Way before the state of the art WWE Performance Center ever came to fruition, there was another faculty that acted as the developmental hub for new and upcoming wrestlers ready to become globally recognized Superstars. Former lawyer turned pro wrestler David Otunga signed with WWE in 2008, where he was stationed to the developmental center to get his feet wet in the squared circle. Despite the privilege it was to be there, the warehouse where these new signees were assigned to go was far from the leading-edge training faculty we’re accustomed to seeing now.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” the former Nexus member said in his interview on “Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury.” “It is a warehouse and the heat and humidity in Tampa. Not only that, this place is painted black…and then with, like, yellow accents…It was such a weird place. And you go in there, and it’s hot. There’s three wrestling rings jammed, like, next to each other in this one room, just crammed in there. These guys, like, lying in the walls. And then you have Steve Keirn, Dr. Tom Prichard, and Dusty Rhodes just chilling in there. Like, what? Where am I?”

Otunga described receiving the best hands on training at the time in developmental, even working alongside future world champions in Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, and a future five-time Intercontinental Champion and current commentator, Wade Barrett. Otunga would go on to forge a successful path during his tenure (2009 – 2020) at the Stamford-based promotion, including becoming a former two-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Michael McGillicutty (Curtis Axel) and John Cena, who just retired from in-ring competition this past December after performing under the WWE banner for two decades. Otunga was the only original member who lasted the entire duration of both Nexus (2010-2011) and The New Nexus (2011). 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury,” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Dana White offered an update on negotiations for Conor McGregor to return to the UFC. 

McGregor had said ahead of the weekend that he was in negotiations either for the White House card or sometime in the summer. 

But when the card was announced on Saturday he was nowhere to be seen, with the event instead headlined by Ilia Topuria versus Justin Gaethje for the Undisputed Lightweight Championship, and co-headlined by Ciryl Gane versus Alex Pereira for the Interim Heavyweight title. 

Speaking after UFC 326, White offered no concrete update on McGregor when asked about the prospect of him facing new BMF Champion Charles Oliveira. 

“We are definitely talking about it, obviously,” White said. When asked if there was a timeline, he said, “We have no date for Conor right now, not even close.”

McGregor had aired his frustrations during Chael Sonnen’s “The Smash Cast” ahead of the weekend. 

“I’m not gonna be too picky, I have to get back,” he said, saying he had accepted multiple opponent proposals to that end. But no contract came, and he is just waiting. He said that he feels like fighters are being treated as cattle, and is just waiting to be wheeled out when they choose. 

He had also asked what the UFC thinks he is worth if they are offering $15 million to Conor Benn for Zuffa Boxing, and rationalized that he would likely be put on a lower-level event in order to push ticket sales and double the “economic impact.”