One Year On: The Nexus

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Two episodes removed from the original Over the Limit PPV, WWE held a "Fan Appreciation Night" where the fans supposedly voted on the types of match, the opponents and the conditions. It was, in all honesty, a rather meh event. Nothing really happened outside the norm until the main event; CM Punk vs. John Cena. Earlier in the evening, Wade Barrett, just fresh off of winning the first NXT season, had promised to make an impact and that he did as he showed up at ringside during the main event, sporting a black & yellow armband with the letter 'N' on it. Then out of the crowd emerged Michael Tarver, Daniel Bryan, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Darren Young and Skip Sheffield, all participants in NXT season one, all wearing the same armband as Barrett. The renegade rookies attacked the ring, ripping it apart, laying out anyone in sight, including ring announcers, commentators and the matches combatants. It was the night the Nexus was born.

Now we all know the Nexus has had a fairly rollercoaster year, but it's now officially been a year since that amazing inital attack. No one saw it coming, and it left a sense of shock and awe around the entire wrestling world. This was something fresh, something different and something that was potentially game-changing. It was practically universally acclaimed (there were some grumblings but they were outweighed drastically by the positive calls) and was a major angle over the summer and into the fall. it's been one year since that all took place, and I have to ask some questions:

Thoughts on the initial angle?
Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?
Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?
Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

For me personally, Nexus was something different for we as fans to get into. John Cena had a fresh number of opponents to face. They were young, hungry and at the start of the angle, very aggressive. The Nexus made a name for themselves, costing Cena the WWE title, beating up Vince, Bret Hart and others. Even after SummerSlam, when Cena joined them in October, I was enjoying the angle, then, rather than ending it with Cena destroying Barrett at TLC, it continued to chug along. And it continues to chug along even today with Punk as the leader and The Corre a break off of the group. Ultimately it's outlived its usefulness but for whatever reason it remains today.

 

[The Chosen One of WZ]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

Was one of the Biggest Shockers of 2010.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

Most of them had talent and a couple have a big upside (Wade Barret, Justin Gabrial, Michael McGillicutty, Skip Sheffield)

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

Its just another group but if managed right could really make themselves a big deal but the group is too small for my liking.

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

Good for the first few months. Then got lame.

 

[Uncle Sam]

That first night's essentially a microcosm the entire angle. Well, no, it isn't - I'm just trying to be clever. The reason that first night isn't a microcosm of the entire angle is because the entire angle is/was shit, and the first night wasn't. Outside of that first night, the entire thing is just a victim of week-by-week booking - a series of forgettable, overbooked matches and storylines that were never resolved. They thought they could capture lightning in a bottle; only, typically, the writers didn't realise that lightning doesn't come out of their arse, doesn't contain large chunks of sweetcorn and shouldn't be put on television.

Remember when Wade Barrett said Nexus had a higher purpose? I don't recall his exact wording but I believe he said it was bigger than the WWE title, bigger than John Cena and, in all likelihood, bigger than The Beatles. Well, I couldn't believe it when it was finally revealed that-- wait, no, they never revealed shit. Is it because the writers had no fucking idea where they were going with the angle and it's just been a series of ass-pulls? Yes. Yes, it is.

Wade Barrett is probably the best product of the actual stable, discounting the one nighter Daniel Bryan, and he's still not that good, is he? Tremendous on the microphone, for sure, but he only works with certain types of wrestler. Types of wrestler that Randy Orton and John Cena certainly weren't. Intercontinental title material. That said, I would have liked him to have won the WWE title just to give a point to a storyline that became inconceivably blunt.

Why is CM Punk the leader of the Nexus? I still don't know. It was never explained. It was just, "Hurr, CM Punk's a heel, right? Yeah, uh-- NEXUS!!" I assume the actual reason is that a group of shitty heels - Z-list David Otunga, the beginning of the start of the origin of Mr. Perfect's adopted son and Cardiff's own Mason Ryan - need an actual talent to anchor them. Punk's anchored them alright, but he's stopped moving as a result. Being stuck wearing Nexus merchandise and cutting promos on behalf of a cause that he has nothing to do with has robbed him of his dynamism. He's still great (and at his best when Nexus aren't around), but I'll never forgive Nexus for dragging Punk down, nor for dragging down the goldmine that could have been Punk/Cena.

The absolute pinnacle of the Nexus angle was the Punk/Orton feud. Punk was getting revenge on Orton for costing him his world title years earlier - he had motivation, a reason to be doing what he was doing. The two had great matches together, month after month. Best of all, the actual Nexus spent most of their time getting their heads punted and being written off TV.

The future of success of Wade Barrett, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk or even Skip Sheffield and Michael Tarver will have nothing to do with their association with this damp squib of a storyline. Overbooked, overlong and just plain bad. Kill it.

 

[TheEraofAwesome]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

When the attack initially happened, I thought it was done to perfection. All 8 of these guys felt like they were treated like shit and went to fight the system. So it had a lot of potential to be an amazing storyline.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

I would say a good portion of them have good potential in them with the exception of 2 - Mason Ryan and David Otunga. These 2 have proven they are only muscle heads and nothing more.

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

Pointless. In my personal opinion, they've been pointless since Money In The Bank last year, but at least they were the focal point of the Pay Per Views in 2010. Now, what are they? They are just filler to fill in time for Raw. They are ten times worse now then what they were in 2010 - And I despised Nexus throughout 2010 for being so poorly handled.

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

Most disappointing storyline ever. This was one of the most mishandled storylines I ever watched. They went from being against the WWE System, to just getting their asses handed by John Cena by himself. Nexus became a bunch of *****es that I never could get behind. No one in Nexus has thus far benefited from being in the group. You'll probably argue Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel of The Corre, but what has that accomplished any different from Nexus? Nexus was a complete failure and accomplished nothing other then to disappoint like usual.

 

[thatcrazybiatch]

gotta agree that as a whole the nexus storyline has sank BAD, from the best thing in the cena era to... for me another reason to hate cena!
they was strong but once the vs cena fued started they where slowly made into cena's bitches, anytime 5 men lose to one its never good news see'ing a group so serious getting turned comedy by cenas cheesy jokes didnt help either!

just imaging if cena actualy joined nexus :O and turned heel, cena wouldnt get ripped on and nexus would still be strong, CENA OF NEXUS VS THE ROCK WOOOOOOO

what could have been

 

[zlhe519]

I totally agree

Vince and his writers, said okay, lets have 8 guys jump Cena as a debut and the rest of the angle, have them lay down as jobbers and have Cena beat them up every week, till its over. I want you to think about it, after Cena got beat down that week, he basically didnt go down till December when Punk took over. He killed Darren Young, and destroyed everyone else, let me know what you think, its sad

 

[Thriller Ant]

The debut of Nexus was one of the greatest things I've seen in wrestling in a lot time. Absolutely no one saw it coming, and there was an excitement around here that I hadn't seen before or since, with the Rock coming back the only moment even coming close. Nexus should have been huge.

The issues appeared almost immediately with the firing of Bryan Danielson. He definitely would have been a main focus of the group, but instead was gone. Even tougher than that, however, was when it came time to book the group. They came out feuding with John Cena, the face of the WWE. As a group, they were booked to be nearly unstoppable, destroying everything in their path. In singles or tag matches, however, they were booked as rookies and jobbed quite a bit. Add in the injuries and reshuffling of the group multiple times, and you have a group that could not live up to the hype.

The angle does have to get credit for bringing all of those guys into WWE, even though all of them other than Danielson are pretty mediocre. It was also a reminder to how awesome WWE can be at its best. No matter what anyone claims, everyone was on the edge of their seat and excited the night Nexus debuted. No matter what the guys who were in Nexus do with their careers, the first night will always live on in my mind.

 

[KnowYoRole]

I absolutely LOVED the Nexus angle. Their debut on RAW was one of the greatest things I'd ever seen on television. The fact that it was kept completely under wraps and not spoiled by any dirtsheets made it all the more incredible. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Then Daniel Bryan got released, and I was confused and a little angry, honestly. But I did not panic and decided to wait things out. Sure enough, the next few months the storyline was the biggest reason why I watched monday night RAW. I would never have imagined this group of seven NXT rookies could look so convincing as a unit. They ran through everything, everyone, and it was damn well entertaining.

Summerslam came, and the WWE vs Nexus match was great. I, like many, however, thought the storyline lost a ton of steam when the Nexus lost and questioned that booking decision. But sure enough, and soon enough, WWE threw another curveball and had John Cena JOIN the nexus. This is where Wade Barrett really began to shine and where I really started becoming a fan of his. He would play the role of evil mastermind to perfection and was so convincing. I loved him ripping into John Cena, toying with his mind, and making his life hell. Even though at the time the Nexus was severely downsized, losing Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield, I still tuned in to watch the Nexus every single week.

Then Barrett had a match with Orton for the title, and if he lost, Cena got fired. I really thought Barrett would win here and he didn't to my immense disappointment. To this day, I think it was a poor decision. Barrett was on a ROLL at that time. His heat was monstrous and no doubt he was the number one heel in the company, and that was the perfect time to make him champion. He'd win and then go on to face Cena at Mania, losing the title, and ending the Nexus angle. I thought it would play out that way, but sadly it did not.

So, then Cena was fired. He gave a great "farewell" speech and then went on his way out. He made some hit and run attacks on Nexus, which I personally enjoyed, but I think it should have gone on a bit longer. Then Cena was rehired by Barrett shortly after, then absolutely destroyed Wade Barrett in the TLC match, which was far worse in quality than their HITC bout. Dropping chairs onto him and sidelining him for about a week.

I thought the Nexus angle wasn't over, but I no longer began to be entertained. The Nexus was not as imposing a force as they were before; now they were just "there". So just as I started to lose hope in the storyline, WWE throws yet ANOTHER curveball and makes CM Punk the leader. Storyline picks up a lot more steam and I'm hooked again.

But of course, that doesn't last long. Cena gets injured, WWE panics, and Punk is moved into a feud with Orton, which Punk loses, and the Nexus is now officially a joke. What should have rejuvenated the Nexus had not done so. Fast forward to today, and the Nexus is such a freaking joke. They're pathetic really, and they don't even have the numbers game to their advantage. They have Otunga, Harris, McGillicutty, and Ryan, a huge Welshman who despite his immense size, I cannot take seriously as he looks lost whenever I see him. Punk still looks like a main event jobber, and the Nexus sucks. The Corre is a little better, but they really aren't that great and kind of suck a little too.

Overall, my thoughts? The storyline was fun and great until TLC, and has sucked big time since then. The New Nexus and the Corre for that matter need to go soon because they're just completely useless.

 

[TheKingHustla]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

It was one of the best angles I've seen in a long time. It was an angle that actually made sense with the way they described the events that caused it, and the outcome was great.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

I always did think that the individuals in Nexus were weak. I never did think they were good enough to stand on their own as a main eventer. I saw a bunch of mid carders at the most. Daniel Bryan is pretty good but not a main eventer. Justin Gabriel is my favorite out of them all but he'll be no more than a tag team guy with or without Heath Slater. Even Wade Barrett, I never saw him being as good as other people thought he was. It made me start to think that maybe the WWE felt the same way, because he was always attached to a group. Even now. All the other ex-members are now either in development or being repackaged, because at the moment, they've all basically failed.

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

I think that it is weak. I see them now as just sidekicks to CM Punk. They are accessories. And yeah, they gave them the tag team gold, but they give that to everyone and no one really cares anymore. Mason Ryan shows promise, but the other guys Mcgillicutty (or however you spell that) and Otunga are going to flop badly when they do eventually break up.

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

I thought it started off well, but I think that Cena ultimately destroyed this storyline. And I don't really want to bash Cena in this thread because I'm not a Cena basher, but the storyline with Cena vs Nexus destroyed them and made them less credible. They were out wrestled, and out smarted by one man, when they are supposed to be this big unstoppable movement. If they would have destroyed Cena and went on to destroy other people, it would have worked better, but seeing them dismantled by one man really doomed this group. Even with CM Punk running the group, Orton systematically took all of them out, making that version of the group look weak. It's sad that both of the WWE's favorite guys who they have win all the time, destroyed a group that could have been as big as any other faction in history, if written right.

 

[HorsemenNo4]

Thoughts on the initial angle?
It was brilliant. 8 guys who were upset over their treatment on NXT taking their anger out on the biggest name in the company. After that, they continue to destroy other superstars. Wade said it was 'part of a bigger picture.' It was exciting to see where these guys were going.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?
Wade, Skip, Tarver were pretty good on the mic. The rest of them were expandable. It's a shame Bryan was fired from WWE. It would have been really interesting to see him as a heel in this group. Dave Ortunga seemed like the breakout star but he still hasn't broken out. He's pretty close to being a jobber (don't know how he's a tag champ now).

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?
Absolute garbage! Wade was doing a good job as the leader until he 'became obsessed with the title' and made Cena join. That broke the angle right there. Once CM Punk took over, Nexus died. No offense to CM Punk, but he killed Nexus and made it into Straight Edge Society 2.0. The Corre started off being the better of the 2 groups. Now they're a joke as well. It will be interesting to see where Skip lands when he returns. What group will he join or will he even join one?

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?
It started off really stroung. I enjoyed the first few months. The whole WWE locker room emptying out to defend their guys but Nexus continuing their sneak attacks. It felt like the NWO days. Eventually the shock factor wore off. They started loosing and kicking out members of their group. Wade became the main player while everyone else was riding his coat tails. Cena was forced to join and it made them look even weaker since he was clearly still a face and sabotaging their matches. The group that started out wanting to damage WWE became the Dungeon of Doom in 2000's. They became obsessed with destroying CenaNation (instead of Hulkamania). They ultimately failed and the group fell apart from within. Once CM Punk took over and Wade was kicked out, the group stopped existing in my eyes.

R.I.P. Nexus. You had a good future ahead of you, but the writers destroyed one of their best creations.

 

[FSWWE]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

It was a really good angle, something I haven't seen in many years...
A bunch of "rookies" just assaulted the WWE - 5 star debut!!

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

I was impressed with Wade Barret and Justin Gabriel...
Wade in his rookie year was absolutely fantastic, the promos, the matches everything!
He showed that he could play with the big boys and be relevant...
Justin has an awesome in-ring skills, however he has lacks of charisma and he is the one that we don't know anything...

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

It's simply awful... I can't believe in a stable when CM Punk is the leader...
He wasn't made for that, he is a great singles competitor and he can make a name from himself by being a smart and incredible performer!
He has awesome mic skills and awesome in ring ability, he doesn't need guys bigger than him to be his "dogs"...

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

Started incredibly good, after Barret left turned awful and boring!
David Otunga is the only guy I like now!! And I'm glad that he is a 2x Tag Team Champion
[/QUOTE]

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Nexus debut was one the most shocking moments I've ever seen in WWE. John Cena, the WWE Champion, was destroyed by this group of young heels who wanted to make an impact. He was torn apart, and the chaos that surrounded this attack was unreal, because nobody was safe. Everyone who surrounded the ringside are was a target. CM Punk managed to receive a few licks from the Nexus, but his thrashing didn't compare to Cena's beating. The Nexus attacked and destroyed the top man in WWE. It was one the biggest debuts ever.

Out of all the members in the Nexus, Wade Barrett is the shinning star, obliviously. Feuding with John Cena and Randy Orton is a huge deal, especially for a guy who's new to the Raw brand. Sure, other members of Nexus went on to have a few reigns as Tag Team Champions, but Barrett is the only one who broke into the main event. It's obvious WWE wants to groom Barrett into a big star, but I still think he has a long way to go. Every other member of Nexus might spend most of their time in the mid card, because I really don't see any superstar qualities in them.

As far as the present Nexus goes, I have been a little bit disappointed. At first, I thought the New Nexus would be something fierce. I thought Punk's Nexus would make Barret's Nexus look like a bunch of sissies. The initiations were so brutal and hard to watch. Punk had a new philosophy, and he was hell bent on enforcing it. But the feud with Cena never reached that epic level, and heading into Wrestlemania, this stable was torn apart by Randy Orton. The New Nexus never reached that high level that I thought it would reach. Yeah, I know Otunga and McGillicutty are Tag Team Champions, but I doubt they'll have a memorable run.

The Nexus debut will always stick in my mind, because it was one of the most memorable moments in WWE history. But I think WWE is trying way too hard to stretch the Nexus storyline. Although, there were some shocking moments along the way. Daniel Bryan's return at Summerslam was VERY unexpected (considering the fact that he was legit fired from the company) and Cena losing to Barrett at Hell In A Cell was unreal. The crowd couldn't believe what they were witnessing. The #1 guy was forced to join a group that had made his life a living hell, and he was treated like shit during his time with the Nexus. I know a lot of people were letdown by the "Free Or Fired" angle, but I loved it. Cena had to make a tough decision. He could've screwed Orton out of the WWE Championship, but he chose to do the right thing, knowing that this conscious decision would cost him his dream job. Still, I think Nexus has ran it's course. The gang attacks can become tiresome after a while, and Punk's new vision of a ruthless stable really hasn't shown. The Nexus had their moments of glory, but I think it's time for WWE to put this stable to rest.

 

[Wade's Public Transit Bomb]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

Anyone who wasn't blown away or at least in complete shock watching that is either lying or didn't see it. The WWE NEVER has their top guys get their asses handed to them by guys lower on the card.. And The Nexus guys, sans Wade, weren't even *officially* on the card.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

I know people talk about a Sheamus or a Morrison as to who dropped the "fastest" down the card into "limbo," but I don't think anyone dropped down the card faster and harder than Wade Barrett. His first 6 months he is charged with bringing interest into Raw.The last six months, even his biggest fans are "meh" to his current role. The weird part is that people were actually interested in what was going to happen with him when they actually put some effort into the guy. I understand if it was "too much, too soon" if they had given him the title last year. However, I also think it was a case of the WWE being too scared to push someone new.

When he was the leader of the Nexus, Wade was on point. He never looked uncomfortable or like he wanted to crawl into a corner because nervousness. He did little things like pull his guys out of the ring to keep them from getting their asses kicked or was always the first to charge down the mountain. Watching him as the leader just seemed to perfect. He felt like a big deal even though the people around him are/were perceived as shit. And the fans booed him out of the building even when most couldn't name the other Nexus guys off the top of their heads. The guy was amazing in that role.

The other members also had their roles as well. Skippy was Stan Hansen 2010, Tarver, Health, and Young were quintessential flying monkeys, and Gabriel was the exclamation point. Minus Daniel Bryan.. Who lasted for one night, and sorry wrestling nerdz, but generally, the WWE Universe didn't give two shits about this guy. The angle was never about him and the fact that it continued for months without him should prove this. And you're guess is as good as mine as to why Otunga is around. His wife can't be THAT big of a star (esp now that she lost all that weight).

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

I think it is interesting how a lot of people claim Punk can turn a turd into a diamond, but has he brought any interest in this group of thugs?

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

I think the "original" Nexus was perfect. Never-mind that. Wade was perfect in that role. It was the first time in a long, long, long there was an actual drama element to the show. It wasn't just some bully looking to ass rape John Cena. It wasn't just some jerkface trying to prove he was better than John Cena. It was a well played, well developed character questioning the very core of John Cena. In essence, questioning the core of what every WWE superstar and diva is.

Now, much like Wade's group on SD, I ask:

Who gives a fuck?

 

[lexus89]

Lets face it the Nexus died when CmPunk took over
Punk is a great heel but in the faction , the writers booked to centered towards Wrestlemania .in my own opinion if Shane Mcmahon as the u force behind the Nexus , it would have explained his absence from the company and made the nexus as a better version of the invasion angle

 

[gbswim972]

Over all The Nexus angle has been a wash... The First night was awesome! totally put me on the edge of my seat! I was excited something new... was pretty mad that Bryan got released for choking Justin Roberts with his tie..... all be cause Benoit strangled his family.... like 3 years prior... so who cares bring back the choking.. it's intense and it made the night... Anyway back to topic....

So the intial impact was a success....

As for members... out of the orginal Nexus I think that Slater, Bryan, and Gaberial have the real talent... Barrett and Otunga have potential and well we didn't get enough of the other 3 to really make a decision!

As for the actual Nexus story.... Started out great! Then along came Superman Cena.... Thats where vince went wrong... they could have been the biggest impact in professional wrestling in....probably.... EVER! But Vince couldn't just let Cena fall.... No, too many crying 6 yr olds... cant have that.... So now we're battling with Cena... Cena becomes part of Nexus.... Potential to take this to new heights!!!! Cena goes heel!!!! NOPE!!!! He's the whipping boy for Barrett... STUPID!!!!!! Then they fire Cena.... but instead of him being gone for a week or so like he actually got fired, hes on the show beating up the nexus.... 7 vs.....1.... and the 7 can't win..... that was the end of Nexus....

Then we have Punk take over.... ok... could be good.... Then again.... how could I expect the WWE to actually make something good out of it... we have McGillicutty and Harris in now and I like both of them.... but we send the other 2 that were actually worth something over to smackdown with Barrett to for the Coore.... also a joke....

So they went from a great idea and a great start to possibly the biggest joke fraction since the Union or the J.O.B Squad

 

[Starchild]

The debut of the Nexus that night on Raw a year ago will forever remain as one of the most shocking moments in the history of wrestling for me. There is not a soul on here that can truthfully say they saw that one coming. And the way it was done was just jaw-dropping. They completely destroyed the ring and ringside area, and attacked everyone in their path. Punk and the SES, commentators, ring announcers, referees...it was totally insane. Then of course they took turns beating the hell out of the WWE champion...rookies just coming into the main roster destroying the WWE champion, just let that sink in again. I think most of us were just left speechless. The week after that was wild on the wrestling sites and the WZ forums with speculation, comparisons to the iconic NWO, etc.

As for the individuals, there are a few who have potential. I think once they go solo Gabriel and Sheffield will be good. Of course DBD's time with Nexus was over before it got started, but his return at Summerslam was great and he still has a high upside. Then there is Wade Barrett who is the breakout star of the group. Immediately coming in and feuding with John Cena for 6 months was a big ass deal. The Corre thing now has gotten kind of silly, but I have no doubts that Barrett is a future world champion and main event player for years to come.

Nexus as it stands now has run it's course. I am only really interested in Punk and would like him to go solo again. Like Mitch, I initially thought Punk being the leader had a lot of potential. Unfortunately we never really got the full blown feud between Punk and Cena that we all wanted and instead were treated to Orton single handedly destroying Nexus at every turn.

When I think about Nexus, I like to think about the original members, not the new incarnation with New Nexus and the Corre. When they were 7 strong before kicking guys out and Sheffield's injury, Nexus was an unstoppable force. I didn't much care for them losing at Summerslam and I think it may have hurt at the time. Still though, they added a couple new members and then it culminated with Cena having to join. I think aside from the brief resurgence at the beginning of Punk's affiliation with them, Nexus died right after Cena was fired. They made it seem like he was going to really leave for a little while at least, but he was back every week and was hired back 3 weeks later only to promptly beat Barrett, resulting in his departure from the group. That situation was handled totally wrong imo. Overall it's not really turned into much, but for the first 5-6 months I'd say Nexus was one of the best angle in wrestling in years.

 

[WooWooWoo1999]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

One thing for sure, I'll never forget it.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

This made me think that WWE has the ability to push younger guys and I think that is one of the main things that they learned with this angle.

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

It has turned into a piece of trash and needs to end soon or they will all be wished best of luck in their future endeavors. And personally, I feel sorry for them. They have been completely buried by management.

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

I wish they would have never thrown Punk in to all of this. They started with eight. Bryan got fired. 7-Sheffield had a severe injury that put him on the shelf. 6-Michael Tarver....John Cena destroyed him 5-Darren Young....Ex communicated Slater, Gabriel, Barrett-The Corre. Otunga is the only one who has stuck with the group through everything. The downfall of this angle was Cena joining Nexus and being fired. That's what began all of this stuff with Punk.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Thoughts on the initial angle?

Initially, I was extremely excited about Nexus. This was a completely different approach to factions in the WWE and Nexus made more of an impact in a single night than most factions can muster in their entire existence. Generally speaking, the vast majority of the original Nexus went from being nobodys to the most talked about thing in wrestling literally overnight. The show in which they debuted on had been very mediocre in total but their debut, the destruction of the ringside area & crew and the beatdown of John Cena is still the best ending to any wrestling television show that I've seen in many years.

Thoughts on the individuals within Nexus?

I was surprised at just how good Wade Barrett was on his role. He played the role of a confident, smooth, charismatic leader that's able to direct and keep his troops in line extremely well. I'd liked him on NXT but this is really where I looked at Barrett and thought that he could be a long term star in the WWE. Skip Sheffield was doing really well as the group's muscle. He was no longer this goofy sort of guy we saw on NXT but an intense, menacing enforcer for the group. David Otunga is someone that I still think has potential to be a star. On NXT, he showed good skill on the mic and came across as an arrogant playboy type of guy. They went a different route with him in Nexus and I think it was a mistake. Michael Tarver is someone that I just never really got much out of. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater struck me as a couple of guys that weren't ready to be where they were generally speaking. I think they've improved of course but they've definitely been in Wade Barrett's shadow. Darren Young is also just someone I never really got much out of. Husky Harris is someone that I think has potential if he gets himself into better shape. The limits of his conditioning were obvious once he wrestled longer than 5 minutes. Michael McGuillicutty is someone that I see nothing special about. He has the charisma & personality of wet wallpaper. Mason Ryan is green as hell but he has an incredible look about him. Ryan is someone that will probably never be accepted by the IWC because of his muscular physique. He'll be branded with the "you can't wrestle" stuff no matter how much he might possibly improve.

Thoughts on the present form of Nexus?

Nexus in its current form isn't really a dominant group as they once were. The idea of having CM Punk lead Nexus was an intriguing idea in the beginning but it doesn't have the same feel about it. Nexus is no longer this dominant group that should be feared by the WWE locker room. They come across more like directionless thugs who need Punk to do their thinking for them. It's sort of a waste of time for them and it's definitely a waste of Punk's talent.

Thoughts on the Nexus storyline as a whole?

Since Nexus has been around for roughly a year, there's definitely bound to be peaks & valleys when you look at the angle as a whole. The result is mixed and given the length of time the faction has been around and the current wrestling climate, I think that's about as good as anyone could expect. The WWE isn't really big on factions and really hasn't been to a huge degree so the idea of a young group of complete unknowns coming out of nowhere to take on the WWE was a unique novelty. The Nexus' feud with John Cena was rightfully the feud of the year in 2010 but that was due almost entirely to the presence of Wade Barrett. I think WWE could have used Nexus to ultimately do more to build up the other guys on the group rather than just Wade Barrett. Most of them came across as looking like chumps in one on one situations with the likes of John Cena or Randy Orton. On one hand, it's easy to criticize the WWE for that. On the other, Cena & Orton are legit superstars and have been for a very long time. Just having guys like David Otunga or Heath Slater pop up and book them as being on Cena or Orton's level wouldn't have made much sense. Cena & Orton are established, long term draws for the WWE. The initial incarnation of Nexus will probably go down as the most talked about, debated and generally discussed faction in wrestling since the days of the Invasion storyline. It was memorable and it was noteworthy. In years time, if guys like Slater, Gabriel & Otunga have been able to come into their own, I think people will have to look back on Nexus overall with much more kindness than they might presently. If those guys turn out to be legit stars in years to come, Nexus will be what got them noticed initially. It's what put them on the big stage and got people to talk about them. As far as Nexus under CM Punk goes, it might be too early to tell. There's still time for current members to take something out of this and, also in times to come, they might be able to come into their own as well. Ultimately, the legacy of Nexus isn't really something that can be put into the history books just now.