Brian was mentioned on WCW programming during the WrestleWar 91 PPV on February 24, 1991, when the commentary team mentioned that Brad's brother Brian was serving in Operation Desert Storm during a match between Brad and Bobby Eaton. Following his tour of duty, Brian wrestled his first match in five years and lost to Terrance Taylor on July 7, 1991 during the final night of World Championship Wrestling's The Great American Bash house show tour. After completing another tour of duty, James made his debut for Smoky Mountain Wrestling on November 20, 1992 under a mask as The Dark Secret, where he lost to Tracy Smothers. As The Dark Secret, James was relegated to jobbing, as he would lose continuously in both singles and tag team matches throughout the rest of 1992 and into 1993.