When David Otunga stormed the ring with the Nexus in one of the most chaotic and memorable WWE moments of the PG era, fans thought it was just an edgy storyline. But according to Otunga, the entire angle was real, and so were the stakes—because Vince McMahon flat-out told them theyâ€d be fired if it didnâ€t look violent enough.
During his appearance on TMZâ€s Inside The Ring, Otunga gave an unfiltered look at what really went down behind the scenes before the Nexus invasion of Monday Night RAW in June 2010. As Otunga recalled, all eight NXT rookies were summoned to the show the week after the NXT finale with no idea what was going on. Nobody talked to them all day. Then, moments before the live broadcast, they were called into Vince McMahonâ€s office. Otunga said Vince McMahon and Michael Hayes laid out the shocking directive:
“Look, this is whatâ€s going to happen. We want you to go down, storm the main event. We want you to wreak havoc and tear everything up. Beat up John Cena, beat up CM Punk, everybody. The announcer, the timekeeper, tear the ring up. Weâ€re going to give you box cutters and stuff. Tear the place apart. And if it doesnâ€t look vicious enough—youâ€re fired.â€
Otunga admitted that as a relatively new talent with barely a handful of matches under his belt, he was terrified—and things got real quickly. He was given the responsibility to throw the very first punch of the ambush, and it had to be on referee Chad Patton. It wasnâ€t just a worked punch either.
“I had to throw the first punch on Chad Patton, the referee, and it had to look good,†Otunga said. “Vince said, ‘Hey, if it doesnâ€t look good, youâ€re fired.†I was like, ‘Well, we gotta really start.†Chad Patton, sorry buddy, but youâ€re going to have to eat one.â€
The angle looked so real that even the live crowd believed it had spiraled out of control.
“After we beat up everybody at the announce table, a fan reached over the railing and started ringing the ring bell—to get help,†he revealed.
Even WWE talent backstage didnâ€t know it was a work. Some were apparently ready to jump the Nexus in the locker room after the segment because they thought it was a real shoot.
Otunga also addressed the controversial firing of Daniel Bryan, who was released by WWE shortly after the segment aired for choking announcer Justin Roberts with his tie—an image that reportedly violated PG-era guidelines.
“They told us to go hard or we were fired. They never told us what the line was. In fact, they told us, ‘Go too hard and weâ€ll pull you back,â€â€ Otunga explained. “Daniel Bryan got fired for choking Justin Roberts… and I didnâ€t necessarily agree with it. He was doing what they told him to do.â€
Looking back, Otunga said that the Nexus invasion was successful because it felt authentic—because it was. The group didnâ€t know if they were still employed and were literally fighting for their careers on live television. That sense of desperation, combined with Vinceâ€s cutthroat instruction, turned the segment into something unforgettable.
It wasnâ€t just a storyline. It was a career-defining moment where failure meant getting fired on the spot.
Do you think Vince McMahon went too far with his demands during the Nexus invasion? Should Daniel Bryan have been fired for simply following orders? Drop your thoughts in the comments—we want to hear from you.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
September 26, 2025 6:51 am
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