Cade signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001 and began working for their developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW). In the summer, he was sent to Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA). When the WWF dropped HWA as their developmental territory, Cade moved the then-renamed WWE's main developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). In 2003, he debuted on an episode of Sunday Night Heat in a match against Lance Storm who forced him to submit to the sharpshooter. During his WWE career, he was known to team with Mark Jindrak and then later Trevor Murdoch. Cade was released from the company on October 14, 2008. Jim Ross stated on his blog that Cade "made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment" and that it was a factor in his departure. Ross also mentioned Cade having a seizure on a plane and him needing emergency medical care as a part of this.