The Corre was a heel professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that competed on its SmackDown brand.
History[]
Formation[]
The group had its roots as The Nexus on Raw. Wade Barrett, who was the leader of Nexus, was essentially exiled following losing a triple threat steel cage match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship on January 3, 2011. New Nexus member CM Punk had interfered by feigning to assist Barrett, but then ripping off Barrett's Nexus armband and kicking him off the cage as he was attempting to climb over the top and win the match. Punk then declared himself as the new leader of the group.
The following Friday (January 7) on Smackdown, Barrett made his debut on the brand, attacking The Big Show while Show was wrestling in a fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.
On the January 14th edition of SmackDown, Barrett compared himself to Julius Caesar, saying he got so powerful on Raw, that everyone was conspiring against him, thus his exile from both Nexus in particular and Raw in general. Barrett then explained he targeted The Big Show because he wants to go after the biggest and the baddest, and everyone else wasn't worth his time.
During Barrett's match with The Big Show that evening, former Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (who refused to participate in their initiation into CM Punk's new version of the Nexus—Punk had wanted them to hit one another with Singapore canes—and were thus thrown out of the group) came from the back and attacked Show, resulting in a disqualification. The attack ceased once they spotted a returning Ezekiel Jackson standing on the apron. "Big Zeke" would then join in the attack (including body slamming the near 500 lb. Show) and forged a new group aligning himself with Barrett, Slater and Gabriel.
Barrett officially dubbed his crew as The Corre on the January 21st episode of Smackdown, attacking World Champion Edge in the process.
WrestleMania[]
The Corre were scheduled to face Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, Big Show and Kane at WrestleMania XXVII (27). They ambushed Kozlov beforehand, leading to Kofi Kingston to replace him. The Corre lost. The Corre then ambushed John Cena and the Rock the following Raw, where they were trounced and used as dummies for the stars to show off their power moves. The following Smackdown, a Wrestlemania rematch occurred again with Kofi filling in for Kozlov, where the Corre were once again defeated.
The following Raw, the Corre appeared on Smackdown and Wade Barrett lamented being unable to defeat Cena and Rock. He blamed the other Corre members for not holding up their end of the bargain, and warned that the group may not work out. This caused anger from Justin Gabriel, who claimed his 450°Splashes took out more superstars than anyone else in the group's finishers, and pointed out his 3-time Tag Team Championship record. Heath Slater, not wanting to be ignored, also pointed out he had the championship as many times. Ezekiel Jackson was also angered: "I know you're not talking about me!" and pointed out how he's the most dominant person in the group and had slammed The Big Show.
The infighting between Corre members was interrupted by Santino, who had brought along Daniel Bryan, Evan Bourne and Mark Henry with him. He announced the formation of a new group: APPLE. A match then ensued and Corre was victorious with Slater pinning Santino. On the May 6 Smackdown Jackson defeated The Big Show, but refused to celebrate with the other members of the group. Barrett, Slater and Gabriel attacked him in retaliation, kicking him out of the group in the process. The group dissolved after Barrett ditched Slater and Gabriel during a six-man tag team match on the June 7 taping of SmackDown.
Members[]
- Wade Barrett January 14, 2011 – June 10, 2011
- Justin Gabriel January 14, 2011 – June 10, 2011
- Heath Slater January 14, 2011 – June 10, 2011
- Ezekiel Jackson January 14, 2011 - May 6, 2011
In Wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Wade Barrett
- Wasteland (Forward fireman's carry slam)
- Bicycle Kick
- Sweetness (Jumping Russian leg sweep)
- Sweetness (Leaping reverse STO)
- Sweetness (Reverse DDT)
- 450° Splash
- The Book of Ezekiel (Ura-nage)
- Entrance themes
- End of Days by Thunder Wood (V1)
- End of Days by Emphatic (V4/V4.5/V5)
- End of Days by 9 Electric (V2)
- End of Days by Shaman's Harvest (V3)
- End of Days by Rev Theory(Matt McCloskey) (V6/V6.5)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Tag Team Championship (3 times) - Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (3)
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time) - Wade Barrett (1)