Sumo, like nature, abhors a vacuum.
It’s an aspect of the sport that has resulted in Hakuho’s long goodbye causing half the men in the top division to rush in and try and fill the massive gap left by the legendary yokozuna.
The lack of a clear successor to Hakuho, however, has instead created a kind of wild parity where, incredibly, even Asanoyama’s nightmarish 0-3 start to the current tournament hasn’t ruled the ozeki out of title contention.