 Hrstich then headed south where he worked for Texas promoter Pat O’Dowdy in Odessa wrestling Ed Sharpe and Dick Hutton at the Floyd Gwin Auditorium in early 1960.In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, for promoters Morris Siegel and Ed McLemore, he also faced Paul "Butcher" Vachon, Marquis de Paree, Duke Keomuka, and Joe Pizza during October–November 1960.On 16 December 1961, he won the vacant NWA Iowa Heavyweight Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.