Sekimoto played on the baseball team at {{ill|Meitoku Gijuku High School|ja|明徳義塾中学校・高等学校}}, and has been labeled as one of the "[[Matsuzaka Generation]]" of players, even though he did not go on to become a professional baseball player.<ref name="nps-interview3">{{cite web |last1=Yazaki |first1=Ryoichi |title=プロに進まなかった”"松坂世代”3"3人が語る「あの夏の衝撃」 |trans-title=The impact of that summer — interview with three members of the Matsuzaka Generation who did not go pro|url=https://www.news-postseven.com/archives/20200913_1595035.html?DETAIL |website=News Post Seven |access-date=22 August 2023 |language=ja |date=13 September 2020}}</ref> He was at the team's 1998 [[Japanese High School Baseball Championship|Summer Koshien]] semifinal loss against Yokohama High School, described as a "miracle comeback" for Yokohama, which won despite trailing 6–0 in the top of the eighth inning. Sekimoto has cited the moment that [[Daisuke Matsuzaka]] came on as a reliever for Yokohama in that game as a source of inspiration as well as a reminder to stay humble in his own wrestling career — even as a high schooler, Matsuzaka's celebrity commanded such a response from the crowd that "the atmosphere in the ballpark changed completely" when he took the field.<ref name="nps-interview3" />
Sekimoto decided to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a professional wrestler after graduating from high school, joining [[Big Japan Pro Wrestling]] (BJW) on a recommendation from his baseball coach {{ill|Shirō Mabuchi|ja|馬淵史郎}}.<ref name="nps-interview3" />
