Gruner first started wrestling as Billy Kidman, or simply Kidman, for World Championship Wrestling in mid-1996, where he spent over a year as an enhancement talent with no character. In 1997, Kidman was added to Raven's Flock and to fit in with the Flock's gimmick of being outcasts, Kidman was given the gimmick of a heroin addict, where he constantly scratched his arms and named his shooting star press the "Seven Year Itch". Kidman found little personal success with the group and aided Perry Saturn in defeating Raven in a match, thus disbanding the group.