On April 21, he and Scotty the Body entered the championship tournament for the then vacant NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship but were eliminated by The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Scott Peterson) who also defeated Al Madril and Joey Jackson and Colonel DeBeers and Nord the Barbarian to win the tournament. He also acted as a special guest referee in a televised match between Al Madril and Jeff Warner on January 27, 1990. Warner was disqualified when he attempted to use a foreign object that Madril had brought to the ring.[4]
Bergstrom lost to Denton twice later that year, including a disqualification loss in Salem, Oregon on October 19, and lost to him in a tag team match with Bill Francis against Denton and Brian Adams in Portland on December 23, 1989. During the next year, he would lose to Denton on June 23 and, in a tag team match with Craig Valeri, lost to Denton and The Equalizer on December 29, 1990. Throughout 1991, he faced Denton and the Equalizer with several tag team partners including Larry Oliver and Bart Sawyer and also defeated Denton in Estacada, Oregon on May 22.[3]
On June 22, Bergstrom fought "Pretty Boy" Doug Masters to a time-limit draw. During the match, Bergstrom suffered a serious knee injury attempting a leapfrog. When color commentator Jimmy Jack Funk attempted to help Bergstrom leave the ring, he was attacked by Masters as well causing Funk to enter the match on Bergstrom's behalf until medical personnel were able to take Bergstrom back to the dressing room. Bergstrom was Master's second opponent of the night, the first being Mike Winner.[5][6] Later that year, he and Mike Winner lost to Len Denton & Don Harris and, in Vancouver, Washington on December 29, 1991.[3]
After PNW's closure, Bergstrom arrived in the Memphis-based United States Wrestling Association where he had a brief but memorable run as Principal Bergstrom. In one of his earliest matches in the promotion, he lost to Jeff Gaylord via disqualification in a "strap on a pole" match at the Mid-South Coliseum on May 24, 1993. Losing to Jerry Lawler on May 31, he continued to feud with Jeff Gaylord beating him on June 14 and Danny Davis on June 21. Defeating Jeff Gaylord on July 5, he and Melvin Penrod, Jr. defeated USWA Tag Team Champions New Jack and Homeboy for the titles later that night.
Bergstrom would remain inactive during much of the 1990s, but returned to action in local independent promotions in the old Pacific Northwest territory. In July 1999, he headlined a wrestling event for promoter John Skinner at the Medford Armory losing to Steve "The Gigolo" Rizzano. This was the first wrestling event held in Medford, Oregon in nearly a decade.[10] Returning to Eugene four months later, he teamed with Lou Andrews and Big Daddy Thunder in a 6-man tag team match fighting to a double-disqualification against Len Denton, Bruiser Brian and Billy Two Eagles on November 13, 1999.[3]
On October 23, 2005, Bergstrem defeated Governor Wilson Kaine to win the CPW Heavyweight Championship. He also defeated Critter at an event for Sandy Barr's IGA Wrestling in Prineville, Oregon on December 10.[11] He spent the next two years with Championship Pro Wrestling and NWA Oregon winning the NWA Oregon Heavyweight title three times. He won the NWA Oregon Heavyweight Championship from Colossus at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis on January 6, 2007.[12] On January 31, Bergstrom defeated Heavyweight Champion Dr. Kliever at the Chehalem Armory Center in Newberg. This was a fundraising event for the Newberg High Schoolwater polo teams and, according to the Chehalem Park and Recreation District's Jim McMaster, this was the first wrestling event to be held in the city in over twenty years.[13]
That same year, he competed for BAW Championship Wrestling. Although losing to "Big Ugly" JD Bishop on April 20, he beat Drake Frost and Alexis Smirnoff, Jr. during the summer. While in New Revolution Wrestling, he and Ritchie Magnett feuded with the NRW Tag Team Champions the Pacific Coast Blondes (Cameron Starr & Hearthrob Hanson) facing them in a series of matches during the summer, including a Canadian Lumberjack match in June 2007. Bergstrom defeated Tod Ruhl who submitted to a cross arm breaker at the "Final Friday" supercard in Gresham, Oregon on July 27, 2007. When Ruhl's valet Megan Nicole Desire attempted to distract the referee, Bergstrom pulled her into the ring. Bergstrom was immediately attacked by the Pacific Coast Blondes and Tod Ruhl, but was saved by Pete Storm who helped Bergstrom clear the ring.[14]
^Cawthon, Graham (2007). "WCW: 1989". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
^ abcdVance Nevada; Mike Rodgers; Ray Plunkett & Rich Tate (2007). "The Grappler (1978-2006)". Vance Nevada's Wrestling Archives. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009.