The Original WWE Nexus 8: Where Are They Now?

5. Michael Tarver

The Nexus Pub Shot
WWE.com

A genuine rare nice guy, Michael Tarver, to mirror that niceness, just wasn't particularly well-equipped for the pro wrestling racket. He was a thoroughly nondescript performer.

Tarver was never swept up in the New Nexus/Corre tedium; written off television under the pretext of Wade Barrett deeming him surplus to requirements in a faction of which David Otunga was a member, Tarver was absolutely doomed, groin injury or no. Tarver was later seen hovering in background segments on RAW and SmackDown, like he didn't belong. Following his 2011 release - a suspiciously quick turnaround Tarver suspected John Cena of accelerating - Tarver then entered New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2014, incredibly, where he also didn't belong.

From the critical apex of the game to World 1-1, Tarver has wrestled in 2018 for little-known organisations such as 'Brain Buster Pro Wrestling' and 'VIP Pro Wrestling'.

Fortunately for Tarver, the banter racket of Independent wrestling has located a strange strain of nostalgia. Where the Nexus will likely never reform as a nostalgia act in WWE - really, damningly, there's little nostalgic currency in much beyond the Attitude Era - Tarver, Gabriel and Darren Young leant on their shared history during this year's edition of the CHIKARA King Of Trios tournament.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!