On the January 3, 2011 edition of Raw, The Nexus ambiguously announced after months of repeated attacks on John 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, having acquired the position after Wade Barrett lost a steel cage match against Randy Orton and Sheamus thanks to Punk himself, and was subsequently exiled from The Nexus (now renamed The New Nexus to distance itself from former leadership). After refusing to follow Punk's orders of initiation by hitting each other with kendo sticks, Justin Gabriel and Heath 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 Husky Harris, Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga successfully completed Punk's initiation. On the January 17, 2011 edition of Raw, Mason Ryan joined The New Nexus after interfering in Punk's match against Cena, attacking both before Punk handed Ryan a Nexus armband. On January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble, The New Nexus, who were also a part of the 40-man Royal Rumble match along with The Corre, cost Orton his rematch clause for The Miz's WWE Championship, starting a feud with him. Over the ongoing weeks, Orton defeated all members of The New Nexus, causing several storyline injuries by punting them. On April 3, 2011 at WrestleMania XXVII, Orton defeated Punk and, on May 1, 2011 at Extreme Rules, Orton defeated Punk in a Last Man Standing rematch. 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. On the June 20, 2011 "Power to the People" edition of Raw, Punk was originally going to be named the number one contender for Cena's WWE Championship, but instead, he was forced to compete in a triple threat match with Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio with a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation voted for by fans, which Punk won, revealing after the match that his WWE contract would expire at Money in the Bank, where he would face Cena for the WWE Championship. The following week on Raw, it was announced that Ryan suffered an injury over the weekend and left the group. That same night, a brash Punk realized a worked shoot promo (which he dubbed a "pipe bomb"), reminding that once his contract expired at Money in the Bank, that would be the last time WWE would ever see him and the WWE Championship. With his victory over Cena on July 17, 2011, the WWE Championship was finally held by the stable on their last night of existence.
The group's final members then functioned as a tag team with the Nexus banner until August 1, 2011 and continued without the banner until August 22, 2011, when the group disbanded.