Curtis Axel recalls how he and Bray Wyatt were clueless about The Nexus in WWE

The WWE storylines have featured countless takeovers and faction wars. In 2011, the company brought rising stars together with veterans in The Nexus. Curtis Axel is now revealing just how clueless he and Bray Wyatt were going into the storyline and their reactions to the mayhem.

The Nexus invaded WWE RAW on June 7, 2010, during CM Punk vs. John Cena. Wade Barrett led several NXT rookies in a massacre of Cena, Punk's Straight Edge Society, Justin Roberts, Jerry Lawler, and others. The faction included Daniel Bryan, Skip Sheffield (aka Ryback), Justin Gabriel, Darren Young, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver, and David Otunga. After months of chaos, Barrett defeated Cena at Hell in a Cell thanks to unknown assailants, later revealed to be the debuting Husky Harris (aka Bray Wyatt) and Michael McGillicutty (aka Curtis Axel). Cena was forced to join The Nexus, while the generational superstars joined three weeks later on October 25.

Curt Hennig's oldest son recently discussed The Nexus on Busted Open Radio, recalling his debut as an awesome moment with the heel stable. The former Intercontinental Champion looked back to when he and Wyatt were called up for the storyline but had no idea what was happening.

"The Nexus thing was really cool. Me and Windham [Wyatt]... we got called, I didn't even know, I saw him at the airport and was like, 'What are you doing here?' He said the same thing, we had no clue what we were doing until we got to the arena the next day, that we were joining The Nexus, and jumping John Cena, all that kind of stuff," Curtis Axel said.

Axel also remembered being shocked at The Nexus's original debut, which included a controversial moment for Bryan Danielson. The two-time WWE Tag Team Champion acknowledged not being a part of the original version and declared The Nexus to be crazy.

"I didn't know what was going on, I remember watching the monitor backstage going, 'What is going on? They're tearing the ring up and choking out people and stuff like that!' But that is special because it was my first moment legit in the WWE finally," Curtis Axel said. [H/T to WrestlingInc]

Just over one month before joining The Nexus, Harris and McGillicutty were featured on NXT Season Two. Cody Rhodes mentored Harris, while Kofi Kingston paired with McGillicutty. The finals in Week 13 saw runner-up McGillicutty turn heel after a loss to winner Kaval, finishing with a 6-4 record. Harris was eliminated in Week Eleven with a 4-4 record.

Wade Barrett rumored to lead new WWE stable

Wade Barrett is no stranger to factions in wrestling. He worked in UK indies with Drew McIntyre and Pierre Marceau at The Foreign Legion. After The Nexus, Barrett formed The Corre with Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, and Ezekiel Jackson. Barrett then formed The League of Nations from November 2015 to April 2016 with Rusev, Sheamus, and Alberto Del Rio.

Barrett was recently rumored to return to the ring for at least one match on RAW. After sharing a backstage photo with Pretty Deadly, He fueled speculations about a potential all-UK faction.

"Q: Are these the three PRETTIEST and DEADLIEST Englishmen to have ever lived? A: YES BOY!" Wade Barrett wrote with the photo below.

Barrett hasn't wrestled since April 4, 2016. The post-WrestleMania 32 RAW saw The New Day retain the WWE Tag Team Championship over Barrett and Sheamus. The 44-year-old worked his last singles bout on March 15 of that year, losing to Kofi Kingston on SmackDown.