kind of impressive in this youth this youth award oh yeah for sure but our official I haven’t cast my vote yet go ahead Kyle oh I don’t remember or was it was it Johnny or Malik that uh
Rearranged uh the Jones brother’s face at uh that was GI Mal my vot’s for Giani was it Giani it was for sure Giani because I remember the first two people that took his Tachi ey needed a minute afterwards oh okay and then I think as the day went on people were like I’m
Gonna Keep I’m gonna like pay attention here a little bit more no that was that’s my that was GI but his ass he needed a Readjustment with my T TI speaking of Justin contrarian you know speaking of Justin’s our official uh John jock Award winner for men’s youth wrestler of the Year Ben
Shco out of Iron Mountain Sumo the second time he’s gotten this award so very cool next up we have the technique prize so we got a couple familiar names we don’t have to cover all of it again but uh first two nominations Joe Ponto uh again uh reigning three-time National
Lightweight champion uh had some International success this year we got Edo Kena for all the all the reasons that Justin was gushing about earlier Justified for sure but I mean I can I can liter like I have a actually have a notebook of his you go find that we’ll
Cover the rest of the nominees here been keeping an Edo diary I knew it I I am such a [ __ ] weirdo but um he has had some really solid technical wins so we also have San Diego Justin was watching Edo’s film the night before [ __ ] you don’t tell
Everybody yeah hey cut that out Jake speaking of San Diego we had uh we have Menin Reagan on here uh mein was um that was the only he did some awesome stuff even against you Kyle he had that one Matrix Dodge where you somehow got
Up yeah that that his so his SoCal wings were very unorthodox yeah they were really unorthodox so I I will but that was only one tournament we’re talking about a whole year of technique the other the other thing going for Menin is that he’s been living and training in
Japan uh with like an actual local Sumo Club he’s brought a ton of that knowledge back to the us including working as a coach for our world team um and then also we have oh God is this our first midwesterner on the list man we gotta step this up we gotta step
This upwest oh bet yeah oh bet you beta we got got to get out to the the ice house and do some more reps out there yeah um but our first midwesterner on the list is our technique prize nominee coach Ben Lacy out of Ohio Sumo oh Ben
Lacy everybody everybody at Ohio Sumo all three of their branches I guess you’d call it will constantly gush about Benjamin’s excellent uh not not only is he excellent as far as like um technique in the ring he is an excellent teacher um he’s got backgrounds I believe in in
Judo and some other some other Combat Sports but he’s one of those guys that Sim similar to Guys Like You Know Joe or or Edo like when they’re in the ring there there’s a lot of unpredictability and there’s a lot of that um the the term I always come back
To is like squirl you know like you can you can tie a guy up and you can push him backwards but that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be the first one to touch the ground because there’s always something there’s always another arm grabbing somewhere there’s always
Another foot that’s going to trip you up somewhere else like that that is that that that is his style of sumo that he that he you know is is very studied and very diligent in but also up everyone around him I respect it and and you know over the years years of
Fighting with Ben and you know going to you know going to the Midwest and then him coming to uh him coming to like Atlanta like I I I fought him for you know for years and you know him and I are about the same age and and I I
Respect you know I respected Sumo him and I had a few really good matches in um in North Carolina for the um uh what was it called the the thing the thing gotta give us something to work with here man train North Carolina training camp the training camp the North Carolina
Training camp sorry sorry you’re like my grandma trying to tell me like the actor from the movie you know you know which one me right you know what I’m talking about come on listen they’re training camp in North Carolina right you know we like you know him and I had uh like gu
When they had the three rings or whatever his was the first ring that I was in and so him and I had about three to four matches uh where he I mean he really like my first match I think the first match like I was
I was trying to do some power Sumo stuff and and he rocked My BT and it was pretty solid I was like God damn all right Ben like I you know he he’s he’s dude is solid so you know and and we we both talked about you know our age being
A factor of things and stuff and and and so I respect him to the fullest and I would totally vote for him so I don’t know yeah but but in in an overall year of technique I would have to give it to Edo I I like because I I I literally
Have a notebook of techniques that has actually used right throughout the year yeah so for me uh I’ll I’ve got my notes out pulled up here and if you scroll through I’ve got about five different names for everyone my reasoning why when you get up to
Technique it just says Edo no contest um no one in this country to me has shown as much of a versatility of techniques and as many different options as far as hey I can fight big guys I can fight little guys I can go fast I can hit you
Hard on the tach I can drive you straight out I can absorb lift you up back you out I can hit you with an arm drag I can use belt techniques I can use uh slapping techniques whatever he wants to do he has gotten very very good at it
He is 100% my pick for uh technique prize the only person I would say could come close in my opinion is M however we’re talking about like Justin said the whole year of sumo M did one tournament and did he have some phenomen defensive technique in that tournament yes did he
Come out and show me the same level of technique and the same overall skill over tournament after tournament obviously not because he was only here for the one tournament M’s phenomenally skilled Edo showed me phenomenal skill after skill after skill I can go in and practice against Edo and he doesn’t
Always have to go for the leg pick on me like Justin thinks he can try to on me um [ __ ] you hey Hey listen also one tournament at that one tournament Edo did beat Menin so there is that there is that too yes um that’s
Just why in my head I just I just wanted to not why not just just one note but who be Edo in that tournament you did Sir I’ll was just sit back and be like what yeah hang that one on the wall because that’s probably not going to
Happen very many more times oh oh and oh oh I’m sorry Sunday what just happened what happened you’re right you’re right oh God damn that hurts oh go ahead go ahead and say it who won oh I already did you you won but from the looks of
Things it almost killed you though oh it did Justin Justin Justin no for real but it did though beat him at a big tournament um North Americans North Americans true first tournament at his debut Justin did beat him we are three and one Ian I’m actually it doesn’t matter what the
Weight category is I’m probably the only American who has actually got three on them how can you say that very possible I don’t know how many I have on him am no losses I I’m probably the only American who’s got uh three little ones OH Close jius hadam twice
Yeah I know no I I’ve been keeping it account Hayden’s got a couple times this kid is the future this kid is the future but I just want to make sure that my old ass does have a few counts on him jar has two yeah but yep but I think you’re
Right but anyways why don’t we uh who let’s move on let’s move let’s move on because me and Kyle are going Edo Justin you were going Edo as well 100% 100% Caleb think I was thinking Joe setto for the fact that his technique is not your common technique as I mean honestly
Anything I’m going to say is what Kyle said uh earlier his technique isn’t the the common Sumo technique but what he does with it is amazing to me and the fact that he is not predictable at all in my opinion is impressive and the throws he threw our worlds was impressive
And he’s just more and more impressing me every time I see him get into the ring oh for sure mat what you guys think if we didn’t have Edo if we didn’t have Edo as an option Joe would be my hands down Pig oh yeah yeah
Yeah but yeah it’s just to me Edo’s just the guy and answer your question Justin I’m two and one against Edo according to my spreadsheet Justin has Jake seen my spreadsheet I have indeed Matt and Sabrina what are you guys thinking for technique prize here I said Edo just
Because it’s Edo I mean he’s doing all fairo is also a very close second but um I don’t know I’ve just like physically watched inperson Edo do all kinds of crazy [ __ ] this year so that’s why I’m voting for him you see I didn’t get to really experience a whole lot of Joe
Ponto Sumo until like just this year so I’ve seen you know I’ve seen Edo you know from last year this year you know but when I saw Joe Ponto at world that like that’s what freaking blew me away I was like whoa it did make me feel like
I’ve been sleeping on him for sure it kind of I guess it might be uh what’s that it’s more novel to me because I you know was late to the Joe Ponto train but it just made like a bigger impact on me I guess you know or maybe Edo’s impact
Was earlier you know last year and I’m like oh okay I know Edo is an established Titan so who sure and so to me I I I chose Joe ponet is Poneto an Italian surname I may have to change Pon P well when you say it like that of
Course it sounds like well you got gotta get one of those speaking of Worlds when he had to throw at Worlds I think I literally did this like this did so so let me finish this off with a joke that I thought of last year and have
Been killing myself all year long that I didn’t think of it like a minute sooner oh I am ready for this you can call this show 1800s Tokyo because we are living in the Edo period seriously like like the night that we did the show I was like damn it
That was that would have been perfect we got to make that t-shirt now yeah Edo period yeah have him walking around in a Yukata with a sword yeah did I tell you I’ve actually been planning on making like a fan merch for some of the US amateur sumor I am 100% there for
It so look for that on the suop on I can’t un you Kyle you the button yourself I need you toe for a picture for me in your Masashi where you’re you know with with your butt pointing towards us but you’re pulling one one of these one of
Those you know kind of one of those yeah we’re gonna move on to our next category which is not best buns in Sumo again we already established that one you’re you’re unmuted Justin just but he can’t hear us that’s our next oh well he must have hit some
Buttons on his own headphones or something he’ll be back in the meantime let’s make some progress our next award is the outstanding performance award um we have uh two names that have already been brought up we have Hayden South Hall as we mentioned uh incredible Contender for
Best debut year uh coming out of nowhere we also have kellyanne ball uh for over outperforming expectations in uh women’s Sumo by by getting those medals on the international stage uh we also kind of wanted to just dominate women’s Team USA as a whole as as like their own nomination for outstanding performance
Testing testing hey there he is [ __ ] okay so me muting you just ruined your headphones somehow I’ll do it again I’ll do it again I swear I respect I respect it I sorry we got two more nominations uh for incredible debuts in 2023 Seth Adam uh Sensei Seth of YouTube Fame got
Famous on on the tubes with the young kids who watch the videos and such um Seth uh does all sorts of martial arts stuff and this year he decided wow Sumo looks cool I wonder where I can do Sumo and learned that he lives in like one of
The best places in the country to do Sumo just happened to live in North Carolina just happen to live in North Carolina is there anyone around here I could train with perhaps and he’s got he’s got right there I do want to take partial credit for that because he
Hopped into the US Open live stream which I was watching and I was just like Seth you live because I’ve been subscribed to Seth for years and I was like Seth you live in North Carolina right and I was like hey I’m Gonna Give You Eric’s number yeah who was competing
And then of course that’s right when Eric just launched Trend he’s like yeah move from last year why I voted for him for technique award yeah yep um and our our last nominee for for the outstanding performance is Jay scriven out of Mighty Eagle Sumo and San
Antonio I would like to add two more to that um I know it’s kind of last minute that’s um Dustin Hawkins uh out of iron wave has improved so much over the last year um I faced him at Nationals and he gave me the one hell of a match um
Serious Force to be reckon it with and then a super newcomer that I’ve only faced once uh and I think he just started right before the Justin tournament uh Jared param out of uh Dallas Jared param abely [ __ ] he has those long arms and legs which hard he got them
[ __ ] strong spider arms dude dude yeah absolutely uh real quick on on Jay uh Jay made his was the consulates cup his debut just in no wait wait the Midwest was is his de debut y fact thought the I thought consulates was before that wait was it you’re right you’re
Right no it was right after it was right after force and it was right two weeks later yeah yeah so so I mix him up my head right so at the consulates cup Jay scriven uh from San Antonio um he he did real great I think the very first match
I saw of his he launched Bubba into orbit with his Tachi ey um and then he ended up getting I think fourth place or or something in open weight and and the same heavy yeah so he made it to the semifinals where we met and I remember I was watching him go
And he was giving the business to everyone and I was just like you know what I’m not going to take that and he’s new so he’s not going to expect to Hanka so I just let him run past me and thank you because he just turned
Around and did it to me jerk that’s the Newbie TX that’s the TX um but yeah so then Jay had two other tournaments he came up to the Beer City open up here in the Midwest stole all of our honor and brought it back to Texas with him I
Think he only lost once and it was one of the team competition matches or something yeah Jay Jay was on fire and then he came down and got a very solid second place at the uh um at the Texas classic just this last weekend Jay’s a warrior dude seriously
Jay’s a straight up Warrior he keeps he keeps go like getting better getting better you know so you know and and he’s one of those people and and he wants to get better like he’s just you know he’s the kind of guy that W like watches tapes everything like like he’s solid
Dude like the dude he is he uh I I I’m jealous I I wish I wish he was in Austin I’m jealous that ability he has to sponge like technique SP for me and then just kick it out like it ain’t nothing it’s just that d yeah after
After consulates when we did after consulates when we went down to uh San Antonio to do uh Caleb’s demo down there Jay was asking me about some techniques and then I saw him Implement those the very next week at the uh Midwest yeah like it was phenomenal to see dude dude
Soaks it in adjusts and and and and I mean God I can blow mind even more he’s never really done Sports before this he he didn’t do football he didn’t do wrestling he didn’t do anything he but he was military he was military milary but he just kind of showed up was like
I’ would like to do this because I I used to live in Japan when I was a kid okay did you juo there no did you football or anything no okay well come in we’ll see what you got and he beat me half the time and he was brand new and I
Was like Jesus yeah I told him I was like at one point soon you’re gonna be kicking my ass all the time he’s like no I was like you just started and here we are the the only things the only things in my mind that work against uh Jay and Jared is just
That we only have like three months here of a it’s small sample size yeah yeah I think um Dustin Dustin’s been around for at least a couple years here so for him like it’s more the fact that he turned a big Corner um this year right right
Right right right and then Seth Seth and Hayden are are just they debuted this year and decided they wanted to be like National level wrestlers immediately yeah that was cool it seems like like there’s like longevity versus just just crazy trajectory of like like upward Leaps and Bounds and that’s the that’s
The same category I put Kell and the women’s team and put them in like the big improvement over last year as opposed to that’s true that’s true just making a debut kind of deal all in all though where are you guys feeling for actually putting your putting the money
Where your mouth is because uh I am thinking Hayden is where I go with this one I went with Hayden I want to say Hayden I’m going with Hayden for the same reasoning that Matt gave earlier for why he thinks he should win the rest of the year because that Improvement and
Everything so my votes with ha okay I vote the OD personal I’m voting Seth Adams a for showing up at Nationals and almost beating Eric yeah at Nationals his first national and he beat Sam kka who was a national champion he beat corny who’s been a national champion ion
And then he went to Mr Olympia he did badass at only did he get second light heavy in that one in openweight he beat Hayden he did that’s second place and the only reason he get first is because he had to go against the professional to fight for first he was
If y’all if you haven’t seen that guys go to Seth Channel watch that tournament he had some of the craziest best sumo I have ever seen wait which one the one where he did Mr Olympia no who did who Seth Seth Adam it’s that says I entered a Sumo
Tournament with uh no weight classes or something like that yeah my my my my vote would be Hayden or Seth like I those two were you know I don’t know they were phenomenal this year I’m going with Hayden just because I was there to witness it in person and it was
Phenomenal I thought you had voted for the US Women’s team I thought am I confusing that for the other we’re on performance right yeah that’s who I voted for was the US Women’s team just because I didn’t know a team could be a thing I didn’t know a team could be it
Was on there well yeah I mean we can we can vote however we want but like yeah I think this this is a really tough one because it it’s hard to judge like how the the leaps that all of these nominees have made it just it’s none of these are
Wrong answers I think so I guess for me it’s it’s coming down to Hayden for me also partly because of being at enough tournaments with him to see those to see that level of growth and um just seeing seeing somebody that young come onto the
Scene and make that big of an impact and all that is I was gonna say how do we like so if you looked at it you know objectively you know if we put on as far as like wins and like numbers on the board like we do like like the Texas
Classic or the the Texas uh like the State title just just straight State title numbers on the board Hayden Hayden wins I mean like you know because he’s got the international titles the like like it like I he went to Scot I don’t have the exact number
But I but I can easily say that Hayden wins over any one of our and Sensei Seth was [ __ ] phenomenal like I mean for him to like murder Sam and Sam you know he’s been out of it for a bit but like to murder a feather in the cap yeah yeah
Well like just to be like I’m gonna do a national tournament let’s see what happens and to just just [ __ ] clean abely that’s true solid but numbers on the board objectively Hayden’s got it but see objectively i’ probably be with you except I watch Seth Hayden beat the
Living crap out I mean Seth Adams beat the living crap out of Hayden at Mr Olympia and I went holy [ __ ] that’s amazing he didn’t just like do tricky stuff like we most that was Sumo no he got underneath Hayden pushed Hayden’s ass up and then drove
Him out of the freaking ring and I was like that’s that really was of 2023 on the board there’s no way to say any of these are objective it’s all subjective and that’s okay no no no you can pull yourself back from it you can
Like I know I I know who I like who I love but I could say I could easily go in 2023 justce year let’s not you know justce year [ __ ] Hayden put numbers on the board internationally dog like yeah that’s that just means money the does that mean does that mean okay
Well since a Seth if he went to all the exact same tournaments that Hayden went to would he have put the same you know like close to the same number sure I yes I don’t know but you only can fight who you’re who’s there yeah fair enough I appre I appreciate I’m just
Saying I’m I’m the only person voting for step so I don’t know why you’re arguing so freaking hard V for the women’s us team because I mean they made freaking history being the first like women’s team to medal on an international like the international [ __ ] tournament and then you you have
People on that team like iton who’s new to Sumo who’s had an explosive year you have people like Madison who last year said she wasn’t even gonna do Sumo anymore she just did the the Texas classic and I sat down and talked to her
And I was like Hey how do you how do you like Sumo do you think you’re gonna stick with this and she was like nah I think it’s just one time thing and then she qualifies for the [ __ ] world she comes back and becomes a national title like five months later or
Something like a world medalist another history maker it’s like whatever Madison yeah you have people like you have kellyanne on that team you have Christina on that team who’s had a ton of growth over the last year you know so that’s the reasons why I’m voting and also because iton will SLP my
Throat if I don’t vote for her so that’s a good reason too that’s fair yeah I just want to really quick uh point out the amount of eyes that Seth has put on on to amateur Sumo uh through his videos with what he does thousands of people put their eyes
On amateur Sumo because of him and I personally got hit up partially because of the Scottish Backle video because of him like by a lot of people um so he’s done a lot for the sport that said I am still in the camp that just in comparison to basically I I viewed this
As my expectations starting from the beginning of the year and it was looking at Hayden where it’s like hey he’s kind of okay here he is and then Seth it’s just okay he might do Sumo this year in one of his videos and if he does he’ll
Probably be okay at it right right right right so that’s why Hayden’s my vote it’s not because I don’t think Seth deserves vote I setho but Hayden I think just because and it is partially from a selfish point of view of I felt that Improvement Nationals uh roller town consulat the
Leaps and B between those was easy match trade domination and it’s just so that’s why my it’s giant upward trory and I absolutely like I said this this is this is a heartbreaker category because yeah Team USA Women’s very much another correct answer um Seth another very correct answer
Another six months of tournaments or so Jay or Jared getting more more exposure there maybe that you know another six months or something like that would change my mind there um Dustin making massive improvements out of nowhere this year very cool um yeah I I don’t think there’s a wrong
Answer but if we got at least a a majority here I think we officially are going to grant that one to Hayden South Hall of Dallas Sumo Club so congratulations Hayden well earned um we have one more special prize here and that is the fighting Spirit award and this one is awfully Loosey
Goosey um we can give it to Lucy I was just thinking that sorry Lucy that’s not legally binding um there’s a couple different categories of why people are being nominated here um uh a handful of them are because of just like the not just the ability but
The eagerness to be everywhere and doing Sumo is kind of like the main thing that we got nominations from the public for um which I I I I hate that I know at least one of you Kyle I think you said it was you I got a couple people that nominated me
For fighting spirit and I arguing that point once we get there but let’s continue with the other nomin get there we’ll get there but yeah the nominations I’ll actually accept include uh Caitlyn Jones um who was all over the place what are you booing that for come
On lady yah she knows exactly why sorry you got um Ben by the way Ben shco as we discussed before is is everywhere and just infectiously enthusiastic um and uh also repeating from Men’s wrestler of the year we got Gilberto on this list um Gilberto was not just again it’s not just traveling
And being in all sorts of places it’s also just like the the ability to be in the ring the attitude outside the ring just bring Sumo um bringing bringing the right attitude to Sumo and and fighting hard to make it what it should be and I think
I think that’s that’s something that all of these guys um definitely represent this is also a category where I’m very open to more nominations of people that you think have done more for Sumo or if there’s anybody that we met they again another Heartbreaker category because so
Many people could be argued that they did a lot for Sumo this year just what you got I I I do and to to you know to kind of Full Circle this thing like I I do want to nominate uh Joseph poneta only BEC like as far as fighting
Spirit he you know his style is very unorthodox but the but the guy I have like you know him and I talk all the time on uh on into message and stuff and and I have watched his journey and and watched him you know have have to take like you know
Protein shakes and and gain and then like gain strength and stuff he would you know he kind of joked with himself and and of course we all did too kind of because his first two you know his first two gold wins weren’t you know weren’t uh they were unqualified years but he
Like he seriously earned his last like I mean he earned all three but his third one was like you know he’s seriously the strongest field it was the strongest strongest field and I and then and then to watch most people don’t know his journey towards worlds because he got
The gold medal but his journey from Florida to uh to Japan was insane and I respect it um and I you know for like for me because he’s even called me out like he know we we’ve called like we’ve talked to each other and he’s called me out and said like oh
Yeah yeah you like you didn’t even you know really even like like acknowledge my you know my gold or whatever blah blah blah but like from the from his like the first one or whatever but I respect his journey and the fact that he is
Really uh put on he put on weight put on strength put on like and and went hard as [ __ ] in at Worlds and pulled three wins so I would love to see him uh win that and um yeah so that that is me coming from a lightweight who has lost to him
Unfortunately and and who is humbly putting him up on a pesto right now fair enough absolutely Kyle what you got so uh I’m gonna give h two arguments here one because I promised I was going to explain why I nominated Jake or one of the people that nominated Jake um Jake
Going from the beginning of the year when uh Jake helped us put on Nationals Jake was instrumental in this like people have no idea how much he does for every single Sumo tournament and I’m not gonna pimp him out and say to ask him because no pimp him out pimp him out no
Please please stop Dad I’m trying to cover some of the the slack for you but it’s I don’t know from the point of he went from the point of hey uh Jake are we gonna get you to put on Masashi we gonna get you to put on Masashi every
Time we saw him uh to starting his own Sumo club bringing people out to put a demo on starting Iowa Sumo which is starting to have a lot of good competitors there and actually starting to put on a thing and then now he shows up as a competitor and he still shows up
And so my main qualification when I was thinking of um who do I want to win this prize was who showed up to these tournaments and I understand that travel is a extremely difficult part of this so it’s who made the sacrifice is uh mine
Jake had a kid this year and oh yeah dead ass and but and and show the [ __ ] up to consulates cup to like all the major ones and actually put in work like yeah um however [ __ ] I however Jake will not let me uh vote for him
Even though I’m going to vote for him anyway uh I’m voting for him anyway for all gonna let us vote for him we had already decided my so my other vote since Jake will not accept this uh nomination is gonna go to uh Caitlyn Jones for a very similar reason she goes
To every tournament and then uh in the fighting Spirit uh yeah I agree Justin uh it hurts me too in the fighting Spirit uh something I don’t know what’s going on here every time every time that uh I’ve talked to Caitlyn um like uh when roller Town
Happened and for some reason she got matched up against me and I was trying to be nicer and I’m like Caitlyn please don’t make me hit you and she says hit me as hard as you can and of course I didn’t but I just kind of
Gave her hit and she was just and she called me a [ __ ] afterwards for not hitting her hard and that’s what I liked was because she was insanely tough and um she’s funny she brings a good uh joking Spirit to every tournament uh and she shows up she was at Olympia she goes
Out of state which a lot of people don’t go to which I understand is extremely difficult but making those sacrifices to go out of state to those tournaments is what I think is extremely valuable for me and my votes so that must be why all the guys like her because she’s calling
Them [ __ ] all the time I think I just learned something about the men in amateur Zumo you know what’s funny is we’re all masochist we’re all masochist I mean why the [ __ ] do you think we why do you think we run our heads into each other and like you
Know we have all of these nagging injuries and we’re still launching each like yeah I’ll fly to that yeah let me go launch myself at people from around the world hey speaking speaking of that kid I gotta take a quick second you guys keep talking about fighting Spirit I’ll be
Back in a minute so anyway here’s why Jake should win this award that was my thing okay I hereby vote to veto Jake’s uh nonacceptance yes I acceptance as well he’s gonna take it because daddy wants him I’d like to hear Caleb’s thoughts let get Kaitlyn to make him
Take it yeah Kaitlyn’s gonna Caitlyn’s gonna strap on that award and and give it to him you know what’s funny is like but no I’m of the exact same sentiment as Kyle that like if because whenever he was saying at the beginning of this that he wasn’t going to accept you know
Nomination Caitlyn uh but the reason Caitlyn is because she’s ferocious I mean [ __ ] like our podcast’s nickname for her is Lady hakuho yeah I mean see that forearm shiver she gave to freaking kellyanne ball like that immortalized picture of like you know kiag like right in Kellan space kilan like oh you know
Like that’s brutal you know she she’s just like a little Tasmanian Devil just not giving a Fu but anyway like that’s you know why I I would pick Caitlyn but you know for the most part when I saw Jake’s name on there I was like oh yeah easy Jake
Because he’s a [ __ ] pillar you know he’s like almost like John Jax Jr you know when he gets reach such a status we were talking about how how how phallic of a pillar you are and how we vetoed your non-acceptance exactly I knew I shouldn’t have invited Sumo punks and
Justin to be on the same episode no see what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna get Caitlyn Jones to strap on the award trumpy so anyways we’re moving out to and make you take let’s hear Caleb’s thoughts first we’re put this one on YouTube we gotta keep that down yes Caleb okay cool
Awesome so I am not voting for Jake Jake I am not voting for you thank you so all this stuff they said was true you had a great year you you have developed a lot uh but yeah I’m picking Caitlyn because K’s not only not only is the one that first says
Hey let me go against the guys she’s also the one that uh humps me up because of how hard she wants to go out there and hit somebody and it really gets me all like fired up when I watch her wrestle because like when she started she
Wasn’t very big or strong in my opinion but she just she just keeps trugging along and keeps getting better and she keeps trying really hard and pumped up so I’m picking Kaitlyn she’s honestly been a she’s been in Sumo and a Sumo fan for longer than you would imagine very
My very F when she was in high school she uh she ended up sending me a picture of me at like like that she a picture that she took with me in Long Beach in like 2017 or something like that like and and like me and it was me tesi and
Her and or something and I did not even realize that was the same girl and wow yeah so she has been she you know as a high school student flew to the US Open uh to you know to watch sumo so she’s been a Sumo fan for a lot
Of her like her her TW her teen life and her adult life very cool which is pretty nuts I didn’t I I didn’t even know that I didn’t like she sent me the picture and I was like oh oh [ __ ] that was you and I completely like and then and then
It clicked me and so she has been a fan of sumo for a really long time and didn’t even know that that’s so cool all right so where do you guys uh where do you guys want to put your votes on this one I still say we veto your
Non-acceptance yep let’s see it’s j or we could do we could do what the what the JSA does because you know they hand out you know multiple Gino shows or you know shukun shows so there could be f Spirit prizes so yeah we let Jak gonna
Be in charge if he’s if he does that again then he’s just going to uh like he did for me last year on the fighting Spirit prize just put the other person there there’s an idea there’s we just call it the Jake poyer fighting Spirit award
Yeah oh man so uh Caleb you were saying or uh Justin you’re saying Caitlyn okay I was just going to assemble votes but now he’s now it sounds like we’re not sure anymore I’m not sure still vote acceptable I hate Caitlyn so okay I must pick a
Jake I want to vot for Jake because do vot because damn it is that how that’s gonna work for you I mean I wanted to vote for you before I knew you didn’t want us to vote for you that just makes me want to vote saw yeah we were just
Like no we’re V for Jake yeah okay [ __ ] I’m voting for Jake all right y you’re over Jake now I’m that guy that hosts a show to give himself an award is that what you’re GNA do you you bought it tooth and nail it was all of us that
Like you know hoisted it upon you we just without you yeah we did you you went off to go pee or you know whatever you were doing take care of spa yeah the second that you left we were like okay so who votes to veto Jake’s non-acceptance and we all
All of most of us only the award the right way Caleb and Kyle where where are you guys putting your uh your official votes here I’m voting for Caitlyn Jones yeah Caleb you too Kaitlyn yeah okay oh crap however Jake you deserve it because uh you have a picture of my be
Ass on your wallall so you deserve right there nice um yeah I think you guys he also stole my national championship trophy and it’s back there too but you can’t see it because yep that would be Kyle trophy so right now actually two to two no it’s it’s three to two in favor
Of me but I’m gonna vote I’m also gonna vote for Caitlyn um I didn’t know all that about like her background and stuff I think that’s that is very cool and I’m not just doing that because then it makes it a tie but it sounds like that
Makes it a tie make it a tie that means that there’s two winners so now they have to fight if only the editor of the newsletter could make a decision on that yep I’ll have to find some other way to make a decision oh you shouldn’t have put that war in his brain
Kyle why don’t we talk about uh all right so fine you you’ve made it official against my will I I me and Caitlyn will share the fighting Spirit award for 2023 it just means there are two I I’ll be honest I I I am I I am very averse to receiving compliments
Especially in public but I do really appreciate that uh that you guys recognize that cuz like I wouldn’t do a bunch of the stuff that I do if I wasn’t having fun but yes it is also a bunch of work and it’s it is Passion feel that’s of
That we the work before I make Justin cry let’s talk about outstanding Club as our next award this is fine North Carolina well we got North Carolina is for sure a nominee uh we have Ohio we have I guess what’s now called California because it’s not Yamamoto
Anymore but we also have uh Dallas Sumo Club on here oh yeah point I want to point is Ohio all the Ohio clubs or is it just one of the Ohio clubs they are not distinct enough for me to bother separating them at this point it’s like
Three states in one I know Bally they’re spread out over like a couple hundred miles so they just like drive together and meet up then I’m going to nominate iron wave at that point to so iron wave Colorado sir oh man no for the for Ohio effectively the way that they work is
Most of their guys are roughly in like the Dayton Cincinnati Ohio area they also have a handful of guys out in Indiana which is I I mean it’s kind of like a you know from from Dayton they have like a 2hour radi roughly they got a couple guys that live I think
Technically in Kentucky um like but regardless they they train as a group they have uh they have Zin as a group which that’s as official as you can get I suppose yeah but they you know for Texas people we don’t understand that because all of your states can Encompass
Texas yeah I don’t think you understand that like how closer together than you are yeah San anio Austin Dallas that’s three Midwest that’s three states in in yep it’s like I just drove five hours to another city but I’m still in the same state yeah totally I can drive down to
When I drive down to Dallas from uh from Iowa for a tournament I might not be the furthest guy who’s driving to that and that other guy might be from Texas true regardless just bringing that up because Ohio has uh has definitely grown grown quite a bit this year um
They have a couple of their guys we already mentioned Ben Lacy some of the other some of the other Staples there everybody knows Darius uh Jake book is getting back into it this year after some time off he’s back hell yeah uh we even got a guy that found amateur Sumo
From listening to Grand Sumo breakdown and is now one of the best wrestlers in the midwest that’s Jake Cullison yeah and Hunter had him on our show couple episodes back yeah he very fun he’s got a great voice and he’s just accidentally hung out with him for an extra hour or
So after we hit after we were done recording yes very easy to do that um and special huge shout out to Hunter out of the Ohio group for putting on his first tournament this November um and also just being you know he probably should have been a fighting Spirit
Nominee too uh for all the all the work that he’s put in he’s coming after he’s coming off like a life-threatening injury um over the last couple years years and is just going Whole Hog into Sumo now so wow so that’s that’s my plug for my fellow midwesterners but uh yeah
Like like I said the other the other uh because we can’t nominate all 40 some clubs in the country the ones that we got the most uh nominations for and the ones that have had the most like actual medals and success and such just gonna just going
To throw out ryen uh Dallas California is our other ones what do you guys think on this so far is there anybody that’s standing out to you uh above the other so Dallas oh sorry go ahead Caleb yeah Dallas is the first one that comes up to
My mind just because uh their growth has been exciting but even more than that they started competing really well this year growing a lot of people but the guys were kind of except for like Jared their guys were kind of like but this year they had guys and girls oh we gave
We had crap last year for not recruiting any girls now they have a crapload of girls and really talented ones and talented girls God damn ENT I’m jealous S S held the freaking mantle for women’s Sumo I am most impressed with Dallas and they get my vote this year Dallas gets
My vote yeah they also got gaga Maru to come out for a tournament and do aain session with everyone best event of the year is coming up soon and that one we’ll be talking about that one too but no just to me it’s it’s not just the
Growth but the reason that Dallas was able to grow is because uh Cory and sigy just put so much of their like body and souls into Dallas Sumo Club to make it as successful as it can be you know they’re spending hours and hours unpaid hours and hours they’re taking risks they’re
Going on on a limb you know yeah they’re they’re put yeah they’re risking all kinds of [ __ ] but they’re they’re doing things they’re making these massive events happen and they’re like drawing a whole lot of attention to you know to Sumo and in America and speaking of that
Whereas the Dallas Cowboys are America’s football team I dare say Dallas Sumo Club is America Sumo Team America I would say the Texas as I like the cowboy thing I don’t have have such an attachment to the Dallas Cowboys but you know like PE PE
America Hey Hey Jake how did we get so many Texas people in this group yeah I realized how much I messed up y’ are the only oh yeah Y and of the people that don’t live in Texas you got like me and Kyle as like the two closest
To honorary Texas ichiman people out there I was literally gonna say I was just about to say that [ __ ] I was like exactly dude you sir you sir are well actually both of you honorary Texas exactly like as the only reason I’ll say becauseas state championship basically Dallas Dallas he’s a Dallas adjacent
Student more Dallas practices than iron wave which is the worst part about it for me I would happily accept your title of honorary Texan if anything other than suo was appealing about Texas I know but the Sumo part’s pretty good sum part great our government not so
Great um but yeah real quick well now listen up now you’re here Justin no no I think you’re gonna get beat on this one Kyle so um no I’m not watch this just let’s talk a little bit more about Ren in California just because I feel like
There’s a consensus developing um yeah I was gonna say Ren was my other vote and it’s solely from a competition aspect yes um and it’s because you’ve got Edo Seth and Eric who are three of the top dogs in any weight class in this country
So yeah all of them put on a show every time they show up and extremely strong guys and then what I love about their club and I’m going to suck Dallas off in a second um uh the almost homegrown feel of their practices out on the baseball field
Where it feels like the clay feels rough and dirty it’s one of the most fun practices you can go to in the country um just because it’s you go in you go hard and you’re going to work um so that’s why they are my number two choice
However Dallas is still going to take uh my vote home um and that’s just because they’re so they actually pulled some competitors out this year too uh like we said Jared but also with Hayden with iton with uh everyone else all the girls that they’ve got out this year um you
Have a women’s tournament Texas there’s they’re who you bring it’s Dallas versus Dallas at most of these women’s uh events that’s why to Dallas versus the field last year yeah yeah yeah and then uh and then I just want to make sure that uh while we’re talking about Dallas
Sigy gets some a little bit of extra respect because she goes so far out of her way to actually message people that hey are you coming to the tournament are you doing this or you’re doing that and it’s almost like almost as bad as Cornelius uh used to be where it would
He would bother you just make sure you were showing up and uh uh I am in a cornelius’s club that is a important part of that story I love celus to death however just uh messaging you hey uh we’re hosting this event and um the main
Reason the Dallas is taking it over Ren for me uh a because they host tournaments but B because they host events to actually recruit people uh the anime Dallas that they’ve done the last years so much fun and all the other like yeah all those other little uh small
Events that they do on the random weekends are so much fun to go down to and then they keep a constant flow of new recruits coming in so that’s why they’re getting my boat yeah and and people don’t really like I just want to on that note uh for Siggy like
Unfortunat our club doesn’t have a Siggy like my wife doesn’t want to be the like the okaman of of my club she just a tall order she lets me do my thing and and that that is what it is but there’s a difference because while you know while Corey you know
While Cory is out there competing and stuff like that like you know just in this in this tournament that happened last weekend you know I I’m sitting there like trying to be in a Zone I need like it would be it would have been great to have a wing man that you know
That or wing woman that you know would have uh been filming all this I had to you know I had to thank God God you know the Mighty Eagle actually took video of the tournament or else I would have never had you know would have never for
Dark Circle Sumo like it would have never had any uh any footage because you know we did the live you can’t be two you can’t be you can’t split yourself and be two people and they I think that they are two halves of the same brain uh
In Dallas and so you know with Cory with Corey and Siggy it is it is perfect and and so they like not only do they get to compete hard or and also you know and also find the right events to to be at but also you know what we have found you know
Highly important is the documentation of of their progress and and so you know most of us don’t have that other leg to you know to not only get to the EV event and do the event and organize the event but also document it so that later you can you
Know people can find you uh online and and so they’re they’re great they’re are great equal halves of a of a of a single lobe of a brain and and that’s why that club gets to be what it is because they have yeah two people that just you’re
Talking about it brings in a lot of new people the the quality of the events that they put on brings in a lot of people you know doing doing a demo like two days worth of demoing at a huge anime convention you know that’s that’s not the kind of thing that I’m really
Seeing a lot of other clubs doing you know I’m I’m not trying to like uh talk trash about the demos that the other clubs are putting on but like that’s it was like a whole big production it felt like very professional you you know yeah yeah and then like with the tournaments
And everything too like they they do try to have every minute detail accounted for and you know that shows up in the the footage that we get from those tournaments and from those events totally so any any dissenting votes other than Dallas uh anybody voting for somebody other than Dallas here I think
That makes it official um I’m pretty sure I I did I guess I I had a clear favorite for myself I didn’t realize that the the whole group would be so on board that’s awesome um real quick on California um we do uh they it’s the club formerly known as Yamamoto Sumo
Dojo formerly known as just the LA Sumo Club yeah the LA club but uh Yama Yama moved out to St Louis so Yama is no longer officially with that club but they are still like practicing as a group I’m not really sure what the branding will be there but regardless
Big shout out to them as a group because they’re doing something right because that’s where we got Kelly Anne uh we got Danny Aila we got Joe Ponto um the the Del brothers that’s where Justin you got your start yeah yeah this is true three years and Y does
Have a new club out in St Louis as well it’s called show me still getting still getting their legs underneath them but yeah they um working real tight with uh with the rest of us up in the Midwest and Chicago Indiana and so on yeah I have work to do but sorry either
Way though that California group is still doing something right because yeah they have a lot of really powerful uh successful wrestlers out there let’s talk about the best event of the year um and so this one I I hate to I hate to limit it I by my count we had 14 amateur
Sumo events in the states and one that’s incredible that makes me so happy and two that means that there’s got to be 13 events that were not the best one that you know like we gota we have to pick one oh which one I’m gonna play well we got two Texas ones on
Here you know just you know just here’s our nominees here’s the ones that we picked as like the top four to discuss um we got uh roller town in Dallas that was the where gagamaru came out and that was like the team versus Team uh we hey we got both team
Captains here uh Kyle and Justin were uh uh drafted uh dodgeball style teams and went at it we have uh Nationals which Kyle also put uh uh put that one on along with iron wave guys Cornelius um Kinga and Ryan White were the other three guys working with you to
Organize Nationals in Orlando um and Jake was a huge help for that let’s point that I helped I helped like operate I didn’t help organize that’s a a big distinction that I hope I continue to stay on the proper side of oh I know everyone who organized
Yeah no everyone uh everyone did a good job on that Cornel uh Kinga helped out so much on that absolutely and and yeah I mean there’s always there’s always a lot of drama that goes into Nationals and working with the with the FED but like as far as like competitors who
Showed up went through the event and went home every one of them was like wow that was a pretty solid event um like it it was it it ran smoothly everybody knew what was going on and um yeah excellent excellently run Nationals for sure uh we
Have the US Open which obligatory has to be on this list every time there’s thousands of people that show up there gets eyeballs on it I know that uh within our community there’s mixed feelings because it’s not really as it’s not as welcoming of a party as a
Lot of the events especially UT Texans prefer to have a have a tournament as a warm-up to your parties um the US Open is more of a show for spectators and that’s it’s not the same environment you don’t get guys like us getting like involved and helping with the nuts and
Bolts and building it up but it is absolutely like the biggest thing that gets views and gets eyes on live Sumo matches and it’s pretty cool we’ve got a lot of people whose origin story traces back to it and this year was uh and that’s fair there it’s it’s it’s not the
Same as the other tournaments for sure but yeah it’s Gotta it definitely needs its shout out and I think Andrew knows how to put on a solid show and um we got guys like Seth from this from just this year so that’s it got to get the shout
Out there for sure yeah that’s actually where Hayden came from too yeah um and then our fourth nominee uh since Justin’s all salty about this let’s bring it back and say the consulates cup is also nominated on here last year a a Grassroots homegrown you know tournament no fancy Frills and no you
Know no uh whatever fancy Frills have no yes there is fancy Frills I mean we did have a for well no but the drums I guess I be talking about in comparison to don’t compare it talk about what it is on its own because what you’ve built down there is awesome
You was this the third one in a row this is the third one uh I mean it is it was you know born out of an idea and actually actually an idea of the um this the president of the Japanese Austin Association and he you know he kind of
Pushed me to be like why don’t you host your own tournament and cuz I and this was literally in conversation with the Consulate of Japan because I found out that the Japanese consulate was uh was a fan of sumo and I was like oh [ __ ] well
Why don’t we just call it the consolat cup and and that um and that happened he didn’t show up for the first one well it was right pretty coie yeah this was I did oh and there’s another thing doing all of this like pretty Renegade during covid was insane uh that
Was actually really insane and the fact that people showed up to the first one people who people showed up to compete and still had a handful had like like 25 people sitting in chairs that were far apart whatever you know what whatever your weird social distancing and how
Many did you have this year as far as Spectators Spectators we clocked out we s we sold out this is the second year that we’ve sold out of tickets I need to actually figure out a better seating arrangement because we’ve sold out um I still never got my Pento box from last year
No I’m sorry anyway go on yeah how how many Spectators though just for perspective on how it’s grown in three years well we’re not at the US Open uh but no no I’m just I think about about 300 three to 400 ah there you go dang
Yeah three to 400 uh which is I mean for if you see the you know the the little rows of SE no actually more than that there was a lot of people and they saw my butt Che yeah people watching only Not only was it like we sold out of four
Actually it’s no I know the ex exact number 426 seats we had 426 seats including including the VIP but then we also had hundreds of people like Spectators on that uh backside of just people yeah the little bar area yeah yeah this is true but every year
And my goal is to is to reach which you know uh Andrew’s got 18 years on all on on any qu quit comparing it to that he’s he’s been doing this as long as like you’ve you’ve been an adult I know I know I just you know I I
Would like to reach I would like to reach that level and get it to I would like to get it to the point I think Andrew has capped out at about 3,000 uh Spectators I would like to get to 3,000 Spectators and need a new venue yeah
[ __ ] yeah I know well hold on though why don’t so for for the 2023 for for the 2023 consulates cup though you drew dozens of wrestlers hundreds of Spectators hell of a show um I always love that uh you get like the local International from Georgia International Kai and zuda former uh
Former komui is that what kokai Kai how high up he got and zuda and zuda competed yeah and my goal is to have like and this year uh 2024 we’ve already it is it is slightly unfortunate because I I saw that Poland uh that that Poland is about uh 40 days
Away from uh my tournament oh so yeah I might have a little bit of limited on on uh traveling but yeah regardless I mean with the with the trajectory it’s going I’m excited for it but but let’s talk more about our 2023 events here though
Oh so yeah I mean by by all means one of the one of my favorite things about the consulates at least for the the last two years you have me show up and you don’t make me do any real work that’s like my favorite part of being there is like
Because I’ve OCD every single of the [ __ ] tournament for months so that’s why that’s why consulates cup and rollertown are are are my top two from this year because I got to show up and work under somebody that is really um I I I don’t know if I want to say
Diligent or anal or both about getting your tournament organized so when I show up I just get told where to go and I just do that that’s my favorite tournament to help work at well I appreciate that as opposed to Kyle I show up and he’s like hey can you
Help me like do the whole thing do [Laughter] everything hilarious well yeah thank that’s all the reaction got since since Justin got to defend his tournament let me give me one second on mine you did awesome at National Nationals yeah go for is an extremely difficult tournament to host you have to
Deal with some very fun people um that try to ruin the whole tournament for you um we had over 300 matches that day that we had to conduct according to the rules of the sport so unfortunately uh where you’ve got tournaments like Justin where you can have a bunch of cool stuff in
The middle Nationals we don’t have that option because we’re already there for 12 hours of matches and we have to have a specific doyo we can’t run two doyo because we can’t get a second doyo down there um so unfortunately there’s just a lot of matches that need to get done and
Considering we had our venue taken away from us uh and we had to find a new one at the last second uh move a bunch of stuff around oh yeah that was a fun deal um get everything moved around uh I think we did a pretty good job but I
Definitely think that events like rollertown and consulates were so much better from a competitor and a viewer spec uh Viewpoint um I view Nationals almost like I view the US Open in wrestling it’s the finals are fun to watch but no one really as far as just
Coming out and watching it you’re there for nine hours of wrestling it’s it’s a great tournament um there’s you’re going to get your matches there however if your goal is to go out there and oh we’re going to have a fun time and watch a whole tournament it that’s not the
Tournament for it’s just there for you’re getting your matches in this the tournament’s purpose is to qualify for worlds and crown the national champion um and there’s a lot of specific rules that go into how you do that that really yeah yeah it’s very constrained in in
The way that it has to be run and it’s more of like a very very difficult but rewarding task whereas like some of these other events are more like let’s put on as fun of a show and a party as we can so yeah they’re not necessarily
In the same C say I will say to my defense in 2020 I did host Nationals and it was funest I remember I W them I know I just want to say there is a way to make it fun yeah no you did a phenomenal job but I also had what 200
More matches than you and I had to host a whole second T yeah yeah on a day notice yeah that was rough but my point is no no both both events were great but I’m just I I I I appreciate Kyle that you are you are you are defending why
It’s a different type of thing it’s a different be yeah it really I do want to just point out since you wanted to come at me Justin we had to host North Americans 2o on literally three days notice yeah yeah the second a single Canadian shows up it’s like well
I guess we got to hold hold a whole new bracket ah we had to run what what was it six extra brackets um seven or eight we had to do the combined middle weights for Riad then we had to do women’s light uh women’s heavy no Women’s Open I think
It was just those four extra brackets but then we also had four youth brackets in between that we didn’t have to do at prior Nationals because we haven’t had youth in years that’s true so yeah so the youth were so little in other Nationals they just fought adults and
They were youth winners that’s just what that’s sure um why in go ahead Kyle getting to uh that’s why for my vote I’m to move it on uh I’m gonna go ahead and vote for roller town because the concept of that tournament uh where it’s and no hate to
Justin Tournament Justin tournament is literally my second favorite Tournament of all time um the con of roller town where it’s go in you’re on a team and you’re just fighting the other team and you’re going it creates that sense of camaraderie that was so much fun and
Then also the event roller town is one of my favorite event uh like venues that I’ve ever competed at because I’ve been there three times now and it’s probably my favorite venue just because the people there that run it are great people uh it’s a brewery so they’ve got
A ton of free beer for the competitors allegedly um see I had to pay for all mine oh wait a minute what dude the merch Kyle got a medal though so they just kept refilling this no that’s not why it’s actually no it’s because of the first
Year when I went down there for the demo the first year one I went down there for the demo and I was there just wrestling all day they just really liked me after that so they remember me for some reason yeah one one real uh real important
Thing to note for all of you uh looking to host your own tournament these two tournaments are legendary already because the Afterparty was at the same venue yeah was critical in how big of a party that both those events turned into what is going on behind you Justin that what I don’t
Know do this again AA dud what the saw did you just like manifest excit something I didn’t do that I powered got okay well that’s it all right so [ __ ] it sounds like we’re we’re between the two of them and hopefully we figure out what the hell happened on Justin’s computer there but
Between the two of them I’m going roller town this year Kyle sounds like you’re roller town I’m roller town just because I got to watch gagamaru Dance to Dr Dre and yes you know what that’s fair he did that’s AB abolutely I also got to know people a lot better at that tournament
Uh not just like competitors but a lot of sumo fans um I’ve got to know a lot better and then you know like friends and family members of the competitors as well it was just I don’t know it was a good old down home time you know but
Like huge event yeah very Community Building yes that’s the ter like I I will the like roller town on one okay the one thing that I think we’re about equal on is like what happens after Sumo like I think Jake put it best sumo is the prequel like Sumo is like like the
Precursor to what you know to what really happens afterwards like like all like all the dumb stuff and and crazy fun conversations that you have afterwards uh so I in that sense I think it’s equal in but and I God this hurts but I want to you guys made me accept my
Own award you can talk about your event and positive I’m not gonna talk about my event I’m actually actually biging up no one in the US has had a more unique and more exciting tournament than rollertown I’ve never and I I hate saying it but I’m also the type of
Person that needs like like you know step outside of myself and say okay look at these things like quantifiable and like as as one of you know me and Kyle were both um uh Team coaches it’s never been that exhilarating to like literally like play a [ __ ] video game and choose your
Team and like cause I’m looking over at Kyle Kyle’s looking like I was just like oh oh yeah oh you picked that one oh oh I got this one and like it was just I’m G to pick the other Garza we were given radio hosts as like
People that were like giving our yeah Ben skin Justin and I are not living in Dallas I don’t know who these guys are and they’re trying like know [ __ ] these guys they’re trying to put on a show and then it’s like I’m just picking it whoever Justin picks I’m like picking in
Response to and then Caleb was upset at because it’s like he didn’t get picked towards the end it’s like why do you think I didn’t pick you Caleb because I wanted to fight you except my Saki and Sumo co-host and friend of the world
Did end I was listen I was in like this weird I was in a Zone like I like I like I was in Kyle’s head Kyle was in my head you told me what you thought about my Sumo that night and that’s no I did
Not no I did not sir I did not I went I even though even though roller Town broke my heart in so many ways like I I got 11- one in the in the matches and I was like I got this and then I lost to
Kyle and Hayden in the playoffs to get nothing and then like just nothing that day and I was like H you murdered that day no no no you did really good that day you did do really freaking good I got nothing it just it broke my heart
Dude I was like I was like well maybe I’ll get one of the special awards no okay heartbroken but at the same time even with the heartbreaking best tournament it was so much fun it was yeah I love toting my own horn but I voted for cants Cup last year Dallas you got
Itam it’s roller town it’s def it’s roller I just hope that uh Justin I just hope you and Corey continue this arms race of tournaments and just keep building on it So speaking of Corey uh we’re gonna move on to we’re gonna move on to coach of the
Year sleep on the met Jake I know you you ignore San Antonio but don’t sleep on the Met I’m coming to San An was amazing that was that was a whole lot of fun yeah I’m racking my entire brain trying to figure out these teams goddamn
It so speaking of Corey we’re gon to move on to the category that he won last year the coach of the year our final Award of the night um so this is another one that like we could just nominate 50 people here this is this is a massively wide net I’m
Gonna burn through a couple of these because we we’re inevitably gonna spend like half an hour on this put your shirt down Justin right just you know throw throw bribes out there throw them bribes out there all right so I’m gonna get through the ones that we have written down if
You guys want to add any or if you want to have any points on them by all means bring them up after but let me just read through and go quick uh stop it do a quick overview of Who’s Who so like I said Cory won this last year he’s the
Coach of Dallas he ran uh The rollertown Showdown and the uh Cowboy Cup this year and turned Dallas into quite the PowerHouse of a club uh that has already won Club of the Year by proxy is also me next nominee we have that is true next nominee we have Nate Hudson out of
Tennessee uh Nate is his big achievement in uh coaching this year is he put on the first all Youth Tournament in uh in uh the us here at least Continental Us in modern times I’m sure Hawaii has done some stuff like this in but well thing about that tournament was it was uh
Actually sanctioned by the high school and that was the big important thing about it it’s like School s sport yeah which those things are not easy to do if You’ ever no they are not not yeah uh Justin and I both or Jake and I both went down there
Uh and saw the red tape that they was jumping through and that was insane that’s why that’s actually why he was nominated I nominated him because of the work he did for that tournament in specific Kuma suumo B for those kids so yeah um next up Mark Jones also uh as
Already won our men’s wrestler of the year but is also on here for Coach of the Year for all the work that he’s been doing locally with the with the kids uh we have Yama on this list Yama is on here um as we mentioned before Yama
Moved from California to St Louis this year but um his his teaching is what led that club to be the PowerHouse that it is out in California and that paid off with Kelly an’s incredible success this year so straight from kellyanne Yama deserves a huge amount of that credit as
Well so that’s why he’s on this list I mean honestly Yama when you look at lineage like if you look at the like the the branches of in the tree it all like a lot of the like pretty much anybody who’s ever been on a world team mostly
Branches out of like out from him uh and you’ve got I mean you’ve got OC Sumo you’ve got honu Sumo and you’ve got Dark Circle Sumo that have branched you know that have branched from his yeah and then and then you know and then Dallas through you know Dallas through me
Through Yama kind of thing and so it it the expansion in the midwest this year he’s helped out with that now and the new yeah his new Midwest Branch ju like well I mean I I guess I just explained my speaking of the Midwest like if you
If you honestly just Justin Justin we got a lot more we we’ll come back to Y for sure because yeah I know he’s definitely in the running here but speaking of the Midwest uh we got Matt Shields on here Matt is working with uh Yama quite a bit uh Matt is the leader
Of Chicago Sumo club and the main reason I have him on here is that Matt uh started Sumo um let’s see last summer at uh at jfax and Grand Rapids the next time he did Sumo was the consulates Cup last year and he’s like yeah I don’t know any
Of you I’m just gonna come down and wrestle and we all got to meet him and he and drink mord yeah but at that point he was just like put on a Masashi and I go do Sumo exercises in the park and now at the end of 2023 he’s got like five to
10 guys that keep showing up at his practices they travel to St Louis they practice with a former Miga Shira in Yama all the time Matt has he just he put in the work he did the job he did what you gotta do to Canada for the Haku
Ho to me hakuho exactly yeah so Matt has put in Matt has put in the real work and it is delivering and he was he’s one of my nominees that I put on here for sure uh we also have John jocks who since uh coming back to Sumo in the last couple
Years has just gone head first into advising as many people as possible he really and he is he America’s coach yeah he yes he’s America’s coach ca he doesn’t necessarily even have to physically be there he keeps up with everyone and not just on a not just on a general level
Like hey I hope you’re doing well kind of thing like he watches you I I got a message from him I got a message from him on Monday and he was like yo Justin like how’s your you know how’s your leg doing I saw your match with Jared par
And I saw you you know you got really injured like I I mean the guy the guy he’s America’s coach he’s America’s dad and like yeah I don’t know like he’s a dad I wish I had and like and you know he was he’s he’s he’s a real I never thought about
Him as as like in like you know coach of the year kind of thing but in a sense the dude keeps up with everybody I don’t each in I’m sure each one of you have probably had a actual not you know surface conversation he actually like knows something about you yeah and what
What has happened to you like it like recently it’s not just hey how’s go and uh you know like yeah and and he’s uh he’s making some tatas to help launch the uh wrestlers Association yeah reach out to me or George Ferris if you want one of these
But yeah John jock has some tatas out there but um but yeah so uh we got a couple more nominees we wanted to run through real quick uh JJ Jones running honu Sumo out of San Diego yeah put on their first event in uh in February of last year and they’re
Going to do it again this coming year yep Malik um Christina going out to uh uh going out to Japan uh helping um like with uh uh he he and Menin work together a lot on coaching honu Sumo is he’s he’s really brought that club up
From just him and his wife doing fun stuff and now it is now it’s become like a a team a force and that’s that is primarily primarily JJ’s doing there and especially since y left Kelly’s been going down there and working with him a lot and everything and you can
Definitely see some improvement as far as sh balance and everything since she started doing that yep it has become it has become in the transition of Yama it has become kind of the proxy uh dojo for for La a lot like all the the Delores go down there the you know
Uh kellyanne like a bunch of people uh Joseph petto uh he was down there a lot training for worlds and stuff and so San Diego has been the you know the like like substitute home for for our you know for the LA team right and JJ uh
Joined Christina and M in Japan helping uh coach up the rest of the team as well dur transl m you know of course M translating for for the team uh we also got Cornelius on here Cornelius Booker out of Florida cheeks Cornelius as mentioned with Kyle helped
Put on Nationals uh he also put on the Olympia event this last year last month gonna do that thing where I just turned Justin’s camera off again if he’s gonna take this into R-rated territory sorry I’m sorry no Cornelius is um I I I mean everybody
We talked a little bit about how like Ben shutko is everybody’s little brother Cornelius is another guy that’s like everybody’s brother you know he’s he’s he a a precious National Treasure that must be protected you know he’s a Sumo origin story that involves Corney exactly Corney is a guy that will
If you if you express interest in Sumo he is the guy that will follow up with you and make sure that you try it he will uh he’ll you know he’s he’s he travels the time which we we bring up for a lot of the guys that are very
Dedicated he’s another guy that uh Will Will just teach you no matter what whether you want to or not you will learn stuff just by being around him in a Sumo setting he has been he’s been my brother from another mother for the past
God six seven years I think he I I want to say my very first tournament uh 2017 February 2017 uh he was my very first man match and the very first per you know just I didn’t know anything and I went down there with it was just me and Andrew
From Los Angeles and uh and I beat Cory that year and he and ever since he’s like wait what the like who are you know he like he took it personally yeah and he wasn’t gonna let that go after the tournament he was like I want a rematch
And then and I and I beat him again and like and that started our love for but specifically for 2023 here he we’re we’re nominating him because of uh the tournaments that he has put on and even if it’s less of a formal coaching setting than some of these guys he is
Helping coach everyone spiritually he also one of the coaches for iron wave iron wave is a pretty large Club yeah um so I where where is is he working with people locally uh specifically or or just in orando he is the head of the Panama City branch which
Is Jordan Sykes uh who is a killer had the pleasure of wrestling him um he has a couple guys that work out there with him um he does not handle the Orlando side but he does travel out to Orlando every couple weeks to work out
With Kia in that crew um yeah who he’s he’s legit the found like for the state as whole he’s the founder of Sumo in you know for for Florida and I I I know it it branched off into into three there’s a couple yeah there’s R there’s yeah
There’s Ronin there’s Ron gorilla and iron wave down in Florida yeah but corny by far it like dude was solo for like it was him and like even before Jordan Sykes like he he got lucky with Jordan it was like him and like one other person for the longest and he was
Just you know he was you know strugging along like like really trying to grow Sumo in Florida and so most people don’t really know how hard he’s he’s had to work but he is really really he’s never been he’s been unwavering in in trying to grow Florida Sumo and so the fact
That you know you got Kinga as a national champ uh kinga’s X I don’t whatever the heck whatever that is uh as a as you know as also a national champ uh and and of course we’ve got and Mark Jones I people don’t really like a lot
Of a lot of people are new to Sumo like new to Sumo in the last like two three years maybe but have not really actually seen how long he has really put in work to grow it was so hard in Florida okay but uh we got two more
Nominees before we even talk about we can tell you have a lot of love fors Sor a lot of love for them let’s yeah let’s talk two more nominees and then let’s decide who we who we think deserves the the the award um we got nick tan out of shogi Sumo in Houston
Just this last week put on his annual event I believe this was his second time doing it but the first the first time that it was called the Texas classic does that sound right yeah yeah well okay that’s a long story and it’s what is that and it’s it’s a long story
And longer story than we should do right now it’s a long story for another day yes is broken down really fast Texas classic used to move around to all the major cities and then it was just San Antonio and then when we started doing the Met now Houston decided to take over
Texas classic there short okay that works that was a really good recap it was still a really fun tournament too I mean bad there was all kinds of uh chonko that they were ring and like we’re going to have to we’re going to have to cover the tournament another
Time but Nick Nick himself has done a great job of um of baning together a group down there and keeping keeping a a regular group I know Houston has had uh Sumo in the past but like this current iteration is Nick’s baby and between him
And uh Jake and Paul is kind of like his other two guys that are like um you know backing him up there you go um yeah they really turned it into uh a a fully viable equal partner to the other three clubs in in Texas there the other three major cities that
You guys have um all all four of your major cities have a a very worthy club and worthy worthy coach leading the way on all of it so yeah I think Nick Nick is absolutely worth mentioning here and was able to get like the only youth women’s competitor to world
Exactly true true true and uh last nominee we have on here is uh Kyle you had this one here late um Eric W yeah yeah so coach uh uh Eric is I I guess I’m I’m kind of curious here you probably know more than me uh
How how Ren Sumo works But Eric is Eric is like the face the face of the club right how how does that work as far as like uh coaching and stuff what what do they do specifically they’re like ninjas they just go out and work and they work hard that’s all I
Care about sure that’s are they like a non-hierarchal sort of I don’t know I haven’t been to any of their private practices other than their uh uh the training camp they put on last year um or this year earlier this year um however um he is kind of the face uh
As the coach over there I believe with Jared or yeah someone else the guy with the mustache um and the Buns so oh yeah just putting on uh whole lot of events uh or not a whole lot of events putting on a whole lot of good wrestlers and when I think
Coaching I think highest level results and that’s who I’m thinking of so that’s why I put them on yeah you really can’t [ __ ] with Eric wi’s [ __ ] wrestlers like those dudes are hard as quity quality over quantity for that one God damn yeah exactly yeah and I think that um yeah
That’s that’s definitely an important side of things I I think for me I I could be swayed but I think right now I’m leaning towards Matt Shields as my coach of the year um mainly for the the growth of the club um you know there Chicago has become a club as opposed to
Just become a logo that he puts on his own stuff when he goes to practice alone in the park you know yeah and the only reason that I feel comfortable making a joke about that now is because it’s not that anymore he put in the he put in the
Time he put in the hours and the The Blood Sweat and Tears until he has a club he brought guys to multiple recent tournaments and got medals for him and they’re having competitive success every single tournament that I’ve seen Matt at he has tied a mawashi on a stranger and
That is another thing that is Like Instrumental to growing a club and becoming a force is exposure friendliness get people interested when you see somebody interested he always jokes that he’s once he get somebody on the hook he’s gonna tie a aashi on that person you know like if somebody’s
Walking by the tournament if we’re some some of the tournaments we’ve had out in the park if somebody walks by and like maintains eye contact and is like not like looking away pretending to not see what’s going on he’s like that guy I’m I’m gonna go talk to him about Sumo
All right well that’s where right now who else what else you guys is for Eric wi like uh just putting numbers on the board that like and like I said quality over quantity like I I watch everybody’s uh Kos that anybody who actually post their caos on um uh online
I watch and can see overall I don’t see a bad one I don’t want to say bad like because bad bad is is subjective but I don’t see a uh a non how do I don’t whatever bad one I don’t see a bad one in the bunch
They’re they’re core they are core guys that come every single week killers and there’s a energy about their uh about their club that that I envy and I have said that ever okay no no I know that energy you’re talking about though it’s palpable yeah it’s in the eyes you can
See No Frill no there’s no it’s it’s work they’re just working Caleb who do you got I have John jocks John Jax uh [ __ ] there’s also that like that like no wrong answers here kind like kind what Kyle said uh put on tournaments is kind of cool and andin
And things but I don’t really factor that into the coach of the year for me it’s mainly coaching a little bit recruitment because that’s a huge important part of coaching because if you’re a crappy coach people aren’t going to keep coming back uh but John has helped out everybody this year it’s
Also this year and everybody has talked to me about how John has helped in this year uh even mark we Me and Mar Jones have talked many times how John has like this is what you need to do okay I watch your videos this is what you’re doing
Wrong um okay how how are you feeling right now is your legs are doing okay you know talking to Justin about his leg the day after the tournament and he he talked to me about it he was like you think you think he’s okay and I said I
Don’t know he won’t go to see a doctor but I think he’s okay but what you I’m okay okay uh he talk like I said before the most important Tournament of my career so far which was this this week in Houston Sunday uh we talked on the phone
For like an hour before that that night beforehand he has been huge and his push for youth has been very important he’s a huge reason why Mark Jones is getting all his youth people because John said get youth so yeah so John jocks is my is my vote for as as Sumo
Punk nicely put it America’s Sumo coach John Sumo Punk uh well um about about John Jax I also just wanted to say uh another dadly property that he has is that he likes to argue with people on Facebook and show them how stupid they are by the way the
Earth is round um but um I I am honestly kind of torn between Matt Shields who’s an absolute weirdo goofball and you know [ __ ] yeah um but the way that he’s grown his Club the way that he’s just so excited about Sumo you know it’s
Like he he found this thing and he made it his thing and he just throws his entire being into it um and I think that has attracted a lot of people and it’s been a big reason why his Club has grown so much this year you know is he’s just
Got that that spirit that draws people in um so it’s a tossup for me between him and Yama um just because you know talking to kellyanne and talking to Brenda and hearing the stories from them about um about him and like he like the call after kellyanne got the yeah that’s
Exactly what I was thinking about and he was like shedding tears after she won at uh was it the world Su Championship yeah and you know even though he had already moved to St Louis by then and uh wasn’t even part of the the yamas suumo dojo
Anymore which held his name you know um and just all that he’s been through over this year like it takes a lot of guts to break away from from something that you’ve been a part of for so long and say you know what this just isn’t working for me anymore and then move
Halfway across the country you know start over but he’s so passionate that he’s starting it again yeah exactly exactly so I I wish uh show me Sumo all the best can’t wait to stop by there on our way to uh um where are we going Tennessee or I always get Tennessee and
Kentucky confused I’m Sor they’re basically the same state to me you’re not driving through St Louis on the way there that wouldn’t make I want to try to stop by there I will build and see him but um I I really can’t decide between those two well why do we see say
Yeah Matt what do you say and then if it comes down to a tiebreaker or something Sabrina maybe you’ll have to make a pick yeah hearing Sabrina I’m sorry I I I do want to change I want to change my voice vote back to like I don’t know
I got really uh emotional hearing SAA talk about Yama and so I will change my vote back to Yama so sorry very good Matt what you got he’s my Senpai so and he’s my great great grand Senpai no but um honestly um given everything John Jax you know he is you
Know everybody Sumo dad he’s actually helped me through like a couple of personal issues you know I’m like damn I was having a rough time John Jax you know helped me about yeah he helped me like just kind of analyze the situation and you know work through it and that
Was valuable to me I thought that was pretty freaking awesome and yeah he’s just an upstanding Dude too um Matt Shields you know Matt Shields is a gem and he’s a mench and uh I’m proud of his accomplishments Yama you know honestly with with all of this said everything
Being discussed my vote has to go with Y so cuz you said JJ before you didn’t even mention him just now this conversation forgot about JJ competitors I’ve just been so emotional on this emotional roller coaster without Yama JJ wouldn’t be anything without Yama I wouldn’t be
Anything y like just to bring it to a consensus uh I’m going to go ahead and change my vote over the Yama and I’m going to use my same reasoning I chose for Eric and that’s results youve got Joe petto you’ve got Justin Kizer you’ve got uh two-time World medalist this year
Kellyan ball that’s all I need in my opinion um Danny Aila all of these guys are killers so in my opinion Yama fits every criteria I have for a great coach he is giving results and that’s all I care about and that just so we can make
It consensus I have no problem at all with Y as a good coach yeah that’s really the way I was leading too sorry sorry Eric sorry Matt sorry John I yeah I think uh I yeah I think I think it’s got to be Yama then that’s um that that
Um the story about him being brought to Tears by kellyanne’s wind yeah I mean that just kind of puts it in perspective like how much he cares there like I think that’s that’s got to be it right because they were in the middle of practice when he found out right yeah I
Think that’s what she said and he just had to stop and walk away and like H it just it gets me right here it does hearing that story you know come from kellyanne and brend really did just like I was like oh my feels and I still I
Just hearing her bring it up again I was like my stupid feels know all right well why don’t we why don’t we wrap it up here with um uh let me go through our our winners real quick and then there’s just a couple others that I feel like
Absolutely needed to be shouted out this year feel free to add on but let’s do that after a quick recap of the wins I just want to give one little shout out to John since he didn’t I did want to say I thank him for getting the USA team
In to the Baya to oh that’s right that was him that was him did that so thank him for hell yes so women’s wrestler of the Year this one like we mentioned at the top of the show almost three hours ago oh God damn we’ve been on for AE not
A lot of drama there that one was unanimous kellyanne ball is your women’s wrestler of the Year women’s women’s youth wrestler of the year the John jock award goes to Zeus Whittington out of Houston our men’s wrestler of the Year Mark Jones out of uh Guerilla Sumo in Daytona Beach next year
Edo Edo got it last year he’s fine yeah uh men’s youth wrestler of the year uh the second John jocks Award of 2023 Ben shco of Iron Mountain Sumo our technique prize does go to Edo Kena out of ryen outstanding performance Hayden South Hall out of Dallas fighting Spirit goes to Caitlyn
Jones and that’s it out of Dallas uh Jake Jake like I said really do appreciate it guys but yeah I’m awful at accepting for Jake and yay for Kaylin too outstanding Club Dallas best event also Dallas we got rollertown and then Coach of the Year we
Are giving that one to Yama out of formerly Yamamoto and currently show me Sumo Club so here’s my list of quick shout outs uh if you got any more feel free to add just keep them short because it is my bedtime but uh got a shout out
Kin of Iron Mountain Sumo that’s Ben’s mom who drags him all around the country and is another one of those Sumo evangelists Sumo mom of the year to say she’s Sumo mom of America that’s what she is true she was the one that was mostly taking care of Zeus when they
Were out in Japan too so yeah it is a help me paint my house what yes you you see the the pictures and the videos and stuff yes and this young man right here this little this little uh little turd right here definitely using using his beautiful his uh what do you call
It didn’t even have to use a goddamn uh little ladder he was like oh you need me to paint that ceiling all right like so I want point something out about that I was in the middle of doing major home renovations and I’m like oh I’m so
Excited I get to take a weekend off finally go down to Texas do Soo and Jus it’s like hey while you’re waiting for your plane you want to paint my house man I’m glad I got the flight out of there that I did [Laughter]
Um but yeah it he about it we grabbed a beer too but it was just it would be a uh two wom race for Sumo Mama of the Year Siggy and kin and I think third place miles behind zie got all the way though just like every year
We got to make sure that we can’t go a year of thanking people for Sumo contributions without bringing up Tom zel out of San Antonio yep pretty much all the things that we said about uh John jock about being everybody’s Sumo dad a lot of that applies to Tom as well running stuff
Down in San Two Dads nothing wrong with that 2023 um gotta shout out Megan yam’s wife for uh just helping Yama would not be able to do all the traveling and do all the the communicating and uh just organizational stuff without Megan so she is instrumental for that um same
Kind of goes for Belinda out of Ohio Sumo that’s Ben’s wife um just I don’t know how I would run a newsletter if I didn’t have pictures from Belinda from all of the Midwest tournament stuff also brendaa has to be shout out yeah oh Brenda yes I take it back there’s a
Three-w wom race for Sumo Mama of the year because Masashi mommy yes and uh haven’t called out Grand Rapid Sumo all that much here uh Grand Rapids that’s uh Gabe unic Micah heer and uh will Campbell’s also helping out a lot these days in that group uh they put on two
Tournaments this year and uh yeah they’re planning to do it again next year that that club has kind of come out of nowhere in the last two years and uh Gabe’s been doing it for a long time I know but like organizationally and tournament wise big big step up so yeah
Shout them out uh who else we got Caleb you got somebody I got a shout out since he says he’s simmer retired I’m shouting not Kyle not just for this year but for last few years just Lifetime Achievement being a beast in the Sumo ring uh I do
Hope you come back to Roller toown at least because I I’m gonna make sure to hit roller town or constants every year uh those are my favor tournaments I’m gonna miss you dude and I I I was a toe away from getting you again this year consolat toe
Away dude hope I hope you and I can uh crash together at the SoCal in San Diego so when is that SoCal uh end of February February oh I’m in Mexico buddy I got a tournament well I enjoyed you as a roommate I’m just saying I haven’t shared a hotel with
Kyle since September wow that feels like a long time the longest stretch in our relationship and just because I’m not going to be competing as much doesn’t mean I won’t be attending tournament I may just show up and help run tournaments I like fighting you Kyle Caleb is very selfish right now
Caleb like selfishly he wants to be compete with you I do want to give someone else who I do want to give a shout out to uh not as nice as Caleb is uh George Ferris um trying to put together the wrestlers Association try to get all that going uh give us a
Little bit more of a community Vibe um similar deal with Marky NS getting a lot of the club leaders together letting everyone know and then uh also handling a lot of the website trying to get everyone in touch uh without too much help from the Federation as a whole um so I just
Wanted to shout both those guys out for trying to help bring the actual Community together without having to rely solely on the Federation yes real fast Kelly ANS 411 Sumo uh Sumo 41111 yes yeah 41 yeah it’s huge and I used it to get people really interested
In Sumo because they can like look up where the tournaments are exctly point that out we were talking about that yeah because the ussf used to have that as a feature on their website and it was not updated ever and now it’s not relied on them at all
Ussf yep hey that’s uh that’s half the reason I started doing newsletter stuff was like true it’s not gonna happen if I don’t just do it so I might as well just do it and that’s by the way I am much more free now to write articles for you
If you need me to oh thank Christ just let me know what you need yeah well among other things that we’re looking forward to in 2024 look to see more Sabrina in the newsletter look to see another successful consulates cup what is going on with your Zoom is this like all hand signals
And I’m dude I’m learning new things how let’s see if this happens okay nothing happened he only happen you don’t want it to happen all right well I’m gonna I’m gonna turn off the recording here because we’re just gonna play with zoom the rest of the night but thanks again everybody for
Joining me this is uh Jake signing off thanks for joining us Kyle we had uh sake and Sumo Justin and Caleb thanks for joining us and the Sumo punks Matt and Sabrina thanks for an awesome year and we we’ll check in next year let’s see
What do we got next I think we got the kuma Sumo bash we got youth uh Youth Tournament coming up next see you next year thank you for listening to Grand Sumo breakdown until next time throw your salt high and keep moving forward
3 Comments
Good Watch! 😂😂 I appreciate the honorable mention 🙏🏾🙏🏾
My goal is to continue the upward trend and be better than the practice prior. I am coming for Hayden's crown next year!
“You guys made me accept my own award” lol
54:57 "Squirrelyness" Love it!! Thank you! Also, 40+ seniors divisions in tournaments NEED to be a thing here soon.