The Nexus (professional wrestling)

The Nexus at SummerSlam

The group made its debut on the June 7, 2010 "Viewer's Choice" edition of Raw, during the main event which saw Punk face Cena (after beating out Rey Mysterio and then-World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger with 45% of the viewer vote). They attacked Cena, Punk, Luke Gallows, Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, NXT host Matt Striker (who joined Lawler and Michael Cole on commentary), then-Raw ring announcer Justin Roberts, timekeeper Mark Yeaton and other WWE personnel around the ring - before destroying everything at ringside, including the ring itself, 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 latter 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.[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. Barrett claimed that their violent arrival was a result of their mistreatment during the NXT competition, and insinuated that their issues lied more with WWE management than anyone in the locker room except their mentor "Pros". None of the members apologized for the events of the previous week when prompted by Barrett, as he had been asked to do by higher-ups earlier in the day. When confronted by Hall of Famer Bret Hart, who was named Raw General Manager three weeks earlier, they threatened to continue the attacks if their list of demands - especially getting guaranteed WWE contracts - were not met.[8] Nexus was established as the main heel stable on Raw, attacking several wrestlers and legends over the next several weeks, including Hart and McMahon themselves and fellow Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat and Dusty Rhodes.[9][10] After Hart's attack, which occurred during the tag team match where Cena teamed with Orton to take on Sheamus and Edge in a Fatal 4-Way preview, McMahon removed him as Raw General Manager "due to his injuries" and subsequently appointed a new General Manager. The GM chose to remain anonymous for fear of being attacked like Hart was, communicating only through e-mails quoted by Cole, the "official spokesman" (and the only one not attacked by the group during their invasion).[11][12]

The Nexus after exiling Daniel Bryan and attacking Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat on the June 28, 2010 edition of Raw

During the summer of 2010, Nexus had a feud with Cena. First, Cena was scheduled to face The Nexus in a 7-on-1 handicap match on the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, but Cena attacked Darren Young the previous week, subsequently removing him from the following week's scheduled match,[13] which became a 6-on-1 handicap match, which The Nexus won anyway. 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.[14] 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 (who replaced The Great Khali), losing after Cena pinned Gabriel—who missed on a 450º splash attempt—and submitted Barrett with the STF.[15][16] 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.[17] Nexus members Heath Slater and Darren Young later stated that they agreed that The Nexus' loss at SummerSlam permanently crippled the stable's momentum.[18][19] The following night on Raw, in order to find the "weak links" of the group, The Nexus invoked their SummerSlam rematch clause and competed in seven one-on-one matches against Team WWE (except Hart, who was replaced by Orton), with the stipulation that whichever Nexus member lost their match would be exiled from the group. Young was the only Nexus member who lost, as he failed to defeat Cena in the main event. As a result, The Nexus attacked Young with their respective finishing moves and officially exiled him from the group.[20] At a WWE live event in Hawaii on August 18, 2010, Skip Sheffield broke his ankle during a tag match where he teamed with Otunga against The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd), putting him out of action for the next two years, leaving The Nexus with only five active members heading into September.[21] 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.[22]

The Nexus, after losing Michael Tarver to injury and adding Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty, on the October 25, 2010 edition of Raw

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 Nexus member 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 keep the group going and Cena was forced to join The Nexus.[23] 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[24] (in reality, Tarver had a nagging groin injury and was later released from his contract in June 2011).[25] 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, but later that night, Barrett instead ordered Cena to help him win the number one contender battle royal for Orton's WWE Championship at Bragging Rights and, as the match came down to Cena and Barrett, Barrett won the match after Cena eliminated himself.[24] At Bragging Rights on October 24, The Nexus won their first championships in WWE when Cena and Otunga defeated Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Tag Team Championship,[26] 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.[27] The following night on Raw, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater won the WWE Tag Team Championship after Barrett ordered Otunga to allow Slater to pin him.

John Cena reading an address as a member of The Nexus after losing a match to Wade Barrett at Hell in a Cell

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, 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30] At Survivor Series on November 21, 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.[31] The following night on Raw, Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank and became WWE Champion after Cena attacked Barrett, allowing Orton to pin Barrett and retain the title. 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.[32] Later that night, Cena informed The Nexus that his attacks on them may stop, but only on the condition that Barrett rehires him, causing a mutiny within The Nexus in the process. Wanting the attacks to stop, Otunga, on behalf of The Nexus, delivered an ultimatum to Barrett that unless he brought Cena back, he would be exiled from the group.[32] On the December 13, 2010 edition of Raw, Barrett rehired Cena for fear of being exiled by The Nexus, but on the condition that A. Cena face Otunga in the main event and B. Barrett and Cena settle the score in a chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.[33] At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 19, 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.[34]

The New Nexus after exiling Barrett for losing a triple threat steel cage match to Randy Orton and Sheamus on the January 3, 2011 edition of Raw and naming CM Punk the new leader, with McGillicutty in the background

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 Punk (who disbanded the Straight Edge Society the previous September) being revealed to be the new leader. He acquired 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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37] 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.[38] Over the ongoing weeks, Orton defeated all members of The New Nexus, causing several storyline injuries by punting them.[39][40][41][42] On April 3, 2011 at WrestleMania XXVII, Orton defeated Punk and, on May 1, 2011 at Extreme Rules, Orton defeated Punk in a Last Man Standing rematch.[43][44] 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.[45] 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.[46] The following week on Raw, it was announced that Ryan suffered an injury over the weekend and left the group.[47] 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.[48] With his victory over Cena on July 17, 2011, the WWE Championship was finally held by the stable on their last night of existence.[49]

The group's final members then functioned as a tag team with the New Nexus banner until August 1, 2011[50][51] and continued without the banner until August 22, 2011, when the group disbanded after a 14-month existence following a loss of the WWE Tag Team Championships to Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.[52]

In April 2018, The Nexus reunited for Chikara King of Trios tournament as The Nexus Alliance, being represented by Tyrone Evans (Michael Tarver), Fred Rosser (Darren Young) and P. J. Black (Justin Gabriel).[53]

Darren Young stated that The Nexus were originally booked to return at WrestleMania 36.[54] A year later a documentary about the Nexus was cancelled with Darren Young theorizing it was due to Daniel Bryan leaving WWE.[55]