History Wrestling / TheNexus

** Wade Barrett coming down to the ring during a match involving the WWE Champion? Not so odd. The seven eliminated NXT Rookies showing up and following Barrett's lead as they destroy John Cena and lay waste to ''Raw''? Either a ShockingSwerve or a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. While many fans believed that some of the NXT Rookies would eventually find their way back to WWE's big shows in time, nobody expected that it would be six days after the end of the first "season" of ''NXT'' - and nobody expected them to come in like that.

* {{Expy}}: Large power stable runs rampant on the show and eventually splits into two slightly smaller power stables. [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder Those who have followed wrestling for a while should see some similarities.]] The IWC has already given the new stable the FanNickname of "Nexus Wolfpac", in a nod to the different branches of the nWo.

* NotSoDifferent: The Corre and The New Nexus aren't as different as they claim - The Corre retained the TrueCompanions[=/=]FireForgedFriends aspects of the Nexus that were abandoned by the New Nexus, and both the Corre and the New Nexus shared similar modus operendi with their repeated gang attacks.

* BreakupBreakout: You'd think Wade Barrett would have the most successful post-Nexus career, right? '''Wrong.''' Fast forward five years later, and Barrett is less prominently featured on TV than [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson the first person kicked out of Nexus]], [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} the first member of Nexus's most iconic line-up to be taken off TV]], and [[Wrestling/BrayWyatt one]] of the two people who who joined Nexus months into its existence (the [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel other one]] did well for himself, even if only for a while).

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Corre is the grey compared to The Nexus (being the black) in the idea of being the lesser of two evils. Slater and Gabriel joined Barrett because they didn't agree with Punk's method of initiation. Plus Barrett claims that he made a mistake in making the Nexus all about him, and that in the Corre there is no leader, they are all equal. However, once again, this became a fatal flaw as the extreme individuality and lack of leadership led to the Corre splitting up.

Then Michael Tarver showed up in the crowd, decked out in his ring gear and wearing a bandana over his face that made him look [[NightmareFuel frightening]]. A few moments later, Tarver and the other six NXT Rookies jumped the barricade, all wearing the same armband as Wade Barrett. And then the group that would later be known as '''The Nexus''' started laying waste to anything and anyone in their path: the Straight Edge Society, ringside workers, announcers, and - especially - John Cena (''[[InvincibleHero the top guy in the industry]]''), who received one of the most one-sided, brutal, viciously beautiful beatdowns in his career at the hands of ''every'' member of the group.

Since then, The Nexus blazed a trail of destruction, terrorizing both ''Raw'' and ''[[Wrestling/{{WWESmackDown}} SmackDown]]'' to make a name for themselves (part of a larger plan, including making Wade Barrett the WWE Champion). Nobody, from John Cena to Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} to Barrett's "Pro" Wrestling/ChrisJericho to even Wrestling/BretHart and Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, was safe from their wrath.

The first "season" saw NXT Rookies Wrestling/WadeBarrett, Michael Tarver, Wrestling/DavidOtunga, [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]], [[Wrestling/PrimeTimePlayers Darren Young]], Wrestling/HeathSlater, Wrestling/JustinGabriel, and - last, but certainly not least - [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] fighting against each other and the Pros in matches, competing in different challenges (including a promo contest), and generally attempting to get themselves over with the crowd. About halfway through the first "season", Rookies started getting eliminated...but some rookies returned to NXT to speak out against the eliminations and the Pros, saying the Pros had offered little help in the competition. Eventually, Wade Barrett won the competition. And then six days later...'''''all hell broke loose.'''''

[[caption-width-right:275:You're either Nexus, or you're against us!]]

Following a do-or-die match at ''Hell in a Cell 2010'', John Cena was officially forced into the group, where he found out on orders of the ''Raw'' General Manager that if he refused to follow orders from Wade Barrett, ''his WWE contract would be terminated''. With Cena's last hope - destroying Nexus from the inside out - dashed, it remained to be seen if Cena would be a reluctant Nexus member or if he would become a willing part of the group. As it turned out, he resisted temptation and remained the hero, even if it did "cost him his job" for a few weeks (Barrett let him come back).

* TheBadGuysWin: The end of the John Cena vs. Wade Barrett match at ''Hell in a Cell 2010''. If Cena won, The Nexus would be forced to disband; if Barrett won, Cena would be forced to join The Nexus. After interference from two new Nexus members, Barrett won, and Cena was forced to join The Nexus.

* NewRulesAsThePlotDemands: The original rules of John Cena having to join Nexus was just that - he had to become a member of Nexus, the logic being that being a member of Nexus meant doing what Wade Barrett says since all of Nexus does what he says. On the ''Raw'' following ''Hell in a Cell'', when Cena tried to pull ExactWords to attack Otunga, the anonymous ''Raw'' GM informed Cena that he also had to follow each and every command Barrett gave him, and failure to do so meant Barrett could officially fire him.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Cena's joining Nexus; practically everyone expected Cena to lose his match to Barrett due to prior advertising posters for the ''Bragging Rights'' PPV including the Nexus logo. Even worse, WWE aired one of these ads during ''Hell in a Cell'', before the Barrett vs. Cena match took place!

* WorthIt: On the September 20, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', John Cena agreed to any stipulation Wade Barrett wanted just to finally get his hands on him in a one-on-one match. Barrett said that he'd tried to recruit Cena to The Nexus before, but this time, he'd leave him with no choice: if Cena loses to Barrett at ''Hell in a Cell'', Cena joins Nexus. Cena fired back with a stipulation of his own - if he wins, Nexus is history - but considered the risk to his career path worth it ''just'' to finally get his hands on Barrett in a one-on-one match. This backfired painfully; Cena lost the match and was forced to join The Nexus, and per the anonymous ''Raw'' GM's orders, he had to obey Barrett's orders or he would be fired.

** Michael Tarver received a beatdown from John Cena after losing to him on the ''Raw'' following ''Hell in a Cell'', with no Nexus members around to help him; Barrett later told Cena he was going to kick Tarver out anyway.

The first "season" saw NXT Rookies Wrestling/WadeBarrett, Michael Tarver, David Otunga, [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]], [[Wrestling/PrimeTimePlayers Darren Young]], Wrestling/HeathSlater, Wrestling/JustinGabriel, and - last, but certainly not least - [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] fighting against each other and the Pros in matches, competing in different challenges (including a promo contest), and generally attempting to get themselves over with the crowd. About halfway through the first "season", Rookies started getting eliminated...but some rookies returned to NXT to speak out against the eliminations and the Pros, saying the Pros had offered little help in the competition. Eventually, Wade Barrett won the competition. And then six days later...'''''all hell broke loose.'''''

Daniel Bryan was booted out of the group following its initial attack on ''Raw'' (for reasons to be explained below), Darren Young and Michael Tarver were excommunicated from the group following failures in the ring, Skip Sheffield was stated by a WWE.com article to no longer be a member for failing the group by getting injured, John Cena left the group upon his "firing" from WWE, and Wade Barrett was ostensibly excommunicated from the group by CM Punk himself in the very first Raw of 2011. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel followed the next week after refusing to go through with CM Punk's initiation into the New Nexus. On the Raw following the Royal Rumble, Husky Harris was written out via a punt to the head from Wrestling/RandyOrton. Then in late February and early March respectively, Michael [=McGillicutty=], David Otunga, and Mason Ryan were written out the same way. However, Otunga, [=McGillicutty=] and Ryan returned on the 4/13/2011 edition of ''RAW'' to cost Orton a victory over Dolph Ziggler in a #1 contender's gauntlet match, and then beat the hell out of him post-match. With Punk's contract expiring, followed by his subsequent return & feud with John Cena, Ryan's injury in June, and Otunga and [=McGillicutty=] receiving new music & a new Titantron, The Nexus effectively ceased to exist on 7/29/11.

* BeardOfEvil: Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Michael [=McGillicutty=] and Husky Harris all sported beards.

* HiddenDepths: David Otunga's current "Harvard-bred lawyer" gimmick isn't for show; he ''actually'' attended and graduated from Harvard before wrestling.[[note]]There has been some debate of how much of an actual lawyer he is; he did win a pro bono appeal against the New York Dept. of Labor, but there has been some debate about whether he could officially go into a court of law as an attorney.[[/note]]

* MilesGloriosus: David Otunga, the most outspoken of Barrett's followers and TheStarscream, who backs out of matches whenever possible.

** The Heir Apparent/The Enforcer: Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Daniel Bryan

* TheStarscream: David Otunga went back-and-forth with this, clearly looking to usurp Barrett's leadership since the ''Raw'' after ''Wrestling/SummerSlam'' when he was very clear that Wade had to win his match with Chris Jericho to stay in Nexus since the rest had to win theirs to stay in the group. Made abundantly clear on the November 5, 2010 episode of ''[=SmackDown=]'', where he led The Nexus (minus Wade Barrett and John Cena) in an assault on the Blue Brand's roster - this was confirmed to be without Barrett's knowledge on the following episode of ''Raw''. Barrett's also aware of Otunga's desire to replace him as the leader, as even after Barrett decided to punish Otunga for the trip to ''[=SmackDown=]'' by having him face Cena, he ''still'' tried to get the rest of the group to be ringside for him, only for Barrett to immediately order them backstage with a [[SmugSnake smirk on his face]]. Then Otunga seemingly successfully organized the rest of Nexus against Barrett, telling him that if he doesn't rehire Cena to stop the attacks, he'll be kicked out, only for Barrett to reassert his leadership on the next week's ''Raw'' and led The Nexus away from ringside, leaving Otunga as Cena's proverbial punching bag. Otunga's status as TheStarscream has become so blatant that it has become his FanNickname among some fan circles.

** David Otunga being forced to lay down for Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, giving them the tag titles.

* TrueCompanions: When the group first formed, this was a crucial part of the group's dynamic. For example, Skip Sheffield declared that he was not afraid of having to face Cena's team of WWE superstars at ''[=SummerSlam=]'' because it would be a team of individuals, whereas The Nexus all trust each other and would willingly sacrifice themselves for the good of the group. Since their loss at ''[=SummerSlam=]'', this has been mostly talk, with Darren Young and Michael Tarver being brutally excommunicated out of the group and David Otunga working to make a name for himself. In fact it was the loss of this dynamic that led to [[HijackedByGanon CM Punk hijacking the group]] and effectively splitting it down the middle between his Nexus on ''Raw'' and the Corre on ''Smackdown''.

** The December 27, 2010 episode of ''Raw'' - David Otunga apparently leads Nexus to the ring to [[BlatantLies apologize to Cena and offer a truce]]. Cena turns him down. Otunga leads Nexus halfway back up the ramp. Then, suddenly, orders the rest of his teammates to storm the ring and beat down Cena once again, each of them hitting Cena with their FinishingMove in quick succession. Then Wrestling/CMPunk, who was essentially the reason that Cena had come down to the ring in the first place, shows up...and hits Cena with the [[FinishingMove GTS (Go To Sleep)]]. He gets a chair, starts to whack Cena with it, stops... and then sits down in the chair, contemplating a Nexus armband for a moment. With a smile on his face, he slips the armband onto his bicep, establishing himself as the newest member - and as the audience found out next week, the new leader - of The Nexus.

** We still don't know exactly what the bigger picture was.

* FiveBadBand: During the period when the Nexus had five members, they fit this perfectly:
** BigBad: Wade Barrett of course, as the leader and the one who took on the main eventers and got the WWE title shots.
** TheDragon: Justin Gabriel was the workhorse of the bunch, and the only one other than Barrett who routinely faced main-eventers like Cena and Orton one on one. His 450 Splash was also the Nexus' strongest weapon.
** TheEvilGenius: David Otunga, who graduated Harvard and was the most well-spoken. He was also a classic [[TheStarscream Starscream]], constantly challenging Barret's authority verbally and coming up with his own schemes that never quite worked out.
** TheBrute: Michael Tarver, who behaved like an attack dog, often delivering the most vicious beatings during a Nexus attack, and who could knock anyone out in [[InformedAbility 1.9 seconds]].
** TheDarkChick: Heath Slater definitely didn't fit in with the rest, being more goofy than threatening.

* FiveBadBand:
** BigBad: CM Punk - he is the leader as well as the one with the most experience.
** TheDragon & TheDarkChick: David Otunga - he was this to Wade getting Punk to kick him out as well as the only original Nexus member in the group. However, for all of Otunga's posturing as the "strongest" within the old Nexus, he's shown himself to be a gigantic coward.
** TheEvilGenius: Michael [=McGillicutty=] - he did get all the NXT season 2 rookies to beat on [[Wrestling/LowKi Kaval]] and fight Wrestling/KofiKingston, Wrestling/MarkHenry, Wrestling/ZackRyder and John Morrison, as well as being trained by his father and grandfather Larry Hennig and [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]].
** TheBrute: Mason Ryan & Husky Harris share this role within the New Nexus - Mason Ryan being the biggest physical threat within the New Nexus, and Husky Harris being an uncontrollable beast in-ring.

* FiveBadBand: For the Corre, it would be:
** BigBad: Wade Barrett - being the leader figure of the Corre despite the maxim of equality.
** TheDragon: Justin Gabriel - being the most loyal member to Wade Barrett in the old Nexus, and by being the second-in-command within the Corre.
** TheEvilGenius & TheDarkChick: Heath Slater - his in-ring abilities get him the Genius tag, and he STILL looks like the least threatening member of the Corre (and ANYBODY who's been part of this storyline).
** TheBrute: Ezekiel Jackson - [[ScaryBlackMan Big. Bad. Scary.]] Powerful as all hell. [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower WAS ABLE TO HOLD THE 485-POUND BIG SHOW IN A SCOOP SLAM POSITION FOR A GOOD 10 SECONDS!]]
*** Screw scoop-slamming The Big Show, he [[{{HSQ}} fucking suplexed The Big Show!]]

* AbortedArc: The Nexus attacked The Undertaker at Bragging Rights 2010, helping Kane win a Buried Alive match. This was never explained.

** At one point, The Nexus brutally injured Bret Hart by putting him in the back of a limousine and then backing it into another vehicle. Since all members of The Nexus were present at the time of the attack, speculation ran wild of a secret leader of The Nexus, or Daniel Bryan (who was fired shortly before this attack took place) still being employed. The limousine driver remains a mystery to this day.
* AntiClimax[=/=]InvincibleHero: The end of the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus match at ''[=SummerSlam=]'' 2010. Thanks to PPV time constraints, we get an extremely awkward finish to this particular match. Wade Barrett hits a DDT on John Cena on the exposed concrete on the floor and throws him back into the ring. He tags in Gabriel so he can finish Cena with the 450 Splash...only for Cena to move out of the way and pin Gabriel. Then Barrett comes in and immediately gets caught in the STF and taps out. All of that happened in about a two minute span, so it came off as though Cena just shrugged off a DDT on concrete to make the two most talented members of Nexus look like total tools. (Keep in mind in this company, Wrestling/RickySteamboat was legitimately knocked out by a concrete DDT from Wrestling/JakeRoberts, meaning fans have been conditioned even more so than normal to expect someone to be kept down by that sort of thing)
** In a less direct show of invincibility and PlotArmor, John Cena completely no-selling his "firing" by showing up at Raw every single week afterward. In fact, he did ''more'' damage to Nexus at this point than in the entire angle previous.
** CM Punk, doing RAW commentary duties as he recovered from an injury, would [[LampshadeHanging point out]] every time that Cena was fired yet somehow still be involved with RAW every week. Which actually turned out to be a [[{{Foreshadowing}} tip]] as to who he would be targeting when he took over Nexus and [[WhatTheHellHero why]].

* TheBadGuysWin: The end of ''Hell in a Cell 2010''.
* BaldOfEvil: [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]], Michael Tarver (sometimes).
* BeardOfEvil: Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Michael [=McGillicutty=] and Husky Harris.
* BreakupBreakout: You'd think Wade Barrett would have the most successful post-Nexus career, right? '''Wrong.''' Fast forward three years later, and Barrett is less prominently featured on TV than [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson the first person kicked out of Nexus]], [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} the first member of Nexus's most iconic line-up to be taken off TV]], and the [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel two]] [[Wrestling/BrayWyatt people]] who joined Nexus months into its existence.
* BrokenRecord: Wrestling/MichaelCole for some reason mentions the fact that Justin Gabriel is South African in almost every single match he's in.
* BulletProofFashionPlate: Wade Barrett's hair must be 90% gel.
* CatchPhrase: "You're either Nexus...or you're against us."

* CurbstompBattle: The Nexus vs the team of Wrestling/YoshiTatsu, Wrestling/JerryLawler, the Hart Dynasty, Wrestling/{{Goldust}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and Wrestling/EvanBourne in a 7-on-7 Elimination Tag match on ''Raw'' in August 2010. The Nexus didn't suffer ''a single elimination''.
* DiabolusExMachina: So a bunch of rookies who could barely hold their own against the likes of Wrestling/WilliamRegal are suddenly able to blow through Wrestling/JohnMorrison and go toe to toe with five star main eventers like Jericho and Wrestling/{{Edge}} despite showing barely any growth?
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Wade Barrett.
* TheDogBitesBack: After Darren Young failed to win his post-Summerslam match, he was [[YouHaveFailedMe brutally exiled from Nexus]]. Two weeks later, he shows up during Wade Barrett's match with RandyOrton and distracts him enough to cost him the win.
* MrFanservice: Justin Gabriel is the slim, delicate and pretty {{Bishonen}} with [[AmbiguouslyBrown a foreign twist]], which makes sense considering he's a former model, while Wade Barrett is a TallDarkAndSnarky, MagnificentBastard with a [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents British Accent]].

* FireForgedFriends: One of the distinguishing characteristics of The Nexus is their unwavering respect and loyalty to each other. In the promo following the "NXT Riot", Wade Barrett said this is because they all came to loathe WWE management during NXT, in spite of the fact that they were in competition with each other. Their grievances included Pro/Rookie pairings that were designed to fall apart or work against the Rookies, the humiliating "challenges" they were forced to endure, and last-minute rule changes that cost some of them their spot on NXT. Thus, the only people they found to be sympathetic to their individual gripes were each other.
** Since that time, Daniel Bryan and Darren Young were excommunicated from the group. In addition, the other members let Michael Tarver get decimated by Cena, and since that same episode, Otunga and Barrett were showing signs of dissension. It would seem that they may not be as fire forged as we first thought.
*** In that respect, it may be this trope that embodied Wade Barrett's Nexus. As they lost more members, they became progressively more divided until they essentially split into two, with only one member of the original 8 in the "New Nexus".
* FieryRedhead: Heath Slater.

* HiddenDepths: David Otunga's current "Harvard-bred lawyer" gimmick isn't for show; he ''actually'' attended and graduated from Harvard before wrestling.
** There has been some debate of how much of an actual lawyer he is; he did win a pro bono appeal against the New York Dept. of Labor, but there has been some debate about whether he could officially go into a court of law as an attorney.
* HijackedByGanon: Averted - In their third week, Wrestling/VinceMcMahon ''tried'' to take credit for the Nexus, after they attacked Raw GM Wrestling/BretHart & forced him to leave his position as GM. The Nexus promptly attacked him, too.
** Wrestling/CMPunk would take over leadership of the Nexus after ''TLC 2010''.
* KarmaHoudini: Averted by Wade Barrett. After his match at Survivor Series and firing Wrestling/JohnCena, he gets a WWE title shot the very next night on RAW. He even had TheNexus attack current WWE Champion Wrestling/RandyOrton [[InTheBack from behind]], for a little reassurance that he would win. But unfortunately for him, LaserGuidedKarma kicked in and Wrestling/JohnCena jumped the barricade mid-match [[TheDogBitesBack to hit him with an Attitude Adjustment]], allowing Orton to pick up the victory. [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle And then]]...[[Wrestling/TheMiz AAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOOOOOOME.]]
** Later played straight, when Wrestling/TheUndertaker returned on the 02-21-11 episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]]'', and didn't even so much as ''look'' at the men who helped Wrestling/{{Kane}} bury him alive several months earlier.
*** It should be noted that Undertaker's return occurred after the New Nexus[=/=]Corre split, and with the exception of Otunga, The New Nexus weren't involved. However, The Corre were also at the show to defend the newly won Tag Team titles.
* KickTheDog[=/=]ForTheEvulz: The brutal beatdown of Wrestling/RickySteamboat and other WWE Legends in the middle of a plug for Ricky's new DVD set was probably the Nexus's most heinous act to date. The next week, Skip Sheffield commented on it and said they did it just for fun.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Wrestling/CMPunk literally kicks Wade Barrett out of Nexus

** And when he does compete, you can see why. He's not very good.
* MortonsFork: The Free or Fired match at ''Survivor Series 2010''. If John Cena declares Wade Barrett the winner, he is free from his duties to The Nexus. If John Cena declares Wrestling/RandyOrton the winner, he would be fired from the WWE. Even TakingAThirdOption was not a good plan, as that was merely calling the match down the middle and letting fate decide Cena's future instead of intentionally siding with one of the two competitors.
** And that is just looking at it from Cena's perspective. Looking at it through the perspective of an impartial onlooker, if Wrestling/JohnCena declared Wade the winner, he would win the WWE title and almost assuredly force The Nexus's two biggest rivals against each other [[ArchEnemy (and they never liked]] [[TheRival each other to being with).]] If Cena were to declare Orton the winner, the biggest thorn in the side of Wade Barrett and The Nexus would be forced into retirement, and the morale of the locker room and the WWE Universe would be devastated in the process.
* MotiveDecay: Early on, Nexus made it clear they were only using Wrestling/JohnCena as a stepping stone toward their "bigger picture" due to his position and harbored no real ill will toward him. Then the bigger picture subject dropped and Nexus became solely about terrorizing Cena.
** And they progressively dwindled down to [[TheStarscream Otunga]] being the only original member left, effectively losing the TrueCompanions & FireForgedFriends aspects.
** Aspects which have now been reclaimed by the Corre. In fact, on the 1/24/2011 RAW, Barrett admitted his desire to win the WWE Championship and humilate Cena made him lose sight of the bigger picture.
** And then Barrett screwed that up by making that group [[ItsAllAboutMe all about himself]] again.
* NewRulesAsThePlotDemands: The original rules of John Cena having to join Nexus was just that - he had to become a member of Nexus. On the ''Raw'' following ''Hell in a Cell'', the anonymous Raw GM informed Cena that he also had to follow each and every command Barrett gave him, and failure to do so meant Barrett could officially fire him.
** The logic being that being a member of Nexus meant doing what Wade Barrett says since all of Nexus does what he says.
*** This held true until the 12/6/2010 ''Raw'', where Barrett ordered The Nexus to attack John Cena, and they left instead. When Barrett confronted his men, they gave him an ultimatum, get Cena rehired or Barrett would be kicked out of the group. Ironically, Cena was fired because he refused to follow a Wade Barrett order, and he got his job back because the rest of Nexus did not follow a Wade Barrett order.

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Remember Michael Tarver, perennial loser who tapped out to drinking soda? Remember Skip Sheffield, wacky Good Ol' Boy more interested in getting his catchphrases over than listening to his WWE Pro? Remember Justin Gabriel, white-meat baby {{face}} with a cool finish and a winning smile? Yeah, those guys are gone now.
** Subverted by Heath Slater and Darren Young; Slater, as evidenced by his segment with Edge on the 8/16/10 Raw, is still the complete goof he was in NXT, except now he's ''supposed'' to be booed by the fans. Young, on the other hand, was pretty much consistently the fall guy of The Nexus and was kicked out of the group for being the obvious weak link.
* OhCrap: [[BigBad Wade Barrett's]] expression in the 12-6-10 episode of RAW where [[TheStarscream David Otunga]] told him to rehire Cena or the other members would kick ''him'' out of Nexus is ''priceless.''
* PerspectiveFlip: Nexus' theme song, "We Are One" by 12 Stones, was originally written as a song dedicated to the {{heroic sacrifice}}s made by the troops. Nexus' use of the song essentially changed it more into a song about a militaristic force, standing together unstoppable. The flip is more evident when 12 Stones made a DarkerAndEdgier remix of the song for Nexus.
** Made especially clear when Barrett came out to this song for a match during Tribute to the Troops and was booed by the soldiers there.

* ScaryBlackMan: ''[[NightmareFuel MICHAEL TARVER]].''
** [[NightmareRetardant Though some see him as a punk with a diaper over his face.]]

* TheStarscream: David Otunga, ever since ''Hell in the Cell 2010''.
** Made abundantly clear on the November 5 2010 episode of ''[=SmackDown=]'', where he led The Nexus (minus Wade Barrett and John Cena) in an assault on the Blue Brand's roster - this was confirmed to be without Barrett's knowledge on the following episode of Raw.
*** Barrett's also aware of Otunga's desire to replace him as the leader, as even after Barrett decided to punish Otunga for the trip to [=SmackDown=] by having him face Cena, he ''still'' tried to get the rest of the group to be ringside for him, only for Barrett to immediately order them backstage with a [[SmugSnake smirk on his face]].
** Otunga's been looking to usurp Barrett's leadership since the ''Raw'' after ''Wrestling/SummerSlam'' when he was very clear that Wade had to win his match with Jericho to stay in Nexus since the rest had to win theirs to stay in the group.
** Otunga's status as TheStarscream has become so blatant that it has become his FanNickname among some fan circles.
** Now Otunga has successfully organized the rest of Nexus against Barrett, telling him that if he doesn't rehire Cena to stop the attacks, he'll be kicked out.
** It didn't last long. The next RAW, Barrett reasserted his leadership and led The Nexus away from ringside, leaving Otunga as Cena's proverbial punching bag.

** EnemyMine: This all-star team included the likes of Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/ChrisJericho working together with John Cena. This team was so volatile that leading up to [=SummerSlam=], Edge and Jericho left the team and rejoined in a two week span. The only thing that kept the team together was the mutual hate for The Nexus.
*** A few weeks later, the five remaining members (Young had been kicked out, Sheffield was injured) of The Nexus faced Cena, Edge, Jericho, Sheamus & Wrestling/RandyOrton in a 10-man tag team match, with all of the opponents of The Nexus being booked to face each other (and Barrett) in a Six Pack Challenge for the WWE title. However, this time the results were radically different, as Edge and Jericho got themselves eliminated intentionally within the first minute of the match.
* ThrowingTheFight: John Cena being ordered by Wade Barrett to eliminate himself from a No. 1 Contender's battle royal, thus ensuring that Barrett won it.

* TokenGoodTeammate: Cena after being forced to join.

** Even failing that, the two [=PPVs=] following ''Hell in a Cell'' are ''Bragging Rights'' and ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries'', [=PPVs=] built on multi-man tag team matches. It would be annoying to break up the WWE's biggest PowerStable going into these two events.
*** While that is good logic, it turned out that the tag team aspect of the Nexus didnt come into play at either PPV.
*** While ironically, two sets of Unified Tag Team Champions did come out of Nexus' roster - Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (once in Nexus and once in the Corre), and the team of David Otunga and Michael [=McGillicutty=] (under CM Punk's leadership as the New Nexus). Actually, you can also add [[Wrestling/JohnCena Cena]] [[WTHCastingAgency and Otunga]], as they were the ones that laid down for Gabriel and Slater to win the titles the first time.

* UnderwearOfPower: This applied to all three groups until 2011, as none of them have worn pants up until this point.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by John Cena and he is the only exception.
** Heath Slater became the first person to switch to long tights in May 2011.
* WhamEpisode: Wade Barrett coming down to the ring during a match involving the WWE Champion? Not so odd. The seven eliminated NXT Rookies showing up and following Barrett's lead as they destroy John Cena and lay waste to ''Raw''? Either a ShockingSwerve or a CrowningMomentOfAwesome. While many fans believed that some of the NXT Rookies would eventually find their way back to WWE's big shows in time, nobody expected that it would be six days after the end of the first "season" of ''NXT'' - and nobody expected them to come in like that.
** The 12/27 episode of RAW - David Otunga apparently leads Nexus to the ring to [[BlatantLies apologize to Cena and offer a truce]]. [[GenreSavvy Cena turns him down.]] Otunga leads Nexus halfway back up the ramp. Then, suddenly, orders the rest of his teammates to storm the ring and beat down Cena once again, each of them hitting Cena with their FinishingMove in quick succession. Then Wrestling/CMPunk, who was essentially the reason that Cena had come down to the ring in the first place, shows up...and hits Cena with the [[FinishingMove GTS (Go To Sleep)]]. He gets a chair, starts to whack Cena with it, stops... and then sits down in the chair, contemplating a Nexus armband for a moment. With a smile on his face, he slips the armband onto his bicep, establishing himself as the newest member - and as the audience found out next week, the new leader - of The Nexus.

* YouHaveFailedMe: When Darren Young was unable to win his post-''Summerslam'' match on ''Raw,'' the rest of Nexus turned on him pretty quickly.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Michael Tarver received a beatdown from John Cena after losing to him on the ''Raw'' following ''Hell in a Cell'', with no Nexus members around to help him; Barrett later told Cena he was going to kick Tarver out anyway.
** With Wade Barrett's recent humiliating defeat at ''TLC 2010'' (as well as the various injuries he suffered at ''TLC 2010''), there's no doubt he'll get excommunicated as well.
*** He did. With new Nexus leader Wrestling/CMPunk not only costing Barrett a shot at the WWE title, but ripping Barrett's own Nexus armband off in the process as one hell of an exclamation point.
*** However it looks like things didn't go quite according to plan for Punk's coup, as Barrett's apparently taken Slater and Gabriel with him to Smackdown leaving Punk's Nexus with a total of four members, only one of whom were in the original lineup.

* ChekhovsGun[=/=]HilariousInHindsight: Wade Barrett promised the winds of change would be blowing through the WWE when he started the original Nexus with a WhamEpisode. Take a look [[TheFarmerAndTheViper what CM Punk has done in the months since Capitol Punishment]] while the New Nexus quietly disbanded.
** 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''.
** Speaking of Otunga, his show name was "Punk" in ''Series/ILoveNewYork''.
* {{Cult}}: ''Hoo boy.'' The [[HijackedByGanon New Nexus]] was already showing signs of this from the jump...but once Punk launched into one of his [[FauxlosophicNarration monologues]] on the 1-17-11 ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]''…
* DarkerAndEdgier: When CM Punk joined the Nexus, he introduced whippings, group beatdowns (on fellow Nexus members), mock suicides, cultish sermons, and serious biblical overtones to the group. Imagine what Punk [[IControlMyMinionsThrough would have done]] [[NightmareFuel to Cena]] if he had been the leader of the Nexus at the time Cena was forced to join the group. It's safe to assume [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil Cena would have been a bit more cooperative under Punk's rule]] than he was under Barrett's.

* MrFanservice: CM Punk has added his sex appeal (a blonde, charismatic, and heavily tattooed JerkAss, [[ShapedLikeItself making him very much like a...well, like a punk]]) to the group, at the cost of Wade Barrett.
* PutOnABus: Husky Harris, [=McGillicutty=], [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing Otunga]] and Ryan all got got [[OneHitKO punted in the head by]] Wrestling/RandyOrton. All but Husky Harris returned.

* SelectiveObliviousness: CM Punk's motivation for joining the Nexus and opposing John Cena stemmed from his WhatTheHellHero logic of John Cena coming back after being fired and attacking The Nexus. People that do not work for the company attacking members of the Raw roster in attempt to get contracts and using unnecessary brute force? Are we talking about John Cena or The Nexus?

* ArchEnemy: Theirs seems to be Wrestling/TheBigShow... [[FridgeBrilliance which makes sense]], since Big Show was the biggest enemy of the Original Nexus on the ''Smackdown'' side of WWE, as well as being pretty much the biggest possible enemy of ''anyone'' in WWE.
* BaldOfEvil: Ezekiel Jackson.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater. First from Nexus in order to join Barrett to form the Corre, then from the Corre when Barret's "ItsAllAboutMe" attitude became too much for them.
* DemotedToExtra: For Wrestlemania XXVII. Their match against Team Big Show was a thirty second squash with Big Show winning. Since then, they really never got back any of the steam they used to have.
* {{Expy}}: Large power stable runs rampant on the show and eventually splits into two slightly smaller power stables. [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder Those who have followed wrestling for a while should see some similarities.]]
** Smarks were already drawing comparisons between the Nexus and the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder since the group formed and the IWC has already given the new stable ("The Corre") the FanNickname of "Nexus Wolfpac", in a nod to the different branches of the nWo. It doesn't help that The Corre on the first night already carried out the Nexus MO of [[strike: putting the GM out of commission]], surrounding a main eventer for a beatdown, and said star being on the receiving end of everyone's finisher.
*** The Corre adamantly denied attacking Teddy Long, and [[NotMeThisTime it turned out to be true]], as Wrestling/DolphZiggler was eventually revealed to be the one that put Teddy Long out. However, the timing was such that people did make that connection, and it made The Corre seem more powerful.
* FinishingMove: Wade Barrett's Wasteland, Heath Slater's jumping reverse STO (jumping complete shot), Justin Gabriel's 450 Splash, and Ezekiel Jackson's Lariat and the Book of Ezekiel (a standing one-arm side slam).
** When facing Big Show, Slater will use an STO with Big Show on his knees, and Zeke will settle for the good old fashioned Body Slam.

*** RealLifeWritesThePlot: It shouldn't be a secret by now that Barrett has by far the best mic skills of the four.
*** Of course, conversely, Wade constantly reminds everyone that there is no leader while the commentators insist that he -must- be the leader (if in no small part due to him being the former leader of the Nexus).

* GoneHorriblyRight: Barrett getting kicked out of The Nexus was supposed to be a BreakTheHaughty moment, which it was. It also turned out to be the best thing to happen to him, because the resulting humility allowed the Corre to obtain the Tag Team and Intercontinental Titles.
** But then he let the success and the greed go to his head again…

* MeaningfulName: Think about it. The group is built on the three most skilled wrestlers from the original Nexus (not counting, of course, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan.]]) [[XtremeKoolLetterz Although no one can figure out why they spelled "Corre" with two R's...]]
** Barrett joked in an interview that they sent Slater to the trademark office to register the name, and since Slater's not the smartest guy around...
** Most people complain that [[XtremeKoolLetterz Corre is spelt with two R's]]... But it's short for ''Correlation'', "A reciprocal, parallel or complementary relationship between two or more comparable objects"... Which actually describes the group fairly accurately.
* MultinationalTeam: The Corre consists of a Brit (Barrett), a South African (Gabriel), a Guyanese (Jackson) and an American (Slater).
** In a really bizarre coincidence, South Africa, Guyana, and America were all former British Colonies.
*** And in ''another'' bizarre coincidence, all three representatives of said colonies broke away from the Brit Barrett.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Essentially, the group can be described as the three of the four most talented members of the original Nexus (the fourth one being [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]]), and [[ScaryBlackMan Ezekiel]] [[TheJuggernaut Jackson]].
* [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Nice Job Fixing It, Villains]]: Attack Wrestling/TheBigShow four-on-one? Okay, maybe that works. Antagonizing Wrestling/{{Kane}} to the point where he and Show team up? It didn't prove to be one of their better ideas, and from there things only went downhill, until their breakup happened.
* [[NotMeThisTime Not Us This Time]]: The Corre were adamant that they weren't the ones to attack ''[=SmackDown=]'' GM Theodore Long, despite doing ''that exact thing'' to then ''[=RAW=]'' GM Wrestling/BretHart several months earlier - Hell, Long's assault even occured roughly the same amount of time after the Corre's formation, that the assault on Hart did following the formation of the Nexus. [[CassandraTruth Turns out they weren't lying]].
* NotSoDifferent: The Corre & New Nexus aren't as different as they claim - The Corre retained the TrueCompanions[=/=]FireForgedFriends aspects of the Nexus that were abandoned by the New Nexus, and both the Corre & New Nexus shared similar modus operendi with their repeated gang attacks. [[FridgeBrilliance This even applies to their names both referring to the relationships of each group's members]].

* TokenMinority: Ezekiel Jackson. I mean, come on, he wasn't even ''in'' the original Nexus...

** Not to mention, Justin Gabriel isn't exactly a white boy…
*** Yes he is, he's a South African of European descent (much like Charlize Theron) his skin complexion comes from tanning.
* TrueCompanions: The Corre retained this element from the original Nexus, with former-Nexus leader Barrett insisting that all four men are equal. On top of that, it's why Slater & Gabriel refused to attack each other at the urging of Wrestling/CMPunk, and can be seen as to why they immediately reunited with Barrett on ''[=SmackDown=]''.
** Of course, Slater and Gabriel eventually split from Wade and were heading towards being TrueCompanions, but one bad loss to Wrestling/TheUsos split them up as well.

* BlackAndGreyMorality: Corre is the grey compared to The Nexus (being the black) in the idea of being the lesser of two evils. Slater and Gabriel joined Barrett because they didn't agree with Punk's method of initiation. Plus Barrett claims that he made a mistake in making the Nexus all about him, and that in the Corre there is no leader, they are all equal. However, once again, this became a fatal flaw as the extreme individuality and lack of leadership lead to the Corre splitting up.

* DemotedToExtra: For Wrestlemania XXVII. Their match against Team Big Show was a thirty second squash with Big Show winning. They really never got back any of the steam they've had since then.

* [[NotMeThisTime Not Us This Time]]: The Corre were adamant that they weren't the ones to attack ''[=SmackDown=]'' GM Theodore Long, despite doing ''that exact thing'' to then ''[=RAW=]'' GM Wrestling/BretHart several months earlier - Hell, Long's assault even occured roughly the same amount of time after the Corre's formation, that the assualt on Hart did following the formation of the Nexus. [[CassandraTruth Turns out they weren't lying]].
* NotSoDifferent: The Corre & New Nexus aren't as different as they claim - The Corre retained the TrueCompanions[=/=]FireForgedFriends aspects of the Nexus that were abandoned by the New Nexus; and both the Corre & New Nexus shared similar modus operendi with their repeated gang attacks. [[FridgeBrilliance This even applies to their names both referring to the relationships of each group's members]].

** Subverted in that Heath Slater is the only member of the Corre billed from somewhere in America, but the other members of the group are all from different countries aswell. Which actually ties into the whole "We are equals" motif pretty well.

* PutOnABus: Husky Harris, [=McGillicutty=], [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing Otunga]] and Ryan all got got [[OneHitKO punted in the head by]] Wrestling/RandyOrton. All, but Husky Harris returned.

* KarmaHoudini: Averted by Wade Barrett; After his match at Survivor Series and firing Wrestling/JohnCena, he gets a WWE title shot the very next night on RAW. He even had TheNexus attack current WWE Champion Wrestling/RandyOrton [[InTheBack from behind]], for a little reassurance that he would win. But unfortunately for him, LaserGuidedKarma kicked in and Wrestling/JohnCena jumped the barricade mid-match [[TheDogBitesBack to hit him with an Attitude Adjustment]], allowing Orton to pick up the victory. [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle And then]]...[[Wrestling/TheMiz AAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOOOOOOME.]]

* BaldOfEvil: [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]], Michael Tarver (Sometimes).

** At one point, The Nexus brutally injured Bret Hart by putting him in the back of a limousine and then backing it into another vehicle. Since all members of The Nexus were present at the time of the attack, speculation ran wild of a secret leader of The Nexus or Daniel Bryan, who was fired shortly before this attack took place still being employed. The limosuine driver remains a mystery to this day.

Daniel Bryan was booted out of the group following its initial attack on ''Raw'' (for reasons to be explained below), Darren Young and Michael Tarver were excommunicated from the group following failures in the ring, Skip Sheffield was stated by a WWE.com article to no longer be a member for failing the group by getting injured, John Cena left the group upon his "firing" from WWE, and Wade Barrett was ostensibly excommunicated from the group by CM Punk himself in the very first Raw of 2011. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel followed the next week after refusing to go through with CM Punk's initiation into the New Nexus. On the Raw following the Royal Rumble, Husky Harris was written out via a punt to the head from Wrestling/RandyOrton. Then in late February and early March respectively, Michael [=McGillicutty=], David Otunga, and Mason Ryan were written out the same way. However, Otunga, [=McGillicutty=] and Ryan returned on the 4/13/2011 edition of ''RAW'' to cost Orton a victory over Dolph Ziggler in a #1 contender's gauntlet match, and then beat the hell out of him post-match. With Punk's contract expiring, followed by his subsequent return & feud with John Cena, Ryan's injury in June, and Otunga and [=McGillicutty=] receiving new music & a new Titantron; The Nexus effectively ceased to exist on 7/29/11.

Following a do-or-die match at ''Hell in a Cell 2010'', John Cena was officially forced into the group, where he found out that on orders of the ''Raw'' General Manager that if he refused to follow orders from Wade Barrett, ''his WWE contract would be terminated''. With Cena's last hope - destroying Nexus from the inside out - dashed, it remained to be seen if Cena would be a reluctant Nexus member or if he would become a willing part of the group. As it turned out, he resisted temptation and remained the hero, even if it did "cost him his job" for a few weeks (Barrett let him come back).

* MrFanservice: Justin Gabriel is the slim, delicate and pretty {{Bishonen}} with [[AmbiguouslyBrown a foreign twist]], which makes sense considering he's a former model, while Wade Barrett is a TallDarkAndSnarky, MagnificentBastard with a [[BritishAccents British Accent]].

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Daniel Bryan's firing necessitated a kayfabe explanation, and when Barrett finally got the chance, he explained that when WWE officials asked the Nexus to apologize for the NXT Riot and other subsequent actions, Bryan was the only one who showed remorse - and was kicked out of the group for it.
** Michael Tarver was expelled from The Nexus in kayfabe after being defeated by John Cena, but was really moved out of the group due to injuries.

* FollowTheLeader:
** In-{{Kayfabe}} example - the NXT Season 2 "Rookies" (minus the season's winner, Kaval) decided to stage their own riot on the final episode of their season, which would presumably have led to a similar stable. Unfortunately, their riot was a terrible version of the original NXT Riot, and the idea was quietly shelved. Two of the more promising Season 2 rookies, [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel [=Michael McGillicutty=]]] and [[Wrestling/BrayWyatt Husky Harris]] (the sons of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig and Mike "IRS" Rotuna, respectively), have since joined Nexus proper.
** Shortly after the Nexus Riot, Wrestling/{{TNA}} have had the debuting [[strike:ECW Originals]] EV 2.0 faction randomly attack TNA wrestlers to end a show; and 6 (7 if you count Wrestling/RicFlair) existing members of the TNA roster create the group Fourtune, who have a similar MO to Nexus.

-> We are the bold / United souls / We live to win another victory / Our sacred scars / Show who we are / And tell the story of our memories\\
We are one / We are one / We are one / We will stand together
--> -- '''12 Stones''', "We Are One", the entrance theme of The Nexus.

* BreakupBreakout: You'd think Wade Barrett would have the most successful post-Nexus career, right? '''Wrong.''' Fast forward three years later, and Barrett is less prominently featured on TV than [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson the first person kicked out of Nexus]], [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} the first member of Nexus's most iconic line-up to be taken off TV]], and the [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel two]] [[Wrestling/TheWyattFamily people]] who joined Nexus months into its existence.

In 2010, Wrestling/{{WWE}} canceled the ECW brand after a three-and-a-half year run; they replaced it with a show named "NXT", which would follow eight WWE "rookies" (in reality, members of WWE's developmental system) as they trained alongside WWE "pros" (established WWE wrestlers) for the right to become the next "breakout star". The winner of the competition would receive a WWE contract and the right to challenge for any championship they wished on a live pay-per-view.

The first "season" saw NXT Rookies Wrestling/WadeBarrett, Michael Tarver, David Otunga, [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Skip Sheffield]], [[Wrestling/PrimeTimePlayers Darren Young]], Wrestling/HeathSlater, Wrestling/JustinGabriel, and - last but not least - [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] fighting against each other and the Pros in matches, competing in different challenges (including a promo contest), and generally attempting to get themselves over with the crowd. About halfway through the first "season", Rookies started getting eliminated...but some rookies returned to NXT to speak out against the eliminations and the Pros, saying the Pros had offered little help in the competition. Eventually, Wade Barrett won the competition. And then six days later...'''''all hell broke loose.'''''

Since then, The Nexus blazed a trail of destruction, terrorizing both ''Raw'' and ''[[Wrestling/{{WWESmackDown}} SmackDown]]'' to make a name for themselves (part of a larger plan, including making Wade Barrett the WWE Champion). Nobody, from John Cena to Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} to Barrett's "Pro" Wrestling/ChrisJericho to even Wrestling/BretHart and [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]], was safe from their wrath.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Wade Barrett

** In-{{Kayfabe}} example - the NXT Season 2 "Rookies" (minus the season's winner, Kaval) decided to stage their own riot on the final episode of their season, which would presumably have led to a similar stable. Unfortunately, their riot was a terrible version of the original NXT Riot, and the idea was quietly shelved. Two of the more promising Season 2 rookies, [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel [=Michael McGillicutty=]]] and Husky Harris (the sons of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig and Mike "IRS" Rotuna, respectively), have since joined Nexus proper.

* HijackedByGanon: Averted - In their third week, [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]] ''tried'' to take credit for the Nexus, after they attacked Raw GM Wrestling/BretHart & forced him to leave his position as GM. The Nexus promptly attacked him, too.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Plenty

** Otunga's been looking to usurp Barrett's leadership since the ''Raw'' after ''Summerslam'' when he was very clear that Wade had to win his match with Jericho to stay in Nexus since the rest had to win theirs to stay in the group.

** Even failing that, the two [=PPVs=] following ''Hell in a Cell'' are ''Bragging Rights'' and ''Survivor Series'', [=PPVs=] built on multi-man tag team matches. It would be annoying to break up the WWE's biggest PowerStable going into these two events.

* {{Cult}}: ''Hoo boy.'' The [[HijackedByGanon New Nexus]] was already showing signs of this from the jump...but once Punk launched into one of his [[FauxlosophicNarration monologues]] on the 1-17-11 ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw RAW]]''…
* DarkerAndEdgier: When CM Punk joined the Nexus, he introduced whippings, group beatdowns (on fellow Nexus members), mock suicides, cultish sermons, and serious biblical overtones to the group. Imagine what Punk [[IControlMyMinionsThrough would have done]] [[NightmareFuel to Cena ]] if he had been the leader of the Nexus at the time Cena was forced to join the group. It's safe to assume [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil Cena would have been a bit more cooperative under Punk's rule]] than he was under Barrett's.

** TheEvilGenius: Michael [=McGillicutty=] - he did get all the NXT season 2 rookies to beat on [[Wrestling/LowKi Kaval]] and fight Wrestling/KofiKingston, Mark Henry, Wrestling/ZackRyder and John Morrison, as well as being trained by his father and grandfather Larry Hennig and [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect]].

* UnderwearOfPower: The large majority of them

* ScaryBlackMan: EZEKIEL JACKSON and '''''HOW!!!'''''

* KarmaHoudini: Averted by Wade Barrett; After his match at Survivor Series and firing Wrestling/JohnCena, he gets a WWE title shot the very next night on RAW. He even had TheNexus attack current WWE Champion RandyOrton [[InTheBack from behind]], for a little reassurance that he would win. But unfortunately for him, LaserGuidedKarma kicked in and JohnCena jumped the barricade mid-match [[TheDogBitesBack to hit him with an Attitude Adjustment]], allowing Orton to pick up the victory. [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle And then]]...[[Wrestling/TheMiz AAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOOOOOOME.]]

--> We are the bold / United souls / We live to win another victory / Our sacred scars / Show who we are / And tell the story of our memories\\

* FollowTheLeader: In-{{Kayfabe}} example - the NXT Season 2 "Rookies" (minus the season's winner, Kaval) decided to stage their own riot on the final episode of their season, which would presumably have led to a similar stable. Unfortunately, their riot was a terrible version of the original NXT Riot, and the idea was quietly shelved. Two of the more promising Season 2 rookies, [[Wrestling/CurtisAxel [=Michael McGillicutty=]]] and Husky Harris (the sons of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig and Mike "IRS" Rotuna, respectively), have since joined Nexus proper.
** Shortly after the Nexus Riot, {{TNA}} have had the debuting [[strike:ECW Originals]] EV 2.0 faction randomly attack TNA wrestlers to end a show; and 6 (7 if you count RicFlair) existing members of the TNA roster create the group Fourtune, who have a similar MO to Nexus.
* HeyItsThatGuy: You know "Punk," the guy who tried to win New York's heart on the second season of ''Series/ILoveNewYork''? He became a wrestler and joined the Nexus.
** Michael Tarver also previously appeared on WWE TV as a member of Floyd Mayweather's ''WrestleMania 24'' entourage.
** Wade Barrett once made an appearance on an episode of Raw in 2006 as a security guard.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The dynamic between Wade Barrett & David Otunga, with Otunga trying to usurp leadership and undermine Barrett, feels like as if it would've worked much better with Daniel Bryan involved as neither Barrett nor Otunga seem as if they have any business turning face. Daniel Bryan as a Nexus member in general is another example, as he was fired within a week of the stable forming and returned as an anti-Nexus WWE babyface.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Punk's first new recruit for the "New" Nexus is none other than Goliath from ''Series/{{Gladiators}}''

* DefectorFromDecadence: Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater. First from Nexus in order to join Barrett to form the Corre, then from the Corre when Barret's AllAboutMe attitude became too much for them.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Wrestling/{{Kane}} (before teaming with Wrestling/TheBigShow) was given an offer by Wrestling/WadeBarrett to join the Corre. Yikes.