In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, former WWE wrestler David Otunga had a lot to say about John Cena and his real-life dealings with the 17-time WWE Champion.
According to Otunga, Cena was part of an infamous locker-room hazing culture that persisted in the WWE until fairly recently.
Otunga described several incidents in which Cena publicly humiliated him in front of other talent. For example, even before he met him face-to-face, Cena kicked Otunga out of the WWE locker room in 2009, for leaving his bag where he wasn't supposed to.
"Why is the top guy — 'the face who runs the place' — the guy whose face is on the buses, why is he in the locker room and concerned about the other guys' bags?" asked Otunga. "Why? Is he the concierge for people's luggage? I mean, John Cena didn't even change in the locker room. He has a bus that he changes on."
At the time, Otunga was a developmental wrestler who was being fast-tracked for WWE television. His fiancé was Grammy and Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson, whom WWE courted for an on-screen role. And when Cena met Hudson and Otunga later that same day, he was cordial to both, making no mention of the earlier incident, according to Otunga.
Otunga praised Cena's in-ring work, noting that Cena usually made it easy for whoever he worked with. Cena's and Otunga's biggest real-life drama, however, concerned a botched rope spot during a Paris house show in 2010. This led to Cena cursing and hitting Otunga in the ring for real. Later backstage, Cena gave Otunga a furious dressing-down in front of the entire roster, telling him that he would call then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and have him sent back to developmental."
Cena only got physical with me in the ring, 'cause when we came backstage, it was just verbal and emotional abuse in front of everybody," said Otunga. "But he knew better than to put his hands on me… if John Cena put his hands on me backstage, I would have beat the dog sh*t outta John Cena. And fast."
Despite later winning the tag team titles with Cena, the hazing continued. Otunga described a failed practical joke in which Cena tried to make Otunga believe that their title belts were missing. Otunga speculated that the negative fallout from that failed joke caused them to lose the titles the following night. Cena also questioned Otunga's passion for wrestling, berating him for not properly advocating for himself backstage."
He's telling me that I'm nothing and I'm weak because I went through with the segment [where I dropped the titles]," said Otunga. "And he's like, 'I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have laid down, but you did.'"
Otunga's stories stand in direct contrast to Cena's forward-facing, public image. Otunga would leave the company in 2019 after working a variety of non-wrestling roles, including commentator and legal advisor; Otunga graduated from Harvard Law School and passed the bar exam in 2006.
John Cena is still signed to WWE, although he is currently wrapping up a farewell retirement tour. His final wrestling match will take place on the December 13 episode of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, streaming on Peacock.
To watch the full video of Otunga discussing Cena, you can follow the link here.