TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #9: The Nexus (Original)

[mrken12]

In the last evaluation, Harlem Heat got a score of 8.92.

TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #8: Harlem Heat


Nation of Domination: 9.09 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #7: Nation of Domination
nWo Wolfpac: 7.69 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #1: nWo Wolfpac
The Shield: 7.64 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #3: The Shield
Main Event Mafia: 7.45 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #5: Main Event Mafia
The Rockers: 7.03 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #6: The Rockers
Young Bucks: 6.88 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #2: Young Bucks
Meng & The Barbarian/The Faces of Fear: 6.38 TSC Tag Teams/Stables Evaluation #4: Meng & The Barbarian/The Faces of Fear

If people have any requests for future tag teams/stables you want to see evaluated, let me know. I'll have one evaluated for each week every Thursday. The leaderboard is updated every 5 threads so it's never too late to vote for previous threads.

For Thread #10, it will be The Dudley Boyz.

Pending Requests: The Flock/Raven's Nest, Steiner Brothers, The Outsiders, APA, Edge & Christian, Evolution, Filthy Animals, Mean Street Posse, Kronik, Dangerous Alliance, Original nWo, Miz and Morrison, New Age Outlaws, Too Cool, Hart Foundation (tag), Hart Foundation (stable), Midnight Express (Lane & Eaton), Four Horsemen, The Natural Born Thrillers, Doom, Road Warriors, The Usos, America's Most Wanted, Beer Money, Motor City Machine Guns, Bullet Club (AJ Styles-led version), Kaz and Daniels, Hardy Boyz, Dungeon of Doom, Christian's Coalition, Angle Alliance, British Bulldogs, Demolition, The Triple Threat, Right To Censor, World's Greatest Tag Team, The Briscoes, Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine "The Dream Team", Brian Kendrick and Paul London, Booker T and Goldust
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Time Active: June 2010 - December 2010

Members
Wade Barrett (Leader)
Darren Young
Skip Sheffield/Ryback
Michael Tarver
Justin Gabriel
Heath Slater
David Otunga
Husky Harris/Bray Wyatt
Michael McGillicutty/Curtis Axel

Daniel Bryan (brief)
John Cena (brief)

Accomplishments During Membership
WWE Tag Team Championship (2x) - John Cena & David Otunga (1), Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (1)

Slammy Award (1x)
-Shocker of the Year (2010) – The debut of The Nexus


How would you rate The Nexus as a stable using a scale of 1-10 based on these criteria:

-Chemistry
-Impact
-Did the team enhance the profiles of the members and prove beneficial for their career paths?
-Promo Work
-In-Ring Skills

 

[Cartier Murphy]

The Nexus were, at the time, one of the freshest acts to hit the WWE in a long time. In a landscape that desperately needed something new and fresh in the wake of losing so many stars, they were a much needed shot in the arm of an otherwise dull, boring drought of WWE TV. In the many months before their debut, the likes of Undertaker, HBK, HHH, Batista and Jeff Hardy either all left the company or fell back into part time status, which left a big void as most of RAW and SD were built around those names.
So having 8 (really 7 since Bryan got bushed quick) fresh new faces in the main event scene was a welcome change. Their debut still stands as a shocking, electric moment, since nobody saw it coming and nobody could’ve imagined the viciousness of it. Slumping the face of the company in John Cena, one of the then top heel acts in CM Punk & the SES, and the entirety of the ringside crew (commentators, announcers, etc.) before ripping the whole place apart immediately made them out to be a big deal and a dangerous act:

The logic behind the formation made sense too, as they banded together to fight the company, who they felt wronged by, after having to compete on one of the worst seasons of TV WWE produced. Who better to target than the Chairman and the poster boy?
The group was completely greater than the sum of it’s parts, as individually none of them really stood out, except for Wade Barrett, who at the time seemed prime for big things. For most of their early run, they were entertains to watch and see who they’d strike and how they’d do it. The wheels were starting to fall off by Money in the Bank, when Cena single handedly beatdown like half of the group on his own, but they were still a threat till Summerslam. And even the match there itself was pretty great, till the finish that’s been reviled for years since. And that’s where the Nexus ended for me.
Yeah they existed for a few more months, added a few new members, lost a few, etc but it was all pretty flat because they had already had their wings clipped. They lost as a unit when it mattered most in a way where they didn’t even look strong. The storyline where Cena was forced to join was a nice enough idea but got played out fast and meandered on for a while, before he finally literally buried the whole thing at TLC, leaving Barrett under a pile of chairs.

So really, I give em a 6. Amazing debut, some cool beat downs and a fun main event at a big show, but no longevity, none of them individually became stars as a result of being in the group, and nearly a decade later they’re just kinda a footnote in WWE history.

 

[Superkick Party]

A 6 overall

Missed potential imo they never recovered from that SummerSlam loss.

 

[Mike the Executioner]

Yeah, I have to agree with the posts so far. There was a chance for The Nexus to become one of the GOAT wrestling groups, just off the strength of how impactful their debut was. They initially came off as the group you wanted no part of, and you really thought they were here to change the landscape of WWE for good.

To me, it's not the fact that they lost at SummerSlam because there could have been a way for Cena to get a win over them while keeping the group strong. Like, Cena eliminates Barrett but he just barely escapes with the win after being beaten within an inch of his life. However, the execution was awful and it killed all of the original momentum the group built up.

There was a chance for them to get their heat back with Cena being forced to join the group. I think the worst mistake they made was not having Barrett win the WWE Championship. It would have sold the idea that RAW belonged to The Nexus and they were a problem that wasn't going away. Maybe have them get the United States Championship along with the tag belts, and then have Cena finally overcome them at WrestleMania. But it feels like the company didn't know what to do with them after SummerSlam and just let them fall to the wayside instead of building them up more to become something we would talk about for years to come.

Chemistry: 10. They were definitely stronger as a collective than they were individually, and the constant group attacks and solidarity helped them come off as guys who were dangerous. They were exposed as nothing special without the group dynamic to help them out.

Impact: 5. Their debut is still one of the best things that I've seen happen on a wrestling show, and there was a lot of potential for them to leave a permanent mark on the company. But the booking failed them starting with SummerSlam and every decision made afterwards (Barrett not winning the title, Cena's membership not leading to anything special) only hurt them more. Once Punk took over and rebranded the group, it was dead.

Did the team enhance the profiles of the members and prove beneficial for their career paths? No, it didn't. The Nexus only helped Barrett stand out because everyone else ended up slipping through the cracks and becoming insignificant. Even with Barrett, he wasn't given many opportunities to shine after the group ended and he was a prime example of wasted talent. Nobody in this group was elevated because they were in it or treated like a big deal, unlike The Shield which says a lot about the major difference in talent. Only Sheffield and Slater were able to do anything worth talking about after the group ended, and that had nothing to do with their association with the group.

Promo Skills: 5. The only person that really stood out was Barrett, and because of that, he was the only person that got any substantial mic time. Otunga was pretty decent, but none of these guys ever cut memorable promos or came off like stars.

In-Ring Work: N/A. They only had one memorable match together and that's because of the way they lost. Same thing as before: Barrett was the only big deal in the group when you separated them.

 

[The Rainmaker]

I think almost all of us can agree the day they debuted we lost our collective shyt and thought this was going to be different and special.

But then Daniel Bryan got fired, Barrett never got the title when he was in a very prominent position, Cena buried them, they got slowly dismanteled and then came that Corre shyt and CM Punk who had ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to be involved with them (they acknowledged that by never include the fact in his DVD).

Wade was hit and miss, Gabriel was a one move man, Tarver was shyt, Otunga was shyt... anyway, most of them were crap, but they could've saved face with the personalities and good writing.

5.

 

[mrken12]

I think almost all of us can agree the day they debuted we lost our collective shyt and thought this was going to be different and special.

But then Daniel Bryan got fired, Barrett never got the title when he was in a very prominent position, Cena buried them, they got slowly dismanteled and then came that Corre shyt and CM Punk who had ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to be involved with them (they acknowledged that by never include the fact in his DVD).

Wade was hit and miss, Gabriel was a one move man, Tarver was shyt, Otunga was shyt... anyway, most of them were crap, but they could've saved face with the personalities and good writing.

5.

Do we really know if Tarver was bad? He never did anything.

 

[Chris Cool]

Jericho: It was WWE Team vs. Team Nexus...and the finish boiled down to you [Edge] and me [Jericho] were in there, but it was Cena against a couple of them. John wanted to do things a certain way and we told him 'you're wrong'. Remember that? And he did it anyways, and it sucked. And then afterwards he came over to us and said 'I should have listened to you, but I wasn't seeing it that way. And sometimes you just don't see it that way, you know?

Edge: It's one of those things...where he was adamant about what he wanted to do. And I remember, I was like, 'fine, I'm out of the match by that point'.

Jericho: [Laughes] Exactly. He wanted to get DDT'd on the floor by Barrett, then kick out and beat them both. And you and I were like, 'that's the dumbest thing. That's just throwing it away for no reason'.

Edge: They should have gone over because they were so hot.

Jericho: We were fighting for Barrett to go over. And, in all fairness, where's Wade Barrett now? They should have listened to us.

 

[Ill Lou Malnati]

Rag tag collection of jobbers. They had something very unique that first night when they came out and were allowed to destroy Cena, after that, it was all downhill. Most of those guys were not ready for TV and booking made sure to tell you that. They weren't given a fair shake, IMO, despite them being green. It was counterproductive booking like "you guys aren't ready, so we're going to keep jobbing you out". Well, why did you put them on TV that first night anyway?

None of these guys benefited from being in this group, and if anything, it probably tainted them for later on as most went on to continue being lower card guys/jobbers. Curtis Axel and Heath Slater are still in the company as comedy jobbers and Bray Wyatt gets a lot of screentime but is a jobber himself. Ryback was able to break out post-Nexus but that's just because he was eating steroids nonstop and even then the company wasn't fully behind him. I think Barrett would've gotten a much better singles career if they had brought him in on his own rather than putting him in Nexus.

I give them a 4 overall, and they are getting that high of a rating for the first night. They have no great matches or feuds or any lasting impact, but they do have great angle for a night.

 

[GodinDaFlesh]

Booking killed it. Wade should have become a dominant WWE Champion instead of giving it to the Miz.

 

[The Rainmaker]

Do we really know if Tarver was bad? He never did anything.

Saw him in NJ a couple times and he was trash there

 

[CM_Burns]

It was more than just the first appearance, the first couple months of the angle, and even the month after Summerslam was good. Raw being based around Nexus led to an interesting 3 months of TV. It wasn't an all time, special period or anything, but I do remember it and was interested in what would happen next weekly. It felt fresh.

They were over. Everybody had their niche. Ryback was coming along as a good goon until he got hurt. Gabriel's finish and facial expressions were over. Barrett was kind of generic but it worked. Tarver looked threatening.

Match-wise, not much to speak of. The big Summerslam match was OK, but could and should've been better/different.

Overall though, I think the good 3 month run they had of interesting TV with it built around them gets them a 7. And TSC was more positive on it when it happened than this poll suggests.

Edit:

The CM Punk/New Nexus thing and The Corre I barely remember, other than it was terrible.

Special shout-out to the poster on TSC who said Otunga would be "Batista, AT WORST"

 

[cartierhoe]

Man when they were hot they were scorching

Then when booking crippled their momentum and overall dangerous factor it was

Swear the wait for next week's Raw would feel like an eternity cause they started off making you want to tune in so bad the next week, but then they ruined the group by having Cena go thru em, nikkas getting kicked out, nikkas joining, it was just too much so Ima say 5

 

[R=G]

7. They sold merchandise, got buyrates. It got buried to push Cena.

 

[Dreamzeedream]

Yeah, I have to agree with the posts so far. There was a chance for The Nexus to become one of the GOAT wrestling groups, just off the strength of how impactful their debut was. They initially came off as the group you wanted no part of, and you really thought they were here to change the landscape of WWE for good.

To me, it's not the fact that they lost at SummerSlam because there could have been a way for Cena to get a win over them while keeping the group strong. Like, Cena eliminates Barrett but he just barely escapes with the win after being beaten within an inch of his life. However, the execution was awful and it killed all of the original momentum the group built up.

There was a chance for them to get their heat back with Cena being forced to join the group. I think the worst mistake they made was not having Barrett win the WWE Championship. It would have sold the idea that RAW belonged to The Nexus and they were a problem that wasn't going away. Maybe have them get the United States Championship along with the tag belts, and then have Cena finally overcome them at WrestleMania. But it feels like the company didn't know what to do with them after SummerSlam and just let them fall to the wayside instead of building them up more to become something we would talk about for years to come.

Chemistry: 10. They were definitely stronger as a collective than they were individually, and the constant group attacks and solidarity helped them come off as guys who were dangerous. They were exposed as nothing special without the group dynamic to help them out.

Impact: 5. Their debut is still one of the best things that I've seen happen on a wrestling show, and there was a lot of potential for them to leave a permanent mark on the company. But the booking failed them starting with SummerSlam and every decision made afterwards (Barrett not winning the title, Cena's membership not leading to anything special) only hurt them more. Once Punk took over and rebranded the group, it was dead.

Did the team enhance the profiles of the members and prove beneficial for their career paths? No, it didn't. The Nexus only helped Barrett stand out because everyone else ended up slipping through the cracks and becoming insignificant. Even with Barrett, he wasn't given many opportunities to shine after the group ended and he was a prime example of wasted talent. Nobody in this group was elevated because they were in it or treated like a big deal, unlike The Shield which says a lot about the major difference in talent. Only Sheffield and Slater were able to do anything worth talking about after the group ended, and that had nothing to do with their association with the group.

Promo Skills: 5. The only person that really stood out was Barrett, and because of that, he was the only person that got any substantial mic time. Otunga was pretty decent, but none of these guys ever cut memorable promos or came off like stars.

In-Ring Work: N/A. They only had one memorable match together and that's because of the way they lost. Same thing as before: Barrett was the only big deal in the group when you separated them.

Naw ryback. They dropped the ball with him

 

[Mike the Executioner]

Naw ryback. They dropped the ball with him

True, but it took two years for that character to even come to TV. Before that, he was just Skip Sheffield. And like I said, Ryback blew up, but that had nothing to do with his association with The Nexus. He was a completely different person when he returned. The only time they even acknowledged the connection was when Ryback cut that promo about his life.