10 Things WWE Regrets About SummerSlam

6. Dropping The Ball On The Nexus (SummerSlam 2010)

Shawn Michaels Hulk Hogan
WWE

For a spell there, The Nexus was the hottest group in professional wrestling.

Seriously, go back and watch some of those TV episodes and PPVs. In 2010, the Wade Barrett-led faction was a white-hot heel act that was getting genuine heat from audiences across the globe.

The momentum of that group was brought to a crashing halt at SummerSlam 2010, though.

When Edge joined Chris Jericho on his podcast back in 2013, the pair pulled back the curtain and revealed how John Cena had used his pull to have the finish of the Team WWE vs. Team Nexus bout crafted to best suit himself.

After taking a DDT on the outside, Super Cena would strike back by barely selling the lethal move, before then quickly pinning Justin Gabriel and tapping out Barrett on his way to being the sole survivor of this seven-on-seven encounter.

And like that, the wind was taken out of Barrett and his Nexus pals as they'd been neutered by Big Match John.

From looking like a can't-miss future World Champion, Wade Barrett soon became cemented as a career midcarder before eventually leaving the company in 2017. As for the rest of the Team Nexus group of that SummerSlam 2010 night, the only one still wrestling for WWE is Heath Slater.

When it comes down to it, WWE has to regret having The Nexus - and in particular Wade Barrett - lose so convincingly.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.