Vince McMahon made the final call that derailed one of the hottest acts WWE had in years—and now Wade Barrett is spelling out exactly how it happened.
During a conversation with Inside The Ropes, the former Nexus leader revealed that WWEâ€s original plan for SummerSlam 2010 was for Nexus to defeat Team WWE. That wouldâ€ve cemented the faction as a dominant force, coming off their shocking RAW takeover where they tore apart the ring and beat down John Cena. But that all changed at the last minute. Barrett said they were told in advance that Nexus was winning and went into the pay-per-view confident. But when they got to the building, everything shifted.
“We get down to the ring… Arn Anderson says, ‘Hereâ€s the finish… you and Justin Gabriel get to the final three against John Cena, and Cenaâ€s going to beat you both and go over.†At which point I kind of thought he was joking. And now I realized, no, heâ€s not joking. This is serious. Johnâ€s going over.â€
Barrett wasnâ€t the only one blindsided. The rest of the group was stunned, and Barrett immediately asked to speak with Vince. After tracking him down, he and others confronted the boss directly about the booking.
“We go in there and say, ‘Hey Vince, hereâ€s the situation. Weâ€ve just been told Johnâ€s going over. We think itâ€s a bad idea. We think we need to go over.†Vince looked me in the eye and told me the reason weâ€re doing this is because SummerSlam needs to have a happy ending… We didnâ€t want that. We wanted kids to go home happy.â€
Barrett said the moment Vince said it, he knew it wasnâ€t the real reason.
“I knew at that point I was being lied to. I knew it was a nonsense reply. I didnâ€t believe it then, I donâ€t believe it now. I thought it was a terrible idea.â€
Even Edge and Chris Jericho tried to talk Cena out of the finish, but it didnâ€t work. According to Barrett, Cena admitted weeks later that the call to bury Nexus was the wrong one.
“They told him, ‘This is such a big mistake.†And after the match or maybe a couple weeks later, he turned around and said, ‘Yeah, you guys were right. That was a mistake.â€â€
Barrett believes that decision was the exact moment Nexus lost their power—and never got it back.
“You had this thing that couldâ€ve kept steamrolling all the way to WrestleMania—and you killed it right there at SummerSlam.â€
What should have been a generational heel faction instead became one of wrestlingâ€s most frustrating missed opportunities—all thanks to one call from Vince.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Do you think Vince Mc Mahon dropping the ball with nexus is one of WWE’s biggest failures? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
November 16, 2025 4:17 pm
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