Wesley Blake

Cory James Weston (born September 4, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he wrestles in their developmental territory WWE NXT under the ring name Wesley Blake. He is a one-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Buddy Murphy.

Funking Conservatory (2011–2013)

Weston wanted to be a wrestler since the age of 3. He eventually became a student of Dory Funk Jr.'s wrestling school, the Funking Conservatory, appearing on the school's !Bang! TV show under his real name of Cory Weston. Immediately after graduating from university, Weston moved to Ocala, Florida in 2011, where the school was located. Documented to have been wrestling there since May 2011, Weston managed to become the Funking Conservatory World Champion, as well as the European Champion and the Florida Heavyweight Champion. 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.

WWE

NXT (2013–present)

Weston signed with WWE in June 2013 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. 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. 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.

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 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 teams such as the Lucha Dragons and the Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch). 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 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.

On the January 21, 2015 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy, scored their first-ever televised victory by defeating the Vaudevillains. This led to a title match on the January 28, 2015 episode of NXT (taped on January 15) where Blake and Murphy defeated champions the Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.

At NXT TakeOver: Rival, Blake and Murphy, now billed simply by their family names, defeated the Lucha Dragons in a rematch for the title. Following that, Blake and Murphy started a feud with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who were intent on capturing the tag titles. At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, during Amore and Cassady's NXT Tag Team Championship match against Blake and Murphy, Alexa Bliss would come out mid-match and attack Carmella and Amore, ensuring the win for Blake and Murphy and aligning herself with them in the process. After making several successful title defenses, Blake and Murphy lost the championships to the Vaudevillians at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, ending their reign at 219 days.

On the May 18 taping of NXT, after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries, Alexa and Blake walked away from Murphy, teasing a split for the team. On May 19, Blake suffered a knee injury, which would require surgery. On June 15th, he made his return at a house show at the Echo Arena, losing to Hugo Knox.

Blake, along with his tag team partner Murphy, made his video game debut in WWE 2K16 as a downloadable character and is featured in WWE 2K17.

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 that the baby is a girl.

• Finishing moves
  • Frog splash
• Signature moves
  • Big boot
  • Double knee backbreaker, sometimes to a rope hung opponent
  • Running powerslam
  • Slingshot somersault senton
  • Springboard forearm smash
• With Buddy Murphy/Murphy
  • Double team finishing moves
    • Running brainbuster (Murphy) followed by a frog splash (Blake)
• Nicknames
  • "Cowboy"
  • "Wild"
  • "Body Beautiful"
• Managers
  • Alexa Bliss
• 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 – present)

• "SHOW RESULTS - 5/15 WWE NXT in Philadelphia, Pa.: Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title in Night 2 main event, four-way NXT Women's Title match, Corbin's surprise opponent, more". 
• "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 4/1 - Week 146: Itami vs. Breeze 2/3 Falls match, NXT tag champs in action, Zayn big return promo; Overall Reax". 
• "From The Network – NXT Takeover: Rival February 16, 2015 posted by Dylan Diot". 
• "Sat. Update: Notes on Tuesday special, Raw, Sin Cara, Flair, Bischoff, WWE star returns,PPV predict". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015. 
• Meltzer, Dave (October 29, 2016). "NXT San Jose, CA, live results: Rich Swann, Roderick Strong, Nakamura, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved October 29, 2016. 
• James, Justin (May 27, 2015). "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 5/27 - Week 163: Follow-up to Takeover special, Samoa Joe confronts Kevin Owens, champs in action, more; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 

• Funking Conservatory
  • FC European Championship (1 time)
  • FC Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • FC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #121 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
• WWE NXT
  • NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buddy Murphy/Murphy

• "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 5, 2015.