In June 2007, Murdoch made his debut at FCW's inaugural show on June 26, using the name G-Rilla and defeating Shawn Osborne. Three months later, on September 15, G-Rilla won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship by last eliminating Teddy Hart. He challenged Harry Smith for the championship on September 25, but lost via disqualification which meant that Smith retained the championship. The following month, G-Rilla continued to feud with Smith and Hart, who had formed The Hart Dynasty with TJ Wilson and Ted DiBiase, Jr., allying himself with Osborne, Jake Hager and Afa, Jr. G-Rilla briefly formed a tag team with Robert Anthony in December 2007, but on February 4, 2008, Murdoch was released from his contract with WWE. He would not wrestle for the next two years.
