WWE Rumors: ‘SmackDown’ Tag Team Was Reportedly Due To Win Titles Before Controversial Tweet

Despite the Friday Night SmackDown tag team division’s perceived lack of depth, The Forgotten Sons have not been on television for an extended period of time. However, a recent report hinted that the trio of Jaxson Ryker, Wesley Blake, and Steve Cutler was on the path to winning championship gold before Ryker posted a controversial tweet in support of President Donald Trump.

As reported on Thursday by Ringside News, Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE had plans to book the three-man stable, then recently called up from NXT, to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. These plans, however, were derailed following Ryker’s post, which praised Trump for his handling of the widespread protests over the death of George Floyd and other African American victims of alleged police brutality.

“They were gonna get the tag team titles and now we haven’t seen hide nor hair of them and I don’t know if we will,” Meltzer was quoted as saying. “That was an unfortunate tweet for sure.”

The new rumor added more specifics to a previous report from Meltzer, where he claimed in mid-June that The Forgotten Sons were supposed to be entering a rivalry with The New Day for the blue brand’s tag titles. Rumors around that time also hinted that the trio was due for repackaging, considering how their current gimmick was no longer seen as appropriate.

According to an earlier story from The Inquisitr, Ryker’s tweet, which was posted on June 1, earned him flak from several other WWE superstars, who felt that he was being tone-deaf for expressing pro-Trump sentiments — and dropping his faction’s catchphrase — at a time of racial tension. While the likes of Kevin Owens and Mustafa Ali focused mainly on the timing of the comments, Monday Night Raw superstar Ricochet seemed to give Ryker the benefit of the doubt, expressing hope that he was merely playing up his heel character but adding that he would be very disappointed if that wasn’t the case.

In addition to the aforementioned social media activity, fans also discovered that Ryker referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as “garbage” in an earlier post and posed for a selfie that was similarly considered racially insensitive.

At the moment, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are enjoying their first reign as SmackDown Tag Team Champions. This seemingly lends credence to rumors that suggested they would be replacing The Forgotten Sons in their title feud against The New Day, as noted two months ago by WrestlingNews.co.