Way before the state of the art WWE Performance Center ever came to fruition, there was another faculty that acted as the developmental hub for new and upcoming wrestlers ready to become globally recognized Superstars. Former lawyer turned pro wrestler David Otunga signed with WWE in 2008, where he was stationed to the developmental center to get his feet wet in the squared circle. Despite the privilege it was to be there, the warehouse where these new signees were assigned to go was far from the leading-edge training faculty we’re accustomed to seeing now.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” the former Nexus member said in his interview on “Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury.” “It is a warehouse and the heat and humidity in Tampa. Not only that, this place is painted black…and then with, like, yellow accents…It was such a weird place. And you go in there, and it’s hot. There’s three wrestling rings jammed, like, next to each other in this one room, just crammed in there. These guys, like, lying in the walls. And then you have Steve Keirn, Dr. Tom Prichard, and Dusty Rhodes just chilling in there. Like, what? Where am I?”
Otunga described receiving the best hands on training at the time in developmental, even working alongside future world champions in Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, and a future five-time Intercontinental Champion and current commentator, Wade Barrett. Otunga would go on to forge a successful path during his tenure (2009 – 2020) at the Stamford-based promotion, including becoming a former two-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Michael McGillicutty (Curtis Axel) and John Cena, who just retired from in-ring competition this past December after performing under the WWE banner for two decades. Otunga was the only original member who lasted the entire duration of both Nexus (2010-2011) and The New Nexus (2011).
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury,” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Read the full article here
