5 Times WWE failed to capitalise on a Superstar's momentum

4: Wade Barrett, Nexus- Summerslam, 2010

Super Cena put an end to Barrett’s momentum

After one of the best WWE debuts in the last decade, the Nexus, with Wade Barrett as their leader, were riding a wave of momentum heading into Summerslam 2010 as they were set to face Team WWE who were led by John Cena. A big win at the Biggest Party of the Summer would have cemented the Nexus as one of the most dominating groups/factions in WWE history, and Wade Barrett would have been elevated to top heel amongst the pack.

But, no. We got Super Cena instead, burying everyone in sight. Towards the end of the match, it was two (Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett) on one (John Cena). Surely the Nexus would defeat the Cenation Leader and continue their run as the hottest act in the WWE, right? Wrong. After Cena was DDT’d on to the CONCRETE floor, he managed to morph into superman and eliminate both Gabriel and Barrett, making Wade tap out in the middle of the ring.

This finish has since been criticised by Edge, Jericho and even Cena himself, and the whole finishing sequence was John’s idea. Way to go, Cena! This embarrassing decision could have been rectified by allowing Barrett to win the WWE championship, even just briefly later that year. Instead, Barrett failed to capture the gold, and would never be pushed to main event status again, no matter how much he deserved it.