The sumo establishment was slammed four years ago in a series of tabloid articles in which another former wrestler told unsavory talks of fixed bouts, tax evasion by top wrestlers and kinky sex. Officials denied the accusations. The stables, which subject wrestlers to rigorous practice sessions and strict sumo etiquette, are finding it harder to recruit talent as more wrestlers enter the sport via college sumo clubs. Fans are criticizing wrestlers for a loss of athleticism. Although Itai has accused several current sumo stars of taking part in rigged bouts, sumo experts were unfazed.
Nobody says anything to anybody.
It's just sort of understood. I shall never apologize because what I said earlier is the truth. Itai said that while the ratio of fixed bouts had decreased in recent years, he can still detect at least one or two incidents of yaocho on any given day of a tournament. In addition to Akebono, Itai also singled out Akebono's stablemaster Azumaseki and Sadogatake stable wrestler Kotonishiki for the roles they played in bout fixing in the past. When Azumazeki stablemaster was wrestling under the name Takamiyama, I fought him three times and all three bouts were rigged.