WWE NXT (Season 1)

The first season of NXT began airing on Syfy on February 23, 2010 and ended on June 1, 2010. The majority of the season 1 cast was revealed on the series finale of ECW. However, before the season's premiere aired, Skip Sheffield's Pro was changed with William Regal replacing the announced Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP).
Near the end of the season, several changes were made to the original plan of the format. The season was originally planned to be 17 weeks long, but ended up cut down to 15 episodes. In the first elimination episode on May 11, both Michael Tarver and Daniel Bryan were eliminated by WWE Management and removed from that night's Pros' Poll after both made comments about wanting to be voted off. The show ended with three eliminations, with Sheffield ranked last in the Poll. Carlito was released on May 20 for refusing rehab after violating WWE's Wellness Program. Subsequent Pros' Polls were held without him for the rest of the season.
The winner of the season was Wade Barrett. Six days after the end of the first season, the Rookies interfered in the Raw main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking both competitors as well as the announcing team before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment. During the segment, Bryan strangled ring announcer Justin Roberts with the announcer's own tie, which WWE reportedly felt was too violent for their TV-PG programming. As a consequence, WWE announced via their official website four days later that Bryan had been (legitimately) released from his contract. The following episode of Raw, the storyline continued with general manager Bret Hart (kayfabe) firing Barrett, revoking his contract and guaranteed title match, as a consequence to the previous week's incident. A week later, WWE chairman Vince McMahon fired Hart and changed the decision, hiring all seven rookies and reinstating Barrett's title shot. During an in-ring promo later that night, the rookies announced that they had formed an alliance called the Nexus.
Contestants
Rookie (Pro) (Status)
:*Wade Barrett (Chris Jericho) (Winner)
:*David Otunga (R-Truth) (Eliminated Week 15)
:*Justin Gabriel (Matt Hardy) (Eliminated Week 15)
:*Heath Slater (Christian) (Eliminated Week 14)
:*Darren Young (CM Punk) (Eliminated Week 13)
:*Skip Sheffield (William Regal) (Eliminated Week 12)
:*Daniel Bryan (The Miz) (Eliminated Week 12)
:*Michael Tarver (Carlito) (Eliminated Week 12)
==Accomplishments==
Season 1 winner - Wade Barrett
==NXT Placings==
===NXT Standings===
Rookie 	Pro 	Wins	Losses	Status
Wade Barrett 	Chris Jericho	8 	5 	Winner
David Otunga 	R-Truth 	6 	5 	Eliminated (Week 15)
Justin Gabriel	Matt Hardy 	7 	4 	Eliminated (Week 15)
Heath Slater 	Christian 	5 	6 	Eliminated (Week 14)
Darren Young 	CM Punk 	7 	4 	Eliminated (Week 13)
Skip Sheffield	William Regal	2 	5 	Eliminated (Week 12)
Daniel Bryan 	The Miz 	0 	10 	Eliminated (Week 12)
Michael Tarver	Carlito 	1 	7 	Eliminated (Week 12)
===Poll results===
- Winner of competition
– Safe in competition
– Eliminated from competition by Pros' Poll
- Eliminated from competition by WWE management
– Won immunity prior to that particular poll and is ineligible to be eliminated
Rookie 	Week 6(March 30)	Week 12(May 11) 	Week 13(May 18)	Week 14(May 25)	Week 15(June 1)Round 1	Week 15(June 1)Round 2
Wade Barrett 	2nd 	1st 	1st 	1st 	1st 	1st
David Otunga 	5th 	2nd 	2nd 	2nd 	2nd 	2nd
Justin Gabriel	3rd 	3rd 	4th 	3rd 	3rd 	Eliminated
Heath Slater 	4th 	4th 	3rd 	4th 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Darren Young 	8th 	5th 	5th 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Skip Sheffield	6th 	6th 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Daniel Bryan 	1st 	Eliminated by management 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Michael Tarver	7th 	Eliminated by management 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Eliminated 	N/A 	Tarver, Bryan, & Sheffield	Young 	Slater 	Gabriel 	Otunga
===NXT Challenges===
* Keg Carrying Challenge - winner gets main event match on NXT
:* Winner - Heath Slater
* Talk the Talk Challenge - winner gets a personal entrance theme song
:* Winner - Wade Barrett
* Rock'em Sock'em Rookies Challenge - winner gets an exclusive feature on WWE.com
:* Winner - Skip Sheffield
* Seal the Deal Challenge - winner gets to face a WWE Pro of his choosing
:* Winner - David Otunga
* Obstacle Course Challenge - winner gets an Immunity Pass and can't be eliminated next week
:* Winner - Justin Gabriel
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment