A) Ultimately, I'd have to look at the ratings numbers, I'd suppose. I don't think ratings really dropped from where they were at before the Nexus angle with Cena started. At the same time, I don't think they went up either. Someone would have to come and verify this piece of the puzzle for me. If they stayed in a steady line, I'd call it a push. In corporate though, if they were expecting the needle to substantially move on upwards off this program, it was probably a fail. Someone also would have to look at the Pay-Per-View numbers as well, comparing 2009 to 2010, comparing May to June, to July, To August, all the way on up til TLC here in December. If buyrates managed to trek upwards through the duration of the angle, then there is no way you can say this was unsuccessful (Especially for these last three PPV's). If buyrates plummeted, then there is no way that you could really say it was successful. Somebody in the know would have to do the fact checking here for me and determine if it was successful here or not.
B) In putting every rookie front and center on RAW from NXT Season 1, in arguably the top storyline for the RAW Brand, at the end of the day, didn't push the ratings for NXT Season 2 any further. Season 3, it was taken off the air, and now is an internet show. In using the Season 1 Rookies in a prominent role on the major brand, it didn't grow the NXT show at all. If that is taken into account, in this area, the Nexus could be called a failure, since the first seven rookies and their roles on the RAW Brand didn't seem to make people really feel that future NXT seasons and shows were "Must See TV" based off the exploits of Barrett and Co. If they were banking on this angle to also push viewership of WWE NXT, then I'd have to say, somewhat conclusively, in this aspect they failed.
C) There was talk on the internet about Nexus merchandise being not quite the hot seller. That can be looked at in a couple ways. The live audience seemingly gave the group a steady dose of heel heat throughout the angle. They were feuding with the face of the WWE, John Cena (beloved by many and hated by some), and with the type of heel characters they were booked as, I personally wouldnt of expected them to have their merchandise sell all that much. This bullet point is more subjective to the opinions of whoever judges it, I guess. I guess if McMahon really wanted every man, woman, and child dressed in a Nexus shirt, I guess it could be branded a failure. I don't work for the WWE, therefore that crap doesn't matter to me. As a wrestling fan watching on TV, to hear all the boos, and not see that many "N" shirts, I think Barrett did his job fairly well.
D) As for the angle itsself, as just a standard wrestling fan watching on television, for most of the story, I enjoyed it. Nine (Excluding Daniel Bryan and obviously John Cena, I think that was the total number of wrestlers that could claim membership, at one point or another in the group) rookies who haven't proven a thing just made Cena's life miserable. From the start of the story in June, all the way up until the second RAW after the Survivor Series, sitting back and just looking at the big picture view of it, I felt I was entertained. The every day wrestling fan consistently booed them, meaning the people consistently cared. If I was to bust out the magnifying glass, there are spots I could go through and find alterations to where, in my opinion, it could have been better than it was, but I doubt Vince McMahon would've let this go on for 6 months had it been a total fail. This isn't like the Invasion of 2001, where with the nature of buying WCW and ECW, that storyline kind of had to go on for as long as it did, Nexus could've been easily done away with after 3 months if it was a total bomb. That said though, from the 2nd RAW after Survivor Series, all the way up until the completion of TLC, I'd have to agree it all fell flat. The end of it all just came acrossed so rushed, and in a way where I'm not saying "I wonder what Nexus is going to do next", but instead I'm saying "What the hell can Nexus even really do next". They wrote it in a way where I'm thinking about how dynamite this upcoming Cena vs. Punk feud could potentially be, and I'm finding myself barely thinking about what happens with Nexus on RAW this Monday. Instead of a smooth flow into the next chapter of the Nexus saga, it feels like they've gotta start on a whole new book. As a viewer, I'd have to say in terms of television, I'll look back on the Nexus storyline in 2010 positively, although when it comes to The Nexus, the ending really sucked, and it did leave a rather sour taste in my mouth.
E) Finally, putting on my IWC hat, the angle gave Wade Barrett some real solid traction within the company. He seems like the type of worker that can maintain the reactions he is getting from the crowd, and can do nothing but continue to improve upon his craft. As for the rest of the group though, once they are all their own single entity, and "They're Not One", I don't really see how any of this really helped any of them. If we see Barrett vs. Otunga, Otunga might get a favorable reaction based off the disdain the crowd has for Barrett. Once that program ends, I would guess the reactions towards Otunga would dry up as well. I don't really see David really making it far unless he really dramatically improves over the next year. Harris and McGuillicutty may serve as a future tag team, and I could see them doing good things for the division if they add more teams and make a division. I could see them being a top heel team. I don't know how good they are in the ring, I could probably count on one hand the number of times i've seen them wrestle on RAW (Due to my schedule, the only day I have free to watch wrestling on a consistent weekly basis anymore is RAW, so I only caught/catch Smackdown, NXT, and Superstars every great once in a while). Those two seem to be solid middle of the card keepers. Skip Sheffield, when he returns, if booked right, they could get a solid years use out of him in a couple programs before he eventually fades and gets his release. Justin Gabriel I'm on the fence with, based on what I've seen with his character, and in the ring, his career can still go in any possible direction. In present day he's definitely a keeper, although I'd keep him with Heath Slater for now, ride them out as a team for a little while longer, then release Slater. I liked Tarver's look and mean streak, didn't get to see much of his wrestling but I get the feeling I've seen all that I've needed to with him. Let him work his flaws in developmental. Throw Heath Slater and Darren Young into the scrap heap as soon as they can and it wouldn't bother me any. In conclusion though, if you're looking at this from the point of view that every other member of Nexus were just tools to get Wade Barrett over, then it's a success. Wade's got a real good future awaiting him, as it stands now, in my opinion. But on the flip side of the coin, this angle got one person out of 9 over, with a platform set in place to proceed forward. Everyone else, once they disband, will have to practically backtrack and start over a little bit. I can't judge success or failure here, since they all still have futures to play out, whether it's only one more day, or eleven more years on the active roster. This area seems to be something that could only be judged in hindsight.
Sorry if I made this a bit too long, I guess I had to throw out the many different ways in which I tried to view the Nexus story.
