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The Nexus, later the New Nexus, was a villainous professional wrestling stable in WWE that competed on the Raw brand from June 7, 2010 to August 22, 2011, originally consisting of eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their 14-month existence, with David Otunga being the only member to serve the group throughout the entirety of its existence.
| The Nexus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Stable | |
| Leader(s) | Wade Barrett (1st leader) CM Punk (2nd leader) |
| Members | See below |
| Name(s) | The Nexus The New Nexus The Nexus Alliance |
| Debut | June 7, 2010 (As The Nexus) January 3, 2011 (As The New Nexus) |
| Disbanded | August 22, 2011 |
| Years active | 2010–2011 2018 |
After NXT, the group went on to antagonize the Raw roster, with then-WWE Champion John Cena as their main focus, who forcibly became a member of The Nexus after losing a match at Hell in a Cell thanks to outside interference. However, Cena was eventually removed from the group at Survivor Series after Barrett lost his WWE Championship match to Randy Orton. Barrett was replaced as leader by CM Punk, at which point the stable was renamed The New Nexus in an attempt to distance itself from The Nexus, becoming a tight-knit group dedicated to one another by faith. The group won the WWE Tag Team Championship three times, while Punk won the WWE Championship in his final match with the stable at Money in the Bank.
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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."[1] 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.[2][3] 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.[4]
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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.[5] 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, 2010 as WWE reportedly felt those acts were too violent for the company's TV-PG programming and would have caused issues with sponsors.[6][7] His absence was explained by Barrett on the June 14, 2010 edition of Raw as having felt remorse for his actions, who kicked him out of the group.[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11][12]
During the summer of 2010, The Nexus had a feud with Cena. First, on the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, Cena was defeated in a 6-on-1 handicap match by The Nexus. On July 18, 2010 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.[13] Their following match would take place at SummerSlam, 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.[14][15] 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.[16] 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.[17][18] 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.[19] 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.[20] At Night of Champions, 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.[21]
At Hell in a Cell, 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.[22] 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[23] (in reality, Tarver had a nagging groin injury and was later released from his contract in June 2011).[24] 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. The match came down to Cena and Barrett, with Barrett winning after Cena eliminated himself.[23] At Bragging Rights, The Nexus won their first championships in WWE when Cena and Otunga defeated The Dashing Ones (Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre) to win the WWE Tag Team Championship,[25] 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, 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.[26] 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, 2010 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.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30]
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, 2010 edition of Raw.[31] On the December 13, 2010 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.[32] 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.[33]
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.[34] 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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37] Over the ongoing weeks, Orton defeated all members of The New Nexus, causing several storyline injuries by punting them.[38][39][40][41] At WrestleMania XXVII, Orton defeated Punk and, at Extreme Rules, Orton defeated Punk in a Last Man Standing rematch.[42][43] 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.[44] 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.[45] The following week on Raw, it was announced that Ryan suffered an injury over the weekend and left the group.[46] 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.[47] 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.[48]
Otunga and McGillicutty worked as a tag team with the New Nexus banner until August 1, 2011[49][50] 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.[51]
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).[52]
Cancelled WWE return
Young stated that The Nexus were originally booked to return at WrestleMania 36.[53] A year later, a documentary about The Nexus was cancelled with Young theorizing it was due to Bryan leaving WWE.[54]
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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:
"I think there was probably an era from about 2002 until about [20]09-2010 where I think the show got stale because it was the same seven or eight top guys at the time who had been running the show for the duration of that. So I think the company was starting to realise, 'Look, some of these guys that we've had holding this down for years now, they're starting to get aged out. We really, really need fresh stars because the next 10 years are not looking good unless we start building them now.' So I was kind of lucky that I was along that wave. Sheamus is another one who separately came up around that time, Drew McIntyre. We all got hired on the same day. We're pretty close. So I contrast and compare myself with those two regularly but we got caught up in this wave of 'Look we need new talent. We need new guys. We need fresh stars.' So I was fortunate that my rise through the developmental ranks came at that time, which meant the company was actively looking for new stars."
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.[55]
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| I–II | Leader(s) |
|---|---|
| * | Founding member(s) |
| † | Deceased |
| Member | Joined | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Bryan | June 7, 2010 * | June 11, 2010 |
| Darren Young | June 7, 2010 * | August 16, 2010 |
| Skip Sheffield | June 7, 2010 * | August 18, 2010 |
| Michael Tarver | June 7, 2010 * | October 4, 2010 |
| John Cena | October 3, 2010 | November 21, 2010 |
| Wade Barrett (I) | June 7, 2010 * | January 3, 2011 |
| Justin Gabriel | June 7, 2010 * | January 10, 2011 |
| Heath Slater | June 7, 2010 * | January 10, 2011 |
| Husky Harris † | October 25, 2010 | January 31, 2011 |
| Mason Ryan | January 17, 2011 | June 26, 2011 |
| CM Punk (II) | December 27, 2010 | July 17, 2011 |
| David Otunga | June 7, 2010 * | August 22, 2011 |
| Michael McGillicutty | October 25, 2010 | August 22, 2011 |
Timeline
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- The Baltimore Sun
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Feud of the Year (2010) vs. WWE[57]
- Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010)[58]
- Rookie of the Year (2010) – David Otunga[59]
- World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
- WWE Championship (1 time) – CM Punk[60]
- WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) – John Cena and David Otunga (1), Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (1), David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty (1)[25][26]
- Slammy Award (1 time)[61]
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- WWE: Wrestling's Greatest Factions (May 27, 2014, DVD)
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