The Nexus (professional wrestling)

Concept

On the February 2, 2010 edition of ECW, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that NXT would replace ECW on Syfy when the latter ended its run on February 16, describing NXT as "the next evolution of WWE television history." The concept of the stable was derived from each original member of them being a contestant on the first season of the NXT program, which composed at the time of the talent from WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. The series ran them through a competition to become WWE's next breakout star with the help of mentors from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands. On the June 1, 2010 edition of NXT, Barrett was declared the winner over Otunga and — as a result — was awarded a WWE contract and a championship match at a WWE pay-per-view of his choosing (he ultimately chose Night of Champions), while the others were left without a job.

History

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

Formation and feud with John Cena

The group made its debut on the June 7, 2010 "Viewer's Choice" edition of Raw, during the main event, attacking John Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, Justin Roberts, and other WWE personnel around the ring before ultimately destroying everything at ringside, including the ring itself and barricades, forcing the match to end in a no contest. During the attack, which ended with Cena being taken out on a stretcher, Daniel Bryan strangled Roberts with his necktie and, in a sign of disrespect, spit in Cena's face; the former of which led him to be released from his contract on June 11 as WWE reportedly felt those acts were too violent for the company's TV-PG programming and would have caused issues with sponsors. His absence was explained by Barrett on the June 14 edition of Raw as having felt remorse for his actions, who kicked him out of the group. The Nexus was established as the main heel stable on Raw, attacking several wrestlers and legends over the next several weeks, including Raw's General Manager Bret Hart and Vince McMahon and fellow Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat and Dusty Rhodes. After Hart's attack, McMahon removed him as Raw General Manager and appointed a new General Manager. The general manager chose to remain anonymous for fear of being attacked like Hart was, communicating only through e-mails quoted by Michael Cole.

During the summer, The Nexus had a feud with Cena. First, on the July 12 edition of Raw, Cena was defeated in a 6-on-1 handicap match by The Nexus. On July 18 at Money in the Bank, The Nexus attempted to get involved in the WWE Championship match involving Sheamus and Cena in a steel cage, but Sheamus and Cena were able to hold them off and escape, with Sheamus winning the match and retaining the WWE Championship. Their following match would take place at SummerSlam on August 15, where The Nexus faced the team of Cena, Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth and the returning Bryan, losing after Cena submitted Barrett with the STF. According to Edge and Jericho, the original plan was to put Barrett over and establish them as legitimate threats to WWE, with Edge and Jericho being the last members of Team WWE to be eliminated by Barrett, but Cena refused to lose to The Nexus and had the finish changed around the time of the event. Young and Heath Slater later stated that they agreed with Edge and Jericho, adding that The Nexus' loss at SummerSlam permanently crippled whatever momentum the stable had following the invasion. The following night on Raw, The Nexus members competed in seven one-on-one matches against Team WWE (except Hart, who was replaced by Orton), with the stipulation that whichever member of The Nexus lost their match would be exiled from the group. Young was the only member of The Nexus who lost, as he failed to defeat Cena in the main event, leaving the group. At a WWE live event in Hawaii on August 18, 2010, Skip Sheffield broke his ankle during a tag match, putting him out of action for the next two years, leaving The Nexus with only five active members heading into September. At Night of Champions on September 19, Barrett used his guaranteed championship match that he won for winning NXT in the six-pack elimination challenge for Sheamus' WWE Championship, but he was eliminated by Orton, who later won the match and the title.

At Hell in a Cell on October 3, Barrett and Cena faced each other in a match with the stipulation that if Barrett won, Cena would have to join The Nexus, but if Cena won or any other member of The Nexus got involved, the group would be permanently disbanded. Thanks to interference from Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty, two rookies from the second season of NXT who would later join The Nexus on the October 25, 2010 edition of Raw, Barrett managed to win the match and force Cena to join The Nexus. The following night on Raw, Cena attacked Michael Tarver following a tag-team match. In the subsequent segment, Barrett stated that Cena did him a favor, as he was planning on getting rid of Tarver anyway, implying that Tarver was no longer a member (in reality, Tarver had a nagging groin injury and was later released from his contract in June 2011). The anonymous Raw General Manager stated that Cena had to honor the stipulations of the Hell in a Cell match and take orders from Barrett or be fired. Later that night, Barrett ordered Cena to help him win the number one contender battle royal for Orton's WWE Championship at Bragging Rights on October 24. The match came down to Cena and Barrett, with Barrett winning after Cena eliminated himself. while in the main event, Barrett defeated Orton via disqualification, this time caused by Cena who, as a result, was chosen by Barrett as his own special guest referee for his WWE Championship rematch against Orton at Survivor Series on November 21, declaring that unless he won the title, Cena would be fired, but if Barrett defeated Orton, Cena would be relieved of all responsibilities to The Nexus. The following night on Raw, Slater and Justin Gabriel won the WWE Tag Team Championship after Barrett ordered Otunga to allow Slater to pin him.

On the November 5 edition of SmackDown, Otunga, who had been questioning Barrett's leadership over the past several weeks ever since Barrett cost him and Cena the WWE Tag Team Championship to Slater and Gabriel, led Harris, McGillicutty, Gabriel and Slater to a second invasion of SmackDown, interrupting a match between Edge and Alberto Del Rio, but The Nexus was then defeated in the main event in a 5-on-5 tag team match by Edge, Del Rio, Big Show, Kane and Kofi Kingston. Barrett did not approve Otunga's decision to lead The Nexus to SmackDown and, as a result, forced him to defend his spot in the group the following week. On the November 12, 2010 edition of SmackDown, thanks to interference from Kane, Otunga defeated Edge in a lumberjack match to keep his spot in The Nexus. At Survivor Series, Orton retained the WWE Championship against Barrett via pinfall following an RKO and Cena was fired (kayfabe) from WWE and subsequently exiled from The Nexus.

The following night on Raw, Cena gave a "farewell address" in which he urged Barrett to stop "taking shortcuts". However, prior Barrett's rematch with Orton later that night, he directed The Nexus in a group attack (led by Harris) on Orton, "injuring" Orton's right knee. As a result, when Barrett was about to pin Orton in the match, Cena (who had supposedly left the building) pulled the referee out of the ring to break the count and attacked Barrett, paving the way (as The Nexus chased Cena out of the building) for Orton to retain the title via RKO. Despite being fired by Barrett, Cena continued to show up on Raw as a ticketholder in the subsequent weeks, causing interference in The Nexus' matches, including costing Slater and Gabriel the WWE Tag Team Championship to Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match on the December 6 edition of Raw. On the December 13 edition of Raw, Barrett rehired Cena for fear of being exiled by The Nexus, but on the condition that Cena face Otunga in the main event and Barrett and Cena settle the score in a chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 19. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Cena defeated Barrett in the main event and, after the match, dropped 23 steel chairs from the stage on him after dispatching the rest of The Nexus.

The New Nexus

On the January 3, 2011 edition of Raw, The Nexus ambiguously announced after months of repeated attacks on Cena and the WWE roster that it was under "new management," with CM Punk (who disbanded the Straight Edge Society the previous September) being revealed to be the new leader, acquiring the position after Barrett lost a #1 contendership steel cage match involving Orton and Sheamus. Punk, having agreed to fall in line had Barrett successfully won the title shot, teased helping Barrett escape the cage before knocking him off of it. Barrett was subsequently exiled from The Nexus, which would be renamed "The New Nexus" to distance itself from former leadership. After refusing to follow Punk's orders of initiation by hitting each other with kendo sticks, Gabriel and Slater left the group the following week on Raw, opting to join Barrett and former ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson on SmackDown as The Corre while Harris, McGillicutty and Otunga successfully completed Punk's initiation. On the January 17, 2011 edition of Raw, Mason Ryan joined The New Nexus after interfering in Punk's match against Cena, attacking both before Punk handed Ryan a Nexus armband. On January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble, The New Nexus, who were also a part of the 40-man Royal Rumble match along with The Corre, cost Orton his rematch clause for Miz's WWE Championship, starting a feud with him. Over the ongoing weeks, Orton defeated all members of The New Nexus, causing several storyline injuries by punting them. At WrestleMania XXVII, Orton defeated Punk and, at Extreme Rules, Orton defeated Punk in a Last Man Standing rematch. On the May 23, 2011 edition of Raw, thanks to a distraction from The New Nexus, McGillicutty and Otunga defeated Big Show and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the June 20, 2011 "Power to the People" edition of Raw, Punk was originally going to be named the number one contender for Cena's WWE Championship, but instead, he was forced to compete in a triple threat match with Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio with a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation voted for by fans which Punk won, revealing after the match that his WWE contract would expire at Money in the Bank, where he would face Cena for the WWE Championship. The following week on Raw, it was announced that Ryan suffered an injury over the weekend and left the group. That same night, a brash Punk realized a worked shoot promo (which he dubbed a "pipe bomb"), reminding that once his contract expired at Money in the Bank, that would be the last time WWE would ever see him and the WWE Championship, as he considered taking his talents to another wrestling promotion, like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. With his victory over Cena at Money in the Bank, the WWE Championship was finally held by the stable on their last night of existence.

Otunga and McGillicutty worked as a tag team with the New Nexus banner until August 1, 2011 and continued without the banner until August 22, 2011, when the group disbanded after they lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.

Independent circuit

In April 2018, The Nexus reunited for Chikara King of Trios tournament as The Nexus Alliance, being represented by Tyrone Evans (Tarver), Fred Rosser (Young) and Black (Gabriel).

Cancelled WWE return

Young stated that The Nexus were originally booked to return at WrestleMania 36. A year later, a documentary about The Nexus was cancelled with Young theorizing it was due to Bryan leaving WWE.

Reception and legacy

Reflecting on the group, Wade Barrett discussed the group in the interview with Even Stronger podcast in September 2023. Barrett went on to state that in his own words:

The success of The Nexus, as Barrett pointed out, helped show the WWE its way to debut a dominant young group, would eventually pave way for a bigger successful faction, The Shield, which consisted of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

Members

Timeline

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id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)

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ScaleMajor=increment:2 start:2011 ScaleMinor = increment:1 gridcolor:lightgrey start:01/07/2010 unit:month LineData=

at:03/01/2011 color:black layer:back at:22/08/2011 color:black layer:back

BarData= bar:Wade text:"Wade Barrett" bar:David text:"David Otunga" bar:Justin text:"Justin Gabriel" bar:Heath text:"Heath Slater" bar:Michael text:"Michael Tarver" bar:Skip text:"Skip Sheffield" bar:Darren text:"Darren Young" bar:Daniel text:"Daniel Bryan" bar:John text:"John Cena" bar:McGillicutty text:"Michael McGillicutty" bar:Harris text:"Husky Harris" bar:Punk text:"CM Punk" bar:Mason text:"Mason Ryan"

PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Wade from:07/06/2010 till:03/01/2011 color:Member bar:Wade from:07/06/2010 till:03/01/2011 color:Leader width:3 bar:Punk from:27/12/2010 till:17/07/2011 color:Member bar:Punk from:03/01/2011 till:17/07/2011 color:Leader width:3 bar:David from:07/06/2010 till:23/05/2011 color:Member bar:David from:23/05/2011 till:22/08/2011 color:Member bar:Justin from:07/06/2010 till:10/01/2011 color:Member bar:Heath from:07/06/2010 till:10/01/2011 color:Member bar:Darren from:07/06/2010 till:16/08/2010 color:Member bar:Skip from:07/06/2010 till:18/08/2010 color:Member bar:Daniel from:07/06/2010 till:11/06/2010 color:Member bar:Michael from:07/06/2010 till:04/10/2010 color:Member bar:John from:03/10/2010 till:21/11/2010 color:Member bar:Harris from:25/10/2010 till:31/01/2011 color:Member bar:McGillicutty from:25/10/2010 till:17/07/2011 color:Member bar:McGillicutty from:23/05/2011 till:22/08/2011 color:Member bar:Mason from:17/01/2011 till:26/06/2011 color:Member

Championships and accomplishments

• The Baltimore Sun
  • Feud of the Year (2010) vs. John Cena
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2010) vs. WWE
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010)
  • Rookie of the Year (2010) – David Otunga
• World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
  • WWE Championship (1 time) – CM Punk
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – John Cena and David Otunga (1), Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (1), David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty (1)
  • Slammy Award (1 time)
    • Shocker of the Year (2010) The debut of The Nexus

Media

• WWE: Wrestling's Greatest Factions (May 27, 2014, DVD)

References

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