In March 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW, which included Moore's contract. Moore was assigned to the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), a Louisville-based WWF developmental territory. There, he teamed with Evan Karagias, and the two won the HWA Tag Team Championship on October 13, 2001, by defeating Dean and Chet Jablonski. They held the championship for a month, before losing it to The Island Boyz on November 14. In early 2002, Moore won the HWA Cruiserweight Championship on two occasions.