Animal Hamaguchi
Hidaka debuted for the Battlarts shoot style promotion in 1997 after training in the Animal Hamaguchi Dojo. He spent his rookie year venturing to promotions like Michinoku Pro Wrestling and Kingdom Pro Wrestling, sharing rings with names like Yuki Ishikawa, Daisuke Ikeda, Minoru Tanaka and Yoshihiro Tajiri. In 1998, he challenged for the vacated UWA World Middleweight Championship, but was defeated by Willow. Shortly after, he formed a tag team with Minoru Fujita, who was based in Big Japan Pro Wrestling, and they competed at the "Tag League 98", where they managed to snatch a significant win over Masao Orihara and Takeshi Ono. They would team extensively in several promotions, but over time, conflicting schedules from competing for separate promotions limited their activity as a team.