Shinjiro Otani

[9.0] "Brilliant wrestler who doesn't get talked about enough. Goes under the radar of a lot of folks, but Otani was one of the best junior heavyweights NJPW ever had. The guy could go in the ring, had a good look, was just perfect for the junior heavyweight division."

[9.0] "Ohtani is one of my all time faves and I've gone out of my way to watch much of his career. While he could do either role he was a really great violent heel. His 'foot washing' when done well is one of my favorite moves in wrestling. I remember I watched a match with him vs. a young Shinsuke Nakamura and a lot of modern spots were done very well back then. It's a horrible shame that he has become paralyzed like Takayama and Hayabusa before him. No one ever deserves that, especially not a man who gave his life to the ring."

[10.0] "Standout matches for nearly 30 years, in the stacked 90s NJPW Jr division and then later beefing up to heavyweight and tagging with Masato Tanaka. Heartbreaking to see it cut short by injury. Otani was an incredible athlete and wrestler who added a lot of personality in the ring. He was an incredible dick while still winning over fans with his fighting spirit."

[8.0] "First match I saw was his bout against Eddie Guerrero at Starrcade 95. That spring board dropkick to the back of Eddie's head was sick! Watched some more stuff of his and can't fault him for much except I haven't seen enough to rate him higher."

[10.0] "Otani is just a natural between the ropes, being able to do pretty much anything you want out of a junior, though his strong suit is when he could grapple and throw his opponent around. He always wrestles smartly, and has a great understanding of wrestling psychology."

[8.0] "Otani is right up there as one of the most naturally gifted pure wrestler there's ever been. He understood wrestling psychology from the beginning and his timing and mannerisms were pretty much perfect. Played the babyface-in-peril beautifully but also has good heel work when required. Plenty of great matches in the 90's and then went off to ZERO1 which makes finding his matches harder but I recall a few in NOAH and more recently AJPW where even as he approaches 50 is still able to structure a match better than most."

[10.0] "When it comes to pure skill, Otani is one of the best from his era. While he would often be praised for his springboard moves and, to a lesser extent, his suplexes and powerbombs, he's often overlooked as a submission specialist. This, along with his facial expressions when he succeeded in pulling powerful takedowns on his opponents made him a very relatable, charismatic wrestler and also brought legitimacy to his game. In that sense, Otani always felt at home both in fast-paced, athleticism-based matches as well as shootstyled/mat-oriented 'bouts. As if that didn't make him versatile enough, he was great both as a captivating babyface and as an arrogant heel, which made him really connect to the audience in one way or the other. Ultimately, Otani never really reached the legendary status of a junior like Jushin Liger, since he wouldn't stay under the spotlight for too long: after Choshu turned the NJPW junior heavyweight division into glorified jobbers, Otani forced himself to go heavyweight, but failed to leave a mark as one of the main players. Unhappy with the direction the company was going, he would leave NJPW and create the promotion ZERO-1 with Shinya Hashimoto, but between that, his attempt at defeating Toshiaki Kawada for the Triple Crown Championship in AJPW's "Puro Love" era, his stint in HUSTLE and occasional matches in other companies, Otani's momentum had already passed. That said, along his bumpy ride, either as a heavyweight or again as a junior heavyweight, Otani never really stopped having great matches and even now, pushing 50, he still manages to have either smart, technical battles or heel-based work with glimpses of what made him one of the most interesting wrestlers of the 90s'. Even if most people don't regard him as one of the most important names in the business anymore (if they ever did, to begin with), that doesn't change the fact he is one of the most talented men to have ever stepped into a ring and he should be remembered as such."

[10.0] "Fantastic performer, this man has many classic matches and is one of the best in ring wrestlers of the 1990s"

[8.0] "Great great cruiserweight, highly charismatic and intense performer and good promoter as well. I've always felt if he hadn't been forced to flee NJPW he could have become as big as Jushin Thunder Liger."

[10.0] "One of the most underrated wrestlers of all time. As a jr he was one of the best around even if he was really young but he is still incredible to this day."

[9.0] "Shinjiro Otani was not only a great wrestler, popularizing the springboard moves, but was a heck of a babyface in his younger days."

[9.0] "Don't let his cagematch rating mislead you. Otani is one of the BEST. He's my favourite NJPW 90s junior, and much better than Liger in my opinion. Otani had absolutely everything. He was an incredibly sympathetic babyface because of how fantastic his facial expressions were. He could perfectly display total agony as well as fiery rage, and it would always get the crowd super invested in him. His gestures and other small actions were also outstanding, as he would perform little cues which would show how desperate he was to win the match, whether that be his instincts kicking in as he automatically rolled to the ropes after sustaining major damage or how he hounded referees after surviving a pin-fall to seek confirmation that he did kick out and that the match was indeed still going. Otani was no pushover though. He could be a totally cocky heel as well, and was brilliant at it. His limb-work was great, as he would always wrench in his holds and have a look of totally calculated evil on his face as he did so. He would also happily push the rules to their limits to get the advantage. However, he was still a massive babyface because of the moments where he showed dismay at being unable to win or desperation as he anticipated a big victory, as it showed that his heel actions were tied to his deep desire to attain victory, making such actions more understandable. Alongside a beautiful aerial offence and the ability to perfectly pace a match, Otani is indeed one of NJPW's best ever."