Mitchell took part in the fourth season of World Wrestling Entertainment's reality series "Tough Enough" in 2004. He was the first to be eliminated. Despite not winning, he was still signed to a WWE developmental contract and assigned to the company's developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling. Several other competitors from "Tough Enough" were also signed, including Daniel Puder, Mike Mizanin, and Marty Wright, but near the end of 2006, Mitchell and Mizanin were the only two left on the main WWE roster. He began wrestling under the name "Big Time" Nick Mitchell, and competed against wrestlers including Kid Kash and Johnny Parisi. He later suffered a knee injury, and although it was feared that he had torn his ACL, he was moved to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he joined The Spirit Squad. Within days of his debut, the Squad was called up to the main WWE roster.