On May 29, 2017, it was reported that Ryker had signed with WWE and would be working in the company's developmental territory NXT. On June 29, 2017, at an NXT live event, Ryker made his debut, losing to No Way Jose. On the August 29 edition of NXT, Ryker made his first televised appearance as a heel, appearing alongside the newly-formed stable named The Forgotten Sons, alongside Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler. Ryker made his TakeOver debut at NXT TakeOver: XXV on June 1, 2019, by attempting to help Blake and Cutler win the NXT Tag Team Championships against Street Profits and The Undisputed Era, but to no avail. The group entered the 2020 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but were eliminated in the first round by Imperium.
The Forgotten Sons debuted on SmackDown on the April 10, 2020 episode, defeating Lucha House Party. They appeared on the April 24 episode of SmackDown when they attacked Lucha House Party and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day. On the May 1 episode of SmackDown, they defeated SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston). This led to a fatal four-way tag team match also involving Lucha House Party, and John Morrison and The Miz for the titles at Money in the Bank, where The New Day retained.
On December 4, Jaxson's partnership with Blake and Cutler was discontinued quietly as they were paired with King Corbin, while Ryker was paired with Elias on Raw. Ryker's alliance with Elias lasted until May 31, 2021, when Elias abandoned him during a tag team match, subsequently turning Ryker face. Ryker defeated Elias in a strap match on the June 28 episode of Raw and in a “Symphony of Destruction” match on the July 19 episode of Raw. After ending his feud with Elias, Ryker began to wrestle frequently on Main Event until his release on November 18.