Fantasy Booking: The Nexus (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of this fantasy booking. After a dominant debut at SummerSlam 2010, The Nexus continued their warpath by taking out some of WWE’s biggest names. John Cena was stretchered out. Sheamus was left unconscious. At Hell in a Cell, Chris Jericho was destroyed and Wade Barrett became WWE Champion, with The Nexus standing tall every step of the way. If you missed the chaos of that opening chapter, make sure you catch up on Part 1 before diving into what happens next.

READ IT HERE: Fantasy Booking: The Nexus (Part 1)

In Part 2, the tables begin to turn. Now that Wade Barrett is holding the gold, the group that started out as the hunters begins to feel the pressure of being hunted. Some top stars and even important authority figures start pushing back, and the cracks inside The Nexus slowly begin to show. Can Barrett keep control, or is the power starting to slip through his fingers? Let’s find out!

Chapter 3: From The Hunters To The Hunted

Raw – October 4, 2010

The Nexus opens the show in celebration. Wade Barrett hoists the WWE Championship and reminds the audience what he did to Chris Jericho at Hell in a Cell. Barrett wants to know if anyone has the guts to be his first challenger at Bragging Rights.

Jericho is gone. Sheamus is gone. Cena is gone. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not here to just win matches, and now that I’m the WWE Cham…

He’s interrupted.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME!

Edge enters to a mixed reaction. He’s been a heel, but he’s not cool with a bunch of rookies taking down his generation one by one.

The Rated-R Superstar goes straight to the point:
I don’t love Sheamus. I sure as hell don’t love Jericho or Cena. But someone has to step up and stop this crap. And dammit – it might as well be me!

Barrett laughs and asks Edge if he has any idea what he’s getting himself into.

Edge cuts him off again:
Woah, woah, you might wanna look in the mirror, kid. Do YOU know who you’re talking to? I’m ‘just’ a nine-time World Champion. ‘Just’ the winner of this year’s Royal Rumble. ‘Just’ the first-ever Mr. Money in the Bank. ‘Just’ the guy who helped invent TLC. You think I was afraid to stand across from The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania or to step inside HELL IN A CELL with him? You think I was afraid of John Cena? So why would I be afraid of YOU?

Barrett smirks:
You’re right, you were in all those matches against those legends. The problem is you actually lost most of those matches… unless you were teaming with Christian or getting “help” from someone else’s girlfriend.

Edge laughs for a second before firing back with some venom as well:
I bet that one made you feel really good, huh? It’s easy to talk trash when you’re hiding behind six other guys. Yeah, you’re right, I did cheat to win many matches, just like you did last night. The difference between you and me is that I did it with style. At least when I had help, it was from Lita, not six grown men like you!

Edge exits, shaking his head. Barrett and Nexus remain calm.

At the end of the show, the anonymous Raw General Manager has two announcements for next week: first of all, Wade Barrett will face John Morrison in the main event, in what will be Barrett’s first match on Raw since The Nexus debuted. Plus, Mr. McMahon will be live on Raw next week. Edge smirks while watching the segment backstage.

(Note: Michael Tarver is officially out of the storyline at this point due to a real-life injury)

Raw – October 11, 2010

The show starts with Vince McMahon showing up in his limo. He steps out and runs into Edge immediately.

Vince:
Hey, Edge! Good to see you, pal. I just wanted to wish you luck in your title match aga—

Edge cuts him off:
Vince, good to see you. Glad you’re walking and talking again after what The Nexus did to you.

Vince smiles:
Well, thanks. Now what I wanted to say—

Edge interrupts him again:
Vince, look I hate to interrupt you, but that’s exactly what’s bothering me right now. Look at the state of WWE. Look around, Vince – RAW’s got a gang of rookies trying to wipe out my entire generation and even my boss. Not only that, but they’ve been pretty successful at it, with all due respect. And on SmackDown? You’ve got CM Punk running around pretending to be Jesus, stripping Rey of his mask like some lunatic cult leader.

McMahon raises an eyebrow.

Edges leans in:
Rey is one of the top merch sellers in this entire company. And these Nexus punks aren’t just taking out any WWE Superstars, Vince. They’re going after the top stars like Cena, Sheamus, Jericho and now me. Both groups are trying to take food off my table… taking money out of your empire, everything that you and your father built over the years. It has to stop. It NEEDS to stop.

Edge pauses.
At Bragging Rights, it’s all about SmackDown vs Raw, right? So let them fight. Nexus vs Straight Edge Society. The losers disband. How does it sound?

Vince considers it.
Well, the businessman in me does like that idea…

Edge doubles down:
Do what’s best for business. Let them fight each other… and let’s see who’s left standing.

Vince walks off, clearly intrigued. Edge smirks, knowing the pitch landed.

Edge vs. The Great Khali

Edge wins with a Spear. Backstage, he winks at someone off-camera. We never see who it is.

Main event: Wade Barrett vs. John Morrison

Barrett’s first Raw match as champ. Morrison hangs in, tough, even rocking Barrett late with a springboard kick that accidentally takes the referee down as well. Morrison hits a second kick and sets up Starship Pain… but The Nexus storms in.

Except Darren Young…

A chaotic brawl breaks out. Suddenly, the TitanTron cuts to backstage footage: a hooded man dragging Darren Young away. It’s Luke Gallows. And right beside him is the leader of Straight Edge Society, CM Punk. Punk delivers the GTS to Young, his former NXT rookie, and tells him:

It’s not too late, Darren. You can still be saved from your mistakes.

Barrett sees this and sends Bryan and Gabriel to the back while Otunga and Slater stay ringside. Once Bryan and Gabriel get there, the SmackDown invaders are already gone… and they get surprised with a double Spear by Edge! Edge winks at the camera and Barrett is losing it.

Morrison takes advantage of this distraction and takes Barrett down. He goes for Starship Pain, but Barrett shoves him off the top and Morrison eats the turnbuckle. Barrett follows it up with the Wasteland for the win, but he’s not done. A number of babyfaces come out to make the save, but The Nexus still have the numbers advantage.

Barrett is about to deliver the Wasteland to Evan Bourne on the ramp, but he’s stopped by Vince McMahon‘s music.

If you do it, you’re facing consequences – says McMahon. Barrett couldn’t care less. He drops Bourne anyway. McMahon loses it:
You think you can play games with me? At Bragging Rights, in that six-man tag match, not only will the losing team be forced to disband, but the person that gets pinned in that match will immediately hear these words… YOU’RE FIRED!

Barrett doesn’t seem worried and raises the belt over the fallen midcarders, but Otunga and Slater look at their leader sideways in the background to close Raw.

Raw – October 18, 2010

Edge starts the show this week in Canada. He brings up the promo from two weeks ago, and says he let his actions do the talking for him last week.

By the time you tune in to Raw next week, a lot of things will be different. There might very well be a new WWE Champion, but that’s not all. You might be witnessing history right here live in Calgary, Alberta, CANADA… because this could very well be the last episode of Raw featuring The Nexus. And all of that? It’s because of ME! Now you have a better idea of who you’re facing this Sunday, Wade. But if you think you know me because of that, you’re wrong. And since we’re talking about changes, I say the changes start right here… TONIGHT!

Edge proceeds to destroy the anonymous Raw General Manager’s laptop to prevent any shenanigans in his upcoming WWE Title match. That also leaves Raw without a GM for the time being!

Backstage, Barrett addresses his team. He admits putting Nexus at risk last week, but says he did it to protect the group’s image. If Vince McMahon thinks he’ll control The Nexus with his threats, he’d better think again. He also bans Darren Young from the Bragging Rights match, fearing CM Punk will manipulate him and use that to his advantage.

He then announces the three spots at Bragging Rights will be on the line tonight. Every member (except Darren) will participate. Winning isn’t enough, they must impress the leader. Here’s how that goes:

• David Otunga picks up a dominant win over Yoshi Tatsu in three minutes.
• Justin Gabriel beats Kaval with the 450 Splash after a great fast-paced matchup.
• Daniel Bryan scores a cheap win over R-Truth with a handful of tights.
• Heath Slater nearly loses to Tyson Kidd when Darren Young gets involved after Natalya gets up on the apron. Young tries to interfere again moments later, Barrett pushes him back to stop it and Kidd crashes right into David Hart Smith, allowing Slater to win with a roll-up.

Barrett announces his choices to represent The Nexus right after Slater’s win over Kidd. He picks Otunga, Gabriel and Bryan. Young is disappointed knowing he just let Slater down, but Slater doesn’t care. He just wants Nexus to win on Sunday. Barrett and Slater pat Young on the back. Suddenly, Edge appears on the TitanTron:
Are you ready, Nexus? Do you realize what’s at stake? It could all end in a second…

SPEAR!

Edge surprises Barrett with a Spear in the ring. It was a pre-tape! Edge runs away and leaves in his car. Bragging Rights is in six days!

Bragging Rights – October 24, 2010

The Nexus vs. The Straight Edge Society
Losing team disbands and the loser of the fall gets fired.

This match goes 15 minutes from bell to bell. Near the end, Darren Young (who was banned from ringside) runs in to stop Punk from hitting a GTS to Bryan. The problem is… Bryan had already reversed the GTS and was about to turn that move into the LeBell Lock. When Young shoved Punk, he allowed Joey Mercury to tag in and get a close nearfall. Young is obviously nervous but… was that on purpose? Barrett changes his mind and forces Young to watch the rest of the match right there at ringside in front of him and Slater.

The match goes on for a few more minutes until Barrett eventually gets involved, allowing Otunga to nail Mercury with the full-nelson slam while Bryan shoves Gallows into Punk with a double-noggin knocker. Otunga makes the tag to Gabriel, who finishes Mercury with the 450 Splash.

The Straight Edge Society are done as a group. Joey Mercury is fired.

Post-match, Nexus takes out Punk with finishers one by one. Punk is written off TV (to do commentary, like in real life).

Backstage, Edge isn’t happy. His big plan to kill The Nexus failed. But at least he can still leave Bragging Rights with the WWE Title.

WWE Championship: Wade Barrett(c) vs. Edge

Edge looks for a plan B throughout the first minutes of this match, but Barrett is able to maintain control with the help of the presence of The Nexus at ringside. However, Barrett’s inexperience allows Edge to turn things around moments later, much like it happened against Jericho at Hell in a Cell.

Barrett steps up his game as the match goes on too, coming up with some good reversals for some of Edge’s signature moves. Ultimately, Edge throws Barrett off the apron onto all the Nexus guys! He wants to hit the Spear and the fans get on their feet… but Barrett catches him mid-charge and hits the Wasteland for the win.

Wade Barrett retains the WWE Championship with a (relatively) clean win over Edge. After the match, Barrett orders The Nexus to prepare another attack. He wants the big one that took out Jericho and Cena, with the broken ring and everything.

Somehow, Edge – being the Ultimate Opportunist – finds a small window to leave the ring and gets out of there immediately. He runs all the way to the back, where he accidentally bumps into SmackDown General Manager, Teddy Long.

Edge asks for a SmackDown contract right there on the spot, wanting nothing to do with The Nexus. Barrett and The Nexus are watching this on the TitanTron laughing until…

RKO OUT OF NOWHERE!

Randy Orton drops Wade Barrett with the RKO and leaves the ring before any other Nexus member can touch him. The crowd is going crazy. The Nexus snap at ringside.

Not only is this the first PPV where the group doesn’t take out a top star, but the show is actually going off the air with Wade Barrett eating a finisher! What is going to happen next?

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thank you very much for reading as always. I hope you’re into the story!

What do you think happens next? Where does this storyline go from here? For the first time since their debut, The Nexus didn’t close the show standing tall and Barrett ate an RKO! Randy Orton is obviously going after the WWE Championship, but what does this mean for Nexus? Is this the beginning of the end for the group or is it still too soon? I can’t wait to read your predictions in the comments!