After his short stint on WWE's main roster, McIntyre was moved to WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He reformed his team with Stu Sanders, now going under the name of The Empire. In April, they took on The Puerto Rican Nightmares (Eric Pérez and Eddie Colón) who won the match and a title shot at the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. Once The Nightmares won the championship, The Empire received two consecutive chances to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on 6 May. Their first title defence was against McIntyre's old rival Sheamus O'Shaunessy, but his partner "Sterling Jack" Gabriel accidentally hit them and The Empire capitalised to retain their championship. The Empire lost the championship on 17 July to Joe Hennig and Gabe Tuft. On 16 August, The Empire imploded when McIntyre faced Sanders in a singles match which ended in a double countout and their rematch at the end of September ended in a time limit draw.