Shinjiro Otani (大谷晋二郎, Ōtani Shinjirō, born July 21, 1972)[2] is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1).

After being homeless for a brief period of time, Otani finally found a place to stay, a small tatami-like dwelling for ¥24,000, located next to a public toilet and without a futon to sleep on.

[3] As part of his rookie duties, Otani would also spend two years working closely with Shinya Hashimoto as his assistant, which led to the two developing a long-lasting friendship.

[5] Early in his career, Otani became known for his springboard dropkick, his corner face wash, and developed a reputation as a likeable underdog thanks to his sympathetic performances and his willingness to challenge senior wrestlers, in particular Jushin Thunder Liger.

[7] He spent much of 1992 and 1993 trading wins and losses with fellow dojo classmates such as Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Tokimitsu Ishizawa and Yuji Nagata, customary for younger wrestlers in Japan as they develop and earn their place within the company.

[8] He would once again enter the renamed Best of the Super Juniors tournament that summer and performed much better, defeating the likes of Taka Michinoku and Black Tiger, however also once again losing to Jushin Liger and failing to advance to the finals.

The two would reach the semi-finals on October 18, beating Dean Malenko and Tokimitsu Ishizawa to book their place in the final, where they defeated Black Tiger and The Great Sasuke in a highly acclaimed bout to win the tournament, giving Otani his first taste of success in the company.

[12] His strong performances throughout 1994 earned him his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship opportunity on October 30, however, he was unable to overcome champion Norio Honaga and lost by referee's decision at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

[13] He received a big opportunity at the annual "Dream Win" card on October 30, where he was defeated by Keiji Muto, one of the top stars of New Japan in a singles match.

[16] Otani would turn his attention to the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in June where he would have his best outing to date, making it all the way to the final where he was narrowly defeated by former partner Wild Pegasus.

[17] By 1996, Otani had firmly established himself as a serious contender for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and unsuccessfully challenged Jushin Thunder Liger for the title in the main event of a card in Amagasaki on March 17.

[23] On December 11, Takaiwa and Otani travelled to Wrestle Association R where they defeated Masaaki Mochizuki and Masao Orihara to win the vacant International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, making themselves double champions.

[24] Their days as double champions didn't last long, however, as they would lose the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Kendo Kashin and Dr Wagner Jr at Wrestling World 1999.

Otani toured with All Star Wrestling (ASW) in the United Kingdom and spent time training under Tokyo Joe in Canada, where he developed his new King Cobra Clutch finishing move.

This would go on to be Otani's last match signed to the company, as he would depart New Japan after nine years soon after to help Shinya Hashimoto found his new promotion, Pro Wrestling Zero-One.

[31] In September, Otani entered the inaugural Himatsuri (火祭り), "fire festival" tournament, remaining undefeated on his way to the final where he defeated Kohei Sato.

[33] After ten months and five successful defences as champions, Otani and Tanaka dropped their titles to John Heidenreich and Nathan Jones in Korakuen Hall on October 20.

[35] The two would also briefly tour with Mitsuharu Misawa's Pro Wrestling Noah in January 2003, the highlight of their run being a memorable if unsuccessful GHC Tag Team Championship match against Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito in Budokan.

[36] Back in Zero1, Otani looked to win his third successive Fire Festival tournament and again made it to the final, though, this time, he was defeated by AJPW representative Satoshi Kojima.

[41] After taking over Zero1, he would establish a working partnership with Dream Stage Entertainment, which led to Otani making regular appearances in DSE's comedy wrestling promotion, Hustle.

Otani and his Zero-One Max team of Kamikaze, Ryoji Sai and Kohei Sato were defeated by Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Takashi Iizuka, Naofumi Yamamoto and Yutaka Yoshie.

[48] On October 12, 2009, at Masahiro Chono's 25th anniversary event in Ryogoku Kokugikan, Otani received his first opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in over nine years, challenging Shinsuke Nakamura.

[49] In late 2009, Otani formed a new partnership with former sumo wrestler Akebono, prior to the upcoming Furinkazan tag tournament, dubbing themselves "Kazan" (火山, volcano).

[55] He would later reunite with Keiji Muto in the Tokyo Dome, at Wrestle Kingdom 7, replacing the injured Daichi Hashimoto as the two were defeated by Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima).