WWE Rumors: ‘SmackDown’ Faction Reportedly Due For Repackaging

According to a recent report, WWE officials are in the process of brainstorming new ideas for The Forgotten Sons, who have not been used on the company’s programming for more than three months.

Citing a subscriber-only article from Fightful Select, Ringside News wrote on Sunday that WWE’s creative team has been tasked to “come up with ideas” for the Friday Night SmackDown faction, which counts Jaxson Ryker, Steve Cutler, and Wesley Blake as its members. The Forgotten Sons were taken off television early in June, shortly after Ryker drew backstage heat for a series of tweets where he used the group’s catchphrase while praising Donald Trump and also made disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement in a separate post.

At this point, it’s unclear whether Ryker will be involved in the rumored repackaging, and no specifics were provided regarding the nature of his stable’s planned gimmick change. However, the report also noted that Edge — who has been helping out in creative matters in recent months — had “come up with some idea” for the faction.

The new report backed up an earlier one from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who wrote last week that even before the controversy over Ryker’s tweets, there were some officials who felt that The Forgotten Sons’ patriotic, yet heelish gimmick was not appropriate due to the already volatile sociopolitical climate in the U.S. at that time. As further cited by WrestlingNews.co, it appears that bringing the stable back without changing their characters might be difficult, given the continued “unrest” in the country.

While Cutler and Blake distanced themselves from Ryker’s remarks in June, the former U.S. Marine has continued to attract attention for his social media posts. Last week, Ryker retweeted a photo from a Twitter user who was called out by American Airlines for improper mask usage while on a flight, telling the user to “lay down your freedom” and suggesting that wearing a mask as a safety precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic “[does] no good.” You can view his tweet here.

If The Forgotten Sons return to Friday Night SmackDown with a new gimmick as rumored, they might not be the only ones to do so following a long absence. Former SmackDown Women’s Champion Carmella has also been away from television for several months, and reports have suggested that she might be the mystery woman who has appeared in recent vignettes on the blue brand’s weekly show.