Reviewing The Former Nexus Members

Got a bit bored so decided to write a little review of all the members of Nexus and where they are now to the best of my knowledge. This wont be perfect because Im not the oracle of all wrestling.
Please note I am not including CM Punk in this as he was already a WWE bonafide star before joining and his run as leader of New Nexus was short and pointless. Also I wont bother with John Cena for the same reason.

Wade Barrett – The leader of Nexus. This guy won the season of NXT that they all competed in. His prize was a WWE contract, but not happy with that he bought all the other contestants with him as a group and invaded WWE like nobody else had before. After leaving, he formed another group called The Corre with Slater, Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson. After that it was a solo run where he is now currently a 3 time Intercontinental champion. However he seems to have regressed since Nexus. Back then he was a main eventer feuding with the likes of John Cena and Randy Orton for the WWE title. Now he jobs out to nearly everyone and loses most of his matches. I really hope he gets back to main event soon as I would love to see him become the first English world champion.

Heath Slater – After Barrett formed The Corre, Slater was one of the ones who joined him. Together with Gabriel they won the Tag Team titles once or twice (cant quite remember). After that he had a run of matches with former WWE legends before forming another group called3MB with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal. This time he is the leader. Unfortunately for the poster formerly known as Electric Demon he has not yet won a singles title.

Justin Gabriel – He was the third and final member to join The Corre with Barrett and Slater. After capturing Tag Team gold (or bronze) with Slater, he subsequently turned face and had an on-off partnership with Tyson Kidd. Nowadays he seems to be jobbing to heels although putting on good matches with them.

Daniel Bryan – His run with Nexus was one of the shortest but he is also the most successful wrestler post-Nexus. After a few un-PG antics when the Nexus debuted he was taken off TV. He returned as a face with Team WWE to face Nexus at Survivor Series and then just floated around midcard doing nothing special. He won the Money In The Bank briefcase which people thought would elevate him but he seemed to slip further into mediocrity. And then it happened. He cashed in the briefcase on Big Show to become World Heavyweight champion (at this moment of time the only member of Nexus to hold a world title). This would lead to a heel turn, although rather ironically this is where he really started to gain popularity. The “Yes” celebrations caught on with the crowds. Bryan then turned to “No” chants but this only made the crowd chant “Yes” even more. Strangely losing the belt to Sheamus in 18 seconds at Wrestlemania 28 only made fans love him more and it was only a matter of time before he turned face. He formed Tem Hell No with Kane and went on a lengthy run as Tag Team champions before dropping the belts to The Shield. During this time they became on of the most popular tag teams of the last decade. Now it looks like Bryan and Kane might soon be going their separate ways. How long until Bryan holds a world title again?

Michael Tarver – From the most successful former Nexus member (Bryan) we go straight to the least successful. I have to admit I thought Tarver looked like a right bad ass when I saw him. Maybe it was the scarf which covered the lower half of his face and his intense stare, but I expected him to be a dominant heel for years to come. Obviously I was wrong. After Nexus disbanded we saw Tarver appearing in backstage segments just randomly standing around. After that I saw nothing of him so can only presume he got released. It is worth noting that as of now, he is the only man on this list no longer employed by WWE.

David Otunga – The Harvard graduate remained with the New Nexus after Punk took over. He had Tag Team title reigns with John Cena (remember that?) and McGillicutty. After the break up, he carried on for a little while as a tag team with McGillicutty. He would then portray a lawyer gimmick playing up his educational background. He got a lot of TV time when John Laurinaitis was the GM as him and Eve Torres where like the stooges for the People Power mastermind. After Laurinaitis was taken off air his role lessened somewhat and its very rare you see him on Raw or Smackdown these days. He has probably the most high-profile lifestyle outside of WWE though as he is married to actress and singer Jennifer Hudson and recently starred alongside Hollywood bog hitter Halle Berry in The Call.

Skip Sheffield – This guy was the original beast of Nexus. He had to leave the group due to a heel injury. This was the last we would see of him under that guise as he returned as a face monster called Ryback. He went straight into the main event scene after a series of squash matches and has challenged for the WWE title on numerous occasions. He turned heel the night after Wrestlemania 29 and is now one of the top heels in the company currently in a programme with John Cena.

Darren Young – The John Cena lookalike was one of the originals and if I remember rightly was the only one to be officially kicked out of the group with a vicious beatdown at the hands of the other members. He resurfaced again in NXT (Redemption I think) and has since gone on to form a tag team with Titus O’Neill called the Prime Time Players.

Michael McGillicutty – The 3rd generation superstar. Son of Mr Perfect. Grandson of Larry The Ax Hennig. He and Husky Harris were additional members of Nexus who debuted by costing John Cena a match with Barrett. This meant Cena had to reluctantly become a member of the Nexus. He carried on under Punk and then formed a short lived tag team with Otunga. After this he floundered on shows such as Superstars and NXT, without ever being seen on Raw or Smackdown. This is until he became a Paul Heyman guy. He has now been repackaged as Curtis Axel and has already beaten megastars such as Triple H and Cena. I think its safe to say he is being pushed.

Husky Harris – Another 3rd generation star (I could be wrong) and nephew of Four Horsemen legend Barry Windham, Harris debuted with McGillicutty as mentioned above. He didn’t exactly set the world alight in Nexus and was swiftly punted out of action by Randy Orton. He was never seen again under this guise but is just about to re-debut as Bray Wyatt. From what I hear people are really excited about this new gimmick so I suppose you should watch this space.

Mason Ryan – When Sheffield got injured Nexus lost their enforcer. After Punk took over we were then presented with Welsh power house Mason Ryan. If Im not mistaken he was the only person to join the group under the straight edged superstar. After the group broke up he grew his hair and turned face. It didn’t last too long as he was soon taken off TV and sent back to developmental. By the sounds of it though he will soon be back and has apparently improved. Again watch this space.

So there you have it. All members of Nexus old and new not including Punk and Cena. Its safe to say Tarver was the least successful and at this moment in time Bryan is the most successful. Although one day I think that honour could eventually go to either Barrett or Sheffield (albeit as Ryback).

Hope you enjoyed the read. If there is anything I have got wrong, or missed out please feel free to comment and let me know…

Great write up there Shot, was it influenced by me bringing it up on the podcast btw?

No. Im at work so havent been able to listen to that yet. Purely coincidental. Great minds...

Yeah just with the vignette for Wyatt airing as well as the push for Axel it struck me how a number of Nexus members have been repackaged and are actually coming to prominence now. Whilst several were very green when they were cast into the limelight it now seems they're ready for the big stage.

Michael Tarver btw is the current NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion and recently defended it against TNA's Robbie E!

Superb thread

I forgot all about Tarver, i actually really liked him! Had a good scary look about him when Nexus were planning there random attacks.

Yeah I remember thinking "this guy will be the breakout star". Oops...

Makes you wonder what would have happened to Daniel Bryan if there wasnt such an outcry to get him back on the screen. Also questions if his 'firing' was legit, at the time I thought it was!