 Slater lost the FCW Heavyweight Championship to Justin Gabriel in a two out of three falls match at the September 24, 2009 TV taping.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.