Japan's wrestling veteran Shinjiro Otani 'conscious' after near-lethal injury during bout

Legendary Japanese wrestler Shinjiro Otani suffered a fatal spine injury during a Pro Wrestling ZERO1 event held on April 10, 2022. Otani suffered a  cervical spinal cord injury during the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title match against the champion Takashi Sugiura when Sugiura gave the 49-year-old veteran a German Suplex into the turnbuckle and was taken to a nearby hospital. It is being now understood that Otani is conscious after the incident but, is not able to move his body as wished. 

As reported by The Sun, during a conversation with Tokyo Sports, match official Katsumi Sasazaki gave an update about Otani’s condition and said, “He was conscious. He could hear his voice and knew exactly where he was. However, he complained that he could not move his hands and body, and said that he could not move his body as he wished, saying, ‘I can’t feel my hands.’.”

The impact of the injury was felt right away in the match as Otani failed to communicate with the officials. The medical personnel also failed to communicate with the veteran, who was unresponsive. The fans and spectators at the stadium were also asked to leave due to the unfortunate injury. 

What else has been said?

As reported by Cage Side Seats, Shinjiro’s wife Eriko Otani issued a statement about the wrestler after the incident and as per Post Wrestling’s translation of her words, she said, “I married a professional wrestler, Shinjiro Otani, so I was prepared to accept a situation like this, but when I think of Shinjiro’s disappointment, I cry. However, we will not look down, but forward, and with the help of pro wrestling, we will continue to support Mr. Shinjiro. We will do our best with your warm support. We hope that you will continue to watch over us warmly. Finally, I would like to ask for your continued support for Zero One and all the wrestlers that Mr. Shinjiro has been protecting.”

A look at Shinjiro Otani's career-

Shinjiro started his wrestling career in 1992 with his debut match against Hiroyoshi Yamamoto. He has won many notable titles in his career, including the WCW World Cruiserweight title, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship title. He then moved to Pro Wrestling Zero1 and continued bagging titles like Zero1’s World Heavyweight title and also reigned as the AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. He received support from prominent names of the wrestling community like Adam Pearce and Christopher Daniels following his injury.

(Image: @ZERO1_Wrestling/Twitter)