Shai worked matches for ESL in Egypt for a short while before heading back to Arizona. He wrestled matches there, Mississippi, and Florida, before heading to Texas. Upon arriving in The Lone Star State, Seth turned heads and was labeled as a wrestler with unlimited potential. Seth did find trouble getting southerners to pronounce his nickname correctly and only occasionally used the moniker. In Texas, Seth met a group of wrestlers in the city of Arlington whom he began to regularly, and still occasionally does, train with. Seth uses a variety of suplexes to wear down opponent's backs for either his version of the Sharpshooter or the Pantha Clutch. He also uses a Flying DDT finisher, but it is "Seth's Sharpshooter" that has won him the most matches and championships. In fact, his strong version of that hold injured a couple of wrestler's backs and sent another wrestler to the hospital with a broken foot. He has alternated using this strategy in the Light Heavyweight, Tag Team, and Heavyweight divisions.

In early 2000 Seth Shai began to be accompanied to the ring by Mary Jane Leighton, A.K.A. Bastet. Due to professional conflicts after about half a year of partnership, Seth and Bastet decided to go their separate ways. Soon after setting out on his own, in November of 2000, Seth showed the world that he was one of the top talents on the independent circuit by hanging with E.C.W. superstar C.W. Anderson. Only a month after, Alkut Alaswad competed in a table's match that would later be voted Match of the Year by the Texas Wrestling Revolution website. In this particular match it was originally scheduled for Seth to team with his former enemy The "Cowtown Kidd" Kevin Duncan and take on K.E.G. to determine the first tag team champions of a new federation. It wound up being Devil "Damien" Dupree that partnered with Seth when Cowtown faked an injury, and then violently betrayed Seth, costing him the match by pushing him off the top rope and threw a table and then cutting off his ponytail.

This affected Seth's psyche but Seth kept busy for about 6 months wrestling around Texas, during which he briefly had a valet named Gwen McCarthy A.K.A. Spryte, was actually knocked unconscious in a match in Humble, and finally made a permanent home in the U.S. in Purgatory, New Mexico. But when Seth finally DID see Cowtown, it drove him over the edge. This began the "Psycho Superstar" age of Seth's career, where he went very much more Goth and a lot more withdrawn. It was during this time that, On July 7, 2001 Seth and Bobby 2 Badd won the T.A.S.W. Tag Team Championships.

Seth continued on his "Psycho" rampage for a while before having a match with his old schoolmate and partner, Mike Thunder. That reunion, along with their T.C.W. Tag Team Championship win after they began teaming again a few weeks later in early 2002, calmed Seth some. This was a little apparent even in Seth's first match with A.S.P.W. in December 2001, where Seth defended his newly acquired Light Heavyweight championship against "Sexy Boy" Jeff Brown.

Some of Seth's Goth traits remained, though, especially when Seth was betrayed yet again by a partner, this time long-time friend Mike Thunder when Thunder failed to show for their title defenses which eventually resulted in them losing the T.C.W. Tag Belts, and then when he did return, turning against Seth. This resulted in a feud that would go unresolved for over a year.

Seth Shai did succeed in winning various other titles in 2002, however, including the T.C.W. Ironman title, the A.S.P.W. Heavyweight title, the T.O.P.S. Southern Heavyweight title, and the X.C.W.(formerly T.C.W.) Heavyweight title. And at times Seth was perhaps somewhat aided in his title wins/defenses due to his sudden acceptance to joining cliques, including C-Money.Inc, The Third Reich, and The International Playaz Club, The Union, and The Children of Pain.

Seth Shai finally put an end to maybe his biggest and longest reigning feud in July of 2003, when he wrestled Mike Thunder in a first pin, submission, or blood match at X.C.W. Seth got the win when Thunder passed out while in the Sharpshooter. Afterwards the old friends, classmates, and partners put aside their differences and shook hands. Seth started a new feud with a former tag team partner when he cost him and Bobby 2 Badd their T.A.S.W. Tag Team Championship, ending their legendary 2-Year reign. Their rivalry still exists to this day and has now five different promotions and numerous championships.

Seth's willingness, as the "Psycho Pantha", to join groups and factions continued in 2003 and the years after, replacing all the disbanding cliques with Horror Business, and The Tribe, Danger Inc. Those eventually ceased to exist as well. Seth's most recent group affiliation was with his partner Mace and along with Rexx Reed, managed by Mr. Venom, in The Crue. In the year 2004 year Seth won the N.E.W. American title, the NAWA-DFW Heavyweight title and then the NAWA Heavyweight title, unifying the two. He did lose that title, but a less a few months later won it back for a second reign as N.A.W.A. Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Seth and his partner Mace, known as The Re-Gex, captured the U.W.F. Tag Team Championships.

In late 2004 a solo Seth Shai won the X Title over in the S.W.W.F. Seth also captured the C.W.P. Southern States Championship. It was late in 2004 as well when Seth had a short reign as PCW-Uncut Heavyweight Champion. And then in early 2005 Seth and Mace cemented their partnership more and won the N.G.W. Tag Tournament and Championship, the A.S.P.W., and the T.P.W.F. Tag Team titles. The two have now competed together as a dominant tag team force in over a dozen promotions.

Seth, now known as the "Darko Pantha", picked up probably the biggest win of his career, though, when in January of 2005 he defeated former W.C.W. Superstar Lenny Lane, who in fact holds a victory over Rey Mysterio Jr., for the NAWA-DFW Heavyweight Championship. Shai pinned Lane via fisherman suplex in a Three-way Dance that also included "The Professional" John Allen at the promotions 2 Year Anniversary Show. This would make Seth a two-time champion of this branch of the N.A.W.A. as well, where he was also awarded 2004 Feud of the Year, for his battles against David Fuller, and the 2004 Heel of the Year.

In 2005 and 2006 Seth Shai and The Crue ran over any and all competition in C.W.P. Although Seth lost the Southern States title he soon after captured the promotion's main and representing championship, the United States Heavyweight title, during a time in which Paul Lewis temporarily took over as manager of The Crue faction. Then Rexx Reed won back the Southern States title for The Crue. Seth was even victorious in a US Heavyweight title defense against Doink the Clown. This was a rematch, as Doink was the victor in their first match in 2002. This time however it was Seth, again with Mr. Venom, who defeated Doink with Dink. And, finally, Seth and Mace teamed up to take the Texas Tag Team titles. At this point The Crue held all of the championships, minus the Cruiserweight, of the C.W.P!

The Re-Gex Seth and Mace were very successful in other promotions as well, more than doubling there championships total during this time. The two of them won the C.W.A. Tag Team, NWA-Southwest Tag Team, and the ACW-WF Tag Team titles. They even picked up a title in Oklahoma, winning the I.Z.W. Tag Team Championship by defeating Cade Sydal and Mitch Carter in July 2006. And OK was not the only state outside of TX in which their presence was known, as they wrestled in Wisconsin as well. It was in Wisconsin in fact in which all three members of The Re-Gex, Seth, Mace, and Tejas teamed together for the very first time in a six-man tag main event.

Seth also wrestled in the Empire State of the South, Georgia, in 2006. On July 23rd, back in Texas, Seth won a one-day tournament to be crowned the first ever FOUC Heavyweight Champion. It was this year, as well, in which Seth achieved his highest ranking since its conception in 2002 in the IndyWarz Top 100 Wrestlers in Texas ranking, coming in all the way at number 4. And, after being given the outstanding honor of being listed at one of the Top 30 Indy Prospects by the magazine in late 2005, Seth was ranked in the annual Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 Wrestlers in the World for the third year in a row in 2006. He is prided greatly by these recognitions. However, he doesn't want these accomplishments to be his career apex. Now in the midst of his 7th year in the business Seth's trying hard to make it on a grander scale which will enable him to show the world how good he can be...