The 2010 Winter Olympics soldiered on Tuesday night (February 23), with figure skating, hockey and giant slalom skiing grabbing most of the headlines. But there was another athletic competition that made its debut that likely drew a slightly different audience. Wrestling fans tuned into SyFy to see the premiere of "WWE NXT," the new show that pairs up current superstars (like Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho and former MTV reality star Mike "The Miz" Mizanin) with up-and-coming talent looking to break into the top level in the world of professional wrestling.
One of those up-and-comers is David Otunga, who some will recognize as "Punk" from the VH1 reality series "I Love New York 2" but who more will remember as former "American Idol" contestant and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's fiancé. Otunga has been training to be a professional grappler and has been wrestling in the WWE's developmental league Florida Championship Wrestling since singing a development deal with them in 2008.
On the debut episode of "WWE NXT" (which replaces "ECW" in the WWE television lineup), Otunga introduced the world to his personality, which is half Hollywood and half Harvard (he holds an actual degree from Harvard Law School). In fact, his combination of star power, brains and brawn has lead to him proclaiming himself as "the Kanye West of the WWE." They showed photos of him with Hudson as well as shots of him with Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson.
His entrance was particularly electric, mostly because he had WWE star R-Truth (who raps as part of his gimmick) as his hype man. He then came out and dominated fellow cast member Darren Young with an elbow, a kick, a clothesline and a one-handed spinebuster that he calls "The Verdict." (You can check out his entire performance at WWE's official site.)
WWE is clearly banking on Otunga being one of the huge breakout stars of the show (along with indie veteran Bryan Danielson, who is wrestling on "WWE NXT" under the name Daniel Bryan, for some reason). He does have the total package: An impressive physique, athletic skills and unending fountains of charisma.
Did you catch David Otunga on "WWE NXT" on Tuesday night? What did you think of his performance? Leave your thoughts in the comments!