WWE News: Long-Absent Superstars Seemingly Form New Faction With Baron Corbin
On the December 4 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, “King” Baron Corbin defeated Murphy in a rematch of their contest from last week. However, he did it with the help of two superstars who hadn’t been seen on WWE programming for several months — former Forgotten Sons members Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake.
As recapped by Wrestling Inc., Blake and Cutler made their return to the blue brand on Friday night, both of them sporting new cleanly-shaven looks and all-black attires as they accompanied Corbin as his “muscle.” As Corbin and Murphy — who was accompanied by Rey Mysterio and his family — squared off in the ring, it wasn’t clear at first who his lackeys were, but the announcers eventually confirmed their identities and noted their previous affiliation.
Following last week’s match, where Murphy beat Corbin thanks to interference from the Mysterio family, the “King” picked up the victory in the rematch after he instructed his new henchmen to attack Rey and Dominik Mysterio. This resulted in the former Cruiserweight Champion getting distracted to the point where he chased Cutler and Blake away from ringside, but he would end up taking an End of Days from his villainous opponent after returning to the ring.
Although Corbin has yet to comment on the involvement of the two long-absent superstars in his match, Wrestling Inc. noted that the three men appear to have formed a new heel faction.
Blake and Cutler made their last televised appearance in late May, back when they were still teaming with Jaxson Ryker in The Forgotten Sons. However, all three men were taken off television when Ryker received backlash from fans and wrestlers alike for using his stable’s catchphrase in a tweet praising Donald Trump. At that time, the faction was in the middle of a rivalry with then-SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day, and rumors eventually suggested that there were plans for the military-themed group to ultimately win the belts.
As a result of Ryker’s pro-Trump comments, as well as separate social media posts where he denounced the Black Lives Matter movement and shared a photo that was perceived to be racially insensitive, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura were replaced in the feud with The New Day and given a brief run with the tag titles.
Ryker has since deleted his Twitter account, having done so shortly after he was called out for sharing a tweet that supposedly advocated against the use of facial protection as a safeguard against COVID-19. It remains unclear whether he, just like ex-stablemates Cutler and Blake, will be repackaged.
