Kemo
06-17-2020, 08:01 PM
All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson has reflected on the Nexus invasion angle, which saw them attack John Cena. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson noted how NXT wasn’t a strong brand at that time. Instead, it was viewed as being WWE’s “school.”
According to him, the initial idea was to have NXT’s students “combine forces” and have Wade Barrett act as their spokesperson. He believes this would have led to “as formidable a force as you have in the entire company.”
Although believing the angle to be excellent, Anderson stressed how it “got cut off too short.”
He argued how WWE should have allowed Nexus to go on a tirade and garner as much heat as possible: “They should have been able to slaughter anybody at any time. You’re talking about an invasion.”
By developing a storyline with John Cena, Anderson noted how it would only be a matter of time before Cena had to get some momentum on his side. Given how the Nexus was a full stable against one Superstar, this posed a problem.
“When you see that you have something, let’s sit down and see what we have for these guys and think our way through this and see how much mileage we can get out of these guys. If they would have got red hot, they could have attacked heels and babyfaces. That’s a what if? I personally thought it was a great gimmick that got cut off too quickly.”
Following the Nexus invasion, Daniel Bryan would be fired from WWE. This was because Bryan choked Justin Roberts with his tie during the angle. Anderson argued how they were given “carte blanche” to destroy everybody and everything. He believes those involved were instructed to “go out there and get yourself over.”
Arn Anderson described how, when Bryan choked Roberts, “The guy in the big chair saw it and probably went ape sh*t.” This reaction eventually led to Bryan’s release.
He argued that the only reason he was brought back was because letting him go after those instructions was a “lousy thing to do.”
“For him to be held responsible and lose his job when nobody told him not to do it, most guys were not even aware that the rule existed. They were all told but it was not something that was right in their prefrontal lobe every minute of every match. I think the only reason Daniel Bryan was brought back was because of the groundswell of the audience that was pulling for him. They knew he got screwed and they wanted him back. That’s the reason he came back, and the only reason.”
According to him, the initial idea was to have NXT’s students “combine forces” and have Wade Barrett act as their spokesperson. He believes this would have led to “as formidable a force as you have in the entire company.”
Although believing the angle to be excellent, Anderson stressed how it “got cut off too short.”
He argued how WWE should have allowed Nexus to go on a tirade and garner as much heat as possible: “They should have been able to slaughter anybody at any time. You’re talking about an invasion.”
By developing a storyline with John Cena, Anderson noted how it would only be a matter of time before Cena had to get some momentum on his side. Given how the Nexus was a full stable against one Superstar, this posed a problem.
“When you see that you have something, let’s sit down and see what we have for these guys and think our way through this and see how much mileage we can get out of these guys. If they would have got red hot, they could have attacked heels and babyfaces. That’s a what if? I personally thought it was a great gimmick that got cut off too quickly.”
Following the Nexus invasion, Daniel Bryan would be fired from WWE. This was because Bryan choked Justin Roberts with his tie during the angle. Anderson argued how they were given “carte blanche” to destroy everybody and everything. He believes those involved were instructed to “go out there and get yourself over.”
Arn Anderson described how, when Bryan choked Roberts, “The guy in the big chair saw it and probably went ape sh*t.” This reaction eventually led to Bryan’s release.
He argued that the only reason he was brought back was because letting him go after those instructions was a “lousy thing to do.”
“For him to be held responsible and lose his job when nobody told him not to do it, most guys were not even aware that the rule existed. They were all told but it was not something that was right in their prefrontal lobe every minute of every match. I think the only reason Daniel Bryan was brought back was because of the groundswell of the audience that was pulling for him. They knew he got screwed and they wanted him back. That’s the reason he came back, and the only reason.”