This was his final appearance for the promotion. His brief time with the promotion may be explained by his inexperience at the time, especially while being pushed as a main eventer, as well as bookers promoting him as a "heel" despite his father being a longtime favorite in the area. Sputnik Monroe would continue to be involved in his career, occasionally joining him in father-son tag team matches, up until the late 1990s. Monroe also had a brief stint on the East Coast independent circuit during the 1990s. In early-1991, he wrestled Sledgehammer McGill and Morgus the Maniac for promoter Lou Martin and the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association. He eventually won the promotion's heavyweight championship following a battle royal which he won after eliminating Agony of The Lords of Darkness. He also wrestled for the newly established Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation where he again faced McGill as well as forming a brief alliance with The Lords of Darkness (Pain & Agony). On August 17, 1991, he joined them in a 6-man tag team match against "Surfer" Ray Odyssey, Chris Evans, and The Spider at an event for Larry Sharpe's World Wrestling Association in Blackwood, New Jersey; this match was featured on the first video release from the official video library of Sharpe's Monster Factory. Also that summer, Monroe made his first television appearances for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. He wrestled Dustin Rhodes on the August 24th edition of "WCW Power Hour" as well as earlier edition airing on "WCW Worldwide". The following month, he faced Kerry von Erich on the September 7th edition of "WWF Superstars" and Million Dollar Champion Virgil on the September 22nd "WWF Challenge". Monroe returned to the MEWF at the end of the year where, on December 1, 1991, he agreed to help The Lords of Darkness defend the MEWF Tag Team Championship by taking the place of an injured Pain. He and Agony were unsuccessful in defeating their opponents, Cream Team (Dave Casanova and Rip Sawyer), losing the tag titles in Dunbolt, Maryland that night. By 1992, Monroe had returned to the Southern United States. While working for Tugboat Taylor's Texas All-Pro Wrestling, he won the TAPW Light Heavyweight Championship from Wichita Willie in Pasadena, Texas on August 28, 1992 and re-lost the title to him at the same event. Monroe would continue wrestling on the Texas "indy circuit", specifically in the Houston-area, for the rest of the decade.