15 Greatest Cults In Wrestling History
8. New Nexus
Leader: CM Punk
Members: David Otunga, Michael McGillicutty, Mason Ryan, Husky Harris, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel
The original Nexus was one of the greatest stables in WWE history. In their debut, they absolutely wrecked John Cena and CM Punk, and for a time their power seemed almost apocalyptic. They were also notable in their egalitarian structure; Wade Barrett was the leader by mutual agreement, but he didn't demand absolute obsequience from his teammates.
But that was the old Nexus. When CM Punk took over the New Nexus, he instituted a much more, let's say, top-down model of leadership. Perhaps he remembered being on the receiving end of the Nexus' wrath and looked to break their spirits with indoctrination and physical punishment. Interestingly, this backfired somewhat, with Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel defecting to The Corre.
Ryan, McGillicutty, and Harris stuck around to get punted into oblivion by Randy Orton, with Husky in particular taking a while to recover, perhaps considering that things might be nicer on the leadership end of a cult.