On February 16, 2010, Miller, now using the ring name Heath Slater, was one of eight FCW wrestlers to compete on the first season of the new "NXT" show, with Christian as his storyline mentor. On the inaugural episode of "NXT", Slater debuted as a face as he and Christian defeated Carlito and Michael Tarver in a tag team match. Two weeks later, Slater defeated Carlito, becoming the first NXT rookie to defeat a WWE pro. On the March 30 episode of "NXT", he came fourth out of eight rookies in the first Pros' Poll. On the April 6 episode, Slater won a keg-carrying contest against all other rookies. This resulted in him being in the main event that night, a match against Kane, which he lost. In an upset victory on April 20, Slater defeated Chris Jericho in the main event of "NXT". However, Slater remained at fourth in the second Pros Poll, revealed on May 11. He was eliminated from "NXT" on May 25, coming in last in the Pros' Poll.