2019 BBM Sumo Wrestling "Kaze" Set

BBM's second sumo wrestling set of 2019 hit the streets last week to somewhat of a luke-warm reception...at least outside of Japan.  There is something about this set that screams "BBM isn't trying hard enough."  Apart from the majority of lackluster poses, there hasn't been any real changes to these sets over the past decade.  BBM keeps using the same formula and doesn't even guarantee an auto per box.  In fact, BBM's YouTube channel had a box opening to promote the set and the host failed to secure an auto which is quite unusual.  It's hard to get excited paying close to $80-$90 to come away with only a partial base set and no extra shiny stuff or autos.  But alas, there are some decent things about the set.  The Popular Rikishi subsets do have some interesting shots and I like the red box art.  Let's dive into some of the actual card scans that I pulled from BBM's website.

Problem 1.  The background is too busy..  They should lose the white characters and just go with the artwork.

Problem 2: Look at how busy this is too...and they had to blur out the lady's face in the background.  Ugh.

Positive and negative.  Maegashira Enho is super popular.  Weighing in at 218 pounds and around 5'9"  This guy has shot right up the ranks in a little over 2 years.  Here is his second year card. If they would have gotten rid of the vertical stripes on the card, this would be a decent shot.

Positive...some nice shots of Mitakeumi and Endo.  No complaints on these two cards.

Negative....c'mon BBM.  Stop using sticker autos.  They have on-card autos of popular wrestlers that they use for special event promotions, but they continue to go with these stickers.  Booo.


Okay, as much as I complain, it is because I care.  There is a large sumo wrestling card collecting following out there that deserves a little more attention from BBM.  And sumo is as popular now as it has been in the past 2-3 decades!