Cory James Weston (September 4, 1987) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Wesley Blake.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2011-2013)
Weston trained under Dory Funk Jr. and debuted in his Funkin' Conservatory (FC) promotion. His debut match on May 26, 2011 was a title match in which he won the FC European Championship from Damian Steele. Weston spent three years wrestling in FC from May 2011 until May of 2013.
World Wrestling Entertainment
NXT (2013-2020)
Blake joined WWE's NXT roster in 2013 and made his first match appearance at a October 11 live event, facing and losing to Jason Jordan. For the remainder of the 2013 year, Blake would suffer consecutive losses in singles and tag team matches. It was on April 19, 2014 when he and partner Camancho defeated Baron Corbin & Sawyer Fulton. During a May 2 live event, Blake teamed with Mojo Rawley to win against Aiden English & Simon Gotch. Afterwards, Blake would resume his losing streak for the remainder of the 2014 summer.
In August 2014, Blake abandoned the cowboy character and formed a tag team with Buddy Murphy. On the August 14 episode of NXT, they were defeated in the first round of a number one contender tag team tournament by Kalisto and Sin Cara, later known as the Lucha Dragons. For the rest of 2014, Blake and Murphy lost multiple matches to the Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch & Aiden English). Blake and Murphy were once referred to as Team Thick in October, but that name was dropped in later episodes. Also in October 2014, Blake and Murphy lost a number one contender tag team battle royal, being eliminated by the Ascension.
On the January 21, 2015 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy scored their first-ever victory by defeating the Vaudevillains. This led to a title match on the January 28, 2015 episode of NXT where Blake and Murphy defeated champions the Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.
During the course of 2016, Blake and Murphy wrestled together in tag matches including a 1 Contendership Fatal Four Way Elimination match for the NXT Tag Team Championship during February 25 NXT live event but were eliminated by American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan). During a August 26th NXT live event, Blake challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship but was unsuccessful in winning the title on that occasion. By mid-September 2016, Blake wrestled solely in singles matches, ending the year at the December 17 live event with a match lost to Tye Dillinger.
The Forgotten Sons (2017-2020)
In 2017, Blake formed a new tag team with Steve Cutler took on a Texan biker style gimmick. On the February 1 NXT Tapings, Blake and Cutler became known as The Forgotten Sons. During the February 17 edition of NXT, The Forgotten Sons along with Chad Lail and Lacey Evans attacked SAnitY. They later joined Lail's corner for his match against Sanity member Killian Dain. Fifteen days later on February 16, The Forgotten Sons competed in a Fatal Four Way Number One Contendership match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, defeating rival teams Heavy Machinery, The Street Profits and The Authors Of Pain. Seven days later on February 23, The Forgotten Sons met The Undisputed ERA (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) in a Tag Team Title match but did not succeed in winning the titles. Throughout the course of March, The Forgotten Sons would wrestle teams including SAnitY, The Authors Of Pain and The Street Profits as well as other randomized pairings of singles wrestlers. During the second day of the 2018 WrestleMania Axxess weekend event, The Forgotten Sons entered the NXT Tag Team Championship Invitational where they advanced in the first round after eliminating team SAnitY (Alexander Wolfe & Eric Young). On the following day on April 7, The Forgotten Sons were eliminated in the semifinals by TM-61. Afterwards the team spent the remainder of April and the month of May competing against various tag team combinations. On June 1, The Forgotten Sons would meet tag team newcomers introduced as the War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe) to whom they lost against in a tag match. On the following day, The Forgotten Sons each had their opportunity to compete in a battle royal to determine the new Number One Contender for the NXT North American Championship until the match was won by Tucker Knight. From June 8th-June 9th, The Forgotten Sons were also part of the three-night event NXT At Download, where they wrestled and lost to team Heavy Machinery during the first and second nights of the event. During the second night of the event, Blake challenged for the NXT Championship held by Aleister Black, but did not succeed in winning the title. The Forgotten Sons along with its newest ally Chad Lail finished the month with a match during the June 30 live event, defeating Fabian Aichner, Kassius Ohno & Mars Wang.
The following month during the July 12 live event, Blake defeated rookie Cheng Yuxiang. The next day during the July 13 live event, Blake entered a Triple Threat Number One Contender match for the NXT Tag titles, representing the Forgotten Sons against Nick Miller (representing The Mighty) and Montez Ford (representing The Street Profits). The match concluded with Miller's team winning the Contendership. The Forgotten Sons finished the month with a match during the July 27 live event, losing to the tag team known as the War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe). During the month of August, The Forgotten Sons wrestled against teams including Heavy Machinery, Eddie Dennis & Zack Gibson, Adrian Jaoude & Cezar Bononi and The Street Profits. During the August 25 live event, Blake and the newest member of the Forgotten Sons Jaxson Ryker (previously known as Chad Lail), teamed in a tag match lost to Heavy Machinery. Blake and Cutler returned the following month during the September 6 live event, losing to Heavy Machinery in a tag team rematch. The Forgotten Sons went on to lose in a succession of rematches against Heavy Machinery during the September 7 live event, September 8 and September 9 live events. During the September 20 Tapings, in full number, The Forgotten Sons defeated the local team of Cezar Rise, Terry Kirsh & Vinny Mixon. At the September 22nd live event, Blake and Jaxson Ryker teamed with Lacey Evans in a mixed tag match lost to team Heavy Machinery and rookie Jessie Elaban. A week later during the September 27 live event, Blake and Ryker defeated NXT recruits Mohamed Fahim & Nasser Alruwayeh. The following night, The Forgotten Sons finished the month with a tag match held during the September 28 live event, losing to The Street Profits.
Returning the following month for the October 4 live event, Blake and Ryker represented the Forgotten Sons, defeating Raul Mendoza and newcomer Humberto Carrillo. At the following night's house show, Blake and Ryker defeated Heavy Machinery. The following week at the October 11 live event, Blake and Ryker lost to The Street Profits in a rematch. They went to sustain consecutive losses in a succession of rematches against the Street Profits during the October 12 live event and October 13 live events. During the October 17 Tapings, Blake and the Forgotten Sons lost to Heavy Machinery.
Personal life
Weston hails from San Marcos, Texas. He and his younger sister were from a single parent family, being brought up by their mother. He graduated from Texas State University. There, he was a strength instructor and also played college football. Weston also played football at the all-state high school level, including for the Medina Valley Panthers in 2005, where he played as the middle linebacker. In October 2016, it was announced that Weston was expecting his first child with former WWE developmental wrestler, Sara Lee. In early November, it was announced the couple had a baby girl.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Frog splash
- Signature moves
- Big boot
- Double knee backbreaker, sometimes to a rope hung opponent
- Double underhook powerbomb
- Moonsault
- Running powerslam
- Slingshot somersault senton
- Springboard forearm smash
- Managers
- Wrestlers managed
- Tag teams and stables
- Nicknames
- "Cowboy"
- "Wild"
- "Beautiful Blonde"
- Entrance themes
- "Action Packed" by Kosinus (NXT; December 1, 2014 - May 20, 2015; used while teaming with Murphy)
- "Opposite Ends of the World" by CFO$ (NXT; May 20, 2015 – July 6, 2016; used while teaming with Murphy)
- "Ahead" by Klooz & Sylvain Lux (NXT; July 6, 2016 – May 20, 2017)
- "Devil Inside" by Charlie Harper (NXT; May 24, 2017)
- "Do Unto Others" by CFO$ (NXT; used while teaming with Steve Cutler and Jaxson Ryker)
Championships and accomplishments
- Funking Conservatory
- FC European Championship (1 time)
- FC Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
External links
CageMatch Profile
Internet Wrestling Database Profile
Wrestling Data Profile- WWE.com profile
- Official Twitter
