WWE SmackDown Cancels Storyline After Latest Release

WWE broke the news on Thursday night that it had release Steve Cutler, a member of the former trio The Forgotten Sons and one of the Knights of the Lone Wolf alongside Wesley Blake. More information has since been released regarding the release — it reportedly had to do with Cutler testing positive for COVID-19 — and WWE has reacted to the situation by scrapping a storyline it initially had for SmackDown.

The last few weeks of SmackDown have seen King Corbin in a feud with Dominik Mysterio, leading to three singles matches between the two. According to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer this was eventually leading to a six-man tag match involving Mysterio, his father Rey Mysterio and Buddy Murphy — who has been off television ever since his storyline with Aalyah Mysterio stalled — against Corbin and his Knights.

He’s [Cutler] out, he’s now a free agent,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingNews.co). “He [Murphy] isn’t being used because there is no spot for him. They booked him into this thing with Aalyah and now they haven’t figured out how get out of it. It was gonna be Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio, and Murphy against Corbin, Wesley Blake, and Steve Cutler. Well, you take Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler out then there’s no spot for Murphy unless you wanna make these Dominik Mysterio matches 3 on 1 instead of 2 on 1. They decided to go with the 2 on 1.”

Cutler (real name Steve Kupryk) commented on his release via Twitter.

WWE’s next pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, takes place on Feb. 21. Check out the updated card for the show below:

• WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (Elimination Chamber Match)
• Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka vs. Lacey Evans
• United States Championship: Bobby Lashley vs. Keith Lee vs. Riddle