David Otunga Recalls Tussle With R-Truth, Vince McMahon Stepping In

Former WWE Superstar and Harvard Law graduate David Otunga recently spoke on his YouTube Channel about how NXT really began, and how his background in reality television made him the centerpiece of WWE’s developmental brand. Highlights of his comments are below.

On WWE wanting him on NXT due to his success in reality TV

“Let’s be honest, WWE knew what they were doing,” Otunga says. “They wanted me on the show whether I could wrestle or not. The final episode of ECW had 1.4 million viewers. I Love New York 2—the show I was on—had 4.85 million. They knew people would watch if I was on screen.”

On getting into a tussle with R-Truth

In the video, Otunga talked about how NXT Season One tried to blur the lines between fiction and reality, including a moment when producers secretly told him to shove his R-Truth without warning, and how this led to a legitimate confrontation between the two that ended up causing Vince McMahon to step in.

“They didn’t tell R-Truth I was going to do it,” Otunga remembers. “When I shoved him, he thought it was real. We were actually tussling until Vince [McMahon] stepped in, laughing. That’s how unpredictable NXT really was.”

On the uncertainty of what would come next for NXT

“We didn’t know what was coming next,” he says. “It felt like we were the Suicide Squad — WWE just threw us out there to see what would happen. None of us realized that would eventually lead to The Nexus.”

Otunga also recently spoke about a conflict he had with Sheamus.

The full video, “Getting Called Up to NXT,” is available below.