Report Last Updated - 1/06 (Winter)
Real Name - Shinjiro Otani
Birthdate - 7/21/72
6'1" 215 lbs. - Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi, Japan

Aliases - none

Athletic background - Wrestling

Teachers - Animal Hamaguchi

Professional background - New Japan(`92-`01), WCW(`95,`96), Zero-One(`01-`04), HUSTLE(`04-), Zero-One MAX(`05-)

Career Highlights -
- Defeats Chris Benoit in the finals of the tournament to become the first WCW Cruiserweight champion
- Beats El Samurai to become the final J-Crown holder
- Teams with Tatsuhito Takaiwa to win a 4-team round robin and become the first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag champs
- Wins the first two Fire Festivals and adds his kitana prop to his repotoire
- Forms Zero-One MAX after the bankruptcy of Zero-One and departure of Shinya Hashimoto

Finisher(s) -
- Cobra Clutch
- Dragon Suplex
- Spiral Bomb
- German Suplex

Favorites -
- Springboard Spin Wheel Kick
- Springboard Dropkick
- Face Wash (Corner Boot Scrapes)
- Finger-biting
- Slap

Ringwork Rating -
move set - 7
science - 5
aerial - 4
power - 7
strikes - 10

Intangible Rating -
entertainment - 10
selling - 10
bumping - 7
heat - 7
carrying - 10
push - 8
potential - 6

Outlook - Though disenfranchised with New Japan, Otani was a man of limited options, despite being a Japanese superstar. Otani wanted to graduate to the heavyweight ranks, but Zero-One just wouldn't push him there. So he and tag partner, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, left and found a new home in the innovative Zero-One. Otani worked hard to lay claim as the premier worker in the company. But it had been Hashimoto's company for so long that surviving with Otani on top seemed like a huge mountain to climb, it didn't make it when Hashimoto left. So a scaled back version, Zero-One MAX, was formed and has attempted to continue the strengths of Hashimoto's group without all the expensive additions. Otani himself has become a sleek version of his former self. He can get away with doing less and saving himself for the big shows. Otani is so good that it hasn't hurt him at all. Otani remains a top flight worker and entertainer in Japan and is the man to beat in Zero-One MAX.