Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Aoki began dabbling in pro wrestling in 2014 for Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), competing in a series of MMA fights on his cards before eventually transitioning to pro wrestling. In 2017, Aoki was announced as a member of Next Exciting Wrestling (NEW), a new show under the IGF banner. Aoki competed on the first show, defeating Keisuke Okuda. Aoki competed for NEW until IGF announced its cancellation in July 2017. In his last match for NEW, Aoki lost to Tatsuhito Takaiwa.