In late 1971 Austin along with a man who had been fighting for equality in wrestling for a long time, Sputnik Monroe formed a tag team, what was unique for the team at the time was that they were heels (bad guys) a first for the Southern United States wrestling promotions. Norvell would dye a blond streak in his hair to match Monroe's and even hinted that Austin could be Sputnik Monroe's son. Together the team won the NWA Mid-America version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from the team of Bearcat Brown and Len Rossi in May 1972. They’d lose the titles to Karl and Kurt Von Brauner about a month later. Winning the tag team gold was far from the only achievement Austin and Monroe had while in Mid-America, in what was a reversal of an infamous angle that saw "The Interns" paint Bearcat Brown with white paint the heel duo dropped black paint on white wrestler Robert Fuller. This lead Sputnik Monroe to state that "Black is Beautiful" to which Norvell Austin replied "White is wonderful", something that would become a catch phrase for the team. Austin and Monroe also saw success outside the Alabama area where NWA Mid-America operated, mainly in Florida where they worked for Championship Wrestling from Florida under promoter Eddie Graham. In Florida the team won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship on October 10, 1972 by beating Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden. Austin and Monroe held the titles until November 16, 1972 where Jack and Jerry Brisco beat them for the titles.