After NXT, the group went on to antagonize the Raw roster, with then-WWE Champion John Cena as their main focus, who forcibly became a member of The Nexus after losing a match at Hell in a Cell thanks to outside interference.

However, Cena was eventually removed from the group at Survivor Series after Barrett lost his WWE Championship match to Randy Orton.

"[1] The concept of the stable was derived from each original member of them being a contestant on the first season of the NXT program, which composed at the time of the talent from WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.

[4] The group made its debut on the June 7, 2010 "Viewer's Choice" edition of Raw, during the main event, attacking John Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, Justin Roberts, and other WWE personnel around the ring before ultimately destroying everything at ringside, including the ring itself and barricades, forcing the match to end in a no contest.

The general manager chose to remain anonymous for fear of being attacked like Hart was, communicating only through e-mails quoted by Michael Cole.

[16] Young and Heath Slater later stated that they agreed with Edge and Jericho, adding that The Nexus' loss at SummerSlam permanently crippled whatever momentum the stable had following the invasion.

[19] At a WWE live event in Hawaii on August 18, 2010, Skip Sheffield broke his ankle during a tag match, putting him out of action for the next two years, leaving The Nexus with only five active members heading into September.

[24] The anonymous Raw General Manager stated that Cena had to honor the stipulations of the Hell in a Cell match and take orders from Barrett or be fired.

Later that night, Barrett ordered Cena to help him win the number one contender battle royal for Orton's WWE Championship at Bragging Rights.

On the November 5, 2010 edition of SmackDown, Otunga, who had been questioning Barrett's leadership over the past several weeks ever since Barrett cost him and Cena the WWE Tag Team Championship to Slater and Gabriel, led Harris, McGillicutty, Gabriel and Slater to a second invasion of SmackDown, interrupting a match between Edge and Alberto Del Rio, but The Nexus was then defeated in the main event in a 5-on-5 tag team match by Edge, Del Rio, Big Show, Kane and Kofi Kingston.

[27] Barrett did not approve Otunga's decision to lead The Nexus to SmackDown and, as a result, forced him to defend his spot in the group the following week.

Despite being fired by Barrett, Cena continued to show up on Raw as a ticketholder in the subsequent weeks, causing interference in The Nexus' matches, including costing Slater and Gabriel the WWE Tag Team Championship to Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match on the December 6, 2010 edition of Raw.

[33] On the January 3, 2011 edition of Raw, The Nexus ambiguously announced after months of repeated attacks on Cena and the WWE roster that it was under "new management," with CM Punk (who disbanded the Straight Edge Society the previous September) being revealed to be the new leader, acquiring the position after Barrett lost a #1 contendership steel cage match involving Orton and Sheamus.

[34] After refusing to follow Punk's orders of initiation by hitting each other with kendo sticks, Gabriel and Slater left the group the following week on Raw, opting to join Barrett and former ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson on SmackDown as The Corre while Harris, McGillicutty and Otunga successfully completed Punk's initiation.

[42][43] On the May 23, 2011 edition of Raw, thanks to a distraction from The New Nexus, McGillicutty and Otunga defeated Big Show and Kane for the WWE Tag Team Championship.