WWE News: David Otunga To Appear On Popular Television Show
Since leaving full-time in-ring competition, David Otunga has been in some roles with the WWE. Otunga started his professional wrestling career in 2008, signing a developmental contract to compete for Florida Championship Wrestling. Otunga’s run in FCW became so popular that he was chosen as one of the group members of the infamous Nexus faction, debuting on the main roster less than a year after beginning his career in FCW.
Otunga started an on-screen television career before competing for FCW and WWE, as he was a contestant named “Punk” on the I Love New York 2 dating drama series. Years later, during his time in the WWE, he starred with former Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning actress Halle Berry in The Call. Otunga also made small appearances for television shows.
WWE has announced that Otunga will also play a small role as a bouncer on the hit series Criminal Minds.
“WWE Superstar David Otunga is set to guest star on CBS’ hit drama ‘Criminal Minds’ on Wednesday, February 8. Otunga will portray a nightclub bouncer that interacts with series stars Joe Mantegna and Stephen Walker.
“This won’t be Otunga’s first foray on-screen outside of the squared circle and broadcast booth. He previously appeared as a police officer in WWE Studios’ ‘The Call’ starring Oscar winner Halle Berry. He has also guest-starred on ABC’s long-running soap opera “General Hospital.”
#SDLive commentator @DavidOtunga showed off his impressive acting skills, as he guest starred on @CBS' @CrimMinds_CBS! pic.twitter.com/n4AYv8zCP5
— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2017
In WWE, Otunga did not make a very strong impression in the ring, as he was often the Nexus member who would come out on the losing end. However, Otunga did manage to somehow share a WWE Tag Team Championship reign with John Cena, dethroning Cody Rhodes and Drew MyIntrye.
At the time, Cena was involved in an angle where he was forced to join The Nexus. He was thrown into a tag match with Otunga, but they surprisingly ended up tag champs by the conclusion of the bout.
Otunga would win another tag team championship with Michael McGuillicuty (Curtis Axel) by defeating Kane and The Big Show, before losing it three months later to the “Air Boom” team of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne.
Perhaps one of the most popular stints Otunga had aside from being a Nexus member was his affiliation with General Manager John Laurinaitis. Along with eliciting a “vote of no confidence” to Triple H as a General Manager, Otunga was able to lead Team Johnny – also including The Miz, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler – to defeat Team Teddy, which consisted of Booker T, Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella, R-Truth, Zack Ryder, and The Great Khali. This allowed Laurinaitis to have full control of both brands.
Thankfully, Otunga has found a home with being an analyst for the WWE. In early 2015, he joined the Raw pre-show team and maintained that role until the summer of 2016. He then replaced Jerry Lawler as the color commentator for the SmackDownLive brand. When interviewed by the Chicago Tribune, Otunga stated that “it kind of fits with what I’ve been doing as a legal analyst on HLN and CNN… It’s great to be back. I was off for a while and missed it greatly. (WWE) is family.”
https://www.facebook.com/prowrestlingworld/posts/1041365009301737:0
It appears as if Otunga will maintain the role of color commentator for a while, as each week, he looks to be fitting in more comfortably. Although there have been much criticism about a four-man announce team, as it looks overcrowded, Otunga is starting to get his flow in understanding the ins and outs of becoming a successful color commentator.
Although we may never see Otunga again in a WWE ring in a wrestling capacity, his acting and current role on SmackDown Live shows that he is fine where he is now.
[Featured Image by WWE]
