David Daniel Otunga is a
professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and former
reality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is signed to WWE, appearing on the
RawWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brandWWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
under his real name. He's a two-time
WWE Tag Team ChampionThe WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
, having one reign each with Michael McGillicutty and
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. He was the runner-up on the first season of
NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
. Otunga was also the last original member of The Nexus and The New Nexus.
Early life
Otunga is the son of a
KenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n father, Moses, and white American mother, Billie, both of whom were educators. He is the youngest of three children. Otunga graduated from
Larkin High SchoolLarkin High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Elgin, Illinois, a north-west suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...
in 1996, with mostly A-grades. Otunga holds a
Bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in psychology from the University of Illinois. Following his graduation, he moved to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he worked at
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
as a lab manager in a
cognitive neuroscienceCognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the brain...
center. He later attended
Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and passed the bar exam in Illinois . Following his graduation, he worked for the Sidley Austin LLP law firm.
Reality television
After his niece sent in an audition tape of him, Otunga was chosen to be a contestant on
I Love New York 2I Love New York 2 is a reality television show on VH1 that stars Tiffany "New York" Pollard who is on a quest to find her true love. Her relationship with season one's winner, Tango, ended shortly after the season concluded. Unlike the first season, Mauricio Sanchez did not return as "Chamo", New...
and given the nickname "Punk". Otunga made it to the final three in the competition before being eliminated on the penultimate episode of the series.
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
In November 2008, Otunga signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to its development territory,
Florida Championship Wrestling Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
. He made his debut on May 29, 2009, under the
ring nameA ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
, Dawson Alexander, in a six-man tag team match. Otunga teamed with
Barry AllenDakota Darsow is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time working in World Wrestling Entertainment developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling , under the ring names Maverick Darsow and Barry Allen.Darsow is a second-generation professional wrestler; his father...
and Jon Cutler to defeat Abraham Saddam Washington,
Derrick BatemanMichael Hutter is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, under the ring name Derrick Bateman...
, and Tonga.
NXT (2010)
On February 16, 2010, it was announced that Otunga would be wrestling on the first season of
WWE NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
under his real name, with
R-TruthRonald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
as his
storylineIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
mentor. He made his debut on the inaugural episode of
NXT on February 23, quickly defeating Darren Young. Young defeated Otunga in a rematch on the following week's broadcast, thanks to interference from Young's mentor,
CM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
. After the match, R-Truth tried to offer his support, only to be shoved away by a frustrated Otunga. R-Truth took exception, confronting and brawling with Otunga backstage. On the March 30 episode of
NXT, Otunga won an 8-man over the top rope
battle royalIn professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
against the other NXT Rookies to earn the right to guest host
RawWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
the following week. On the April 5 episode of
Raw, Otunga put himself in a tag team match with
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship against ShoMiz (The Big Show and The Miz). Later in the match, however, he refused to tag in and walked out, allowing ShoMiz to retain. On May 11, in the second Pros Poll, he was moved to second place. During the season finale on June 1, Otunga came in second place overall in the competition, losing out to
Wade BarrettWade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
.
The Nexus (2010–2011)
The following week on
Raw, Otunga and the other
NXT rookies from season one interfered in the main event match between
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and CM Punk, attacking the competitors, the announce team, and the
ring announcerA ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
Justin RobertsJustin Jason Roberts is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw brand.-Career:...
, before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment. On the June 14 episode of
Raw, the rookies attacked General Manager
Bret HartBret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, when he refused to give them contracts. The following week on
Raw,
Vince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
fired Hart and announced the hiring of a new General Manager, who had signed all seven season one NXT rookies to contracts. The following week, the group was named
The NexusThe Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
. On the July 12 edition of
Raw, The Nexus, excluding Daniel Bryan (who was fired by Vince McMahon after the Nexus' first night on Raw in part due to choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie.), competed in their first match together, defeating John Cena in a six–on–one handicap match. The Nexus continued to feud with Cena and the Raw roster, resulting in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match at
SummerSlamSummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on August 15, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for the second consecutive year...
. Otunga was the fourth member of The Nexus eliminated, when he submitted to
Chris JerichoChristopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, and The Nexus went on to lose the match.
Cena was later forced to join The Nexus, as a result of losing to Barrett at
Hell in a CellHell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on October 3, 2010 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. It was the second annual Hell in a Cell event. Like the 2009 event, the event featured the Hell in a Cell...
. At the following pay-per-view,
Bragging RightsBragging Rights was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on October 24, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the second and final Bragging Rights event. Seven matches took place at the event...
on October 24, Otunga and Cena teamed together to win the
WWE Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
from Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. The next night on
Raw Otunga and Cena lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater when Barrett ordered Otunga to allow Slater to pin him. On November 5, Otunga, who had been questioning Barrett's leadership in the past weeks, led Nexus, minus Barrett and Cena, to an invasion of
SmackDown. Barrett did not approve of Otunga's decision to lead The Nexus to
SmackDown and as a result forced him to defend his spot in the group a week later. On the November 12 edition of
SmackDown Otunga defeated Edge in a lumberjack match, after
KaneGlenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
interfered, to keep his spot in Nexus. About a month later, Otunga started to rebel against Barrett with the rest of Nexus behind him. After the group disobeyed direct orders and walked away from Barrett, Otunga told Barrett to rehire Cena the following week or be banished from Nexus.
In January 2011 Barrett was exiled from Nexus and CM Punk took over his spot as the leader of the group. While Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater chose not to follow Punk's orders and left Nexus, Otunga agreed to take his initiation test, a beating from the Big Show, and remain with the group. In late February, it was announced that Punk would face Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXVII, with each member of The Nexus facing Orton to win the right to accompany Punk to the ring in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania. Otunga faced Orton on the March 7 episode of
Raw, but lost. Following the match, he was punted in the skull by Orton. Otunga was absent from television for over a month, returning on the April 11 episode of
Raw with the other New Nexus members, and preventing Orton from earning a WWE Championship match.
On the May 23 episode of
Raw, Otunga teamed with fellow Nexus member Michael McGillicutty to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Kane and The Big Show with the help interference from fellow New Nexus members Ryan and Punk. They made their only successful title defense against
The UsosThe Usos are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jimmy and Jey Uso. The Usos appear in WWE, competing on the SmackDown brand. The pair were previously managed by Tamina...
on the July 29 edition of
SmackDown. After
CM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
left the New Nexus when his WWE contract expired on July 17, Otunga and McGillicutty competed against Santino Marella and
Zack RyderMatthew Joseph Cardona, Jr. better known by his ring name Zack Ryder, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE and works on the Raw brand as a wrestler and the SmackDown brand as an assistant to SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.Cardona wrestled mostly with his tag...
on the August 1 edition of
Raw without any Nexus gear or armbands, and with all Nexus logos removed from their TitanTron, effectively signaling the end of the New Nexus. On the August 22 episode of
Raw, Otunga and McGillicutty lost the Tag Team Championship to
Air BoomAir Boom is a WWE professional wrestling tag team consisting of Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston, both of whom compete on WWE's Raw brand where they are the current reigning WWE Tag Team Champions. Their team name "Air Boom" was voted upon by fans on WWE's website...
(
Kofi KingstonKofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
and Evan Bourne).
Legal Advisor (2011–present)
After a minor feud with
Jerry LawlerJerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
, Otunga and McGillicutty's team ended. Otunga would then start a new angle, where he would focus on his law background, after
John LaurinaitisJohn Joseph Laurinaitis is the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for WWE and appears on WWE's Raw Brand as interim General Manager. He was previously a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Ace, and wrestled for such promotions as the National Wrestling Alliance and All...
would advise Otunga to help other disgruntled wrestlers with his legal knowledge to plan a lawsuit against
Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, after his recent decisions and actions as
COOA Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
. On the September 30 edition of
SmackDown, Otunga and Laurinaitis would sit down with Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Alberto Del Rio, Christian, and
Vickie GuerreroVickie Lynn Guerrero is an American professional wrestling personality, manager, shifting authority figure and occasional wrestler. She is the widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand...
to discuss the matter. The following week on
Raw, Otunga would walk out on Triple H with other wrestlers,
WWE DivaDiva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
s and referees after a "vote of no confidence" about Triple H as COO. On the November 7, 2011 edition of
Raw, Otunga was jumped by
CM PunkPhillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
backstage but was saved by Alberto Del Rio, who put Punk through a table.
Personal life
Seven months after meeting singer and actress
Jennifer HudsonJennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
, he proposed marriage on Hudson's 27th birthday. On August 10, 2009, Hudson gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy named David Daniel Otunga, Jr
.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- The Verdict (Leg hook side slam hold lifted and dropped into a spinebuster)
- Signature Moves
- Belly-to-belly suplex
- Clothesline
- Elbow drop
- Falling neckbreaker
In professional wrestling a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent’s neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or shoulder...
- With Michael McGillicutty
- Backbreaker hold / Diving elbow drop combination
- Inverted Atomic drop / Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
combination
- Running back elbow / Body avalanche combination to a cornered opponent
- Managers
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- R-Truth
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
(While as a Rookie on WWE NXT)
- Wade Barrett
Wade Barrett is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach at Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo-College:...
(While with The Nexus)
- CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
(While with The New Nexus)
- Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s
- "The Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
of WWE"
- David "A-List" Otunga
- "The A-List of the WWE"
- "The Harvard
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
-educated Superstar"
- Entrance themes
Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- "We Are One
The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday is an EP from the American rock band 12 Stones. It was released on July 20, 2010 by Wind-up Records and debuted at #103 on the Billboard 200....
" by 12 Stones12 Stones is a rock band that was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana. They have collectively sold more than 2 million records.-History:The four band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records...
(June 7, 2010–October 1, 2011; Used while a part of the Nexus)
- "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbandment of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Howard Jones, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, and drummer...
(January 17, 2011-October 1, 2011; Used while a part of the New Nexus)
- "Death Blow" from VideoHelper Production Library (July 21, 2011; Used while teaming with Michael McGillicutty)
- "All About the Power" by Jim Johnston
James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
(July 28, 2011 - present; Used while teaming with Michael McGillicutty and in singles competition)
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Feud of the Year (2010) –
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) –
- PWI ranked him #97 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011
- PWI Rookie of the Year (2010)
- World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
- WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
(2 times) – with John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
(1) and Michael McGillicutty (1)
- Slammy Award for Shocker of the Year (2010) –
External links