Wesley Blake

Cory James Weston [6] wanted to be a wrestler since the age of 3.[1] He eventually became a student of Dory Funk Jr.'s wrestling school, the Funking Conservatory,[1] appearing on the school's !Bang! TV show under his real name of Cory Weston.[2] Immediately after graduating from university, Weston moved to Ocala, Florida in 2011, where the Funking Conservatory was located.[1] Documented to have been wrestling there since May 2011,[7][8] Weston managed to become the Funking Conservatory World Champion,[9] as well as the European Champion and the Florida Heavyweight Champion.[7][10] Weston wrestled against Jerry Lawler in an eight-person tag team match in May 2013, which was Lawler's first match since suffering a heart attack in September 2012.[11][12]

Weston signed with WWE in June 2013[13] and reported to NXT in July 2013 when the WWE Performance Center opened; at the same time as his future NXT tag team partner Buddy Murphy.[14] Weston made his television debut as Wesley Blake on the January 22, 2014 episode of NXT with the character of a cowboy and lost his debut match to Adrian Neville.[15][16] Blake continued in his jobber role with losses in singles matches to the likes of Adam Rose, Mason Ryan and Sin Cara, as well as a loss in a tag-team match against the Ascension with Cal Bishop as his partner.[17][18][19][20]

In August 2014, Blake abandoned the cowboy character and formed a tag team with Buddy Murphy. On the August 14 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy were defeated in the first round of a number one contender's tag team tournament by Kalisto and Sin Cara,[21] later known as The Lucha Dragons. For the rest of 2014, Blake and Murphy lost multiple matches to teams such as The Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch).[22][23][24][25] Also in October 2014, Blake and Murphy were involved in a tag-team battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship; they were eliminated from the match by The Ascension.[26]

Blake and Murphy defeated The Vaudevillains on the January 21, 2015 episode of NXT[27][28] and a week later, defeated The Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[29][30]

At NXT TakeOver: Rival, Blake and Murphy, now billed simply by their last names, defeated The Lucha Dragons in a rematch for the titles.[31] Following that, Blake and Murphy started a feud with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who were intent on capturing the tag titles.[3] At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, they retained their NXT Tag Team Championship against Amore and Cassady after interference from Alexa Bliss, who then aligned herself with them.[32] After several successful title defenses, Blake and Murphy lost the championships to The Vaudevillians at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, ending their reign at 219 days.[33]

On the May 18, 2016 episode of NXT, after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries, Bliss and Blake walked away from Murphy, teasing a split for the team. Following Bliss's main roster call-up in the 2016 WWE draft, Blake was used sporadically on NXT television as an enhancement talent, with his final televised appearance being a match against Murphy on the October 12 episode of NXT, which quickly ended in a no-contest as both men were attacked by an interfering Samoa Joe.[34]

Blake (right) with Steve Cutler

After a long absence from television, Blake returned on the May 10, 2017 episode of NXT, confronting Drew McIntyre in a backstage segment. On the May 24, 2017 episode of NXT, returning to his previous cowboy gimmick, Blake lost in a match against McIntyre.[35] He was then absent from television for the remainder of 2017, forming a tag team with Steve Cutler at NXT live events as "The Forgotten Sons".

The team (now featuring Jaxson Ryker) debuted on the August 29, 2018 episode of NXT in a segment with general manager William Regal.[36] Their in-ring debuts took place the following week when Blake and Cutler defeated The Street Profits after a distraction from Shane Thorne.[37] On the October 3 episode of NXT, the group defeated the team of Vinny Mixon, Cesar Rise & Torrey Kirsh.[38]

Blake and Cutler represented the group in the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They defeated Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan in the first-round[39] and Moustache Mountain in the second-round[40] before losing to Aleister Black and Ricochet in the finals.[41]

Blake and Cutler competed in a fatal four-way ladder match for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: XXV. Despite interference from Ryker, the two were unsuccessful in winning.[42] The group entered the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but were eliminated in the first round by Imperium.[43]

The trio debuted on SmackDown on the April 10, 2020 episode, defeating Lucha House Party.[44] They appeared on the April 24 episode of SmackDown when they attacked Lucha House Party and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day.[45] The group made their main roster in-ring debut on the May 1 episode, defeating The New Day in a non-title match.[46]