In the years after his wrestling debut in 1995, Shannon Moore had aspirations to join WWE, where The Hardys were routinely doing extra work. Moore sent a tape of his work to Tom Prichard, who was working as a trainer for WWE at the time. While Prichard praised Moore’s in-ring performances, he felt that Moore wasn’t “big enough” to make the cut in WWE. 

With an initial rejection from WWE, Moore pivoted his focus to the company’s rival — WCW. After conferring with Matt Hardy and Lodi (Bradley Cain), Moore finally built up the courage to contact WCW’s Chris Canyon.

“I called Canyon, I’m like, ‘Hey, dude, I’m interested in coming to the Power Plant [wrestling school]. You probably don’t know who I am, but I’m Shannon, I’m friends with Matt and Jeff. They said that you’re really cool. Lodi’s my boy, he takes care of me.’ He’s like, ‘I know who you are. I’ve watched a lot of your stuff on Music City Wrestling.’ I’m like, ‘What? Okay, that’s pretty cool.’ He’s like, ‘No, you’re great. You’re a great cruiserweight, but the Power Plant is full right now. There’s just not a spot for you.’ I’m like, ‘Well, can you keep me in mind and get back to me if something opens up?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got your number, just keep in touch.'”

While Moore’s original call with Canyon didn’t go quite as he expected, Canyon later called back with some good news. After WCW President Eric Bischoff granted approval for the company to recruit 21 cruiserweights, Canyon offered Moore a $75,000 contract to join them.