History YMMV / TheNexus

* AuthorsSavingThrow: In NXT, Otunga was pushed a lot, and the amount of exposure he got to the amount of skill he has made many people accuse him of being a CreatorsPet. In The Nexus, after he was distrusted by all of his fellow Nexus members for his arrogance and petty scheming, the accusations have stopped.

* WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: Slater does not seem to stand out compared to the other members of Nexus in either talent or mic skills. However, he has silently become the Nexus workhorse and most fans have not noticed: When Wade Barrett was in England taking care of his Visa issues, it was Slater that led the attack on the WWE Legends; at the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at ''[=SummerSlam=]'', he pinned both Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, and a few weeks later during a 5 on 5 elimination tag team match, he pinned the WWE Champion Sheamus, which combined with a one-on-one victory against Jericho back on NXT, means that ''he has pinned more World champions than any member of The Nexus/Corre'' (and on February 21, 2011, Slater added Wrestling/JohnCena to his list of defeated World champions, earning he and Gabriel their third tag title reign); and in a non-kayfabe example, in the aforementioned Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at ''[=SummerSlam=]'', he was the one that worked with Wrestling/BretHart. Considering Bret's health issues, they trusted Slater with the biggest burden of the match (as opposed to Barrett or Gabriel) and he performed very well.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** The ''Raw'' after ''[=SummerSlam=]'', the seven members of Nexus faced six of the seven members of Team WWE and Wrestling/RandyOrton (Orton stepped in for Wrestling/BretHart), with them all agreeing that whoever lost in their match was to be kicked out of The Nexus. Of the group, only Darren Young lost; the remaining members promptly beat him down. Fast forward a few weeks, Barrett is facing Orton in the main event of Raw and Darren Young comes out and distracts Barrett, saying "You think you can just kick me out of Nexus?", completely ignoring ''that he (and the rest of the group) had agreed to the terms at the start of the night.'' Not only that, but Young actually volunteered to face Cena, knowing that he was the biggest threat on Team WWE.
** Following ''Survivor Series'' 2010, John Cena was no longer a member of the WWE roster, yet since the November 29, 2010 edition of ''Raw'', he has attacked the members of Nexus and interfered in matches, pointing out that security won't help Nexus after the [[FanNickname NXT Riot]]. Fair enough, but since he's not a WWE superstar anymore, that means that Nexus could easily have Cena arrested for assault, trespassing and criminal damage, ''yet no-one in the group seems to have thought of this''.

** Subverted with Wade Barrett being kicked out of Nexus: Rather than attempt to take revenge against CM Punk and the rest of the stable, he appeared on ''[=SmackDown=]'' the same week attacking Wrestling/TheBigShow for no apparent reason... except that Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater have also jumped ship to ''[=SmackDown=]'' and realigned themselves with Barrett, who also added [[TheBrute Ezekiel]] [[AngryBlackMan Jackson]], who [[TheReveal introduced himself as a member of Barrett's new stable]] by scoop-slamming the Big Show.

* SeasonalRot: General agreement is that the storyline JumpedTheShark when Wrestling/CMPunk joined the group, usurped Barrett, and turned it into the New Nexus (while Barrett went to ''[=SmackDown=]'' and formed the Corre). The stable's credibility had already been shot when Cena got fired and proceeded to use his new freedom to singlehandedly destroy the Nexus and wreck Barrett, but they still had the chance to rebuild on their own after that was over. When Punk took over, he overshadowed the entire group, cutting off any possibility of the other members developing characters and credibility of their own, and used them not to terrorize ''RAW'', but as DumbMuscle in his vendetta against Wrestling/RandyOrton, even admitting at one point that he never gave a damn about ''any'' of them. The storyline finally died when Punk dropped the Pipebomb and started the Summer of Punk, and by that point everyone agreed it was a MercyKill that was long overdue.

* WhatMeasureIsANonBadass: Slater does not seem to stand out compared to the other members of Nexus in either talent or mic skills. However, he has silently become the Nexus workhorse and most fans have not noticed: When Wade Barrett was in England taking care of his Visa issues, it was Slater that led the attack on the WWE Legends; at the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at ''[=SummerSlam=]'', he pinned both Wrestling/ChrisJericho and Wrestling/{{Edge}}, and a few weeks later during a 5 on 5 elimination tag team match, he pinned the WWE Champion Sheamus, which combined with a one-on-one victory against Jericho back on NXT, means that ''he has pinned more World champions than any member of The Nexus/Corre'' (and on February 21, 2011, Slater added Wrestling/JohnCena to his list of defeated World champions, earning he and Gabriel their third tag title reign); and in a non-kayfabe example, in the aforementioned Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at ''[=SummerSlam=]'', he was the one that worked with Wrestling/BretHart. Considering Bret's health issues, they trusted Slater with the biggest burden of the match (as opposed to Barrett or Gabriel) and he performed very well.

* ShockingSwerve:
** CM Punk's reveal as the new leader of Nexus.
** Because of the World Heavyweight Championship now being vacant ([[Wrestling/{{Edge}} The current champion]] [[RealLifeWritesThePlot was forced to retire]]), a 20-man battle royal was ordered on the April 15, 2011 ''[=SmackDown=]'' to determine the other #1 Contender, who would face Alberto Del Rio for the championship at ''Extreme Rules''. The last several weeks had seen cracks develop in the Corre's loyalty to each other, and with all 4 members in the match, it wasn't inconceivable to think that loyalty would be tested. However, it was ''Gabriel'' of all people, who had been Wade Barrett's [[TheDragon dragon]] and arguably most loyal ally since The Nexus days, moments after working with him to eliminate another competitor, dumps an unsuspecting Barrett out of the ring. YMMV on whether this trope is in effect for the audience, but Wade's facial expression and virtual frothing at the mouth after realizing who eliminated him certainly indicate that ''he'' didn't see it coming.

* FoeYay:
** Wade's done a lot to get Wrestling/JohnCena to work for him. One of his orders included having Cena wash his back.
** Cena was obsessed with destroying the Nexus.

* MagnificentBastard: Barrett's huge charisma, intelligence, and skill at implementing his plans put him on the road to being one. Various uses of The Nexus and obtaining Cena under his control cemented him as this.

** Subverted with Wade Barrett being kicked out of Nexus: Rather than attempt to take revenge against CM Punk and the rest of the stable, he appeared on ''[=SmackDown=]'' the same week attacking Wrestling/TheBigShow for no apparent reason... except that Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater have also jumped ship to ''[=SmackDown=]'' and realigned themselves with Barrett, who also added [[TheBrute Ezekiel]] [[AngryBlackMan Jackson]], who [[TheReveal introduced himself as a member of Barrett's new stable]] by [[HolyShitQuotient scoop-slamming]] the Big Show.

* EarWorm:
** The Nexus[=/=]New Nexus theme, "We Are One" by 12 Stones.
** The Corre theme, "End of Days", famous for being [[RearrangeTheSong rearranged]] several times. Wrestling/WadeBarrett still used it singles-wise for months, though he hated it and was ecstatic when he got a new English pub rock style theme at ''Royal Rumble 2012'' (most fans, though, were the exact opposite).

** Even with the above, the Nexus were a legitimate threat to WWE, beating down the top wrestlers and even getting Wrestling/JohnCena fired for a while. New Nexus was simply just CM Punk using them as poor muscle to beat down Wrestling/RandyOrton, and he was [[PutOnABus punting]] members out practically every week. It got so bad that at one point, Punk was the only member of the New Nexus left. Let's put it this way - In less than two months, Randy Orton did more damage to the New Nexus than John Cena managed to do to the Nexus in six months. Fast forward to the aftermath of ''Money in the Bank'' with CM Punk leaving the promotion with the WWE title, the only members of the New Nexus were David Otunga and Michael [=McGillicutty=], with Mason Ryan on the injured reserve, and once Otunga and [=McGillicutty=] got a new Titantron and music, there was no more Nexus.

** David Otunga has been considered the weakest link in the Nexus due to his [[MilesGloriosus limited wrestling ability]] and, at least in the Barrett-run group, [[TheStarscream self-preserving tendencies]]. He's the most prolific champion in the history of the Nexus, winning the tag team titles with two different partners, and also the only member that lasted in the Nexus ''the entire time''.

** One-sided with Barrett. Otunga acts like an abused spouse around Barrett, making him more of a [[TheStarscream Starscream]] {{Expy}}. Which makes sense, because again, per FridgeBrilliance above, Barrett verbally abused Otunga to clinch his victory over him for the leadership bid in the first place.

* XPacHeat: Many think Otunga has been given way more spotlight then his lack of talent deserves.

* FanNickname:
** Nexus member Darren Young's facial features [[http://www.blacksnowcomic.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Black-Cena-and-White-Cena.jpg bear such a strong resemblance to John Cena's]] that fans took to calling him "Black John Cena;" this became an AscendedMeme when it was actually acknowledged on-air and Cena got a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} out of it. Darren mentioned it in passing, but Cena cracked everyone up when he said that Darren Young proved his worst fear: That his mom DID have an illicit affair with [[Film/TheLittleRascals Buckwheat]].
** Moments after the initial attack, fans were referring to the rookies as the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder NxtWo]]. In the same vein, people quickly began referring to the Corre as the "Nexus Wolfpac," due to being a splinter group in the same vein as Wolfpac.
** Cena, at one point, when seeing all seven members of Nexus [[SocialSemiCircle lined up on the entrance ramp shoulder-to-shoulder]], referred to Nexus as "NNNNNNN".
** In the few hours since Cena joined the group, people were already referring it as "[=CeNexus=]."
** Heath Slater is constantly compared to the Wendy's girl. This stemmed from the same Cena promo that the Young/Buckwheat joke was made, and a picture of his head Photoshopped onto the Wendy's logo accompanied it.
** Within hours of Wrestling/CMPunk joining the group, people began referring to the group as [=NexSES=], a portmanteau of Nexus and SES (Straight Edge Society, another stable that Punk was the leader of).

* NightmareFuel:
** Michael Tarver's out-of-nowhere appearance just before the NXT Riot; video of Tarver at a house show during another Nexus attack later that week - where he stared down the fan taping the show - was quite possibly even worse.
** Previously-happy-go-lucky Justin Gabriel's thousand-yard-stare before nailing Cena (and, later, Vince [=McMahon=]) with the 450 Splash.
** The attack goes from shocking to truly nightmarish once the Nexus turn on the commentators, beating up Matt Striker and Jerry Lawler and ripping apart the announcers' table. The ''entire'' rest of the episode plays out without any kind of commentary, just the sounds of the distraught crowd, the battle cries and taunts of the Nexus members, and the sounds of destruction and violence being inflicted, right up until the end where John Cena is being wheeled out on a stretcher.

* TearJerker: Many children in the crowd were ''driven to tears'' when Wrestling/JohnCena was forced to join the Nexus.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Everyone was left wondering how the Nexus angle would have progressed with Bryan's presence. On the plus side, it allowed Bryan to return to the indies on a temporary tour of duty before being hired back by WWE, giving many of the promotions he was working for an extra promotional boost (and giving him a chance to tell fans to give TV-PG a chance, as well as asking fans to support the indies).

* XPacHeat: Many think Otunga has been given way more spotlight then his lack of talent deserves.