“It Hurt, And It Still Does …”

What it felt like being the RUNNER UP on NXT
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[00:00:00] David Otunga: All right, so now I want to talk about the NXT season finale, and I heard your comments and there’s some bits from last week that I want to address. Now.

The Headphones/overall character
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[00:00:11] David Otunga: First of all, I was completely in charge of my overall character from my appearance, the headphones I wore, my hoodies, my tearaway jeans. I don’t know if you guys remember those.

Those were dope. Kind of. Kind of stripper ish, male stripper ish. But hey, it’s okay. They worked unless you’re a professional wrestler, but the tearaway jeans that were dope and yes, I still have those. Fortunately, I don’t wear them very often anymore. Anyway, um, no, the headphones, that was my idea. My whole deal was my character is so into himself that you’re lucky that he was even gracing you with his presence.

And, you know, I was gonna do whatever I was gonna do whenever I wanted to do it, whether I was on [00:01:00] TV or not. So the fact that we were all standing at ringside, Hey, I don’t care what you guys are talking about until you’re talking to me. So I was listening to my music. Uh, but that was totally a creation of my own.

And it was really cool because they would let me do basically whatever I wanted. Like they didn’t stop me from doing anything. They didn’t try to make me change my gear. Nothing. And if you go back and you look, I mean, hey look, I’ve tried to be objective, but like I stood out because everybody else was just standing there in their ring gear.

Then you have this guy who’s got a whole outfit that changes every episode or every segment. And then my ring gear also, which was underneath my outfit. ’cause I gotta be ready to go at all times.

VKM Promo class with the WHOLE ROSTER
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[00:01:49] David Otunga: Um, another thing, so at this time, Vince started a promo class for the main roster, and it was modeled after Dusty’s promo class from FCW.

It was supposed to be, although. It was nothing [00:02:00] like that because at Dusty’s promo class, everybody had to prepare a promo and go up and then, you know, give it, perform it in front of the room. But in Vince’s promo class, it was more structured like a law school class because Vince relied on the Socratic method.

I don’t know if you guys are familiar with that, but let me explain it to you. This is a terrifying method of teaching that they do in law school where your professor randomly calls on a person, calls on a student and puts them on the spot and then will grill them and you know, you have to defend yourself and answer all the questions and whatnot.

So, Vince would randomly call on somebody in this promo class and make them cut a promo on the spot. He might give them a word or he would give them, you know, some kind of details or something that they needed to, to build a promo around some kind of a prompt. And this was, this was nothing for, well, lemme back up.

This was something we were used to coming from [00:03:00] FCW. So the NXT guys like. We were ready for this. Um, I always did really well. Not only because, you know, I was used to this in FCW, but the fact that I’m a lawyer and I did attend law school, so I was familiar with this. It was always prepared and ready to go on my feet.

And that’s something that I know Vince valued because he called on me at least once a promo class. And that’s different because he normally would call on somebody. You might only get called on once every three weeks, once a month, something like that. But I was called on every promo class because I always delivered.

So let’s say for example, he called on somebody and they delivered a, a bad promo or a less than stellar promo, they stumbled over it. He would call on me next ’cause he knew that I was gonna smoke it, and I did. But it was, I remember really enjoying those classes because I was able to shine. But at the same time, this was the first time I was able to really [00:04:00] compare myself with the main roster.

And I saw how a lot of guys struggled with this, a lot of the top stars, even they, they weren’t that comfortable doing promos. And it just made me feel good to know that, oh, you know, like I’m super comfortable right here. I could, I could live in this area right here in this lane. Lame,

Daniel Bryan vs Michael Cole taking time off the show
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[00:04:18] David Otunga: , something else.

Apparently there was a whole storyline with Daniel Bryan and Michael Cole that took time off of the show. I genuinely did not know that this occurred until I just rewatched it. I was like, why didn’t I know about this? I know I didn’t know about this. I was actually on the show and wrestling. Like I had bigger things going on that worry about what the other segments were.

Other storylines that didn’t involve me. Daniel Ryan was eliminated first. He’s been gone, so I, I didn’t even know he was back. I don’t know why he was back, but him and Michael Cole had a, had a whole deal apparently.

Michael Cole an avatar for VKM
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[00:04:58] David Otunga: But, you know, it’s funny and in looking at it, because when you go back and you listen to the things that Michael Cole said, [00:05:00] he basically was an avatar for Vince because like Michael Cole was saying things that were Vince’s real feelings about Daniel Bryan.

You know, he didn’t look like a wrestler. He couldn’t talk, he didn’t have charisma. This is all stuff coming directly from Vince, but Michael Cole is now saying it. And I think even the optics were interesting in how Vince set that whole scenario up where it’s Daniel Bryan in the ring with an announcer that he’s arguing and potentially fighting with, and an announcer is supposed to be, or a commentator supposed to.

A regular person. And as WW Superstars, we were never allowed to touch the announcers or anybody like that be cut or commentators ’cause they’re regular people. We are not, we are larger than life superstars. So the point of this was to show Daniel Bryan is not larger than life. He’s normal life. He’s, he’s normal life like everybody else.

Regular people. And that’s what was important about this. But also Vince was given Brian a chance to prove [00:06:00] himself like Vince was challenging him because they didn’t feel Brian was strong on promos. And so this was a chance for him to go out there and no wrestling, just cut a promo. And then, you know, they kind of picking with him, basically trying to, to tear him down or completely break him down and then build him back up.

But yeah, this was, this was an interesting segment that, uh, was new to me until this rewatch.

Daniel Bryan saying I Can’t Wrestle
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[00:06:24] David Otunga: so I’ll talk about Daniel Bryan. I didn’t know who he was before he showed up at FCW about a week before NXT. And I remember that. People, people just respected. This guy said he’s really great. He seemed, he seemed nice like a regular guy, but I wasn’t familiar with his work. I wasn’t familiar with him or anything about him.

And then, you know, we were cool. We got along well enough. But I remember if you go back to episode one of NXT, there’s a very real reaction, um, for me, an interaction between us because [00:07:00] we’re in the middle of the ring, and they’ve given everybody the mic and randomly unprovoked.

Brian is nervous cutting a promo. So what does he do? He decides to shoot at me. And, and, and he started taking like a legitimate, you know, shot. And he said, oh, well Tonga can’t wrestle. And the guy next to him, bro, what? Like I was, and you know what? I was heated because this wasn’t scripted. He didn’t need to say this.

And I remember in the moment, I turned around and I said something to him and I said, okay, you don’t think I can wrestle, but I know how to fight? And then I was like, what? Like, this isn’t on camera. And we had, we had a couple little words right there, and it was serious. And then I brought myself back into character, like, all right, and we had to stare down.

But that, that was real at that point. Because look, man, I’m, I’m, I’m a real man. At, at the end of the day, you’re not gonna sit here and just try to disrespect me on national TV when this is supposed to be a shoot. This is a reality show. This is not a script. So this is kind of like a gray area. Like if [00:08:00] you’re really taking shots at me, you’re really gonna get a reaction from me.

Don’t get it twisted.

Otunga over Heath Slater on episode 14 made Heath know he was out
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[00:08:03] David Otunga: So the episode before the finale, I had a tag match against Heath Slater. Well, we both had our pros, and I remember in the back when I found out I was going over, I remember seeing, you know, Heath’s reaction and he was, he was down because I feel like he could kind of tell with the writing on the wall, the fact that I was going over, he knew he was in danger of going home.

Like I remember putting together the finish and, uh, I, I felt bad for him. Like he was disappointed, like he was wearing it on his face. But he’s a good guy. He is a professional, you know, set it up. He, you know, helped me in that match a lot. But I mean, hey, somebody had to go home and, but it’s the fact that, okay, this was supposed to be a shoot and it was, in terms of the promo, the competitions, everything on this was a shoot except for the matches.

Now the producers or the writers, they, they were choosing, well, the writers were choosing who goes over. So if you think [00:09:00] about that, if you go over in a match, that should obviously then help your ranking. But aren’t the pros supposed to be voting? Like, I don’t know. This was kind of, uh, this was kind of Kay faded because, uh, I, I don’t know if the polls were worked, I dunno if the polls were worked or not, but some evidence of that.

Justin Gabriel over Wade Barrett had me thinking I WON the show
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[00:09:19] David Otunga: you go on later, I go over Heath, so I win that match and then Wade Barrett goes up against Justin Gabriel with both of their pros and Gabriel went over, which was a surprise. So to me, I now felt like I had a good chance of winning because Wade had been ranked number one and I was number two, but I won my match and Wade lost his, and he got pinned.

So I thought this put me, if this didn’t put us on equal footing, I might have edged him slightly, but I now felt like I had a really, really good chance to win.

My first-ever three-participant match
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[00:09:50] David Otunga: so the finale episode, I have my first ever triple threat match. It’s elimination match, but this is the first time I’ve ever been in the ring and [00:10:00] it’s three guys in there at once. kind of.

Difficult just to set it up and tricky because it’s a revolving, things are constantly revolving. Like the spots, like you kind of want it to be different one-on-one matchups with one guy selling on the outside where there’s a, a little bit of time where all three of us are in there together, but for the most part, you want two to gang up a one, get rid of him.

Then those guys have a one-on-one. Eventually the guy on the outside comes and breaks up a pin or something and then gets rid of somebody. It’s another one-on-one, back and forth. But anyway, I held my own in it. I, I felt really good about , And then I got eliminated first.

So again, this wasn’t real competition. Like I didn’t really go out there and lose this match. First it was the storyline and everything else was shoot. Like I smoked my promos, this episode, everything else, but I was supposed to lose this match. Now that made me a little nervous because I’m trying to figure out, well, how is [00:11:00] this going to be seen or how is this gonna influence the rankings after this?

Justin Gabriel gets the 450 on me and Wade Barrett gets the pin. Goes on to pin Gabriel, I am pretty sure I’m not going to win.
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[00:11:03] David Otunga: when Wade won, now this was interesting to me because that told me, all right, I think Gabriel is going home because I had been number two and. I won my match the previous week. I thought that Wade and I were at least even, but the fact that Wade won that match, okay, this puts him back ahead of me slightly.

But I felt like it dropped Gabriel even though he finished ahead of me in that match, I’d already done enough up to that point where I felt like I was, I had a big enough lead ahead of Gabriel. So when it came down, when it came down to the pros poll, I felt pretty comfortable that I wasn’t going home.

And that’s what ended up happening is Gabriel was eliminated.

The “Pro Polls” were rigged after the pros submitted it. Punk kept putting me last So VKM must have altered them
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[00:11:47] David Otunga: So you might be wondering why I felt like the pros polls might be influenced by the match booking, and that’s because during this time I came to find out from CM Punk, [00:12:00] who, wasn’t the biggest fan of mine at that time. In fact, I’m pretty sure he didn’t like me, he made sure to let me know that he had put me much lower on his scorecard than I ended up being in the pros poll that, you know, he, he had put me far down and somehow I always popped right up to the top.

Now, I don’t know, I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t know if he was messing with me. I don’t know who was behind it. But hey, what I do know is I was always at the top, so, and that’s what matters. I, I don’t care what those pros polls said. I care what they showed on TV and I was always number one and number two.

Promo Battle between Otunga and Barrett, I felt like I beat him
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[00:12:39] David Otunga: So next we had an impromptu promo battle in the ring and this was just dropped on us. , it kind of reminded me of a freestyle rap battle, or at least . That’s how it was to me. So I was disappointed. I had to go first. I always like to be second, and then I’ll use your words against you. And [00:13:00] if I’m being honest with you. I feel like I won that. Like I had more jabs. They were good, they were more creative. I was more in, my character had better flow. I wasn’t rapping, but had better flow flow to my promo. See what I mean? How this was like a freestyle rap battle.

And Wade did well, don’t get me wrong, and to this day, I still remember he had that one line where, yeah, I was talking about the IT factor and he said, yeah, you could put two letters in front of it. I always thought that was so clever, but in watching this back, hey, his promo wasn’t as good as I remembered it.

Like watching it back, I mean, it’s, it’s much more obvious to me. My promo was, you know, a, a good bit better than his was, you know, if, if I’m just judging it off of entertainment and, and promos in general, and I’m trying to be objective, but hey, my promo was good. It was, it was much better than, than Waits.

Um, so they never really declared a winner of that. It, it apparently didn’t matter because then we just went into the [00:14:00] pros poll, which I think had already been decided. And so they just wanted us to perform out there, but I should have been declared the winner. Um, but see that also kind of made me nervous going into the last Pros poll, is that we just did this on stage.

I feel like I won this promo battle, and then they’re ready to do the pros poll. And I’m wondering, are they going to take into account the great promo I just did, or that I should have won this or. Has the decision already been made, and I kind of feel like it, it already was, and the way things turned out.

People were “SHOOTING” on me
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[00:14:36] David Otunga: so up next they had all the eliminated rookies come back and sit ringside for the finale, which was diabolical to do to them. They asked them who they thought was going to win and this opened up the door for all these guys to just start shooting at me pretty much. Which again, this is strange [00:15:00] because it’s a shoot, but then part of it’s a work.

So what are we doing here? Like, they’re taking like real shots. I mean like fire in live rounds. All right. All right. But just remember this is real. So I, I got some coming back for you, but I, I mean at that point Wade had been number one of most of the polls. So it kind of made sense when you ask who they think is gonna win.

Most of ’em are gonna say, Wade, if you had asked who was probably gonna be in second, they probably would’ve said me. ’cause I was second in the polls. But yeah, , everybody just started shooting at me and, you know, I, I gotta be honest with you, I kind of liked it because if you go back and you listen every time somebody, you know, shot at me, listened to the crowd reaction, it just was building my following.

So just help me.

‌William Regal was told to fill time
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[00:15:50] David Otunga: after we finished this promo battle, Matt Stryker says, all right, it’s time for the Final Pros poll. there’s like a little bit of stalling and it’s, it’s awkward. You could tell [00:16:00] something isn’t right. , What happens is they’re off on their time, they mis budget it, so there’s a good bit of extra time they need to fill.

And so they throw it to the stage for the pros to talk, start talking. And you can tell this is off the cuff and wasn’t planned. Because when William Regal starts talking way Baird and I in the ring, we cannot hear him. His microphone is not, uh, playing in the, in this arena, so you can only hear him at home.

So I had no idea what he was saying. And then he was taking shots at me , like, it’s funny, like you could see, he says something about, oh, the only reason Tonga is here is because he, he married well. And, uh, and I’ve seen her trust me, it wasn’t that. Well, and then Matt, I, now, I can’t hear that he said this.

Matt Stryker like comes over trying to hold me back and puts his hand on my chest. And then you could say, I look down at his hand, like, what are you doing? Because I didn’t, he thought I, he was trying to stop me from like running up to get regal, like, well, is he talking about me? Well, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on.

But then I think they eventually fix it. Um, and then we started reacting, but [00:17:00] I had no idea what William Regal was saying or anything. And the only reason I know about this is because. . Afterwards, Rigo came up and apologized to me. ’cause he, he’s a nice guy and he said, Hey, I don’t want you to take any of that personally.

They told us we had to fill time. And so I was just trying to say anything. So, but it was all cool.

How it feels when Wade Barrett wins
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[00:17:17] David Otunga: And so going into that Final Pros poll and the moment where they put up on the screen the winner, and I see that I am runner up and Wade Barrett has won in that moment, , it was really important to me to give a real reaction and just feel it. And I wanted to be vulnerable. And this was the first time that my character was showing vulnerability.

Any sense of it. And it was, it was short, but it was, it was in my eyes and my face. Like that was a real reaction. And I was really disappointed that I lost, I still am to this day. I felt like I should have won. But at the same time, like I [00:18:00] understand it, you know, like, or could have been a tie like Wade, Wade, you know.

Had a little bit more experience and could jump right into a pay-per-view match if that were the case. So I understood it in that respect, but I still felt like I should have won the competition. I did enough. So this is a real, you know, reaction of disappointment. Um, and you could see it all over my face.

And then even my promo, I didn’t plan anything before, but I, I knew how I felt and, you know, was able just to get into that. And you could see like, this is where the actor in me comes in and the nuances in my character is I showed that vulnerability, but then you could tell by the things I was saying, I was trying to mask it.

Like, you could tell I’m hurt, but I’m trying to, to fight it and not show that. So like, watching that back, honestly, as, as much as it still hurts to this day, seeing me get runner up, I love that. Just what I showed and how beautiful it is, the vulnerability and that promo, like it re it. Hey, it’s really art.

Like if you love this business and you [00:19:00] really pay attention to the stories and these characters and how real things are, like that was, that was real. Was it acting? Yes. But it was real because I really was that character and a lot of it was real and was not acting. So this is the perfect example of how we blur that line between reality and you suspend your belief, but then at the same time, sometimes it really is real.

’cause perception becomes reality. Um.

Vince’s reaction to the promo after I lost
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[00:19:31] David Otunga: Also, like I was really proud of, you know, that ending and just what I showed, how I performed my promo, everything. And I remember this vividly when I walked back through the curtain. I’ll never forget this, walk back through the curtain and I see Vince sitting in Gorilla and he’s just got this big smile on his face, but it’s like, it was a look of pride.

Like he was, he was proud. And the way he smiled at me and I went over, this is the first time, like I went over, after the match [00:20:00] and he shook my hand and he told me, great promo kid. Yeah. And, and so he, he really loved that promo too. And so it was just, you know, the way he smiled, shook my hand and told me, great promo.

And I knew that he liked me, and I, I knew that he, you know, it made me feel confident in my work. And however, I was still nervous because I was like, all right, I’m hoping he’ll do something with me. But wait, was he telling me great promo? Like he wanted to gimme a compliment. That’s the last time he’s ever gonna see me again.

Like, like, what? And my mind was going crazy. I was like, nah, nah, nah, because he, yeah, I, I knew that segment was good and he, you know, was really pleased with it. But that’s something that I’ll always remember because that’s one of the first times that, you know, Vince really let me know I delivered and, you know, this was a very important spot.

This was the finale and I came through. Um, so I, I was really pleased with myself and that’s a, a special moment for me that I always carry.

I still felt like I could be gone tomorrow
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[00:20:58] David Otunga: So [00:21:00] this was a weird head space to be in because on the one hand, like Vince gave me great praise, like really, like I was in the main events on the finale of this brand new show that we launched. I delivered even over-delivered. When you think about all the promo and the press and the interviews and events I was doing during the week and doing uh, NXT, which is also something I didn’t really discuss before, but I was booked and busy.

Like the main roster talent, like Miz was the other person from the show that they used to to help sell it. So him and I were doing media appearances left and right and I’ll be honest with you, I know that the other rookies were jealous of that and you know, everybody was happy for me, but at the same time.

You can’t blame ’em. Like, you know, why am I not getting to these promotional, you know, appearances. And also that let me know I was doing pretty well on the show. But the thing of it is, even [00:22:00] after I did all this performed well, Vince loved how I performed, how I carried the show. I still was nervous that I might be fired the next day because I had no reference for how to feel about longevity in this company.

And they, they never let me feel comfortable with my spot. And definitely not any of us rookies. Definitely. So we didn’t really know what was gonna happen after this. The only person who we knew was safe for sure was Wade. But the rest of us, I mean, I don’t know, like you here at FCW, you gotta be ready when they call you up to the main roster and give you your shot.

Because if you don’t perform well, you’re done. And while I was in FCWI saw that happen to a number of my peers. I remember a number of guys who were over in FFC W but when they got to the main roster, they had a match or two and they were gone, you know, rest in peace. Eric Escobar, kni, DJ Gabriel who’s [00:23:00] dancing, he was over in FCW.

But what that did not work on the main roster.

My Flight Itinerary
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[00:23:04] David Otunga: So the other thing is we would get our travel information, we would get it on Tuesday usually, and, and it would be, you know, during the week. And the thing of it is, is like we also filmed on Tuesday, and I remember vividly, you know, we would check for that email from Holly Fisher because if you got travel for the next week, you knew you weren’t gonna be eliminated because they would be funny about that.

But then, you know, like they, some of the guys would get travel early, some of them wouldn’t. And then it, it usually worked out. That was the case. If you didn’t get travel, uh, you kind of know what’s going on. So for me, my travel ended there in Dallas. After that, I was going back to Tampa, Florida, and that was it.

I didn’t, I, I didn’t know if I was coming back the next week or anything. They hadn’t told us yet. So that very well could have just been the end of it. All right. One more thing I wanna get to. Um,

Ronnie Coleman
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[00:23:59] David Otunga: [00:24:00] there’s another memory. I have where things really came full circle for me at at the, on the night of this finale.

And they’re in Texas. ’cause if you go back my, the first time I ever met Johnny Ace, when I came to WW for my initial like pre tryout just to see if I was even worth getting a tryout. It was in Texas. And then now you fast forward and here I am, the NXT finale in Texas. And there was another interesting thing that happened.

’cause I remember right before we went out for the last segment, I was backstage and I was, I was nervous, but I was just trying to go over things in my head about the triple threat match and whatnot. And to my surprise, somebody backstage, I recognized an old friend of mine, eight time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman was at the show.

And he lived in Arlington, Texas. This was in Dallas. He was there. Now I had been friends with Ronnie Coleman since I was in law school. [00:25:00] I had the opportunity to work out with him one time and we stayed great friends. And then fast forward, now I’m in wwe and here’s Ronnie, my friend who comes to the show.

And it just was awesome seeing him because it was so out of the blue. And I remember in my mind, like I felt bad, like, oh, I should’ve invited him. I forgot he lived in, in Dallas. And you know, I had so many things on my mind. This is the finale of NXT. But either way, he was there and it was cool just to have, you know, like somebody from my past and a friend, you know, just talk to him to take my mind off things.

And he told me how proud of me he was. And you know, he, he couldn’t believe it. ’cause he knew me in law school and he knew when I was an attorney at the firm. And the fact that I left was on, I love New York too. He watched me on that. And here I am in wwe. So it just was a cool moment, you know, even full circle right from that.

And it was of course, the finale right before I go out for the last match. So that was just a cool antidote. Shout out to Big Ron. Yeah, buddy.
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[00:25:57] David Otunga: All right. So at this [00:26:00] point I’m devastated over being runner up, but you know, I’m hoping there’s something for me, but at the same time, we have no idea what’s coming next. But in the next video I’ll tell you guys all about the formation of the nexus, what really happened that day, and how things went down.