The Sect

**The Sect** were a villainous stable that consisted of CM Punk, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura. The group performed on the SmackDown brand, and captured numerous championships as a unit and as individuals.

The group debuted in Series 1 of WWE 2K19 Universe Mode with no name and their identities being a secret, being portrayed as a group of renegades with the goal of removing Chris Jericho from power and controlling SmackDown.

## Characters

While The Sect originally did not cut promos, they made their intentions clear through physical attacks to targeted Superstars and authority figures. They were portrayed as a group which possessed excellent teamwork and a willingness to sacrifice themselves as an individual for the good of the team, achieving victories by overwhelming opponents with superior numbers after incapacitating their teammates.

For their individual characters, each member of The Sect would mimic the moveset of past WWE Superstars such as Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, John Morrison and CM Punk to throw the audience off the scent as to who was actually under the masks.

The original attires for Sect members included shoulder length wigs, red hockey masks, cargo pants, commando boots, white shirts, black jackets, and fingerless gloves. However, as each Sect member revealed their identity, they shed the whole attire with the exception of the masks, which were stylised to suit the individual's personality. For example, Daniel Bryan had a wooden mask and Aleister Black had a mask that had designs similar to his tattoos in a darker shade of white on his mask.

## History

### Formation and debut

The Sect debuted on Episode #13 of Series 1 in WWE 2K19 Universe Mode as a nameless group, interrupting and attacking Chris Jericho, who was revealed as SmackDown's mystery general manager after Backlash. Following this, the group chose to lay low and didn't appear on SmackDown or any following pay-per-views for a significant amount of time. They eventually resurfaced on Episode #25 to attack Goldberg, the then-general manager of Raw, who was appearing on SmackDown to discuss Jericho's meager one week suspension of Shayna Baszler for her attack on Raw's Ronda Rousey. The attack lead to SmackDown's Paul Heyman temporarily filling in as Raw GM while Goldberg recovered from sustained injuries. On the following SmackDown (Episode #28), Chris Jericho challenged the leader to an Extreme Rules match with the added stipulations that he would unmask if he lost, but would be given a spot in SmackDown's Money in the Bank ladder match if he won. The leader won the match and thus, earned a spot in the ladder match, where he was unsuccessful. The trend of The Sect mimicking mannerisms and moves of former WWE Superstars began in both matches, as the leader of The Sect used many of CM Punk's old moves and taunts.

After failing to win the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match, The Sect again left SmackDown temporarily. The trio were challenged to a six-man tag team Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam by Goldberg during Raw on Episode #38, after he returned to his general manager position when he healed from his injuries caused by The Sect's attack. Chris Jericho begrudgingly joined forces with Goldberg on the following SmackDown, but assured Goldberg that he would find a suitable partner. At Summerslam, Jericho's choice of partner turned out to be Curt Hawkins, and The Sect (who debuted 'The Sect' name in this match) defeated the team of Goldberg, Jericho and Hawkins in one of the most brutal Hell in a Cell matches in Universe Mode history. As victors of the match, The Sect also got to challenge for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship, rather than disbanding and unmasking if they lost.

### Rise and fall

The SmackDown after Summerslam (Episode #47), then-WWE Champion Andrade "Cien" Almas challenged AJ Styles to a WWE Championship match after Almas deemed Styles "the last worthy competitor left on SmackDown to challenge for the WWE Title". However, a member of The Sect took Styles' place instead, and the match was changed to a non-title three on one handicap match after the lights cut out following the opening bell and the other two members appeared on the ring apron. Almas' manager, Zelina Vega, was at ringside prior to the blackout, but was nowhere to be found after the lights came back. The Sect won the handicap match with ease and targeted Almas and the WWE Championship. Following this match, The Sect left SmackDown again for a period of time.

The Sect emerged once more on Episode #58, invoking their WWE Championship match against Andrade "Cien" Almas, during which the leader was successful in capturing The Sect's first title. The celebration was short-lived however, as SmackDown's Mr. Money in the Bank, Daniel Bryan, cashed in his briefcase and defeated the leader to win the WWE Championship. The Sect took a week to recover from the title loss, then the leader (now dubbed 'Sect Prime') attacked Chris Jericho on Episode #63 and assumed the general manager position on SmackDown. During this time, Sect Prime announced he would invoke his rematch clause against Daniel Bryan at Hell in a Cell in an unnamed match type, though those plans were scuppered when Shane McMahon defeated Sect Prime on the same episode. The Sect took a significant leave of absence from SmackDown following this loss, missing Hell in a Cell and TLC. Additionally, they had their WWE Championship rematch clause stripped from them after attacking Chris Jericho.

### Championship success

Prior to The Sect's disappearance, Shinsuke Nakamura won the United States Championship on SmackDown in a triple threat match between himself, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Following a number one contender's match between EC3 and Seth Rollins on Episode #83, Nakamura attacked both Rollins and the interfering Dean Ambrose. Nakamura was sporting a hockey mask during the post-match assault, revealing himself to be a member of The Sect, and effectively brought the United States Championship to the group.

AJ Styles was embroiled in a feud with Bray Wyatt, dating back to the King of the Ring pay-per-view where Wyatt would attempt to cost Styles victory during the tournament multiple times. After Wyatt defeated Styles in a match following the pay-per-view, he would win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships twice with Matt Hardy. Styles issued a challenge to the Deleters of Worlds and tried to find a partner to team with in an attempt to take the titles away from Wyatt. Following a match with Mustafa Ali in Episode #85, where Styles displayed an aggressive offensive outburst, a member of The Sect ejected Ali from the ring and Styles aligned himself with The Sect. Aleister Black turned out to be Styles' tag team partner, and the duo went on to capture the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship from the Deleters of Worlds at the Royal Rumble, bringing another championship to The Sect, as well as bringing the tag team titles to the SmackDown brand.

After losing a TLC match to Andrade "Cien" Almas at the namesake pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan exhibited different behaviour, abandoning the "Yes!" chants and wrestling his matches in a more aggressive style. After defeating Mike Kanellis in Episode #75, the feed for SmackDown was interrupted by a shaky video of Bryan shaking hands with a member of The Sect. Daniel Bryan appeared at Survivor Series as a member of Team SmackDown, wearing a hockey mask, confirming an alliance with The Sect. Chris Jericho reinstated The Sect's rematch clause following Survivor Series, after they provided him with a member of Team SmackDown in Daniel Bryan.

At the Royal Rumble, Sect Prime returned from his absence and used his recently reinstated rematch clause to challenge Andrade "Cien" Almas for the WWE Championship. Sect Prime was victorious in this match, becoming a two time WWE Champion, and bringing a third title to the group.

### Dissolution

After announcing on Twitter during Episode #99 that any rematch clauses would have to be earnt, Raw and SmackDown general manager Chris Jericho booked Sect members Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura against one another, seemingly in an attempt by Jericho to create tension within the group. Nakamura defeated Bryan in a hard fought match, and appeared in his championship match without his mask, ending Nakamura's stint with The Sect.

AJ Styles and Aleister Black faced the Deleters of Worlds in a rematch from the Royal Rumble for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship, though they were unsuccessful in retaining the titles. Black later went on to win the WWE Championship in SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match. During the match, Black refused to team up with Sect Prime and chose to attack him instead, further hinting at a wedge being driven between Sect members.

At the beginning of Episode #104, Sect Prime revealed himself to be CM Punk, and also revealed that The Sect was originally under the leadership of Chris Jericho. The original plans were for The Sect to be a false threat to the SmackDown brand to make Jericho look strong, although Punk and the rest of The Sect went into business for themselves after Jericho continued to foil his own plans. Punk invoked his rematch clause in the main event of SmackDown against Aleister Black, who was still aligned with The Sect, though he was unsuccessful in regaining the title. After the match, however, Punk attacked Black, stole the WWE Championship from him, and proclaimed himself the new WWE Champion. Punk went as far as having "WWE Champion" displayed in his entrance graphics, though Chris Jericho vacated the championship the next week (Episode #106) as punishment for Punk stealing the championship. Aleister Black came to the ring in the main event of the same episode without his mask, ending his affiliation with The Sect officially.

### Feud with The Shield and split

Following Roman Reigns' convincing win over Lio Rush, The Sect (Sect Prime, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles) attacked Reigns in a three on one assault, which led to Reigns challenging Sect Prime (who was later revealed to be CM Punk) on next week's Raw. Reigns defeated Punk, and responded with an attack of his own, aided by Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The trio hit Punk with a top rope triple powerbomb and a spear from Roman Reigns before leaving the arena. Both groups then responded with backstage attacks to each other leading up to WrestleMania, where it was announced that The Sect would face The Shield. At the event, The Sect were defeated by The Shield after CM Punk was hit with five triple powerbombs from The Shield, essentially writing him out of Universe Mode. Punk would later return as a surprise entrant in the Series 2 Royal Rumble.

During the Series 2 draft, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura were drafted to the Raw brand, while Aleister Black stayed on SmackDown. Gore renounced any references to The Sect during the video, effectively ending The Sect.

## Championships and accomplishments

* WWE Championship (3 times) - CM Punk/Sect Prime (2) Aleister Black (1)
* United States Championship (1 time) - Shinsuke Nakamura
* Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - AJ Styles and Aleister Black
* SmackDown General Manager - Chris Jericho