Nexus: What WWE Did Wrong With The Year's Hottest Angle
Many articles posted on this and various sites are somewhat unfair in their unnecessary criticisms of WWE creative, WWE booking, and WWE talent. But when the company introduces one of the hottest stables, and one of the most intriguing storylines in years, it's impossible not to be critical about their premature downfall. I say this on the eve of Hell In The Cell 2010...when this post will be 100% correct, or 100% premature. At that time, we will learn that Nexus has been forced to disband after Wade Barrett loses to John Cena, or the angle will live to fight another day with the company's biggest star added to its ranks.
Until we learn of the fate of Nexus in two weeks, I want to pose a few questions....feel free to post your comments and thoughts and ideas on what REALLY happened with Nexus?
1. Was this in the works throughout NXT Season 1?
A: My guess is NO, because of the complete lack of direction for the entire season. In fact, I remember watching the first night of the Nexus invasion angle, and I got what they were doing, but I was still confused. I thought "Don't those guys hate each other? And not just hate, they buried each other for weeks!" I quickly moved on because I realized it didn't matter; they united against a common enemy - the rest of the WWE. The initial motives worked for me. But it wasn't planned. There's no evidence of it being planned beforehand; in fact, most of the rumors revolved around whether some of these guys would get any work at all (I specifically read from numerous sources that the WWE was strongly considering a Matt Hardy/Justin Gabriel tag team).
2. Was the Daniel Bryan firing a work?
A: No. Kinda....Here's the most likely scenario of how this played out: Daniel Bryan was not instructed to choke Justin Roberts with the tie, nor to spit in Cena's face. Those guys were most likely given somewhat more broad instructions to be destructive, to attack the announcers, to create mayhem. Daniel Bryan was apparently overzealous by WWE's standards and went too far. WWE faces constant pressure from its Mattel sponsors and more importantly, from that damned Senate campaign, and one of two things happened. 1) They knew they would get heat from sponsors and campaigns about the violence and decided to be proactive, or 2) They actually heat from sponsors and from the Senate campaign and their hand was forced.
Of course the noble, honorable thing would have been for someone in the back to take the fall and accept responsibility so that Bryan's career wouldn't be impacted. But I don't think any of us expects that level of nobility and honor from a McMahon-run company....
So here's what happened. Vince had to "fire" Bryan, by publicly releasing him and accepting the backlash. I do believe that Bryan was assured that he would be brought back, either before his 90-day no compete clause ran up, or "at some point in the future". Of course there was pressure from guys like HBK and Regal, but Vince already knew what kind of talent he had in Daniel Bryan, before anyone had to remind him.
After Bryan was released that first week, rumors spread that WWE officials were scrambling to re-write the aftermath episode of Raw, to come up with the post-DB strategy. That Monday, Wade Barrett took the reigns as the leader, and spoke of a much, much bigger purpose, to be revealed later. Was that the plan all along? Was Barrett the original undisputed leader or did Bryan have a much bigger role? I don't know, but it seems obvious that Bryan was planned to have a much more important role, as the primary in-ring talent, and as one of the stable's talkers.
So was the firing a work? No. But it was clearly never intended to be permanent, or even long-term.
3. Is there actually someone behind Nexus?
A: There hasn't been much on-air suggestion of someone being behind the Nexus' invasion. This question keeps coming up simply because it seemed unfathomable that WWE would create such a hot story, and put it in the hands of eight rookies with no company experience. After Bryan was released, it seemed even more questionable that WWE would leave it to Wade Barrett and six other unknown talents to carry this group forward. Many names began to float as possible leaders or accomplices, including Triple H, Sheamus, and even John Cena. But none of these rumors have any substance behind them.
4. What is the "much, much bigger purpose" that Wade Barrett kept warning of....?
A: Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Nexus future.....Wade Barrett preached about this bigger purpose for weeks. Then all of a sudden, the purpose seemed to be limited to chasing John Cena week after week. I really have no idea what the purpose was for Nexus but I suspect that it was focused on removing the "status quo" from the company, and giving the younger capable stars an opportunity...Not a very sexy purpose, I'll grant you... but that seemed to be the overall gist of things for the first few weeks. Perhaps the bigger question has to be - what happened to that purpose? Was it really scrapped? Is it still playing out?
5. Why John Cena?
A: Similar to the above question, I can't help but wonder why John Cena was attacked. Barrett stated that they went after Cena as part of a bigger purpose, but he has also tried to recruit Cena. But if WWE officials wanted to build this group up as strong and fast as possible, why pair him with the one guy that knows little to nothing about putting younger guys over? Why not give a more legitimate talent the chance to oppose Nexus? Perhaps Chris Jericho or CM Punk, Edge or Mark Henry even? A talent that could have great back and forth's with Barrett, but could legitimately lose if necessary. We know that in the era of SuperCena no one is safe, so why not just keep Cena away from Nexus if he was unwilling or unable to take a legitimate loss. The bookers had plenty of other options on both Raw and Smackdown to take up this fight. I understand they wanted to make Nexus a group of main-eventers for the next few months, but what good is being in the main event week after week, if they were just going to keep losing to Cena?
6. Is Nexus working with the Raw General Manager?
A: Yes absolutely. At first...Now, who knows? Remember the anonymous GM (a.k.a. Steve Jobs) came about in response to Nexus' attack on Bret Hart. Vince feared that no one was safe, and the GM wanted to remain anonymous. Yet when he/she began making decisions, they were deciding in favor of Nexus. The GM gave them all contracts, allowed them back in the locker room, said that any superstar that touched them would be suspended, etc....The GM was very clearly in their corner. But after a month or two, the GM seems to have become completely neutral and arbitrary.
I am convinced that Triple H will be revealed as the Raw GM. But when the plans were made, WWE officials didn't know that Triple H would be out this long, and expected to have him back sooner. Now that his in-ring return could be days from now, or months from now, WWE has seemingly scrapped the importance of the Raw GM's relationship with Nexus. The fact remains, unless the GM is revealed to be Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock, it will actually be a disappointment to the fans. As I've stated in previous articles, WWE should pick an up and comer that they desperately desire to be in the main event, and give him the power and control to decide their own fate, and the fate of the rest of the roster. The fans are going to be disappointed anyway, so there's no point in wasting it on a guy like Triple H or Stephanie McMahon who doesn't need the boost.
7. Why did Daniel Bryan come back AGAINST Nexus?
A: So the reason given for why Daniel Bryan was kicked off was that he showed remorse for his actions. We know about the firing behind the scenes....but then when he returned, why did he come back AGAINST Nexus? Everything about the booking of SummerSlam was suspect.
Not to complain and say "I would have done it this way", BUT....I would have done it this way:
I would have had the Miz join Team WWE in a 7-on-7 match, as planned. I would have booked everything else to go down the same way, until the last two....Cena and Barrett. I would have booked Cena to be right on the verge of victory, until Bryan emerged to interfere for Nexus and help Barrette get the victory. This would have given Nexus so much steam headed into the fall, and Bryan could have feuded with Cena, instead of having the whole stable job to Cena...
Besides, Nexus needs heat and strength now more that Bryan needs US title run (which he could have gotten anyway)....
8. Why is Nexus stuck on Raw?
A: One of my biggest criticisms about this whole situation is how its been handled with John Cena. This could have been eliminated by making Nexus a cross-promotional threat. There are plenty of stars on Smackdown with no direction right now, who would have been great for mini-feuds with Nexus (i.e. Christian, Matt Hardy, MVP, JTG, Big Show, CM Punk). Just an overall missed opportunity. They could still try and move to Smackdown, especially to help with the move to Syfy and to boost ratings, but that could all be moot if they are buried for good by Cena at HITC.
9. Why has no one joined, or been successfully recruited to join Nexus?
A: Back when the nWo was formed, they couldn't keep guys away. Of course we all know how that ended up, but it still lent continual credibility to the most influential stable in history. Every week, people tuned in just to see who might turn. In this case, Nexus didn't need a new member every week, just one or two new stars to give them credibility, and to legitimize their threat to the company. Think about how powerful they would have been if superstars were so afraid of Nexus that their only option was to join....It's also not too late for this to happen, but if it does, the question is, what took WWE so long?
10. Why have none of the members of Nexus won gold?
A: No excuse for this. They've got three or four possible combos of guys that could have went after the tag titles, with Otunga, Sheffield, and Slater. Gabriel or Otunga could have been viable options for the US or IC titles....and of course it took Wade Barret three months to even get a title shot in a six-way match. GOld, or at least the pursuit of gold gives credibility to any star, and a group this powerful should have some by now. Unless that's not the purpose.......
But if that's not the purpose....what is?
Feel free to post your thoughts to these questions....
