10 Times WWE Totally Dropped The Ball On Something Hot
5. John Cena Nixes The Nexus
Wade Barrett is a fine, fine commentator and is doing a great job calling the action on SmackDown these days. But instead of sitting at the commentary table as 'just' a respected wrestler of yesteryear, Barrett should be sat there as a multiple-time World Champion.
It's crazy to think how white-hot the Nexus were for a spell, with the rookies of NXT shocking the wrestling world on the 7 June 2010 episode of Raw.
There, these relative unknowns - and indie darling Bryan Danielson, of course - decimated John Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, Mark Yeaton, Justin Roberts, Justin Roberts' tie, and laid waste to the entire ringside area in a way never before seen.
The Nexus had arrived, and arrived in a major way, immediately marking themselves out as a major deal as they targeted the biggest stars of the day. With Wade Barrett the leader of this group, it was he who was positioned as a genuine World Title contender
Unfortunately for Wade and his boys, the wind was taken out of the Nexus at SummerSlam 2010. On that August night, the faction came up short in a 14-man main event elimination match against Team WWE. In particular, it was John Cena left standing tall as the sole survivor of this contest, and it's been noted in the years since how Cena himself regrets not having the Nexus emerge as the victors in this bout.
From there, the dents were in the armour of the Nexus, Barrett would come up short in any matches of note, and the group become just another run-of-the-mill collection of midcard heels. As such, the future Bad News stands as a five-time Intercontinental Champion, whereas in reality, if WWE struck when the iron was hot, the Englishman could well be regaled as a five-time World Champion.