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Joji Otani

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Joji Otani
Image
Otani in November 2022
Personal information
Born (1991-06-04) 4 June 1991 (age 35)[1]
Machida, Japan
EducationIzumi Junior College
Professional wrestling career
Ring name
  • Gyaru-o Collection AG
    Joji Tanaka
    Joji Otani
Billed height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Billed weight80 kg (176 lb)
Trained byGuts Ishijima
Mr. Gannosuke
Debut2014

Joji Otani (大谷譲二, Ōtani Jōji) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his tenure with the Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) where he is a one-time Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He also shared tenures with P.P.P. Tokyo and Pro Wrestling A-Team.[3]

Professional wrestling career

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Japanese independent circuit (2015–present)

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While attending the Izumi Junior College, Otani began practicing wrestling under the ring name of "Gyaru-o Collection AG" in the Kanto Student Wrestling Federation under the Universal Wrestling Federation in late 2014 with the guidance of Guts Ishijima and Mr. Gannosuke.[4]

Otani made his professional wrestling debut at VKF Monday Night Brawl, an event promoted by VKF Pro Wrestling on December 14, 2014, where he teamed up with Shota in a losing effort against Tank Nagai and Yasu Kubota.[5] He shared tenures with various promotions from the Japanese independent scene such as Guts World Prowrestling (GWP), Colega Pro Wrestling (CPW), Pro Wrestling Heat Up and others.[2]

Otani regularly competed in Guts World Prowrestling between 2015 and the promotion's closure from April 15, 2018.[6][7]

On April 20, 2018, he joined Pro Wrestling Heat Up, mainly activating the promotion's sub-brand of "Pro Wrestling Going-Up".[8] On February 24, 2019, Going-Up disbanded, so he moved back to the promotion's main shows. On May 19, he won the Heat Up Universal Tag Team Championship alongside Daisuke Kanehira by defeating Kazuhiro Tamura and Tatsumi Fujinami. On December 2, the tag team championship became vacant due to the group's suspension of activities.[9][10]

On October 31, 2020, Otani left Heat Up while still on hiatus.[11] In December of the same year, he announced that he would be returning to the group at the P.P.P. Tokyo's house show scheduled for January 2021.[12]

He made his return on January 27, 2021, in a match against Masayuki Mitomi at the P.P.P. Shinkiba 1stRING event.[13]

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2023–present)

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Otani made his debut in Big Japan Pro Wrestling at BJW Osaka Su​rprise 65 on April 2, 2023, where he teamed up with Daichi Hashimoto in a losing effort against Kazuki Hashimoto and Koju Takeda.[14]

During his time with the promotion, he chased for various accomplishments. At a house show promoted on December 30, 2025, Otani competed in a battle royal disputed for the BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship, in which reigning champion Kosuke Sato retained the title over Otani, Kaji Tomato, Masaki Morihiro, Takato Nakano and Tatsuhiko Yoshino.[15] At BJW Osaka Surprise 73 on June 23, 2023, he teamed up with Shota Nakagawa to unsuccessfully challenge Kaji Tomato and Kota Sekifuda for the UWA World Tag Team Championship.[16] At BJW Death Market 91 on July 26, 2026, Otani teamed up with So Daimonji and Daichi Hashimoto as "Yosomono" to defeat Kengo Takai, Kenta Kosugi and Mari Manji for the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. "Joji Otani • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Joji Otani/Career Data". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  3. ↑ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "Joji Otani Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "【選手紹介】ギャル男コレクションA.G." 学生プロレスサミット2014. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip (14 December 2014). "VKF Monday Night Brawl". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  6. ↑ "[Match Results] 4/15 GUTS WORLD Shinjuku FACE Tournament [GWC Certified Singles] GUTS Ishijima vs Masked Mystery [GWC Certified Tag Team] TORU & Fuminori Abe vs Shota & Kenichiro Arai Mr. Gannosuke & Michio Kageyama vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Hiro Saito". battle-news.com (in Japanese). Battle News. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Guts World closes its doors after 13 years and 4 months! 'Guts World was a promotion created by pro-wrestling otaku'". battle-news.com (in Japanese). Battle News. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Guts Ishijima, Masked Mystery, Joji Otani, and Keito Murota join HEAT-UP! A new organization, 'GOIHG-UP,' inheriting the 'spirit of G' from Guts World, has been announced!". battle-news.com (in Japanese). Battle News. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "大谷譲二逮捕報道について". heat-up.biz. Pro Wrestling Heat Up. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Regarding the news of Joji Otani's arrest (updated December 2nd)". heat-up.biz (in Japanese). Pro Wrestling Heat Up. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "大谷譲二選手、室田渓人選手退団のお知らせ] - プロレスリングHEAT-UP 2020年10月29日". heat-up.biz (in Japanese). Pro Wrestling Heat Up. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "A wrestler who suffered media damage due to arrest reports receives a helping hand from a senior wrestler from his student days! 'The reports were actually quite different from the facts' (Battle News)". Yahoo! News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Pro wrestler Joji Otani, who suffered media harassment for over a year following his arrest, makes a tearful comeback! 'Pro wrestling is fun!". battle-news.com (in Japanese). Battle News. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Dark Angelita (13 April 2023). "BJW: «Osaka Surprise 65» 2 titulos en disputa". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Carlan, Lewis (2 January 2026). "BJW Sees Rise in Attendance At Last Two Korakuen Hall Events". monthlypuroresu.com. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  16. ↑ Dark Angelita (17 July 2024). "BJW: Defensa del Campeonato de Parejas UWA". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Dark Angelita (3 August 2026). "BJW: Resultados «Death Market 91» Yosomono se corona". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2026.
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