WWE - Where are they now? - The original members of NxT

When WWE discontinued the modern-era ECW brand it left a big hole in WWE programming for something new and creative. Unlike some WWE creative ideas, this one did not disappoint. It was announced that WWE would be debuting a new show in February 2010 which would have WWE superstars mentoring Florida Championship Wrestling development talent in-which the rookie winner would earn a contract on either Raw or Smackdown.

Season 1 was won by Wade Barrett who went on to create the group Nexus which featured all eight members of the first season. Seven years later and the eight originals have had very different paths since debuting on the main roster, find out where they are now below!

#1 Daniel Bryan

As the first major success story of NxT and the first man kicked out of the original Nexus group it is only natural that Bryan is the first to feature on this list.

Bryan was a part of the original Nexus group but his behavior during the original invasion was deemed too dangerous for the PG era and Bryan had his contract terminated but Bryan was quickly brought back up to the main roster with a simple slap on the wrist. Leaves you to wonder what could have been if WWE didn't realize they'd made a mistake here.

The four-time World Champion was Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Superstar of the year in 2013 and had Feud of the year with the Authority in 2014 before being forced to retire on 8 February 2016.

Bryan commentated over the Cruiserweight classic before being announced as the co-general manager of Smackdown with Shane McMahon in July 2016. After years of rehabilitation for his injuries, Bryan was cleared to wrestle and embarked on a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn which was eventually settled with Bryan submitting Zayn at Wrestlemania 34.

Bryan has since had dream matches against the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles and is currently set to reignite his longstanding feud with his NxT mentor The Miz.

#2 Darren Young

Darren Young was mentored by CM Punk in NxT and was pushed almost immediately feuding with Punk's Straight Edge Society compatriot Luke Gallows and defeating Gallows in a match where Young's hair was on the line. Young improved on NxT but was only managed to finish fifth.

In terms of the Nexus group, Young was demonstrated as the first weak link in Nexus after being submitted in under a minute in their 5 on 5 eliminated match against the WWE 'pros'. He also was the only man to lose the 1 vs 1 matches that followed, losing to John Cena in the main event. He was subsequently kicked out of the group.

Young teamed with fellow NxT rookie Titus O'Neil to form the Prime Time Players and the duo won the Tag Team championships defeating the New Day at Money in the Bank 2015. He also became the first man to come out as gay while at a wrestling company in 2013.

Young was fired from WWE in 2017 and has since been wrestling in Chikara where it has been announced that Young, Michael Tarver and PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) will be partaking in the King of Trios tournament as "The Nexus Alliance".

#3 David Otunga

Otunga finished the original season of NxT in second place, losing out to Wade Barrett and when it came to the Nexus. It looked like Otunga had all the potential to be a star in the business. So much so that Otunga won PWI's "Rookie of the year" in 2010.

Otunga was the Nexus' 'underboss' and when the Havard educated lawyer opposed Barrett in January 2011, it looked like Otunga's path to superstardom was set. However, Otunga never matched the potential he had at this time and retired from in-ring competition in 2015.

Otunga then took up the role of commentator and joined the Smackdown team with John Bradshaw Layfield and Mauro Ranallo in 2016 before the Superstar shake-up sent him to Raw where he is now a pre-show panelist for Pay-Per-Views.

#4 Justin Gabriel

Gabriels 450 splash was one of the many trademarks of the Nexus and it was rated so highly that every Nexus beatdown had it's final stamp delivered not by Barretts Wasteland manoeuvre but Gabriel's 450.

After the disbanding of the Nexus and the utter travesty that was the Corre. Six months summed up how Gabriel's WWE career would go, he started off shining in the Smackdown Money in the Bank and six months later he entered a comedy storyline with... Hornswoggle. Gabriel was released in January 2015 and quickly signed with Global Force Wrestling and Lucha Underground.

Nowadays you can find Gabriel wrestling under the name PJ Black in Lucha or National Alliance Wrestling where Black is set to take on Nick Aldis for the NWA World title.

#5 Heath Slater

The one-man band is surprisingly one of only two original Nexus members still on the WWE roster. Slater is synonymous with lower mid-card groups and tag teams thus making a living from being the underdog in most situations.

Whether it was in 3MB with Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre or The Social Outcasts with Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Adam Rose, Slater played perfectly into the role of a heel opener. He is currently teaming with WWE legend Rhyno on the RAW brand where his former allies the B team (Dallas and Axel) are the Tag Team champions.

#6 Michael Tarver

Tarver was without a doubt the weak-link of the Nexus, he looked out of his depth in angles with the likes of John Cena and Wade Barrett. This was demonstrated by the fact that following the 5 on 5 elimination match at Survivor Series, Tarver never wrestled for the company again, was given a kayfabe injury and sent straight back down to developmental.

Tarver can now be found wrestling for NWA where he is a two-time Florida heavyweight champion.

#7 Skip Sheffield (Ryback)

Gwyneth Paltrow And Tracy Anderson At Licensing Expo 2013 — Ryback At Licensing Expo 2013

The original hard-luck story of the Nexus, Sheffield picked up an injury in a tag team match against the Hart Dynasty in a time where arguably Sheffield was set to shine as the powerhouse of the Nexus.

Sheffield returned as Ryback and was entered into storylines with Jinder Mahal, CM Punk and John Cena before becoming a Paul Heyman guy and feuding with Punk again. Ryback won the Intercontinental championship before announcing his departure from the company in 2016.

Ryback is now wrestling at various independent companies such as Combat Zone Wrestling and Revolution Pro Wrestling.

#8 Wade Barrett

As the winner of the first season of NxT and the original leader of the Nexus, Barrett looked destined for greatness in WWE but didn't quite reach his potential.

Barrett was scheduled to be the sole survivor in the Nexus Vs WWE Survivor Series match but John Cena requested for the ending to be changed and Nexus lost the match. Barrett's career would then be capped at Intercontinental title reigns and a King of the Ring win in 2015 when he defeated fellow Englishman Neville in the final.

In 2016, 'Bad News Barrett' took a hiatus from Wrestling and left WWE. Barrett returned to Wrestling under the name Stu Bennett when he became Defiant general manager in 2017. However, he relinquished the role and is now a commentator.

Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.