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What's the story?
Wade Barett revealed that the Nexus was originally booked to win the match against John Cena's team at SummerSlam 2010. However, on the day of the pay-per-view, Vince McMahon apparently changed the plans of the match.
Wade Barett, talking on Inside the Ropes recalled, "We were pulled to one side and (WWE road agent) Arn Anderson says, ‘hey guys, here’s the finish.’…We get down to the final three which is myself and Justin Gabriel…against John Cena. And then we’re told ‘…and Cena’s going to beat you both and go over.’ At which point, I kind of thought he was joking just to gauge our reaction, and then we realized he’s not joking. This is serious; John’s going over."
He added that the wrestlers on Nexus team went on to confront Vince about the decision but were told that the decision was taken to ensure a 'happy ending' to SummerSlam.
In case you didn't know..
The Nexus, when they debuted on the main roster, was undoubtedly one of the more intimidating stables in recent memory. But, all the momentum they had gathered on the way to the SummerSlam disappeared when they lost to Team Cena.
The heart of the matter
There are only a handful of people who would agree with the decision to have John Cena go over the Nexus the way he did. In the hindsight, it was a terrible decision and the wrestlers who were part of the stable never recovered after that point.
Parallels from history
The Shield, although a group of just three, had a similar impact to the Nexus on debut. However, they were booked strongly and all three members of the faction went on to become World Champions. Perhaps the WWE learned from their mistakes with the Nexus.
Author's take
Although there is no doubting that John Cena's team winning the match was one of the worst booking decisions ever. A lot of wrestlers, past and present, have criticized the decision publicly and rightly so; WWE didn't realize what they had in their hands.
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