FCW was rebranded into NXT Wrestling and he began wrestling on NXT on the May 30, 2013 episode when he competed in an 18-man battle royal to determine who would become the number one contender to the NXT Championship. He was eliminated by Mason Ryan. He returned and had a televised match on the August 21, 2013 episode of WWE NXT (recorded on July 11, 2013), which he lost to Dolph Ziggler.