Daisuke Sekimoto
Okabayashi is a former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and had a sports background in judo and weightlifting, when he joined Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in 2008 for a new career in professional wrestling. He made his debut for the promotion against Katsumasa Inoue on June 27, 2008. Okabayashi joined the promotion's non-deathmatch division, Strong BJ, eventually becoming one of its cornerstones alongside the likes of Daisuke Sekimoto and Yoshihito Sasaki. Four months after his debut, Okabayashi made his American debut, when he, along with several other BJW wrestlers, took part in the Global Gauntlet events held by the Chikara promotion.