Where Are They Now? The Nexus

Wade Barrett

Wade Barrett, the leader of the group, was thrown out of the Nexus in January 2011 and replaced by CM Punk, who renamed the faction ‘New Nexus’.

After his Nexus tenure, he formed The Corre, a Nexus spinoff that lasted a mere five months. Barrett always appeared to have main event potential with WWE, but never managed to break through the glass ceiling after his time with the Nexus. In the time that followed, Barrett became a five-time Intercontinental Champion and also won the 2015 King of the Ring tournament.

He left the promotion in 2016. As of this writing, Barrett is retired from in-ring action. Currently, he is the announcer for ‘NWA Powerrr’ alongside Joe Galli, as well as the narrator for their show ‘Carnyland’.

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Heath Slater

Just a few days after Barrett was excommunicated, Heath Slater left the group alongside Justin Gabriel. Members of the Nexus were forced into an initiation from new leader CM Punk. When Slater and Gabriel were told to hit each other with canes, they both left the group.

Instead, they both turned up on SmackDown as part of Wade Barrett’s The Corre.

During his ten years on the main roster, Slater was able to win several Tag Team Championships with various partners. His biggest career highlight has to be becoming the first-ever SmackDown Tag Team Champion alongside Rhyno at Backlash 2016.

Sadly, Slater was let go by WWE in May 2020 after 14 years with the company. He is currently serving his 90-day no-compete clause.

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Justin Gabriel

The master of the 450-splash left the Nexus the same day as his former Tag Team partner Heath Slater. The duo were able to win the WWE Tag Team Championships twice in February 2011, but this would be the last time Gabriel would hold gold in WWE.

Unfortunately creative never really had something for Gabriel as a singles star. After another tag team run, this time with Tyson Kidd, Gabriel asked for his release in 2015.

After leaving WWE, he renamed himself ‘PJ Black’ and has appeared for various promotions around the world. Most famously, Black appeared for Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling. Currently, he is under contract with Ring of Honor.

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David Otunga

Yes. David Otunga is still under WWE contract. However, since he has not had a match since 2015, Daniel Bryan remains the only active former Nexus member on the WWE roster. Otunga remained a part of Nexus until the name was removed from his Tag Team with Michael McGillicutty.

Otunga managed to collect two Tag Team Championships during his Nexus run. One with John Cena, the other with the previously mentioned McGillicutty.

Post that, Otunga began working as the assistant to RAW and SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis.

Since then Otunga has occasionally worked as WWE’s legal consultant, as on-air expert for pre-show panels and also, very briefly, as an announcer.

Who was your favourite member of the Nexus? Let us know on Twitter!

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