WWE Raw Gallery: 25 Years Of Iconic Monday Nights

8. 2010 - ...Or Against Us

The Rock CM Punk
WWE.com

Dateline: 7th June, 2010

There were major real-life motivations and ramifications to one of the greatest storyline beatdowns in company history. The soon-to-be-named Nexus were connected by little during their abusive experiences on the muddled NXT proving ground in 2010, but a shared distaste for the horrors they endured was enough to unite them in a visually captivating dismantling of John Cena and Monday Night Raw.

Played to silence after Jerry Lawler was decked and Michael Cole scarpered, the brutal beating felt legitimately frightening from the moment a masked Michael Tarver bore holes through 'The Champ' from his ringside position.

As the squared circle and entire ringside area was destroyed, Daniel Bryan added to the torment and terror by brutally choking out announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie and spitting on John Cena. His legitimate firing for the misnomers (ahead of a prompt rehiring in the summer) added much to the mystique.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett