[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."
[9.0] "So traurig sich das nun anhört aber ich denke wir werden ihn nie wieder im Ring sehen. Er ist immer noch gelähmt und das ab dem Hals abwärts. Trotz vielen Spenden gibt es keine Besserung bei ihm. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen das er wieder in den Ring zurückkommt. Er ist ja auch schon 50 Jahre alt. Dann die Pandemie die auch in Asien nach wie vor eine Gefahr ist. Eine weitere Legende."
[10.0] "You will be hard pressed to find a more natural talent then Otani was at his start. Guy understood the key in standing out. When he came in the move for the junior was to get a mask wrestle a highflying style. He chose to wear black and work more simple. He could do flashy stuff so it added to big matches when eh broke it out"
[9.0] "Für seine Junior-Zeit würde ich locker die 10 rausholen, aber nach dem Übergang zum Heavyweight flachte seine Karriere gehörig ab. Sicherlich gab es so manch gutes und er war als Heavyweight-Star dringend notwendig, aber wrestling technisch kam da doch viel belangloses Fighting Spirit-Geballer. Zu Bestzeiten aber einer präzisesten Wrestöer überhaupt."
[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."
[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] "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."
[9.0] "In den 90ern war Otani vielleicht sogar besser als Liger. Ein absolutes Genie. Bei ZERO-1 fand ich ihn anfangs gut. Aber je mehr sich das erste Jahrzehnt des neuen Jahrtausends dem Ende geneigt hat, desto mehr Abnutzungserscheinungen hat er gezeigt. Heute mit 41 Jahren immer noch ein guter, ansehnlicher Wrestler aber sicherlich auch einer, der sich bald zurückziehen sollte."
[8.0] "War früher als Junior Heavyweight unglaublich gut, ja geradezu genial. Heute als Heavyweight-Wrestler mit anderem Stil aber auch immer noch sehr gut, aber ich vermisse nachwievor den Junior Heavyweight-Otani etwas."
[8.0] "Noch nie hat sich ein Indy-Wrestler größer gefühlt und war damit gleichzeitig so cool. Otani ist der Chef von Zero One, da würden die meisten sagen na und? Aber das ist ihm egal er marschiert wie der größte Boss zum Ring und das obwohl er nicht gerade das ist was man als typischen Heayweight kennt, er benimmt sich aber so. Sein Heavyweight Wrestling ist in Ordnung und völlig ausreichend, der Spaß den er dabei hat hebt alles noch eine Stufe höher. Hat es immer noch drauf spielend von überheblich und hämisch zu verzweifelt und fast weinerlich zu wechseln, das gelinkt ihn oft innerhalb eines Pinfall-Versuches. ;) Zum wahren Highlight mutiert aber wenn er außerhalb wrestlet, dann markiert er noch mehr den GRÖWAZ(GRÖßTER WRESTLER ALLER ZEITEN! ) und marschiert mit Stolz geschwelter Brust, einem großen Gefolge von Begleitern, dieser Gltizerjacke und diesem Bademeister Walk und Style zum Ring. Wenn er Zero One vertritt, wirkt die Promiton großartig und scheint wie ein heller Stern am Puro Himmel. Ein früherer ausgezeichneter Junior Wrestler, der heutzutage immer noch Freude ausstrahlt und ab und zu noch die alte Klasse aufblitzen lässt. Und ja dies ist eine Art Liebeserklärung!"
[8.0] "Die Junior Heavyweight Szene hat Shinjiro Otani eine Menge zu verdanken. Er war vor der Jahrtausendwende einer der Besten. Jetzt, als Heavyweight ist er immernoch grund solide im Ring zeigt bei ZERO1 das ein oder andere gute Match."
[6.0] "Als Junior war er früher der absolute Oberhammer aber seit dem er ein Heavyweight ist, hat noch kein einziges Match bei mir gezündet. Ich hab mich oft genug gezwungen, weil ich eben den alten Ohtani auch im Kopf hab, viele neuere Matches anzugucken, aber Ohtani als Heavyweight funzt bei mir nicht."
[8.0] "Als Junior Heavyweight in den Neunzigern geradezu übermenschlich. Im neuen Jahrtausend im Ring noch immer ein sehr guter Wrestler, auch als Schwergewichtler kann er jedoch in den Independent Ligen Japans ein gewisses Level einfach nicht erreichen."
