Beninghaus began his career as a masked wrestler, part of a team of masked wrestlers known as "the Texas Hangmen", with Beninghaus being billed either as "Texas Hangman #2" or as "Killer". Beninghaus teamed with Frank Vizi, who was known as "Texas Hangman #1" or "Psycho" as the two competed all over the independent circuit. Their ring character, or gimmick, included them wearing executioners' hoods to hide their faces bringing hangman's nooses with them to the ring and at times using them on their opponents during or after matches. In 1990 the Texas Hangmen wrestled in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council, including defeating Los Super Médicos to win the WWC World Tag Team Championship on September 29, 1990. The duo lost the championship to El Bronco and Invader I on February 3, 1991 but regained them a week later. The end of their second title run on March 2 at the hands of El Bronco and Invader I also marked the end of their tour with WWC. The Texas Hangmen next turned up in the United States Wrestling Association where they defeated the team of Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler to win the USWA Tag Team Championship. Their run ended 48 days later when Jarrett and Robert Fuller defeated them to take the titles off them. In 1996 the two returned to WWC to win the WWC Tag Team Championship for a third time when they defeated Ray González and Ricky Santana. 161 days later Santana and a wrestler known as "La Ley" ended the Texas Hangmen's run at the top of the WWC tag team division. In 1996 and 1997 Benninghaus worked for Big Japan Pro Wrestling under various masked identities, including Grey Skull and Mighty Kodiak. In 1997 Beninghaus took on Mike Moran as his partner and began working for World Championship Wrestling, in WCW he was renamed "Tough Tom" while his partner became "Mean Mike", collectively known as "Disorderly Conduct". On occasion, Beninghaus and Moran would take on the guises of The Texas Hangmen, with Beninghaus again playing Killer while Moran took on the role of Psycho. The duo mainly worked to help other teams look good, especially younger talent, with the highlight of their time in WCW being an unsuccessful challenge for the WCW World Tag Team Championship, losing to champions The Steiner Brothers on an episode of Monday Nitro.
