David Otunga as United States Champion? I'd Buy It.

[The Crock]

Just moments ago on Raw, Santino Marella retained his United States Championship against David Otunga. The match was nothing spectacular -- it was fairly standard, to be honest -- but the thought of seeing Otunga as United States Champion seemed oddly fitting. Santino definitely has not been a bad champion, as a matter of fact, the crowd absolutely adores him, but I think the United States Championship can be put to better use. David Otunga fits that bill.

David Otunga is basically John Laurinaitis' right hand man, he's fresh off of being team captain of Team Johnny at WrestleMania 29 (a winning effort), and he's slowly making his way up the card; what better way to further Otunga's push than give him the United States Championship? Otunga's already starting to identify as a good heel with the crowd, he's got a unique enough gimmick, and he's improving constantly. Santino and Brodus Clay seemingly have a nice little comedy team coming together, so I'd rather see the belt on Otunga. At this stage, the United States Championship is more relevant than it was with Jack Swagger, but I think it would be a great match with Otunga.

Otunga wouldn't have to win the title off of Santino clean, either. Laurinaitis was unhappy with the title change in the first place, and with no Teddy Long in the mix he'd be able to get involved. That would be an effective way to get the belt off of Santino, because it would advance the Laurinaitis/Long story, and it would help Otunga get some more heat. Moreover, as long as Otunga would consistently defend his title, he'd make a good champion. This seems like a logical way to advance with Otunga's push, and further Johnny Ace as the evil and tyrannical GM.

What do you guys think? Would Otunga you like to see Otunga get a United State Championship reign?

 

[The Brain]

As recently as six months ago I'd say no way. Now I'd say the answer is an obvious yes. Otunga has really improved over the past few months. He's still not the most polished guy in the ring but he has a great look and has taken a huge step forward in character development. Anyone who has been watching wrestling for any length of time can tell you that character development can make up for in ring skills. The Harvard lawyer and right hand man of Laurinatis is a much better character for Otunga than the A lister. He is very likely to be the next US champ and that would be just fine with me.

 

[Big Sexy]

I think David Otunga is god fucking awful. He is extremely intelligent and well spoken but his promos still bore me to death, he is terrible in the ring, and I honestly don't think he has ever entertained me once. I'm sure he will end up getting a reign as US champion because he is Johnny Ace's right hand man, but I assure you it will be awful. Like Orlando Jordan as US Champion awful. Actually your scenario is basically the same way Orlando Jordan got the US Title as JBL's lackey. Otunga has a good character I just don't see the talent to back it up.

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

Could David Otunga end up the United States champion..sure. But he's not ready...not by a long shot. Otunga is very green in the ring, on par with developmental talent still in the midst of really honing the craft. He's benefited from his associations with Nexus and the New Nexus, because it allowed him to blend in to a group, rather than stand as an individual.

Now that he's wrestling more singles matches, it's easy to see there is a lot of work to be done in ring. He has a character than can get over, and get heat..but it needs fine tuned to really hit it's stride. The posing at the ramp wreaks of Chris Masters, the over the shoulder coat throw seems like something Wade Barrett lent him till he returns. Its lends to an air of staleness, like what he is doing has been seen before, and not that long ago.

He's got the look, but a new finisher and some more work on fundamentals is in need before he should carry any gold.

Having said all that, it's important to remember that we are talking about the United States Championship..currently held by a guy with snake sock puppet that's part of his finisher. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they decided to put the belt on Otunga tomorrow, and don't think it would tarnish the title in the least...that was done a long, long time ago.

 

[MissLeigh80]

At this point I'm not too sold on Otunga being the U.S. Champion ~ but I wouldn't be surprised if Laryngitis made sure that his right hand man got the title around his waist sometime soon.

 

[ner0]

When I saw he was the opponent tonight I actually thought he might just have won it. Seems like he can stand to benefit from it more then most and regardless of if he's good yet or not he's certainly improving

 

[TheRealDeal]

I think at some point, whether the fans buy it or not, he may be holding the championship gold. I'm not 100% sold on Otunga yet, but I still think he's improved by a massive amount. He's got the look, he's got an attitude that apparently a lot of the WWE universe fans doesn't like (and that's a good thing). At least his name is plastered as the guy with the coffee mug, or John Lauranitis sidekick or something. He's not a guy that the WWE universe doesn't know. I think with a little bit of polishing on his wrestling style, and mic work, then he'll be good to go as champion.

 

[rerun406]

"Otunga is very green in the ring, on par with developmental talent"

I haven't seen too many of Otunga's matches and thought he did all right in the main event vs Cena last week (a bit too much posing though ... but that's his gimmick so it works)

I'd like to see what Otunga could do as champ though.

 

[BigRedPunk]

I probably like Otunga more than most. I find his current character to be interesting and I feel like I always want to listen to what he has to say. The only thing that isn't really good about him is his ring skills. But he showed in his match against Cena recently that he has improved. He's just as good as Ryder in the ring if not better.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

While Otunga is still far from great inside the ring, he has improved significantly in my eyes. He certainly plays to the crowd much better than he ever did. He's also no longer awkward & uncoordinated inside the ring and seems to have his timing down.

As far as his character goes, overall, I enjoy it. It feels...I guess maybe "natural" is the right word. While he's jacked up the arrogance factor obviously, it's probably more along the lines of who he is. I used to hate the guy but I'm actually kinda liking him.

As far as him being United States Champion, maybe. I'm not fully sold on the idea as I think he could develop more before putting a title on him. At the same time, however, I do want WWE to get the title off Santino. I'm not hating on Santino, he works hard at his character and he's extremely over. I get that, but it's just a pet peeve to see a title wasted on Santino after Ziggler had such a progressive run with it.

 

[The Eighties]

One of my 2012 predictions was that Otunga would win a mid-card title and I think he is progressing nicely in that direction.

He's not that skilled in the ring and still has a ways to go to be considered a good worker technically, but he works his gimmick all match long and that is something often forgotten by more talented heels and that is why there is no heat on their match as they just go through their move set.

 

[HBsam31]

I actually thought for sure he was winning it Monday night. I think he would be well suited to have the US belt. I think it would do him a lot of good, and maybe he could have a long reign like Cody did with the IC belt. Santino doesn't need the belt, and with Otunga being JL's right hand man it would make sense for him to have some Gold.

 

[Remy LaCroix]

Oh god no. He's decent at getting heat, but kinda bad in the ring. He couldn't even sell Kofi's chops correctly, he just stood there taking them and looking awkward like a pansy. Shane Helms is right about him, he needs to learn how to take a bump (for his own safety.)

Thinking about it, maybe he could. I'd certainly dislike him enough to boo him... maybe even start a death chant 'cause he's that bad... okay, not really. Prolly just boo him.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

Otunga will definitely become a breakout star this year and how he goes about doing that is that he will become United States Champion by SummerSlam and then hold the title for a few months and then lose it and then he will win the title back becoming a 2 time WWE United States Champion and then 2013 is where he will really break out becoming a main eventer

 

[themizisawesomemikeali]

I read this on WrestleNewz:

As recent as last week, WWE officials were reportedly considering David Otunga for a run with the United States Title. The plan was to take the belt off Santino Marella after WrestleMania 28 and some within the company are surprised that he hasn’t lost it yet.


Is Otunga ready to wear Championship Gold?Given his gimmick he maintains is perfectly but as far as his ring work is concerned,he is a bit green!And who would he feud with?Lord,please not Santino!

 

[ultramattman]

Otunga's match with Santino Monday was pretty clunky - the nearfall was AWFUL as he botched his own finisher, then went for the pin on the wrong side and had to climb over him so Santino could put his leg on the rope. Wouldn't be surprised if that screwup cost him (or at least delayed) his U.S. Title run.

He could just as easily win it next week. I smell a rematch coming with the ref counting 'three' but calling it off due to the foot on the ropes.

 

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

Otunga has certainly improved since last year when he was tag team champion with Michael Migilicutty and on many peoples predictions for the future endevoured list. Yet being better then awful doesn't mean your good as his in ring work has shown. He's decent but his promo work has made up for his in ring work so far hopefully he can improve on that.

Do i want to see him win the title? I don't really care to be honest, mainly because the WWE have shown they couldn't care less about the US title. It's a prop at the end of the day. It hasn't done much to boost Santino or Swagger and with the way things are going for him id say Otunga is still going to appear in promos with Johnny Ace every week whether he has the belt or not. Basically it all comes down to whether you would like to see him doing the poses for his entrance with the belt around his waist or not as it's not going to serve much more of a purpose to him if he wins it.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Do you know why the wwe have mediocre midcard division? Do you know why the midcarders who are considered "credible" competing for the world title have flopped after their respective reign? It is because wwe puts strap on a random "flavor of the month" wrestler instead of building their momentum and character consistently.

So what if otunga won the title? whats gonna happened after he lost the title? He will not be viewed as a viable contender for the world title thats for sure.

wade barrette, cody rhodes , jackson, jackswagger, etc. You see the pattern?

Otunga has done nothing to prove he is a worthy us title contender. Beating Santino did no wonder for him. Until otunga beats multiple midcarders in an actual single feud, he should not be touching the us title.

 

[Crocodyllia]

Who cares? The United States Championship is a meaningless title. The thing never gets defended and when it finally does it changes hands. Good way for wrestlers to have lengthy title reigns as US Champion when they don't even defend it. (Y)

 

[Wwe Fan 4Eva]

This is how i see it going down, Two or Three weeks before Wwe No Way Out which is a all steel cage Pay Per View, David Otunga attacks Santino Marella Backstage, Later that night Johnny comes down to the ring and orders Otunga comes out and apologizes to Santino for what he did, Otunga comes down to the ring and then Johnny calls Santino out, when Santino gets into the ring David and Johnny both attack Santino and hurt his arm, then Johnny announces that Santino and David will met at No Way Out in a Steel Cage for the United States Championship. Then the week after Santino comes out to the ring and says that his arm is injured and he cannot compete in two weeks at No Way Out, Johnny comes out and says that Santino will compete at No Way Out or he will be fired, Santino says he will compete and he will defeated Otunga and retain the United States Title then Otunga attacks from behind and locks in a Arm Lock. Then at No Way Out Santino is beating Otunga and is halfway out of the cage door when Johnny comes out and hits Santino in the head with a steel chair and pushes him back into the ring johnny then gets into the cage and proceeds to beat down Santino with the help of Otunga, after a while Otunga walks out of the door and wins the United States Championship.

 

[MWRedskins]

as an in ring guy, i hate the idea, but as a character, i like it. Otunga is really good on the mic, his in-ring skills are not great, but he has the personality. i could see him winning the title on an episode of RAW or before a ppv show or even on a ppv.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Otunga as United States Champion would be a good idea. He has improved a little since becoming the lawyer character. His promo skills are as good as ever, but what's missing is still the in-ring ability. He has a ways to go still before he catches up to most of the roster. A year or so ago I would have thought he was not going to win any titles anytime soon. All it took was for him to become the lawyer character and the sidekick for Johnny.

Otunga as a champion opens the door for him to get involved even more in Johnny's feuds when a match against people standing up to him needs to take place. It could also give him a shot to generate more heel heat for himself. Finally, as a champion he would HAVE to step it up in the ring due to higher expectations being placed on him. It would be good for everyone involved, and this is without even speculating on how strong of a face reaction whoever dethrones him would get. I'd go with Ryder, it could get him back on track to feud over the US Championship with Otunga and defeat him.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Anyone as US Champion? I'd buy it. The title just isn't what it used to be, much like the IC title. There's no prestige anymore. It's too easily grabbed and tossed around. Jack Swagger and Santino Marella were both losing tremendous amount of matches before they touched the US title. Well, Santino winning a bunch of matches before winning the US title helped him more than it helped Jack Swagger. So, David Otunga as US Champion? Very possible. Not impressive though. Otunga may have all the mic skills and the looks, but he doesn't quite have the in-ring skills to match those traits. He reminds me of Orlando Jordan. The US title seriously needs a holder like CM Punk. Someone that can defend the title successfully and frequently.

 

[MCMG]

#OTUNGAFORUSCHAMPION was top trend the other day. I tweeted it. I would definitely be up for that. I think he deserves a solid run as champ. He has done his job has Johnny's right hand man superbly and if he was to get the belt it help show the power that Johnny has and the fact that he almost picks the champions at will and people who are loyal to him will get rewarded.

 

[Shining Mizard]

I think this would be an excellent decision. Laurinaitis should be involved in giving Otunga the upperhand and taking the title off Santino to further People Power and "legitimize" the United States title.