5 iconic invasions of WWE

#3. The Nexus invades WWE

It's always weird to write about The Nexus, as it also requires writing about the original NXT in WWE. So let's do that real quick.

In 2010, WWE launched a "hybrid sports entertainment/reality" show called NXT. The first season featured a handful of talent from the promotion's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

Each week, these "Rookies," each aided by their Superstar "Pro," would compete in both matches and other different challenges. One of these competitors would be voted off, and the winner would get a main roster call-up and a championship match.

Current NXT color commentator Wade Barrett won the first season of the show, but he didn't arrive on Monday Night RAW alone.

On The July 7, 2010 edition of the show, Barrett came to ringside during a WWE Championship match between John Cena and CM Punk with his fellow NXT season one competitors Daniel Bryan, David Otunga, Heath Slater, Darren Young and the rest. The group would go on to attack everyone and destroy nearly everything at ringside.

They declared themselves "The Nexus" and stated their main goal was to get main-roster contracts for those eliminated from the show. They spent weeks attacking just about everyone on RAW, including Vince McMahon and GM Bret "Hitman" Hart.

The wheels on the Nexus angle really started to come off at SummerSlam that year. A 7-on-7 elimination tag team match was booked between the faction and "Team WWE," an alliance of both faces and heels united against them. The stakes of the match were, well... pretty vague. Not that it mattered, as Cena made Barrett submit to win the match for his team.

The match did give us the return of Daniel Bryan following his uncerimonious firing following that original frackus on RAW.

There were plenty of attempts to salvage the angle, despite the fact that not having Nexus win that match was a major goof-up. Over the course of the group's existence, we saw John Cena forced to become a Nexus member, get fired for not helping Wade Barrett win the championship, and even CM Punk taking over leadership of the group at one point.

The Nexus would officially disband following Punk's WWE Championship win - and subsequent "leaving" of the company - at Money in the Bank 2011. An exciting story at the time, The Nexus is also an example of wasted potential.