Rebooking the Nexus?

[King Pitcos]

We're a year removed from the Nexus now (the proper one, not the shitty CM Punk version) and I think most of us would agree that it ended up falling short of its potential.

 

It started off brilliantly, with something that had never really been seen in WWE before. A group of unknowns destroying and backing down the main eventers and even McMahon himself. It launched Wade Barrett as a super-villain, but as soon as it ended he spent nearly a year being irrelevant, Looking back, how do you think of the Nexus storyline now? Do you think it was crap, and if so, when do you consider the wheels fell off it? A lot of folks would contend it was at SummerSlam when they lost to Team WWE, but even after that, we had

That's one of my favourite WWE promo videos, but the concept itself didn't work. Nobody cared about the two participants in the match, everything was the ref. And then they killed the firing stipulation anyway.

 

If you could rebook it, what would you change in the Nexus storyline? And how, ultimately, would you pay it off?

 

I'd have kept Cena off for a couple of months after Survivor Series, and done an Orton vs Nexus feud. That'd ultimately lead to Cena's return for a match with Barrett at WrestleMania (where Orton would face Miz for the title). Of course, that would muddy the waters tremendously with The Rock's return and Cena-bashing, you can't have JC doing jokey battle raps with Dwayne at the same time as being in a blood feud with Barrett. So maybe I'd have just had Cena take an extra month off and crush Barrett at the Rumble, which isn't much better than what actually happened.

[ASYIS JACK]

It was at Summerslam for me when it went tits up.

 

I always thought it would have been great if Bryan had turned of Team WWE at Summerslam. Watching the show live, I was positive that Bryan was going to turn.

 

Turning Bryan would have gave Nexus an experienced in-ring worker which the group lacked.

 

I liked the Cena firing angle until the pay off of course. Cena should have been off TV for a bit to build to the evitable match at Wrestlemania.

[ColinBollocks]

I loved the Nexus, it produced the best TV WWE had put out in years. The first angle, the six v six face off before Summer Slam, Cena taking off his 'Cenation' arm band and putting on the Nexus one etc. all excellent stuff.

 

For me, it speaks more on how much potential the Nexus had, that the crowd were willing to overlook the couple of months of jobbing and ridicule they suffered, after Summer Slam, when the Cena joining stuff happened. It's a shame WWE, in the end, half arsed it (like they always do, these days).

 

I'd do everything exactly the same up to Summer Slam (truly excellent on WWEs part). I'd do the match the same way, BUT I'd have Barrett beat Cena with his finish after a Nexus member distracts Cena. It's still mind boggling that they had Cena not only win but beat Barrett with the STF. Imagine the momentum the group would have if they won that match. I'd also do the Cena joining angle, but I'd have him wear the Nexus gear. It was ridiculous that the wasted that visual for a quick five minute segment.

 

If WWE played it right they could have built a monster in the Nexus and their biggest heel in ages (in Barrett). They let the air out of the balloon to early, to steal a phrase.

[Da Wrestler`s Wrestler DKJ]

I knew the Nexus angle was dead in the water like 5 or so weeks into the storyline. When Barrett started going on about "A bigger plan thatt we could not understand" and a "higher power" that just confirmed it for me.

[Duke]

Yes, but you're a drooler.

 

The point isn't to rebook nexus. The point is to continue booking nexus. Nexus fell apart when wwe Decided to not be behind them anymore. The summer slam match was rushed way too much. That match shouldnt have happened before survivor series and they should've created legitimate beef that would cause people as egomaniacal as edge ad Jericho to join Cena. On top of that, The stuff with bret hart was far too rushed. Let them run roughshod a little while longer. Have Barrett be the only one allowed to have matches until finally they have enough and sign them all for the survivor series match.

[PepperPlunge]

I think part of where it went wrong was when Nexus were eliminating members of their own group so you got the feeling the faction wouldn't last long. It looked great when you had so many surrounding the ring. What's happened to the boxer? I can't even remember his name now. He had some bits where he'd be in the background of a promo or watching a match on the TV a while back. Shame Sheffield got injured as he was a different dynamic and made them look a lot more threatening. Slater and Gabriel didn't. I liked Gabriel's 450 at the end of beatdowns. I didn't understand Slater being in there but the boxer being kicked out. He could have an ok match but completely unspectacular and he looked very unthreatening.

[Slapnut]

I honestly think the biggest blow to Nexus was Skip Sheffield's injury. I never thought he'd be the stand-out of the NXT Season 1 lot, but fucking hell he proved otherwise didn't he. As johnny_boyz said, he made them look more threatening. Can't wait til he comes back.

[Dingo Warrior]

The biggest blow to Nexus was when the angle started.

 

The beginning of the angle was very well executed with all the nexus running down to the ring and destroying everything and everybody.

 

Bryan Danielson choking Justin Roberts with his tie was one of the highlights of that angle which gave you that emotional investment.

 

However all it took were complaints from some of the WWE’s sponsors and look what happens, Bryan Danielson is used as a scape goat by Vince McMahon, the whole angle then becomes watered down and what are you left with, the usual PG WWE bs.

 

Sometimes you need that level of spontaneity and if the WWE had allowed that angle to develop naturally then we could have seen some really interesting levels of creativity.

[Duke]

His name is Daniel Bryan.

[WWFChilli]

Hope everyone had a good Christmas... anyway

 

For me, Nexus suffered from some cruel twists of fate during the middle of there run. They made Darren Young look like a little bitch for lack of a better term most times (No idea why they did this, sure you get a weak link in some factions but surely then you try to enhance it) and then Skip went down with the ankle injury that really fucked them as Sheffield was a beast and looked like he could kill you with that mental Hansen lariat he threw. Then Michael Tarver seemed to go down with some injury as well. Cena beat him up then Barrett crowed something about wanting Tarver to fuck off for while. This sucked as Michael Tarver was a superb fit for the Nexus. Sheffield beat the shit out of you and then you had Tarver in that shit scary face mask with the look of a serial killer with his neat little 1.9 KO punch gimmick and for some reason WWE did not seem to bother with him during Nexus. Once Tarver and Skip were out (as well as Young when the Nexus kaboshed him) they had already become a lost cause somewhat. Who in the WWE was really running in fear from Heath Slater and David O-fucking-Tunga?

 

I thought the addition of Harris and Perfect's Kid was good (until we found out Perfect's kid sucked) and it was neat that some new members were appearing. I always liked Husky Harris, he had an unique look about him even if he had shit tattoos. There was just something that I think made him fit in. Of course by this point Cena had joined and the stuff they did with Barrett and Cena was fun but I knew it was heading to Cena slapping Barrett around like Connery's wife.

 

I think the problem with the Nexus was that while they were a group, the writers and in some respects the performers I think never really went of their way to enhance the characters in the group. Otunga for example was a rich prick on NXT with an air of better than thou confidence. Once Nexus debuted though he just became a silent, brooding heavy, it was daft to kill off any progress they made to him considering his talents as an in-ring worker were not up to snuff. The same went for Slater, Young & Tarver. Sheffield was the muscle so his role was well defined and he was making places before his ankle went and Justin Gabriel was fantastic I thought with his stalling 450. It was a minor detail but it drew emotion and interest in the move so it was not all for naught. Really it would have been interesting to see how Nexus would have turned out had Daniel Bryan not been given the sack. I honestly do not think Bryan would be where he is now had he been spared a release.

 

Let's not bother discussing Punk's Nexus. That was bollocks from all points of view. Mason Ryan (the only non-NXT lackey to join the group) and Otunga, McGillicutty and Harris were not all that. The booking by then had no interest in saving them by that point anyway. They went from an awesome stable headlining the 2nd biggest show of the year to the Skull, 8-Ball & Chainz in under a year. Horrible... could have been so much more.

[PowerButchi]

The biggest blow to Nexus was when the angle started.

 

The beginning of the angle was very well executed with all the nexus running down to the ring and destroying everything and everybody.

 

Bryan Danielson choking Justin Roberts with his tie was one of the highlights of that angle which gave you that emotional investment.

 

However all it took were complaints from some of the WWE

[WWFChilli]

The biggest blow to Nexus was when the angle started.

 

The beginning of the angle was very well executed with all the nexus running down to the ring and destroying everything and everybody.

 

Bryan Danielson choking Justin Roberts with his tie was one of the highlights of that angle which gave you that emotional investment.

 

However all it took were complaints from some of the WWE’s sponsors and look what happens, Bryan Danielson is used as a scape goat by Vince McMahon, the whole angle then becomes watered down and what are you left with, the usual PG WWE bs.

 

Sometimes you need that level of spontaneity and if the WWE had allowed that angle to develop naturally then we could have seen some really interesting levels of creativity.

 

Instead of Cena and Barrett playing the game of psychology with each other in which Barrett slowly destroys the fans hope in Cena thus making him an utter bastard and justifying his push, would you rather Cena pull a gun on Barrett and make Wade piss himself in the ring? You know... just to get the angle over? Nexus would have been awful in other formats. It worked in PG. It did. Sure some sponsors got a bit shirty with the tie incident but that did nott water down the angle. Nexus still smacked the shit out of the Legends, members of the roster and Vince McMahon as well. Not to mention the Limo angle with Bret Hart and when they invaded the Fatal 4 Way. The angle began to die at Summerslam, before that it was just fine and developing. Little things could have been tinkered with, but until Summerslam it was going good.