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Former WWE Superstar Heath Slater has recalled how The Nexus caught the attention of Vince McMahon before they became a faction on WWE’s main roster.
In 2010, eight disgruntled WWE rookies from the NXT game show formed a villainous group and called themselves The Nexus. They debuted by attacking John Cena and destroying the ringside area on the June 7, 2010 episode of RAW.
Speaking on the Such Good Shoot podcast, Slater revealed that Vince McMahon enjoyed The Nexus’ attack on Kane on the April 2, 2010 episode of SmackDown. He believes that moment ultimately led to them becoming a permanent faction on WWE television:
“What I think really got Vince's attention - and I still believe this - is that we all jumped Kane one time,” Slater said, “And it was all of us NXT guys, got in like a couple of WWE guys, and we literally jumped Kane and beat him down. And then the whole crowd booed all of us as a group, and it was like… Wade [Barrett] was still a bad guy, I was a good guy, [Justin] Gabriel was a good guy. We were playing these faces, but we all beat down Kane and they booed us and we all left.”
The Nexus' attack on Kane occurred after the WWE veteran agreed to face them in an eight-on-one handicap elimination match. Kane was declared the winner via disqualification after the rookies entered the ring and attacked him at the same time.
Heath Slater on Vince McMahon’s decision to create The Nexus
Two months after their SmackDown segment with Kane, the NXT rookies ambushed John Cena and became known as The Nexus. They attacked various high-profile names throughout 2010, including Vince McMahon (see below).
Heath Slater added that the NXT rookies did not know they were debuting as a faction until the NXT game show series had finished:
“I think Vince literally was like, ‘We want to put them together. I love it,’” Slater said, “Who knows? Like, that's what triggered him. We didn't know anything, what was happening, nothing until it was like a week after NXT, man. They were like, ‘Alright, RAW’s in Miami. We need all y'all down there.’”
The Nexus lost their most memorable match against Team WWE at SummerSlam 2010. The faction disbanded within a year following several losses and changes to the group’s personnel.
