The seventh individual to be eliminated – the runner-up in NXT Season 1 – is none other than Harvard-graduate, David Otunga. Otunga was represented by WWE pro R-Truth. In his first match on NXT, David Otunga would defeat Darren Young in 37 seconds. Now, that is how you make an impact! Throughout the first season, Otunga would boast a record of six wins and five losses. However, when it came down to the finals, Otunga wouldn’t make the cut.
Otunga was eliminated on Week 15 (Round 2) via the WWE Pro voting system. He would debut on the WWE main roster as a member of The Nexus. He would also stay as a member of The New Nexus (CM Punk’s variation), winning the WWE Tag Team Championships with fellow stablemate Michael McGillicutty. Following the end of The New Nexus, McGillicutty and Otunga would continue to team. However, after losing the titles, the team would quietly disband.
Otunga began to focus more on his time as a law student at Harvard. He would align himself with John Laurinaitis, and the pairing would run rough-shod over WWE. Otunga wouldn’t do much in the company after 2012. His final on-screen match would take place at WrestleMania XXX, where he would compete in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. His most recent match (as of this writing) came on July 5, 2015, where Otunga would fall to his former pro (R-Truth) in singles action. Just another example of life imitating art!
After a brief stint as a SmackDown color commentator in 2016, Otunga would transition into a pre-show panelist position. That’s where you can find Otunga nowadays – that is, if he hasn’t been replaced by a more established performer or another sports analyst talking head. Otunga is also focused heavily on his acting career.