Should WWE bring back the Nexus?

[NegativeFeedback]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/261439-exclusive-wwe-officials-considering-bring-back-nexus

I was thinking about how directionless Wade Barrett was right now and then I remembered this article from last year. After digging it up, it says that WWE officials were contemplating bringing back the Nexus as a way to get Wade Barrett over again.

Now think about it. Wade Barrett isn't the only Nexus member fumbling on the roster. Ryback, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga and Heath Slater are just as directionless as he is. Hell, they gave Michael McGillicutty a new name, a midcard title and Paul Heyman as a mouth-piece, and the guy is still avoiding any real feuds and losing most of his matches.

Other than John Cena, the only ex-Nexus member who seems to have a solid role on Raw is Darren Young and that role is JOBBER. I guess we can count Bray Wyatt, but I really won't count him, because WWE repackaged him as a completely new superstar and I doubt they will ever mention his ties to the Nexus ever again.

I think bringing back the Nexus together can work. Most of these guys have fleshed out characters now so it would be interesting to see them interact after a few years separated from each other. With Wade, Ryback, Otunga, Slater, Gabriel, Axel, Young and fellow NXT contestant Titus O'Neil, the Nexus can actually be successful and redeem itself from their poorly executed run in 2010.

What to do you think? Would it be a good idea to give these guys something to do and spotlight them as the Nexus again? Or is it just best to let them all fumble on the card separately?

 

[chicagokmc]

The problem now is that there are too many heel stables - Heyman guys, Real Americans, Shield, Wyatts. I'm not even sure who the Nexus would feud with (it can't be Cena, they did that for longer than they should have the first time). The closest to that I would do is to put Barrett and Ryback together with Otunga possibly as manager.

 

[LSN80]

The report you posted was from 9 months ago, making WWE bringing back the Nexus highly unlikely.

The question is: Of what relevance could any of those members bring at this point? Sure, the argument is always there that the 'whole is greater then the sum of its parts', but even then, the Nexus didn't accomplish a great deal when they were together. They started off with a bang, and had a few good months, but other then that, they really didn't achieve much in the grand scheme of things other then to instigate what could have been the launching of Wade Barrett's career.

The other problem is this: The mystique with these men is completely gone. All have been relegated to jobber or Superstars status that they no longer bring any sort of relevancy. Simply put, I wouldn't care if a group such as this attacked, because they've been shoved down the roster so far that they no longer matter. Barrett gets on TV to take the pinfall, Slater is part of the biggest running joke in WWE today, and Young gets in occasional offense but otherwise, he's there as enhancement talent. And there's nothing wrong with that, however, it doesn't truly make for a threatening stable. Evolution, they would not be.

The mystique and the "What will be" factor are gone. We know what we've gotten with the Nexus members, and it leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[thebarber]

pretty sure Daniel Bryan was in NEXUS and is doing somethnig pretty solid and is quite over. Nexus served its purpose, its surprising most of them are still on the active roster in some capacity. Throwing together these low card jobbers brings nothing, unless they have a genuine storyline behind it. I mean having Wade Barrett, Ryback, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater unite.......Bray Wyatt has big things planned as does Curits Axel. No, it isnt a good idea at all. Maybe the truth of the matter is that Barrett is good, but he isnt destined for greatness.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

thebarber beat me to it but yeah, what about Daniel Bryan? It was short lived but he was still was a part of The Original Nexus & is doing fantastic.

Also I don't see your logic for saying since Bray Wyatt was repackaged you wouldn't include him in a Nexus reunion but Curtis Axel was also repackaged & you would include him, just because he isn't being pushed to the moon & is a mid-carder? Well he is a mid-card champion! I really enjoy Axel's work & I think he is doing just fine.

As for a Nexus reunion of sorts for the rest, no absolutely not. First off the original Nexus storyline fizzled out miserably & if there was ever to be some sort of Newer New Nexus it would be a fewer years down the road because WWE wants to capitalize on the success of the former Nexus members, not because the majority of them haven't done anything & WWE needs to sell some old Nexus shirts sitting in their wearhouse.

Secondly I really don't see Slater, Otunga or Gabriel going further in WWE. I don't want to be harsh & say just fire them but I don't see any of them ever moving up on the WWE Food Chain.

& lastly, Ryback & Wade Barrett. They are both stuck in virtually the same spot & have virtually the same problems, they are somewhat boring & lack the charisma themselves to really break through to the next level. They both have very unevolved characters that the audience has never really seemed to get invested in & WWE would need to spend time investing in these characters for anything to really come of them IMO. But from what I see Barrett has already had his oppritunities & failed & now it's WWE's time to test Ryback. WWE seems like they only really plan on investing in Ryback at this point. They seem to have lost interest in Barrett, sort of like the general crowds. But I don't even know how much longer WWE will try & push Ryback because at this point he seems to be following Barrett's road & has gone from main eventing PPV's with Cena to the mid-card level. I don't see Vince just letting the character die but if Ryback is really a failure then I don't see Vince just holding onto hope forever either.

So I'd say right now is way too early for WWE to bring back The Nexus & with several other heel stables/factions, I see little to no point in reuniting them.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think The Nexus had its time and, to some degree, I think WWE squandered what could have been a great opportunity. The Nexus could have stabilized its members as long term stars in WWE had they been booked solidly rather than ultimately being fed to John Cena. I'm not saying that they'd be mowing down everyone on the card and utterly dominating the company, but I think WWE had an opportunity to establish a solid foundation for a group of fresh stars.

However, almost all members of The Nexus have floundered in WWE. Heath Slater has been wallowing in the low mid-card picture since the end of Nexus, as has Justin Gabriel. Ryback, AKA Skip Sheffield is sort of just floating around right now with no real direction at the moment, Darren Young has spent most of his career as jobber to the stars in WWE, David Otunga has been everything from a low level stooge to a "legal adviser" to whatever and now poor Wade Barrett looks like his career is swirling the drain as well. Ironically, the only original member of Nexus is the only one who has consistently flourished in WWE is the one that most people didn't have high hopes for 3 years ago, and that's Daniel Bryan.

Right now, WWE has a very strong faction in The Shield and I'd imagine they're going to have another one with The Wyatt Family. Both factions are interesting and packed with fresh talent, most of whom are only in their 20s to very early 30s. I don't see WWE dotting the landscape with a ton of factions, especially if one of those factions is made up almost entirely of wrestlers who have floated around being jobbed out to bigger stars for the past several years.

 

[Flash H]

The WWE had its chance with The Nexus. The real problem was that their debut was so great that the group and storyline couldn't nearly live up to the great debut.

I could see eventually maybe a teasing of the group returning or a one night thing down the road, but in today's WWE they just wouldn't be as big of a deal since they are many other heel stables and superstars that are trying to get pushed.

 

[MWRedskins]

dont want to see this happen. the Nexus has come and went and while it was good at first, it just got too old too fast. i like Axel where he is. sure he's just a midcard champion, but having Heyman as his mouthpeice hopefully will get him over which is really all he needs is to get over. he has the in ring skills, just needs to get heat. i like Bray Wyatt right where he is, so kick him out of a Nexus reunion. i really dont want to see Gabriel or Slater higher on the card. Gabriel has a nice finisher and decent moves, but he's not someone i call super exciting. maybe if wwe created a new Crusierweight division, i would change my views on Gabriel and Slater, but as of now, i am not big fans of them because they arent great in the ring or on the mic. Ryback (Skip Sheffield) had a gimmick change that WWE did to try to make you forget that he was in Nexus, similar to how WWE wants it's fans to forget that Dolph Ziggler was in the Spirit Squad and i dont really want Ryback to move up the card. he's got a great look and nice power moves, but his mic work is very bad. Otunga is lousy in the ring, he's good at promos, but lousy in the ring. i like Wade Barrett and feel that he needs more exposure and better music as he's good at promos and good in the ring but i rather him get pushed on his own than have him bring back the Nexus.

 

[MCMG]

Do we really need another heel stable? Would it not just become repetitive and boring with three separate heel stables doing similar things.

While I think Barrett needs something to salvage his career, I don't think that teaming with guys who have effectively been jobbers for the last 2 years would be a good career move. Indeed, he needs to be pushed as a singles star - that is the best move for his career.

 

[Mustang Sally]

If WWE were to even consider re-forming Nexus, the purpose would be to re-establish Wade Barrett as a force, a nod to the idea that he's better as a group leader than an individual performer.

On one hand, taking former members out of their current roles just to accommodate Wade seems a big effort just to fortify a mid-level performer. On the other hand, guys like Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and David Otunga don't seem to have anything better going for them. Slater's in a group now, but it seems destined to fold pretty soon.

Of course, Ryback, Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan aren't going to be abandoning their current gimmicks to take a step backward and join a group......so forget about them in a new version of Nexus.

If the company was to launch something like this, it presumably would be in direct confrontation with Shield.....and it might be a little late to get into this, unless management plans to have Nexus be the entity that smashes Shield into oblivion. I believe Shield is in their waning days as a group; they're ready to break out individually.

To that end, the new Nexus would need to be a face stable....or more likely, a 'tweener stable, dispensing justice to heels while still kicking ass on the good guys. As has been said, establishing another heel stable would be overkill; WWE would start to resemble the make-up of "The Warriors."

In the end, I can't see this happening. Nexus' time has come and gone. However, if the company ever decides they need a new stable to combat some dastardly force like Shield, they might decide to resurrect an old one like Nexus.

Wade Barrett needs to lead.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Most of you guys are on the nose about how Wade is better as a group leader than as an individual. He's certainly a formidable brawler, but I think the damage is done with his character. WWE got him kicked out of his own group, and then relegated him to a midcarder by giving him the IC title and having him lose all his matches. He hasn't really moved out of that spot in the past few years.

Including Daniel Bryan as part of Nexus is silly. He was with them for 10 minutes, and that doesn't really count considering they weren't presented as "the Nexus" until weeks after. For the purposes of this post, I was talking about the real Nexus members who served as Wade's henchmen.

I think having Wade team up with Ryback, Titus, Young, Gabriel, Slater and Axel could be a good thing for everyone involved. Wade can be pushed into the main events while Axel adds some credibility to the group as the IC Champion, and both teams of Slater&Gabriel, and Titus&Young can tear up the tag team division.

I feel like this team-up wouldn't clash with the Shield, but then again, I feel like The Shield's days are numbered as a group. They keep having tag team matches with no direction and no real feuds. I can see them moving into a face/tweener role against a newly-formed Nexus, which could actually be a big thing for them. Shield merchandise would be a big hit.

But I think a split is more likely. Ambrose will move up to feuds with Punk and Bryan where he can be a big star while Rollins would most likely transition into a face role similar to his run on NXT. Reigns is more of a mystery, but I can see him going either way as WWE's new monster heel, or as their new big-man babyface.

Either way, I don't see a new Nexus affecting the Shield in a negative way.

 

[Ellye]

I've been preaching for Nexus to be reformed ever since The Shield first appeared. It doesn't need to have the exact same members as before - it could be formed by Wade Barrett, 3MB, Justin Gabriel and Otunga.

A pity that news story is from about a year ago. :/

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Sure, I could picture a scenario, where WWE brings Nexus back. Think about, they could use the "we're being held down by the higher ups" stuff to reform the group. Ryback could whine about his inconsistent pushes, and Barrett could do the same thing. And I wouldn't rule out another feud with Cena, because you just know a lot of fans in the live crowds would love the idea of a feud with Cena as the centerpiece (just rinse and repeat, it could work), who's supposedly "holding other people down or back." Filling out the rest of the group would be tricky, because Bryan doesn't need Nexus, and Axel is IC Champion, and he's with Heyman. But I'm sure WWE would be able to find enough members to fill out the rest of the group.

But should WWE do it? No. And I feel this way, because I just don't trust WWE. They squandered some golden opportunities with Cena VS Nexus and Nexus VS Orton the first time around, and with The Shield still intact, and dominating damn near every mid card title, you really don't need another heel stable right now. Plus, the mystique surrounding Nexus really faded away and died out after Punk took over as leader.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I would support Nexus getting back together under one condition.... Wade Barrett as the leader. His version of Nexus was the one that mattered, Punk's was so awful that I prefer to forget that it ever happened. That turned the best new stable in years into nothing.

Wade Barrett
Barrett should be the leader again and be the one behind the idea of this reunion. His best time was as the leader of the original Nexus.


Daniel Bryan
Was in the original Nexus, but does not need it if it comes back.


Darren Young
This would be good for him, especially if the PTP split up. Titus is likely to get the bigger push out of the two, so he would need something to do. Unless the two of them both join the third Nexus.


Skip Sheffield
Now that he's Ryback he does not need a Nexus reunion, he has better things to do.


Michael Tarver
No longer in WWE. If they brought him back this would definitely benefit him though.


Justin Gabriel
He should return to Nexus in this reunion and bring back his tag team with Slater.


Heath Slater
This would be perfect for him if 3MB disbands. He'd need something to do so why not put him back into his tag team with Gabriel during a Nexus reunion?


David Otunga
Keep him in the lawyer persona but have him come back to Nexus during a reunion. He was great as Barrett's second in command. Otunga could be one of the main speakers of the group again.


John Cena
He was in Nexus but clearly doesn't need it for obvious reasons.


Husky Harris
No. He is moving on to better things as Bray Wyatt.


Michael McGillicutty
No. He is on his way to better things as Curtis Axel.


CM Punk
Absolutely not. He ruined the original Nexus and should not be anywhere near this third version. He doesn't need them and they don't need him.


Mason Ryan
I would bring him in to replace Ryback.


So if this happens we would basically be looking at the original members minus Ryback who would be replaced by Mason Ryan. If they do not bring Tarver back into the federation for this reunion they could always have Titus join alongside Young. The purpose of this third version of the group would be to assist each other in getting further up the card. Seeing them control every single belt could be nice. They could include AJ as their diva so they can have the Divas Championship as well.


Wade Barrett
Darren Young
Justin Gabriel
Heath Slater
David Otunga
Mason Ryan
Titus O'Neil
AJ

This is the likely lineup and potential title holders we would be looking at if they controlled the titles. I'd have them dominate for a year leading up to an epic sequel to the Summerslam 2010 main event against another team of WWE legends (with the exception of AJ who could face a legend of her own in Trish if she'd agree to a Summerslam angle). WWE benefits greatly from bringing back the right members and booking the right angle, however if it ends up being like CM Punk's version of Nexus then every single member is better off without the reunion. If done right it could be the best angle in WWE since the original Nexus, and it would absolutely be worth a try.

 

[Suikervrij]

I'd be in favour, albeit in a different setup.

The original Nexus were unhappy with the way they were treated as a group after the first season of NXT. This worked perfectly back then, but they don't really have that same spot right now. They could, however, turn it over and make it a more modern day version. The ex-members of Nexus who did not get a repackaging and are still in (lower)midcard could rebel against the WWE board or the GM's claiming they never really got the push they deserved.

One minor detail i'd like to mention; I personally think they original group was simply too large. Too much talent and none of them with any experience really higher up.

I'd say, take the list of;

Wade Barett (potention top-card)
Justin Gabriel (high flyer)
Titus O'neill (tag)
Darren Young (tag)
Mason ryan (powerhouse)

And run with these five. This way they can be a threat not unlike the shield is, but slightly bigger and with Barett as obvious leading man. They all got potential, which in all honesty i don't think the likes of Otunga and Slater have for example.

More rough, more mature, more organised, more Nexus. Catch my drift?

 

[Revelations1]

Nah Cena killed the Nexus angle so they should stay dead.

 

[Alastor]

To be honest, there is no rationale for Nexus to reform with the same members for the same goal of fighting for a better spot in the company by going against authority.

If we want to push the same members in a stable, what I would prefer is a tweak in their reason for reforming by going corporate style. They have been in the company for years now and tried to climb to the top on their own and have gotten no where. They realize that by being the authority's muscle is more rewarding and reform a stable to offer their assistance to Maddox to help him maintain order to impress Vince/Steph/HHH. Maddox would be overstepping his authority to help them in matches on Smackdown too to create more heat.

Barrett can go for the world heavyweight title
Slater and Gabriel can go for the tag titles
Darren Young can challenge for the US title (far fetched but ehhh)

The dynamic of a heel stable working for and bullying Maddox at the same time while he attempt to curry favour with different higher authorities is one I would fine interesting.