Wakanoyama made his professional debut in March 1988. Joining at the same time as him were future "yokozuna" Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana, and "ōzeki" Kaiō. He began wrestling under his own surname, Nishizaki, but from November 1989 onwards adopted the "shikona" of Wakanoyama, the name adapted from his home prefecture. He reached "sekitori" status in July 1991 upon promotion to the second highest "jūryō" division, and made his debut in the top "makuuchi" division in May 1992. However, he lasted only four tournaments there before being demoted back to "jūryō". Although he reappeared in "makuuchi" once in September 1994, he could not stay there. In July 1996 he fell back to the unsalaried "makushita" division where he languished for thirteen tournaments, before winning promotion back to "jūryō" in November 1998 and "makuuchi" in July 1999.