kipp christianson began competing in florida championship wrestling (fcw) in 2008 under his real name. in august 2009, his name was tweaked to eli cottonwood, and he utilized a gimmick of being recently reintroduced to society from the kelloggs sanitarium. he spent most of his time defeating opponents such as dj gabriel, tyler reks, and max mcguirk. he soon aligned with aksana and turned face.