conversation with King Curtis telling him that "he was family" and that he enjoyed the work that Prince was doing. World Television Champion and struggle phase (1997–1998) On the February 17, 1997 episode of Nitro, Iaukea captured the World Television Championship by defeating Lord Steven Regal after capitalizing on a distraction caused by Regal's scheduled pay-per-view opponent Rey Misterio, Jr. Iaukea successfully defended the title against Misterio, six days later at February's SuperBrawl VII and Uncensored. Iaukea began feuding with Regal and made a successful title defense against Regal at Spring Stampede, but was assaulted by Regal after the match. The following night, on Nitro, Iaukea attempted to rescue Misterio from an assault by Regal but ended up suffering a Regal Stretch and suffered a rib injury, leading him to drop the title to Último Dragón later that night. After his title loss, Iaukea received a title shot against Syxx for the Cruiserweight Championship and unsuccessfully tried to regain the World Television Championship from Lord Steven Regal on the May 19 episode of Nitro and Último Dragón on the July 28 episode of Nitro. Hayner continued to compete as a mid-carder before going on tour with WCW's working partner New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the month of October, where he competed with established greats such as Shinjiro Otani and Koji Kanemoto. NJPW booker Riki Choshu was a huge supporter of Hayner. Hayner returned to WCW television as a participant in the World War 3 at the eponymous pay-per-view on November 23. He would then float around the lower mid-card for several years, mainly because of an alleged romantic link between Hayner and the wife of an upper level WCW executive. Hayner denied the allegations, but the rumor persisted. He briefly feuded with Chris Jericho in early 1998 due to Jericho degrading Hayner's trainer Dean Malenko and Hayner stepped in to defend Malenko's honor. He unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the Cruiserweight Championship at Spring Stampede. After the match, Jericho stole Iaukea's Hawaiian dress. He went on a hiatus and returned to the company on the October 8 episode of Thunder against Kanyon in a losing effort. He then lost to Norman Smiley at the company's premier pay-per-view Starrcade on December 27, 1998. The Artist and Cruiserweight Champion (1999–2000) After spending most of 1999 as a low-carder and being left off pay-per-view events, Hayner was repackaged as a villain on the December