Nexus Nexus was a professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion , World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , that competed on its " Raw " brand . Nexus originally consisted of the eight contestants of the first season of " NXT " , but the group later inducted Michael McGillicutty and Husky Harris from " NXT " ' s second season . Daniel Bryan was kicked out of the group when he was fired from WWE . He would return at SummerSlam 2010 , aligning himself with Team WWE . Darren Young was the second member kicked from the group on the August 16 edition of " Raw " , when he lost a match to John Cena . Tarver was the third member kicked out of the group on the October 4 edition of " Raw " , after he sustained an injury . John Cena was forced to join the group after former Nexus leader Wade Barrett defeated him at Hell in a Cell 2010 , but left the group as a result of a match stipulation in November 2010 . Barrett was excommunicated from Nexus on January 3 , 2011 after losing a Steel Cage match also involving Randy Orton and Sheamus . History . Formation and hostile attacks . Prior to their formation , each member of the Nexus was a contestant ( or " rookie " ) on the first season of the " NXT " program . The conclusion of the competition on June 1 , 2010 saw Wade Barrett declared the winner who was awarded a WWE contract and a championship match at a pay - per - view of his choosing . The seven losers of the competition were left without a job , and Barrett immediately began performing on the " Raw " brand . On the Viewer ' s Choice edition of " Raw " , the group debuted during the main event between WWE Champion John Cena and CM Punk sporting matching armbands with the letter N . Barrett led the group in an attack on Cena , Punk , Luke Gallows , Jerry " The King " Lawler , Matt Striker and other WWE personnel around the ring , as well as destroying everything at ringside , including the announce table and the ring itself . During the attack , Daniel Bryan strangled ring announcer Justin Roberts with Roberts ' necktie and also spat on Cena ' s face . This led to WWE firing Bryan as they reportedly felt those acts were too violent for their TV - PG programming . His absence was explained by Barrett saying that Bryan had felt remorse for his actions , and as a result , he was kicked out of the group . A week later , the group explained their actions as retribution for the poor treatment they received from WWE management during their time on " NXT " . The attack was also to threaten WWE into giving the remaining six members WWE contracts . " Raw " General Manager Bret Hart declined the demand and fired Barrett . When Hart then ordered the whole " Raw " roster to stand guard at the ringside and stage areas during the main event , the Nexus attacked Hart backstage by forcing him into a limousine and crashing it into other vehicles . During the Fatal 4 - Way pay - per - view , the Nexus interfered in the main event for the WWE Championship , attacking all the wrestlers involved . Sheamus used the interference to his advantage and took the title from John Cena . The group then spent the next few weeks attacking various WWE figures , such as Hall of Famer Ricky " The Dragon " Steamboat and other legends when they were celebrating Steamboat ' s DVD release following an edict that Nexus and the rest of the " Raw " roster could not engage in physical confrontation that week . " Raw " Debut . WWE Chairman Vince McMahon subsequently removed Hart as general manager due to his injuries , and appointed a new general manager , who chose to remain anonymous ( communicating only through e - mails quoted by " official spokesman " Michael Cole ) . The general manager immediately gave the Nexus WWE contracts and reinstated Barrett ' s championship match opportunity . Barrett revealed that this group was going to form no matter who wound up winning " NXT " , stating that the seven of them had formed a " Nexus " and had a common goal they all fought to have accomplished . However , even after apologizing for their actions , the Nexus continued their hostile attacks , including one on McMahon who tried to take credit for the Nexus ' actions . On the July 5 edition of " Raw " , the anonymous general manager demanded Cena and Barrett call a truce later in the night . Cena refused and attempted to attack Barrett , which began a brawl between the Nexus and most of the Raw locker room . After Cena would not stop assaulting Darren Young , the GM announced that Cena would face the Nexus in a 7 - on - 1 handicap match the following week , which caused Cena to further attack Young . Young was removed from the match the following week due to his injuries , making the matchup a 6 - on - 1 handicap match , which The Nexus easily won after the 450° splash of Justin Gabriel , who then pinned Cena . Before the Money in the Bank pay - per - view , The Nexus appeared on " NXT " , and competed in a Battle Royal featuring the second season pros and rookies . The storyline started when Percy Watson invited his partners ( the other rookies ) to attack MVP ( in retaliation for the pros attacking the rookies in the aftermath of the Nexus forming — to " keep them in line " ) , but in reply to this , MVP called the other pros and became ready for a fight . Co - host Matt Striker then intervened and arranged a Battle Royal , also including The Nexus ( who were making a scheduled appearance on the show anyway ) . All seven Nexus members were declared co - winners after being the last men in the ring . At " Money in the Bank " , the Nexus attempted to get involved in the WWE Championship match involving Sheamus and John Cena in a steel cage by breaking the door . However , the referees threw the key into the crowd and the tool that Tarver tried to use to break in . They then tried to climb up and get involved . However , Sheamus and Cena were able to hold them off and escape , with Sheamus winning . Afterwards , Cena began beating up Tarver and Young and then took Tarver ' s Nexus armband . Feud with John Cena . On the July 19 edition of " Raw " the Nexus continued their attacks on the Raw roster by first attacking Edge and then Chris Jericho , after the two longtime rivals attempted to manipulate the group against each other . Later on in the show , Barrett defeated Mark Henry in a singles match . After that , Barrett and The Nexus asked Cena to join them . Cena refused and said that he would take them all down at SummerSlam , and that he had found some help to do it . Cena revealed his team one by one ; the members were Edge , John Morrison , R - Truth , The Great Khali , Chris Jericho and Bret Hart . The next week of " Raw " featured The Nexus defeating Team Raw ( Mark Henry , The Hart Dynasty , Jerry Lawler , Evan Bourne , Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu ) in a 7 - on - 7 elimination tag team match with a clean sweep . The Nexus later mocked Cena ' s team , who were arguing amongst themselves , saying that they ' d easily defeat them at SummerSlam . At SummerSlam , the Nexus were defeated by Team WWE , featuring a returning Daniel Bryan , who joined Team WWE as a surprise member , after the Nexus had injured Khali , taking him out of the match , and eliminated both Young and Slater . Cena ended up being the sole survivor after eliminating Barrett . The following night on " Raw " each member of Nexus competed in matches against members of Team WWE ( except Bret Hart , who was replaced by Randy Orton ) , with the stipulation that whichever Nexus member lost their match would be exiled from the group . While almost all the members of The Nexus won their respective matches , Darren Young failed to defeat John Cena in the main event and was not only kicked out of the Nexus , but attacked by the group following his loss . In a live event in Hawaii on Aug . 18th , 2010 at the Blaisdell Arena , Skip Sheffield broke his ankle during a tag match where he teamed with Otunga against the Hart Dynasty , putting him out for months , thus leaving only five active members of the Nexus remaining . On the 900th episode of Raw the Nexus defeated John Cena , Edge , Chris Jericho , Sheamus and Randy Orton in a 5 on 5 elimination match , after Gabriel hit Cena with the 450 - splash for the third time , pinning him a second time , while Barrett dropped and pinned Randy Orton . Earlier on in the night the group also attacked The Undertaker with help from Kane . The following week , Wade Barrett lost to Randy Orton , after a distraction from the returning Darren Young . Barrett used his guaranteed championship match in the Six - Pack Elimination Challenge for the WWE Championship at Night Of Champions but was eliminated by Orton , who later won the match and the title , following an RKO . Nexus made an appearance on the October 1 live episode of " SmackDown " , to mark the show ' s move to Syfy . Throughout the night , Nexus attacked Dolph Ziggler , MVP , Big Show and John Cena . They then served as lumberjacks for the main event of the evening , between John Cena and Kane . This was the first time they had appeared on " SmackDown " since their formation back in early June . Induction of John Cena and WWE Tag Team Champions . At Hell in a Cell Barrett and Cena faced each other in a match with the stipulation that if Barrett won , Cena would be forced to join The Nexus , and if Cena won or Nexus got involved , the group would be disbanded . Barrett managed to win the match , following interference from Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty . On the October 4 edition of " Raw " , Tarver was paired with Cena who brutally attacked him after the match . Later Barrett would say that he was planning on getting rid of Tarver anyway implying he was no longer a member , in reality Tarver was pulled due to a nagging groin injury . The Mystery GM stated that , since John Cena was now a member of Nexus , he had to take orders from Wade Barrett or he would be fired from WWE . Later Barrett ordered Cena to help him win the # 1 contender - ship in a battle royal for the WWE title . The match came down to Cena and Barrett where Barrett ordered Cena to throw himself out of the ring . At Bragging Rights , The Nexus won their first titles in the WWE when David Otunga and John Cena defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the titles . Later on in the same night , the group helped Kane defeat The Undertaker in his Buried Alive match , for reasons which have yet to be explained and also Barrett beat Orton by DQ in a WWE Championship match thus not winning the title . On the October 25 episode of " Raw " , Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel won the Tag Team Championship , after beating Otunga and Cena in a match in which Barrett ordered Otunga to lie down for the pin . During the same night , Barrett revealed that Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty had become official members of The Nexus . Also it determined that Cena would be the guest referee for the WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Wade Barrett at Survivor Series , with a stipulation added stating that if Barrett did not win the WWE Championship , Cena would be fired on the spot , but if Barrett won the Championship , Cena would be freed from The Nexus . On November 5 Otunga , who had been questioning Barrett ' s leadership in the past weeks , led Gabriel , Harris , McGillicutty and Slater to an invasion of " SmackDown " , interrupting a match between Edge and Alberto Del Rio . Nexus was then defeated in the main event of the show in a ten man tag team match by Edge , Del Rio , Big Show , Kane and Kofi Kingston . Barrett didn ' t approve Otunga ' s decision to lead Nexus to " SmackDown " and , as a result , forced him to defend his spot in the group a week later . On the November 12 edition of " SmackDown " Otunga defeated Edge in a lumberjack match , after interference from Kane , to keep his spot in Nexus . At Survivor Series on November 21 , 2010 Randy Orton retained the WWE Championship against Wade Barrett via pinfall and John Cena was fired ( kayfabe ) from WWE and subsequently left The Nexus . Despite being fired , Cena continued to show up on Raw in subsequent weeks , causing interference in Nexus ' matches and attacking them backstage , in the ring and in the arena parking lots . On the December 6 episode of " Raw " , Slater and Gabriel lost their WWE Tag Team Championships against the team of Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov in a Fatal 4 - Way Tag Team Elimination Match , following an interference from Cena . Later the same night , Cena informed Nexus that his attacks on them may stop , however attacks on Barrett would continue . Wanting the attacks to stop , Nexus ( excluding McGillicutty , who was ( kayfabe ) injured after being attacked the previous week by Cena ) threatened to eject leader Wade Barrett from the group if he did not get Cena rehired the following week . The following week Barrett rehired Cena in exchange for a Chairs match at . On December 19 at TLC : Tables , Ladders & Chairs , Cena defeated Barrett in the main event of the evening , after taking out all the other members of Nexus throughout the event . The " New " Nexus and disbandment ( 2011 ) . The group , sans Wade Barrett , after repeated attacks by CM Punk on John Cena , would ambiguously announce that it was under " new management " . CM Punk was revealed to be the new leader , acquiring the position after Barrett lost a Steel Cage match against Randy Orton and Sheamus , in which he would lose his status as leader and be excommunicated from Nexus should he lose the match . On January 10 , 2011 , Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater left the group , after refusing to follow CM Punk ' s orders of initiation by hitting each other with kendo sticks , to join Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson on " SmackDown ! " as " The Corre " , while Husky Harris , Michael McGillicutty , and David Otunga successfully completed the initiation , and stayed in Nexus . On the January 17 edition of " Raw " , Mason Ryan joined Nexus , interfering in a match between Punk and Cena . The group participated in the 2011 Royal Rumble but were eliminated by John Cena ( aside from Harris , who was eliminated by The Great Khali ) . At the 2011 Royal Rumble , The New Nexus would cost Randy Orton the WWE Championship . Two weeks later on the January 31 edition of " Raw " , Michael McGillicutty and Husky Harris teamed up against Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov for the WWE Tag Team Championship in which they lost . After the match , Randy Orton entered the ring and punted Husky Harris in the skull , ( kayfabe ) injuring Harris . Randy Orton would then , over the ongoing weeks , punt all members of the New Nexus , despite interference by CM Punk , removing each , one by one , from active competition . At WrestleMania XXVII , Randy Orton defeated CM Punk , but was unable to punt him in the skull , thus leaving CM Punk as the only active member of the New Nexus . McGillicutty , Otunga and Ryan returned on the April 11 edition of " Raw " and again cost Orton another shot at the WWE Championship and bringing New Nexus back to full strength . On the April 25 edition of " Raw " , at the WWE draft , Orton was drafted to " SmackDown " and beat Punk at Extreme Rules 2011 thus ending his feud with New Nexus . On the May 23 edition of " Raw " , Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga defeated The Big Show and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championship . At the June 20 " Power to the People " edition of Raw , CM Punk was originally going to be named the # 1 contender to the WWE Championship , but he was forced to compete in a triple threat match with Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio with a falls count anywhere stipulation voted by the WWE Universe . After the match , Punk won and revealed that his WWE contract would expire on the same date as Money in the Bank , where he would face John Cena for the WWE Championship , meaning that if he wins , not only will he leave the New Nexus and the WWE altogether , he will also leave the company with the Championship . Mason Ryan was voted to face Evan Bourne in a singles match and won , but was later to be revealed to be a glitch in the voting process , as Sin Cara was the actual winner . The following week , it was announced that Ryan had suffered an injury over the weekend . CM Punk would go on to defeat John Cena at Money in the Bank , presumably becoming the first Nexus member to win a world championship , even though at his appearance he was not wearing his Nexus armband and debuted a new shirt . CM Punk then left the WWE after becoming WWE Champion and with his contract having expired at midnight on July 17 . However , on the July 25 episode of " Raw " , he legitimately re - signed with WWE and confronted the new WWE Champion , John Cena who had just defeated Rey Mysterio to win the Championship . During this confrontation , Punk came out to Living Colour ' s " Cult of Personality " which became his new theme song and TitanTron , indicating he was no longer a part of the group ; he also brought out the WWE Championship belt that he won at Money in the Bank . This set up an Undisputed WWE Championship match between Punk and Cena to take place at SummerSlam . A week later , on the August 1 episode of " Raw " , McGillicutty and Otunga competed against Santino Marella and Zack Ryder without any Nexus gear or armbands , and with all Nexus logos removed from their TitanTron , effectively signalling the end of the group . Otunga and McGillicutty would still undergo tag team competition on their own , but no longer under the Nexus banner .