Former WWE star David Otunga has remembered how he and the rest of Nexus would have been fired if they hadn’t been a success on their main roster debut. 

One of the most impactful debuts of a group on WWE television happened in 2010 when The Nexus, a group featuring members of the first season of NXT, attacked John Cena, CM Punk, and other WWE stars. Otunga, in a recent conversation with MuscleManMalcolm, stated that the group would’ve been fired if Vince McMahon wasn’t impressed by them. 

“We had no idea how impactful this was going to be. In fact, we were pretty sure we were getting fired that day,” revealed Otunga. “And even then, when we did it, they told us if this doesn’t go like we wanted, if this doesn’t look like Vince wants it, you all are fired. So we were nervous even after we came in the back. Like, we were nervous, like, ‘Hey, was that good enough?’ But we came back to a standing ovation. So figured we’d at least have another week, another week’s run of this.”

Otunga said that the reality aspect of the NXT contest meant that they would get fired or sent back to the developmental system if they didn’t earn a WWE contract.

“Honestly, because we were in NXT and guys were getting voted off and the whole premise of the show was whoever wins that gets a WWE contract and then that’s it. For the rest of the guys, you’re either back to developmental or fired because then you’ve now had your shot to make the main roster and you didn’t. So we were all pretty nervous.”

He recalled that none of the Nexus members knew why they were called when they were brought to the show, and were then briefed by Vince McMahon and Michael Hayes on what they would actually be doing. McMahon informed the group that when they attack Cena and co., they should look like “wild animals” and a “pack of dogs.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit MuscleManMalcolm and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.