Barbarian debuted in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on the December 29, 1984 episode of WorldWide, after a match between Assassin #1 and Kareem Mohammad as a member of Paul Jones' Army. He defeated Sam Houston in his first match later in the night. Barbarian was brought into the company to aid Jones in his rivalry with Jimmy Valiant. He was paired with Superstar Billy Graham under the management of Jones. At the inaugural The Great American Bash, Barbarian teamed with Graham and Abdullah the Butcher in a loss to Sam Houston, Manny Fernandez and Buzz Tyler in a six-man tag team match. Following the event, Barbarian occasionally teamed with Abdullah and turned on Graham by the end of the year. Barbarian lost to Graham in an arm wrestling contest and then in a singles match at Starrcade.
Barbarian also frequently teamed with Black Bart, Shaska Whatley, Teijho Khan, and Baron Von Raschke throughout 1986. He also teamed with Raschke to participate in the 1986 Crockett Cup, losing to Jimmy Valiant and Manny Fernandez in the opening round. Raschke soon left Jones' team and became a rival of the group. At Starrcade, Whatley and Barbarian lost to Hector Guerrero and Raschke in a tag team match.
Barbarian entered the 1987 Crockett Cup with Bill Dundee, beating Tim Horner and Mike Rotunda in the opening round and lost to The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff) in the second round. Barbarian teamed with the likes of Manny Fernandez and Vladimir Petrov throughout 1987. In late 1987, he formed a team with Ivan Koloff, who was also his coach. During this time, he formed The Powers of Pain with The Warlord and the team began feuding heavily with another team of big men, The Road Warriors (Animal and Hawk). He made his pay-per-view debut at the Bunkhouse Stampede finals pay-per-view on January 24, 1988, as a participant in a steel cage Bunkhouse Stampede. He was the runner-up, being eliminated by Dusty Rhodes. They injured Animal's eye in storyline during a weightlifting contest and soon after teamed with Ivan Koloff to beat Rhodes and the Road Warriors to win the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship at a live event on February 12. Koloff and the Powers of Pain would lose to Rhodes and the Road Warriors in a barbed wire match at Clash of the Champions I on March 27. The following month, Powers of Pain entered the 1988 Crockett Cup, defeating Mark Starr and Chris Champion in the second round and the Road Warriors in the quarterfinal and lost to eventual winners Lex Luger and Sting in the semi-final.
In April 1988, The Barbarian and the Warlord left WCW.
Upon their arrival in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the Powers of Pain were fan favorites, initially managed by Tito Santana. They feuded with WWF World Tag Team Champions Demolition, who had defeated Strike Force (Santana and Rick Martel) for the titles and then injured Martel. The Powers were introduced as mercenaries to help Martel and Santana gain revenge on Demolition for both the title loss and the injury to Martel. They made their debut at a live event on June 18, 1988 as a replacement for Strike Force, where they beat Demolition by count-out. They made their televised debut on the July 16 episode of Superstars, where they defeated enhancement talents Iron Mike Sharpe and Tony Ulysses. The Powers had their first rivalry against The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov). They defeated the Bolsheviks in their pay-per-view debut at the inaugural SummerSlam, where they introduced their new manager The Baron. At the Survivor Series, The Powers led a team of fan favorite tag teams against Demolition's team of villainous tag teams in a Survivor Series match, during which a double turn took place when Demolition's manager Mr. Fuji turned on Demolition by causing them to get eliminated by count-out. The Powers afterwards came to Fuji's aid and thus became villains and Demolition became fan favorites. The Powers of Pain then eliminated Los Conquistadores to win the match. On the December 12 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, Fuji was confirmed as the new manager of The Powers of Pain.
Barbarian entered the Royal Rumble match at the 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view as the number twenty-six entrant. He and Ted DiBiase eliminated Brutus Beefcake and Hercules, before Barbarian was eliminated by Rick Martel. On the February 20 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, the Powers of Pain received their first opportunity for the Tag Team Championship against Demolition, which they lost via disqualification. At WrestleMania V, the Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji competed against Demolition for the title in a handicap match, where Demolition retained the title by pinning Fuji. At Survivor Series, the Powers of Pain and Demolition were on opposing teams as the Powers of Pain were paired with Ted DiBiase and Zeus in the Million Dollar Team against Hulk Hogan's Hulkamaniacs (Demolition and Jake Roberts). The Powers of Pain eliminated both members of Demolition before being disqualified for double teaming Hogan. The Hulkamaniacs won the match. After coming up short in their title hunt, the Powers of Pain feuded with tag teams such as The Hart Foundation, The Bushwhackers and The Rockers.
The Barbarian participated in the 1990 Royal Rumble match as the number twenty-eight entrant. He was eliminated by Hercules. The Powers of Pain faced Demolition for the last time in a tag team match on the February 10 episode of Superstars, which Demolition won by disqualification. The Powers of Pain's last televised match as a team was on the February 19 televised special, where they teamed with Mr. Fuji against Jim Duggan and The Rockers in a match, which they lost. On the March 3 episode of Superstars, it was announced that Barbarian would face Tito Santana at WrestleMania VI. The following week on Superstars, it was announced that Fuji had sold the contracts of the Powers of Pain, thus splitting up the team. The Powers of Pain had their last match as a team on March 25, where they lost to Hulk Hogan and The Big Boss Man.
On the March 24 episode of Superstars, Bobby Heenan became the manager of Barbarian. As a member of Heenan's faction, Barbarian's image was tweaked: he grew out his Road Warrior-like mohawk and face paint, instead wearing a fur cloak, a helmet with reindeer-like antlers, and a skull to the ring. He briefly wrestled in singles competition, defeating Tito Santana at WrestleMania VI. He was a member of Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Dino Bravo and Haku) against The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Big Boss Man, Tugboat and Jim Duggan) at Survivor Series. The Hulkamaniacs won.
On the December 22 episode of Superstars, it was announced that Barbarian would face the Heenan Family's rival The Big Boss Man in a match at the 1991 Royal Rumble, which Barbarian lost. He would also lose a subsequent rematch to Boss Man on the February 18 episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Barbarian was paired with Heenan Family member Haku in a tag team on the February 23 episode of Superstars, where it was announced that the duo would face The Rockers at WrestleMania VII. Their first match as a team was on the March 9 episode of Superstars, where they defeated enhancement talents. Barbarian and Haku lost the match to the Rockers at WrestleMania VII. Later in the event, Haku and Barbarian helped Mr. Perfect retain the Intercontinental Championship against Big Boss Man. Barbarian was utilized as a mid-carder throughout the year.
During this time, Barbarian had only one major match, a loss to The British Bulldog at Battle Royal at the Albert Hall. Immediately after the match, Barbarian participated in a battle royal, in which he was eliminated by Tito Santana. On the December 1 episode of Wrestling Challenge, it was announced that Barbarian would challenge Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship at This Tuesday in Texas, but no-showed the event and was replaced by Skinner. On January 18, 1992, Barbarian reunited with his Powers of Pain tag team partner The Warlord in a loss to the New Foundation (Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart). Barbarian participated in the 1992 Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF Championship as the number eight entrant. He was eliminated by Hercules. He left the WWF in February 1992 and returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Barbarian made his televised return to WCW as a villain on the July 4 episode of Saturday Night, where he defeated Steve Pritchard. On the July 12 episode of Main Event, Barbarian and Dick Slater defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) for the United States Tag Team Championship. However, this was the last match for this title as the title was retired a month later. Barbarian was heavily pushed throughout the summer, with a winning streak against the likes of Brian Pillman, Tom Zenk, Marcus Alexander Bagwell, and Barry Windham. He was placed in an alliance with Tony Atlas, Cactus Jack, Jake Roberts and Butch Reed. Their main rival was Ron Simmons, whom Barbarian unsuccessfully challenged for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. Barbarian entered the King of Cable Tournament, losing to Dustin Rhodes in the quarterfinal on the November 14 episode of Saturday Night. On the November 18 Clash of the Champions XXI, Barbarian, Cactus Jack and Tony Atlas lost to Simmons and his debuting partner 2 Cold Scorpio in a handicap match. Barbarian appeared at the company's premier pay-per-view Starrcade on December 29, where he was randomly paired with Kensuke Sasaki against Big Van Vader and Dustin Rhodes in a Lethal Lottery qualifying match, which the latter duo won.
On the January 13, 1993 Clash of the Champions XXII, Barbarian was supposed to team with Vader, Paul Orndorff and Barry Windham against Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Ron Simmons in a Thundercage match, but Barbarian was kicked out of his team by Harley Race for siding with Cactus Jack. As a result, Barbarian turned face. On the January 17 episode of Main Event, Barbarian and Jack faced Vader and Orndorff in a match, which ended in a double disqualification. The two teams faced off in a no disqualification match on the January 23 episode of Power Hour, which Vader and Orndorff won. On the January 30 episode of Saturday Night, Barbarian lost to Orndorff in singles competition. Barbarian received a title match against Vader for the World Heavyweight Championship on the February 7 episode of Main Event, where Vader retained the title. Barbarian made his last televised appearance on the March 7 episode of Main Event, where he lost to Steve Regal in the first round match of a tournament for the vacant World Television Championship. He would compete on the house show circuit for the next few months and departed the company in June.
On June 6, 1994, Barbarian returned to the WWF at a house show to face Razor Ramon as a substitute for Diesel. He would wrestle numerous matches on house shows against the likes of Lex Luger, Tatanka and Typhoon for the next two months. On September 1, Barbarian replaced an injured Samu and teamed with Fatu against Two Dudes with Attitudes (Shawn Michaels and Diesel) for the WWF Tag Team Championship, just a few days after Michaels and Diesel had beaten The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) for the titles. Later that month, he permanently replaced Samu and was renamed Seone, one half of the new version of The Headshrinkers with Fatu after Samu left the WWF. On the October 10 episode of Monday Night Raw, Seone made his televised return to WWF. The new combination made only one pay-per-view appearance as a team, which was at the Survivor Series event as part of The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid and The British Bulldog) against The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart). The New Headshrinkers were quickly eliminated, but their team won the match after Michaels and Diesel broke up as a team. This resulted in Michaels vacating the WWF Tag Team Championship and a tournament was set up to crown the new champions. The New Headshrinkers participated in the tournament, beating Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart by disqualification in the quarterfinal round on the December 31 episode of Superstars, before losing to Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka in the semifinal round on the January 14, 1995 episode of Superstars. Seone participated in the 1995 Royal Rumble match as the number six entrant. He eliminated Kwang and Rick Martel, and then he and Eli Blu eliminated each other. This sparked a feud between the New Headshrinkers and The Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli), in which the New Headshrinkers came up short. The New Headshrinkers received an opportunity for the Tag Team Championship against Owen Hart and Yokozuna on the May 6 episode of Superstars, but lost the match. By July, the Headshrinkers dissolved, as Seone left the WWF for WCW.
In late 1995, Seone returned to WCW, wearing a mask and teaming with his former Powers of Pain tag team partner, The Warlord. They were known as the masked "Super Assassins", managed by Col. Robert Parker. The Super Assassins made their televised debut on the November 27 episode of Prime, with a win over The American Males. No mention was ever made on television of their former identities, and the team did not last long as Warlord left WCW in early 1996.
Later on, he was added into Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom and was paired with Dungeon teammate Haku (now known as Meng) in a tag team called the Faces of Fear on the January 29 episode of Monday Nitro, where they lost to the returning Road Warriors. The Faces of Fear were part of Alliance to End Hulkamania against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in a Doomsday Cage match at Uncensored, which Hogan and Savage won. At the Slamboree pay-per-view, Barbarian was randomly paired with Diamond Dallas Page in a Lethal Lottery match, where they defeated Meng and Hugh Morrus in the first match and then Rick Steiner and The Booty Man in the second match to qualify for the Lord of the Ring battle royal, in which Barbarian was the runner-up, being eliminated by Page.
The Dungeon of Doom were entered into a rivalry with the Four Horsemen, stemming from The Taskmaster's rivalry with Horsemen member Chris Benoit over Woman. At the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view, the Faces of Fear lost to Horsemen members Benoit and Steve McMichael in a tag team match. The Faces of Fear began pursuing the World Tag Team Championship as they faced The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) and the Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) in a triangle match for the titles at World War 3, where the Outsiders retained the titles. The Faces of Fear received another title match against the Outsiders at Starrcade, but failed to win the title.
The Faces of Fear competed in the tag team division throughout 1997, but failed to get any championship success. The Dungeon of Doom disbanded after Taskmaster's retirement. The Faces of Fear would then feud with Wrath and Mortis, whom they faced in a losing effort at Fall Brawl. On the September 29 episode of Monday Nitro, Barbarian lost to newcomer Goldberg, becoming one of the earliest victims of his undefeated streak. The Faces of Fear had their next rivalry against Glacier and Ernest Miller, whom they defeated at World War 3. On the February 12, 1998 episode of Thunder, Barbarian tried to separate Meng from Hugh Morrus after Meng defeated Morrus and refused to release the Tongan Death Grip. Meng then applied the hold on Barbarian as well, thus breaking up the Faces of Fear. Barbarian formed a tag team with Morrus under the management of Jimmy Hart and feuded with Meng throughout the year. The former partners competed in the opening match of the Road Wild pay-per-view, where Meng defeated Barbarian.
Jimmy Hart reunited the Faces of Fear in early 1999 and put them in a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Championship. Barbarian turned on Meng during a tournament match against Bobby Duncum, Jr. and Mike Enos on the February 12 episode of Thunder by striking Meng with the Kick of Fear. Barbarian continued his rivalry with Meng throughout the year. He was then placed in Jimmy Hart's The First Family faction with, Hugh Morrus, Brian Knobbs and Jerry Flynn. The stable dissolved after only two months. Barbarian's last televised match in WCW was on the March 27, 2000 episode of Thunder, a loss to the World Television Champion Jim Duggan. WCW terminated Barbarian's contract in April 2000.