the independent scene. Concept On the February 2, 2010 edition of ECW, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that NXT would replace ECW on Syfy when the latter ended its run on February 16, describing NXT as "the next evolution of WWE television history." 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. The series ran them through a competition to become WWE's next breakout star with the help of mentors from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands. On the June 1, 2010 edition of NXT, Barrett was declared the winner over Otunga and — as a result — was awarded a WWE contract and a championship match at a WWE pay-per-view of his choosing (he ultimately chose Night of Champions), while the others were left without a job. History World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE Formation and feud with John Cena The group made its debut on the June 7, 2010 "Viewer's Choice" edition of Raw, during the main event which saw Punk face Cena (after beating out Rey Mysterio and then-World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger with 45% of the viewer vote). They attacked Cena, Punk, Luke Gallows, Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler, NXT host Matt Striker (who joined Lawler and Michael Cole on commentary), then-Raw ring announcer Justin Roberts, timekeeper Mark Yeaton and other WWE personnel around the ring - before destroying everything at ringside, including the ring itself, forcing the match to end in a no contest. During the attack, which ended with Cena being taken out on a stretcher, Daniel Bryan strangled Roberts with his necktie and, in a sign of disrespect, spit in Cena's face; the latter of which led him to be released from his contract on June 11, 2010 as WWE reportedly felt those acts were too violent for the company's TV-PG programming. His absence was explained by Barrett on the June 14, 2010 edition of Raw as having felt remorse for his actions, who kicked him out of the group. Barrett claimed that their violent arrival was a result of their mistreatment during the NXT competition, and insinuated that their issues lied more with WWE management than anyone in the locker room except their mentor "Pros". None of the members apologized for the events of the previous