Callis received a try-out match with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996 and was eventually hired to form a tag team with Rick Martel, which was dubbed "The Models". When Martel officially departed from the WWF for WCW, Callis was left without a gimmick and spot on WWF television. In a shoot interview with RF Video, Callis first revealed that he and Rick Martel were set to debut on WWF TV as 'The Supermodels' in 1997, before he would eventually turned on Martel, turning Martel a babyface for the first time since Martel walked out on his former teammate Tito Santana after Santana accidentally hitting Martel with a flying forearm in a tag team match against and lost to The Brain Busters in over 8 years. Callis confirmed that he and Martel were set to debut as a team during an interview with WWE.com in 2015.