Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Ikeda was trained by Yoshiaki Fujiwara and joined Fujiwara's promotion Fujiwara Gumi in 1993. In 1995 he moved to BattlARTS. As one of the few heavyweights competing in a promotion made up mostly of junior heavyweights (compare Jinsei Shinzaki in Michinoku Pro Wrestling), he often had to look out of the promotion for challenges, including Shinzaki and FMW talent such as Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka, and Hiromichi Fuyuki.