Lee debuted in the American Wrestling Association with Bunkhouse Buck in 1988, and they feuded with The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson).
In 1993, he went to World Championship Wrestling as manager Col. Robert Parker. He managed Sid Vicious and teamed with manager Harley Race and his protege, Vader, to form "The Masters of the Powerbomb". They feuded with Sting and Davey Boy Smith. In 1994, he managed "Stunning" Steve Austin before forming his "Stud Stable" with Bunkhouse Buck, Meng, Dick Slater, Terry Funk and Arn Anderson. They feuded heavily with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes. In 1995, Col. Parker courted Sherri Martel to the dismay of both the Stud Stable and Sherri's charges, Harlem Heat. Parker and Sherri went to get married and Sherri was attacked by Madusa, who was supposed to be Parker's wife. Parker and Sherri split and feuded and then made up again, with Parker leaving the Stud Stable to help Sherri manage Harlem Heat. While with Harlem Heat, Parker's official title was "promoter", while Sherri retained the "manager" designation. One trademark of Parker's managing would be his fanning himself during matches. In October 1996, Harlem Heat fired Parker after he cost them the WCW World Tag Team Championships. He quickly started to manage The Amazing French Canadians (Jacques Rougeau and Carl Ouellet), trading in his gray suit for a French Foreign Legion uniform. Harlem Heat and The Amazing French Canadians then began feuding.
Parker was released from WCW in 1997 and in March 1998, he resurfaced in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Tennessee Lee and began managing Jeff Jarrett. His time in the WWF was short-lived; he would be released in August 1998.