text: Memphis Championship Wrestling (2000–2001) In February 2000, Kendrick signed a developmental deal with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), spending a year in the company's "farm territory", Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), before the promotion closed and Kendrick was released from his contract. Kendrick won his first Championship in MCW when he defeated American Dragon for the MCW Southern Light Heavyweight Championship on September 22. He later teamed with American Dragon to win the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship, on December 1, becoming a double champion. The tag team disbanded after they lost the Championships to The Dupps. On December 30, however, the Southern Light Heavyweight title was declared vacant after a match that Kendrick had with Derrick King. In a match for the vacant championship, Kendrick regained the title after beating King, on January 6, 2001. He later dropped it to Tyler Gates, before regaining it on May 11. On June 1, however, Spanky was stripped of the title and it was abandoned, making Spanky the last ever MCW Southern Light Heavyweight Champion. He also holds the record for most reigns, with three.
  Ring of Honor, Japan and various promotions (2002)
  On February 23, 2002, Kendrick wrestled on the premiere show of Ring of Honor (ROH), winning the match to gain an ROH contract. While in ROH, Kendrick competed in several other promotions such as Heartland Wrestling Association and All Pro Wrestling, before leaving for Japan in June to compete in Pro Wrestling Zero-One (Zero-One). There, he wrestled under the ring name Leonardo Spanky, a gimmick proposed by Shinya Hashimoto due to Kendrick's resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio. On June 29, he became the first International Junior Heavyweight Champion in company history. He dropped the title to Low Ki a few months later.