He made his professional wrestling debut in 1968, working in Eastern Canada for Grand Prix Wrestling in the Maritimes and International Wrestling in Montreal. In 1969, he wrestled in Japan for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance. Lloyd later adopted the ring name of Rufus R. Jones, and was nicknamed "Freight Train", which was also the name of his finisher consisting of two shoulder blocks followed by a headbutt. In interviews, he would tell opponents that his middle initial, R, stood for "guts". He formed a tag team with Burrhead Jones, who was billed as his cousin.
