Webber grew up in the same area of Minnesota as the infamous “Robbinsdale” crew of Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, The Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Nikita Koloff, Tom Zenk, Brady Boone and John Nord, among others.
Early on, his character was aligned with future WCW Cruiserweight Champion Lenny Lane, and the duo appeared on independent cards throughout the upper Midwest region.
Though slated for a try-out with WCW in the fall of 1997, Webber was ejected from the locker room following a misunderstanding with then-Vice President Eric Bischoff.
Webber appeared as Mortimer Plumtree for NWA TNA on its first worldwide broadcast on June 19, 2002, from Huntsville, Alabama, managing the masked Johnson Brothers, Richard and Rod (aka the Shane Twins).
During this time, Webber became a full-time staff member for the fledgling promotion, traveling between his home in Minnesota, where his family continued to live, and Nashville, Tennessee, where the TNA offices are located.