The intense rivalry between The Nexus and the Raw locker room has gotten increasingly heated this summer, and it’s sure to reach a boiling point at SummerSlam when an assemblage of Raw’s most battle-hardened warriors face off against the vicious season one NXT Rookies in what’s become a 6-on-7 Elimination Tag Team Match.
Team WWE and The Nexus were at one point evenly matched for their SummerSlam showdown, with Cena enlisting Chris Jericho, Edge, R-Truth, John Morrison, The Great Khali and even former Raw General Manager and WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart to take on Wade Barrett and his band of rebels: David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield. But cracks began to form in this once-united front against The Nexus, as egos and rivalries tore the SummerSlam squad asunder in the weeks leading up to summer’s biggest event.
Just two weeks after Cena unveiled Team WWE, Jericho and Edge abandoned their fellow Superstars, leaving the remaining members outnumbered. Not content with letting mere squabbling dismantle the opposition, The Nexus then obliterated potential Team WWE replacements before ambushing The Great Khali, injuring his knee and rendering him unable to compete.
On the final Raw before SummerSlam, the situation seemed dire for Team WWE, as only four of its original members remained standing. The WWE Universe breathed a collective sigh of relief, then, when Edge and Jericho ultimately opted to put aside their differences with the other Raw Superstars and rejoin the SummerSlam team, ready to battle The Nexus.
In an Elimination Tag Team Match, the contest must continue until all members of one team are taken out of the match, either by pinfall or submission. In an Elimination Tag Team Match, the contest must continue until all members of one team are taken out of the match, either by pinfall or submission. Make no mistake: One of these teams will be declared the victor at SummerSlam.
When they made their explosive debut on Raw, The Nexus targeted then-WWE Champion Cena to send a clear message to the WWE Universe: NXT’s first graduating class is a force to be reckoned with. The group soon broadened their scope of savagery to include the entire Raw roster because, as Barrett proclaimed, “If you’re not Nexus, you’re against us.”
Not content with roughing up Superstars, The Nexus turned their aggression on Raw’s former GM Bret Hart, viciously assaulting the Hall of Famer in a parking lot demanding and that he grant them WWE contracts. With The “Hit Man” out of the equation, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon – in a move that he thought would sate the group’s thirst for destruction – replaced Hart with an anonymous new GM, who immediately hired The Nexus to Raw. Big mistake.
In a blatant display of disrespect, The Nexus brutalized Mr. McMahon later that night, going on to sendshockwaves throughout the WWE Universe when they decimated WWE Legends such as Arn Anderson, Jerry “The King” Lawler and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, showing that there are no lines the furious upstarts won’t cross.
Just one night after costing Cena the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank, The Nexus boldly declared that they’d end their invasion of Raw if Cena joined their ranks. But the seven-time WWE Champion had a bombshell of his own to drop: He’d been forming a team to challenge the rebel faction at SummerSlam – a squad determined to make sure The Nexus will not go down in history, but rather ensure that the arm-banded assailants simply are history.
Can Team WWE rally together to topple The Nexus once and for all? Or will the rebellious NXT season one Rookies continue to tighten their vise-like grip on Monday Night Raw? Find out by tuning in to SummerSlam on Aug. 15, only on pay-per-view.
Real Name: Adam Copeland
