10 Alternative Takes On Hated Wrestling Moments

10. The Castration Of The Nexus

At SummerSlam 2010, it took just one minute and thirty seven seconds for John Cena to recover from a DDT onto exposed concrete and defeat both Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett in the finishing sequence of the seven-on-seven Team WWE Vs. Nexus main event.

It was absolutely moronic in and of itself. Cena suffered what was ostensibly a career-threatening injury in an era in which awareness of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) was soaring. The quickness with which Cena rose from the dead made no sense and peeled back the curtain of the industry in order to serve Cena's then-rampant ego. In isolation, it was a head-scratcher - and it precipitated the downfall of the Nexus faction altogether. It was one of the more egregious missed opportunities in WWE lore.

But was it?

The Nexus faction, after Daniel Bryan was fired following the controversial and incendiary formation angle, was comprised of Wade Barrett, Skip Sheffield, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Michael Tarver and Darren Young. Of those seven men, at least four barely had credentials as midcarders, let alone headliners. The repackaged Ryback experienced proper success, but he was a non-starter in his Skip Sheffield guise. Gabriel was talented, but colourless.

Barrett was the standout - but first headlining singles match, with Randy Orton at Survivor Series 2010, was something of a dud. How much of that was as a consequence of his aura being tarnished is up for debate - but WWE didn't squander a main event-level faction with the Nexus. The group only ever worked in the context of the group; it was never an Evolution or Shield-like stable with scope for lasting breakout solo success.

The landscape of WWE in the current, workrate-centric internet darling era underscores that; their like was near enough obsolete a few short years later.