David Daniel Otunga (born April 7, 1980) is an American actor, lawyer and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with WWE from 2009 to 2020.
Otunga was the runner-up on the first season of WWE NXT and later an original member of The Nexus and The New Nexus, being the only member present through the entire duration of the stable in every incarnation. He became a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion, having one reign each with fellow Nexus members John Cena and Michael McGillicutty.
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Early life
David Daniel Otunga was born in Elgin, Illinois on April 7, 1980, the son of teachers Billie and Moses Otunga. His mother is American and his father is Kenyan. He has two older siblings. He graduated from Larkin High School and later earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Illinois. Following his graduation, he moved to New York City to become a laboratory manager in Columbia University's Cognitive Neuroscience Center.
Law career
Otunga graduated from Harvard Law School in 2006, passing Illinois' bar exam. He worked at Sidley Austin, one of America's largest law firms, from May 2005 to October 2007.
Acting career
In 2007, after his niece submitted his audition tape, Otunga was chosen to be a contestant on I Love New York 2 and given the nickname "Punk". He became one of the final three contestants in the competition, before being eliminated on the series' penultimate episode. Otunga has since starred in the 2013 thriller film The Call. Otunga made a guest appearance as himself in the 13,110th episode (Season 52, Episode 84) of General Hospital. also played in an episode of criminal minds as a bouncer in episode 12 of the same season.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2008–2019)
In November 2008, Otunga signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to its development territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. He made his debut on May 29, 2009, under the ring name Dawson Alexander, in a six-man tag team match. Otunga teamed with Barry Allen and Jon Cutler to defeat Abraham Saddam Washington, Derrick Bateman and Camacho.
On February 16, 2010, after numerous dark matches on both Raw and SmackDown, it was announced that Otunga would wrestle on the first season of NXT under his real name, with R-Truth as his storyline 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 Punk. After the match, R-Truth tried to offer his support, only to be shoved away by a frustrated Otunga, resulting in Otunga turning heel. 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 royal against the other NXT Rookies to earn the right to guest host Raw the following week. On the April 5 episode of Raw, Otunga put himself in a tag team match with John Cena for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship against ShoMiz (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 Barrett.
The following week on Raw, Otunga and the other NXT rookies from season one interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking the competitors, the announce team, and ring announcer Justin Roberts, before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment. On the June 14 episode of Raw, the rookies attacked General Manager Bret Hart, when he refused to give them contracts. The following week on Raw, Vince McMahon 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 Nexus. On the July 12 episode 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 SummerSlam. Otunga was the fourth member of The Nexus eliminated, when he submitted to Chris Jericho, and The Nexus went on to lose the match.
Personal life
Otunga met singer and actress Jennifer Hudson in 2007, and they dated for seven months before becoming engaged on her 27th birthday. Their son, David Daniel Otunga Jr., was born on August 10, 2009. They never married and separated in November 2017.
Credits
Championships and accomplishments
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Feud of the Year (2010) The Nexus vs. WWE
Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2010) As part of The Nexus
Rookie of the Year (2010)
Ranked No. 84 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2012
WWE
WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with John Cena (1) and Michael McGillicutty (1)
Slammy Award (2 times)
Shocker of the Year (2010) The debut of The Nexus
Pee-wee Herman Bowtie Award (2011)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Worst Television Announcer (2016)
