The Nexus

The Nexus or the New Nexus was a professional wrestling stable in the RAW brand of WWE where they performed from 2010 to 2011. Eight rookies formed the stable from season one of NXT. They were Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, and their leader Wade Barrett. David Otunga is the only member who served the stable from its origin to its end. The motto of the stable was "You're either Nexus or you're against us". CM Punk later replaced Barrett as the leader of the New Nexus with a new motto - "Faith!" Punk also became the WWE Champion when he was a part of the New Nexus at the 2011 Money in the Bank.

The Nexus members

The Nexus consisted of wrestlers like Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, CM Punk, Husky Harris, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, and finally John Cena.

The Nexus’ history in WWE

Origin and feud with John Cena

The Nexus debuted in 2010 on Raw, attacking John Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Jerry Lawler, and others, destroying the ringside area and forcing the match to end in a no-contest. During the attack, Daniel Bryan choked Justin Roberts with a necktie and spat in Cena’s face, leading to his release from WWE. Wade Barrett later apologized for Bryan’s actions and kicked him out of the group.

In 2010, The Nexus defeated John Cena in a 6-on-1 handicap match and later, attempted to interfere in a WWE Championship steel cage match at Money in the Bank between Cena and Sheamus, where ‘The Celtic Warrior’ retained the title. At SummerSlam, Team WWE, including Cena, Bret Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, and Daniel Bryan, defeated The Nexus. However, Cena was forced to join The Nexus after losing to Wade Barrett at Hell in a Cell. The group won their first championship at Bragging Rights when Cena and David Otunga defeated Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre for the WWE Tag Team Championship, and the following night, Barrett ordered Otunga to lose the titles to Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

In 2010, David Otunga led a second Nexus invasion on SmackDown without Wade Barrett’s approval, resulting in The Nexus losing a 5-on-5 tag team match against Edge, Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Kane, and Kofi Kingston. Otunga was made to defend his place in the group by Barrett as a punishment, and he did so by defeating Edge in a lumberjack match with Kane's interference. Randy Orton beat Barrett at Survivor Series to keep the WWE Championship, which led to John Cena's firing (as per the storyline) and subsequent exile from The Nexus.

Despite being exiled, John Cena continued to interfere in The Nexus matches, costing Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel the WWE Tag Team Championship. Barrett rehired Cena on the condition that they settle their feud in a chair match at TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs to avoid exile from The Nexus. Cena defeated Barrett in the main event and, after the match, dropped 23 steel chairs on him after taking out the rest of The Nexus.

Formation of The New Nexus

In 2011, CM Punk took over as leader of The Nexus after Wade Barrett lost a steel cage match, rebranding the group as The New Nexus. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel left for SmackDown to form The Corre, and Husky Harris, Michael McGillicutty, and David Otunga completed Punk's initiation after Barrett was banished. In January 2011, Mason Ryan attacked both Punk and John Cena during their match, before joining the stable. The same month, at Royal Rumble, The New Nexus cost Randy Orton a rematch with Miz for the WWE Championship, starting a feud in which Orton systematically eliminated its members. Later, at both WrestleMania XXVII and Extreme Rules, Orton defeated Punk.

McGillicutty and Otunga, on the other hand, won the WWE Tag Team Championship after The New Nexus’ interference during their match with Big Show and Kane. Punk delivered his well-known "pipe bomb" promo after becoming the top contender for Cena's WWE Championship, threatening to leave WWE with the title. Punk defeated Cena at Money in the Bank to become the WWE Champion on the night that The New Nexus effectively disbanded. The stable finally disbanded when Otunga and McGillicutty lost the WWE Tag Team Titles to Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.

The ending of The Nexus

For the Chikara King of Trios tournament in April 2018, The Nexus reunited as The Nexus Alliance. Tyrone Evans (Tarver), Fred Rosser (Young), and PJ Black (Gabriel) were their representatives. Young later revealed that a planned Nexus return at WrestleMania 36 and a documentary about the group were both canceled, possibly due to Bryan’s exit from WWE.

The Nexus PPV appearances and record

Championships and accomplishments