I was going through my memories on Facebook, and noticed that today is actually a 7 year anniversary. The Anniversary of something that was so epic, and should have been so much better. What I am talking about is The Nexus! Let’s all rewind back 7 years ago to when WWE NXT was nothing more than a glorified game show featuring the likes of Husky Harris, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, and David Otunga. It was a show that allowed for a bunch of guys plucked from WWE’s developmental territory at the time FCW to get a chance to seen on national television where they could take part in wheelbarrow races and awkward on the spot promos! The entire concept was goofy for sure, and gave us that “Wild & Young” theme song. Everyone reading this that remember the original NXT incarnation remember that Wade Barrett would be the winner of the whole thing, and WWE had their “next breakout star” at least that is what I think the concept of the show was!
This day 7 years ago was a night of Raw that is really no different than what we are seeing now. Repetitive matches, lame promos, and the like! Then came the end of the show when all of the members of the NXT show found themselves in the ring with John Cena who suddenly found himself surrounded! Not only did he find himself surrounded, but he was also beaten along with a few of the ring announcers! Even Justin Roberts couldn’t escape as Daniel Bryan choked him out with a tie! I looked at my TV, and said “This is how you book a fresh stable of heels! You have them take out the top dog of the company, and anyone else who gets in their way. In the following weeks, Vince McMahon was beaten down as was the legendary Ricky Steamboat. No one could escape the wrath of the newly formed Nexus who had people actually wanting to watch Raw to see what they could do next. The stable of hungry stars was given a fresh theme song with “We Are One” by 12 Stone, cool T-shirts, and an awesome catchphrase “You are either Nexus or against us!” Everything looked like we were finally see some fresh faces get a push. Let’s be honest, we could only stomach so much John Cena vs Randy Orton.
I had high hopes going into Summerslam! After all, Booking 101 says that Nexus dominates and defeats WWE’s team in brutal fashion ushering in a new era in WWE. Of course, that isn’t what happened. The WWE team defeated the Nexus killing off the feud. Sure, Nexus would get wins later on but the damage had already been done. Once they had been defeated, they no longer looked strong or like a stable to be reckoned with. They suddenly looked like a whole stable of mid-card guys. After John Cena literally buried them (under a pile of chairs), that just solidified it! Rumor has it was their defeat was due to the fact that they hadn’t really moved the needles leading up to Summerslam. So what, you have to build interest and viewership. You should not try to cease it. The lack of patience ruined what could have been something great.
Here we are 7 years later! Wade Barrett isn’t in WWE anymore after giving out some bad news, Daniel Bryan can no longer wrestle (according to WWE), Husky Harris was kicked in the head and became a cult leader. The Skip Sheffield guy now has a podcast after his time in WWE where he spends it burying people, but at the same time is pretty funny about it because it is so out there. Justin Gabriel left WWE, and is doing his thing on the indie scene. Heath Slater is still rocking out as the one man band while teaming with Rhyno. Has anyone even seen Darren Young after Bob Backlund attempted to make him straight again? Michael Tarver is another guy where I am unsure of what is going on with him, but I do have a pic with him at an indie show. Michael McGillicutty was reinvented as Curtis Axel and deemed a Paul Heyman guy, but no one was able to re-invent charisma for a guy who is actually an awesome worker but unable to fill the shoes of his father Mr. Perfect. Mason Ryan headed back across the pond to the UK as Batista continues to deny being his father, and we continue to pray each week that David Otunga not head back to commentary because he absolutely sucks! Instead they were used as punching bags for the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton, you know, the guys the brass felt were real stars!
The story of Nexus is a true story of what could have been. What do you think? Could there have been more to the story? How would you have booked it? As always, you can hit me up on Twitter @whosantcox. You can also follow me on Instagram under the handle UltraGoldenAnt where you will see dank memes, gym selfies, and a bunch of other silliness! I will catch you next time, wrestling fans!
*Kayfabe Kickout (2012 - 2020) has since rebranded in July, 2020 and is now known as 'Pro Wrestling Slam!'
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