A former WWE star has addressed their relationship with John Cena during their shared time in the company, saying that Cena treated him much like his “little brother”.
After debuting in WWE as a part of the Nexus in June 2010, David Otunga worked a great deal with John Cena early in his career – with the group feuding with the 17-time world champion for that majority of that year.
While Cena primarily feuded with the group’s leader Wade Barrett, Otunga also worked with him on many occasions, both as opponents and even briefly as WWE Tag Team Champions – a reign that lasted only 24 hours.
Reflecting on his relationship with Cena and their brief tag team run whilst appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Otunga said Cena treated him “kind of like a little brother”:
“Teaming with him was cool, it was brief, it was 24 hours. John and I always had a good relationship, he treated me kind of like a little brother and he would show me tough love a lot.
“I see that in hindsight because he wanted me to do well. He would always try to rib me, or break my balls, just tease me, haze me a little bit, but he always wanted the best from me so I understand that.”
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After winning the WWE Tag Team Titles from Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre at Bragging Rights 2010, Otunga and Cena dropped the gold the following night to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.
During the same interview Otunga discussed WWE’s handling of Cena’s farewell tour in 2025 – click here for his full thoughts.
David Otunga says John Cena treated him "kind of like a little brother" in WWE, sometimes hazing and teasing him a "little bit", but he thinks Cena wanted the best from him:
"Teaming with him was cool, it was brief, it was 24 hours. John and I always had a good relationship, he… pic.twitter.com/GiK4JoDm00
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) November 19, 2025
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