Otunga the next Cena?

[MoizH28]

By reading the title most of you guys are probably like WTF or hell no, but lets think about it...

Otunga is someone who can easily become the face of the WWE. He has the look and can easily get over with the media. He also has solid mic skills. His ring work however is pretty bad. Since this whole Cena/Nexus program happened Otunga seemed the odd one out (altercations with barrett, and almost removed from Nexus on Smackdown) Cena came back after being "fired" and attacked everyone but Otunga. Then on Raw he was the one who told Barrett rehire Cena or your out of Nexus which got that crowd to cheer. We also know the WWE has been searching for a African American Main Eventer. If they push Otunga as a face, with his not so great wrestling skills will he become the next Cena?

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

What mic-skills?

He's bland and boring on the mic. Has zero expressions and is so rigid in the ring he makes the ring posts look like Eva Bourne. The man is a far cry from the upper mid-card status let alone the ME status.

Sorry but this is a very insufferable idea.

 

[stee]

Sorry mate, but just no. He can become good, but never that good.
I agree with your logic about him and his interaction between Nexus (not being attacked, never being kicked out etc).
But however, he will never get to that level. Sorry!

 

[JGlass]

Mic skills? What mic skills? Did you hear him talk tonight? Every time I hear Otunga on the mic, I feel like I'm getting slapped in the face and kicked in the nads simultaneously. He may be the worst guy on the mic in the WWE today.

Furthermore, I think we're taking a big leap saying he'd automatically be over with the media. Sure, he's married to Jennifer Hudson, but we don't know what this guy is like in real life. He could be a complete jackass.

Additionally... African American maineventer? I don't think WWE has any intentions to push someone based solely on race. Even if they are desperately trying to find a black maineventer, you don't think they'd push Kofi, a wrestler with proven mic and in ring skills, over Otunga? Even R-Truth is a better main event option than Otunga.

I don't see Otunga ever being in the main event, let alone the next John Cena.

 

[The Calgary Kid]

The "interview" tonight was absolutely PAINFUL. I have been saying for a while now that it confuses the hell out of me when people talk about his "charisma", "mic skills" or "'it' factor". As bad as guys like Slater and Gabriel are on the mic, Otunga is even worse. I've said it before: he sounds like a kid in a high school production of Annie who forgot his lines. He gets a huge rub from his wife (pun not intended), and for some reason, people glaze over and turn into zombies when discussing his persona. At least everyone agrees that he's awful in the ring.

There is no way in hell that Otunga is anywhere near Cena's league in terms of what he could (or could not) bring to the business. Cena gets a lot of hate, but he's great on the mic, conveys emotion very well and yes, he is good in the ring. You want "it" factor? Cena's got it. Otunga brings jack shit to the table beyond being married to a celebrity and having had his picture taken with the President. Sure, he could show some improvement over time, but like Kaitlyn said to Naomi the other night, you can't learn to have a personality. I could go on, but there isn't really much of an argument to make. You all know how I feel about McIntyre; I think even less of Otunga.

In terms of getting a black guy into the main event, Kofi and Zeke are further up the ladder, as is Truth. Regardless, I don't know why people always have to throw that argument out there. Sure, it's nice if not every guy who makes it is white, but I find the notion that pushing a guy just because he's not white is a little pathetic.

Not to stray too far from the matter at hand, but does anyone remember the tear-away jeans Otunga wore on NXT? That always drove me nuts, especially given that he tore them off at the top of the ramp and walked to the ring clothed otherwise. I think the part about his presence in Nexus that I've enjoyed the most is not seeing those things.

 

[Malenko316]

JC gives the most (forced) passionate (scripted) promos in the WWE since Hogan. The only similarity DO has is that all his mic work sounds scripted (yes, even more than Seamus). Although I would contend there are worse Mic workers out there - Alex Riley etc.

Does that stop him being pushed as a face to upper mid card or ME level? Absolutely not. Staying there is another matter. Lashley and Batista were horrible on the mic, but it didn't hold them out the title picture. If there's ANY chance WWE could get positive mainstream media coverage, then they'd push DO in a heart beat, but it's a big IF.

As for a black guy being pushed solely because he's black being considered unrealistic, why? As we've seen from Lashley before, it's not a new idea. (No-one can seriously say Bobby was pushed because he was either a draw or good in the ring.) I think DO has more chance of being pushed over Truth (who's not over) or Kofi (who's closer to being 'future endevoured' than a world title push). I'd put my money Big Zeke being the main obstecule to DO being a shoe in for a push. Zeke is better in the ring (which is a poor reflection on DO) but is so far untested really on the mic. Plus Zeke would lack media attention not having outside connections and now being billed from Guyana (which if not true makes no sense).

So will DO be pushed? Alas inevitable I fear. Is he the next JC (well the lack of ring skill aside) NO. If you want to look for the 'black Cena' (excluding Darren Young lol) then the best bet is likely NXT season 4 winner Byron Sexton. PV

 

[ABMorales787]

By reading the title most of you guys are probably like WTF or hell no, but lets think about it...

I did. It only made things worse. Say, while we are at it, Heath Slater should be the next Randy Orton. They both always look like they are asleep while standing.

First off, if David Otuga is going to be anything, it's the first David Otunga. This idiocy of "the next this guy" or "the next other guy" really needs to die, because everybody in professional wrestling evolves into their own character. No matter what.

As for Otunga actually resembling John Cena in any remote for shape or form? Never in a thousand years. John Cena is honored, proud, a work horse and the devotes everything he as to WWE. Otunga is conceited, self-centered, egotistical and a wannabee celebrity. It's an insult to compare the two. And I have John Cena. David Otunga will never be anything more to a wrestling fan than an egocentric ass who waved his "celeb" status to gain some stature in WWE.

 

[Dzone]

Otunga isn't even on the same dimension as Cena... he has ZERO mic skills because it sounds so scripted and practiced it hurts to wacth.

Just read Killhoy's post... it literally killed the OP's joy *yeh... that was bad*

 

[OutsiderDX]

I agree that Otunga can be the Next Cena.

Both have a limited number of moves. Though, Otunga would just have to forgot one meanuver from his arsenal... then Cena and him would an equal number of wrestling holds in their repetoire.

Also, i think Otunga thrive in repetition. Otunga just needs a few years to do the same act over and over... and over. Once he rides the dead horse, like Cena has for 6 years, he can be just be just like the Kiddy Hero and bury the love and passion of wrestling fans even deeper.

Otunga can be completely uninteresting, much like John Cena. He just needs to learn how to never sell a beathing, superman up, and dismiss and inkling to creat realism.

One Cena is enough

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I don't think David Otunga is the next John Cena...yet.

He's far too green to be parading around as the next Cena, but in due time, and with alot of work, I'm sure he could grab himself a title; and not just the mid-cards.

His mic skills aren't the best out of the group, but he deffenitly has the charisma and the personality to pull it off. Everybody said he had the greatest personality when he was on NXT1, and they weren't wrong. He got some great heat when he was a contestant, and he's gotten even bigger heat by being in Nexus.

I find him funny too, which is always something I look out for in a superstar, despite their given morality. Comic effect is always good to have under your belt. Cena had it when he was face and heel, Otunga could pull off the same.

He has a great physique...could work on his in-ring skills a bit though, but hey; he's green as grass right now, this is his first year wrestling and he doesn't come from a wrestling background. Give him some time before you guys count him out. Like the old saying goes, alot can change in a year, so I bet you this time next year, you'll see a remarkable change in every person who was in Nexus, espacially Otunga.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Otunga has a job because he is jacked up...simple as

He is bad in the ring, bad on the mic and offers little apart from looking like a beast.

I wouldnt be surprised then, to see him get a push as Vince LOOOOVES his big men. I cant see him being the next Cena or face of the WWE, but I wouldnt be shocked to see him get a major push in the near future

 

[akathelaw]

Otunga needs to get to work on his moveset fast. He seems lost in the ring at times too. I will say he seemed very comfortable in the ring getting beat down by Cena, and I think he'll benefit from jobbing for a while. He needs to get comfortable in that WWE squared circle, it's big and there are a shit ton of distractions to get used to blocking out. If he goes to Smackdown (where the crowd is generally quieter) you could see him turning around. I think he has main event potential if he works hard, otherwise future endeavoured if he never picks the game up.

 

[NWannabe]

You people really don't see the writing on the wall do you? He's got mainstream cred, he can talk, he's buff. Much as I am loathe to admit it, in two years you will be praising him. In three years, you will once again hate his push, and yes...in 5 years he will be a standalone big deal in the wwe, much to this thread's chagrin.

The only way this fails is if Otunga fails. And he's already been getting better, so that's probably out.

 

[triple_b2k]

No one in Nexus can 'act', especially Otunga. They're not good on the mic and they have no expressions. WWE needs to hire acting coaches for some wrestlers. Otunga is all muscle, no skill.

 

[MizterColemine]

I don't dislike Otunga, because I see potential. But as of right now, he's kind of hard to watch and say at the same time this guy is going places. Really, his mic skills are as bad as his in-ring savvy. Because if he could pull off a convincing promo his matches would be forgivable as long as he relies on his youth and power and gets a victory here and there. He could learn from 1998 Rock and put a little bass and projection in his voice, he sounds like an adolescent talking trying to talk down grown ass men right now. But he will improve with experience I believe. As for becoming a main eventer I would give it at the very least 2 years. That being said if they want to push a black man look no further than R-Truth and/or Zeke who are both doing well when they get the screen time and their matches are good. I think R-Truth is over enough with his Truth Hurts promos and such if they give him a good rivalry and more promos maybe change his music to something he's not singing he could win the crowd over even more or even go heel with his current "Thats the truth" spiels... I could see Zeke get a victory or two over bigger name midcarders and continue his roll right up to people like Del Rio (who I don't like for a big push). But back to the point sorry. Otunga isn't good enough yet.

forgot to connect to Cena... I love to hate Cena for his character's uncanny loyalty to being a hero and a face with little edge. But he does a fantastic job. I used to hate him, but now love to hate him because he does his job quite well regardless of shortcomings. Face wise he will be the man for a long time. I used to love Orton but he's grown boring since being a face, becomin predictable and doin the same song and dance, losing his edge. But Cena is wayyy beyond what Otunga can do right now.

 

[ForeverRKO]

Hell no , his mic skills are terrible .. its almost as if he's reading his lines when he's speaking .. he has no in ring ability .. he runs from cena every time so therefore he will never be face unless he fights on his own .. and wwe is looking for an african american main eventer ? Hellooo ! KOFI KINGSTON ! Or justin gabriel lol technically he's from south africa ..btw david otunga is half white .. but anyway I'm sure we'll hear about another wwe release in the next couple months and it'll be otunga that gets that boot .

 

[Papa Pillman]

As long as you're all comparing the two and down talking Otunga's mic work(which I agree is average at best), I just wanted to add on that Cena's end promo with Barret last night, while ultimately effective, was essentially cringe-worthy to listen to almost the entire time. His lame attempts to be funny are just awkward and stupid, and are made even more awkward when all of the children in the arena egg him on. Otunga may never be Cena, but with some improvement he too could learn to ultimately get his point across while much of the time still being mostly just an overly-corny product of the WWE machine- like Cena himself who's mic work, as evidenced last night, is usually hit-or-miss(not to be confused with his wrestling style which is usually hit-or-kick).

 

[DForce]

This is sort of on subject, but somewhat off subject. Anyway, I think it's time for a R-Truth push, and I'm not talking about as a pancy ass face, either. I'm talking about the truest heel ever. Consider this. In the past WWE has used highly generic and comical stereo types. (Stereo types are, by the way, acceptable in prowrestling.) With R-Truth, on the other hand, they can make him into a legitimate street thug: Tupac type.

He has the slang, the background, and the look. He could be all flashy and braggadoshious and ruthless and surround himself with a pose, the likes of JTG, Zeke, and Zack Ryder (as a wannabee). Imagine that WWE belt on his shoulder as he blames society for his rough childhood, and how he has now clawed and scratched his way to the top--WWE Champion. Now, keep in mind, I'm not glorifying a thug life style. It would be up to the writers to downplay that aspect, like have JTG see the light or something.

Turn The Miz face and have him contest R-Truth at every turn. That's my idea of "youth movement". Right here I've written something more dramatic than WWE creative has since the Nexus arrival.

 

[futurechampion]

Otunga is not even close to being like Cena. In my opinion, the closest person to Cena is The Miz. He works his butt off just like Cena does. Otunga is a waste of roster space, plain and simple. He can't act, his reactions are horrible, his mic skills are attrocious, and he looks like a bad TV double of batista, just with zero talent. They could bring in some REAL talent if they didn't have Otunga. I'm pretty sure that he only got a job with the WWE because he's married to Jennifer Hudson. That's all. SO I say no, he's not the next cena, not even close. And I think he should be fired and leave the sports entertainment alone.

This is sort of on subject, but somewhat off subject. Anyway, I think it's time for a R-Truth push, and I'm not talking about as a pancy ass face, either. I'm talking about the truest heel ever. Consider this. In the past WWE has used highly generic and comical stereo types. (Stereo types are, by the way, acceptable in prowrestling.) With R-Truth, on the other hand, they can make him into a legitimate street thug: Tupac type.

He has the slang, the background, and the look. He could be all flashy and braggadoshious and ruthless and surround himself with a pose, the likes of JTG, Zeke, and Zack Ryder (as a wannabee). Imagine that WWE belt on his shoulder as he blames society for his rough childhood, and how he has now clawed and scratched his way to the top--WWE Champion. Now, keep in mind, I'm not glorifying a thug life style. It would be up to the writers to downplay that aspect, like have JTG see the light or something.

Turn The Miz face and have him contest R-Truth at every turn. That's my idea of "youth movement". Right here I've written something more dramatic than WWE creative has since the Nexus arrival.

Okay, R-truth sucks in general. I'm sorry to say. I think people must be extremely confuzed when they say The Miz is annoying. R-Truth is annoying. I mean really? "What's Up! What's Up!"
That is so stupid.
and turn the Miz, face? Why? he's mainly known as a heel and is amazing at it. And from the interviews I'm seen, read and heard, he loves being a heel. I don't think he'll be turning face anytime soon. Sorry. But who knows? maybe it will happen.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Is there another Otunga that the OP was referring to? No?
Otunga couldn't even pull off selling EATING and being a dick to an extra last night, and now someone thinks he will be the next Cena?
Cena, despite the differing opinions people have on him, is still a reason to watch Raw and buy PPVs, even if at present they bottled keeping him off TV for even a week after being 'fired' for apparent fear of merchandising sales going down or lack of faith in all the other wrestlers on the show that can't draw. The guy gets reaction because he has learned how to connect with the audience, whether they cheer or boo him... and Otunga is the next guy to fill that role!? Come on now.
He's proved already that just because he's married to an actress doesn't make him an actor, and posing/looking like a wrestler doesn't make him a wrestler. The only "it" factor he has, is the shit factor

 

[Pole Smoker]

I agree with futurechampion that The Miz is more likely the next John Cena.

David Otunga is truly terrible. He bores me to death on the mic and makes me cringe at how cheesy he is. His in ring work is terrible too and his character is boring and uninteresting. The only way he is like Cena is that people complain about him all the time(but Otunga deserves his hate to a much bigger extent than John Cena does)

 

[sTyLnK]

His mic skills are horrible. It's like he's reading off a script right in front of him and even then he manages to sound like dull. It's fine though he just doesn't have that charismatic oomph in his voice to make him really sound believable. Not everyone has it.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

What?

Wait, what?

Otunga has ZERO mic skills, he's looked at as some big dude standing next to Jennifer Hudson in the media, and he's bland as ALL hell in the ring. He's nowhere even close to being the "next Cena," and he never will.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

I have to say that I don't see Cena-level charisma out of Otunga. Not yet, and I don't know that we will ever see it. Yeah, okay, he can do the straight up soft spoken bit, but that's about it, and that's pretty standard heel stuff. He can speak and he can enunciate, but that's about all I can say about his mic skills. He can't build, he can't play the crowd. That's pretty much what made Cena worth investing time and effort in developing his ring skills (which, while still pretty basic, are much better than they used to be.)

Now, I could see Otunga becoming another Batista. His gimmick could easily go that way, particularly compared to what Batista was before he quit. If Otunga went face, he'd probably be the type of soft-spoken face who let his actions speak for themselves, rather like Batista was when he was face.

I suppose the real test as to whether Otunga can touch Cena's success level is one we won't see, i.e.: how hard a worker he's perceived to be by the management. If management thinks he's reliable enough, they'll invest the time and effort in developing his mic and ring skills the way they did with Cena. It was Cena's work ethic and his charisma that got him where he is, the rest was learned from the people he worked with (at least in my opinion.)

 

[tru_overdose]

im not sure about the face of the WWE, but i think he could be a piece of the puzzle in the long run. hes a pretty good talker and can only improve in the ring with time. hes not my favorite but he doesn't really annoy me overall either.

on a different note, did anyone else notice how otunga...im not sure how to say this....got blacker since last week?

its almost like he tanned or something, but that dude went from coffee with 2 creams to just straight black coffee. it made me laugh.