As WrestleMania season chugs along, a favorite pastime for many WWE fans is to do a little fantasy booking for matches we want to see on the show. The top of the card has started to take shape with Roman Reigns and CM Punk headlining, presumably closing out Night 2 with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Liv Morgan will get a title match, and the winners of the two Elimination Chamber matches next weekend will get premier spots on the card as well.
One of the potential matches in the undercard
that is talked about in wrestling circles like the one we have here at Cageside is the Oba Femi/Brock Lesnar match that was teased with their confrontation at the Royal Rumble just a few weeks ago. While The Beast potentially putting The Ruler over sounds like a perfectly fine idea, I think the WWE should take an even bigger swing with their 27 year old Nigerian star.
Oba Femi Should Win the WWE Title at WrestleMƒania
The WWE has the potential to do something truly unprecedented if they make the call to strap one of their company’s top championships onto a man who was ended his time in NXT less than two months ago. Never before has anyone made that jump from NXT and found his or herself in the main event picture so quickly, but I would argue that very few NXT call ups have ever had the ceiling that Oba has. For years now, many of the talents that get the call-up from Orlando, especially the male ones, seem to falter when they hit the main roster. For every call-up given a chance to shine like Bron Breakker or Stephanie Vaquer, there is a Carmelo Hayes or a Giulia that gets lost in the shuffle when they start on the red and blue brands.
The WWE has a chance to hit three home runs with their recent promotions of Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans and Oba. Trick’s proven in just a few short months that he can hang with polished veterans like Randy Orton and Sami Zayn, both in the ring and on the mic. Je’Von Evans has had several big moments already, and him winning his Elimination Chamber qualifier is proof that the company has big plans for the Young OG.
As successful as those two have been already, Oba still seems like the biggest star out of the three. His athleticism is unbelievable for a man his size, his skills on the mic are above average and quite frankly underrated, and the aura that he exudes is undeniable.
In today’s WWE landscape, he also has one more very important barometer for success working in his favor: Main roster audiences chant during his entrance music.
While it’s not a recent phenomenon for a catchy theme song to help a rising star turn into a fan favorite, the importance of a theme song as part of a wrestler’s gimmick has never seemed to be greater than the last few years. Fans across the world still Yeet when Jey Uso walks down the aisle, they still sing every single line of Randy Orton’s and Cody Rhodes’ theme songs, and they still go nuts when LA Knight’s song blares on the speakers. While not the only measure of whether a talent is marketable to the masses, the wrestlers who evoke strong reactions by appealing to the audience’s ears before even walking through the curtain also seem to be successful in other categories, like merch sales, as well.
Fortunately for Oba, the criticisms of a wrestler being over because of a theme song haven’t landed on him like they have for Jey and Knight. Is it possible that Oba will have some physical limitations as his career progresses? Absolutely. But for those who have watched any of Oba’s run on NXT, the people putting his matches together have seemed to do a pretty good job of finding ways to accentuate Oba’s strengths and minimize the obviousness of any flaws or blind spots he may have.
But how do we get there?
Patience is a virtue that sometimes is difficult to abide by in wrestling. When something good comes along, bookers in all companies have the unenviable task of not getting out over their skis. As a wrestling fan who appreciates logical storytelling, the reason I’m even writing this right now is because I think there is a logical, reasonable way for us to see Oba standing tall with the WWE Championship in tow as Night 1 of WrestleMania comes to a close.
On December 13th of last year, the WWE celebrated the career of John Cena with an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Whether it was actually Cena’s idea or not, the kayfabe reason the rest of the card was built was to highlight the next generation of stars coming up through the WWE system. Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater got the rub from taking on AJ Styles and Dragon Lee, who were World Tag Team champs at the time. Sol Ruca got an even bigger rub by defeating multi-time former champion, Bayley.
But in that night’s opening bout, NXT Champion Oba Femi squared off with the Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes. The match ended in a no-contest after just over 9 minutes, but it was clear in that short time that Oba belonged on the main stage. Cody has no problem making his opponents look good, but Oba took care of a lot of that on his own with his performance. The showdown, albeit a short one, seemed to be one that the WWE could go back to somewhere down the line.
Of course, the way the match ended is important to note too. On the previous episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event in November, Cody Rhodes successfully retained the WWE Title against Drew McIntyre. In the weeks that followed, Drew went on a warpath, physically assaulting Cody on numerous occasions. It was Drew’s desire to exact his revenge on Cody that drove him to interfere in what was becoming an instant classic between Cody and Oba. Booking wise, this was a safe way to go. Cody didn’t have to lose and look like a weak champion, and Oba didn’t lose cleanly, preserving the palpable aura that he had been building for the previous two years in NXT.
Fast forward to present day.
Now, Drew is the WWE Champion, Cody is chasing him, and Oba is just getting his feet wet on the main roster. The WWE Championship match will likely be decided next weekend in Chicago, and I personally would love to see Oba standing tall when the Chamber raises to the rafters. The likelihood that this is in the WWE’s plans is slim, as both of the remaining Chamber qualifiers have already been announced, and Oba’s not scheduled to be in either one. But could they get creative and run an attack or injury angle for one of those competitors to set up their own Mania program and open up a spot for Oba to be named as a replacement? Or maybe Pearce or Aldis can spice up their contract offer for Oba by promising him a spot in the Chamber, making it a 7-man match like they did in 2018.
A blowoff match for Cody and Drew has been rumored for WrestleMania. Other reports have suggested that Jacob Fatu could be involved, making it a triple threat.
But if it’s me?
I’m finding a way to get Oba involved. Is that a one-on-one between Drew and Oba after their brief confrontation back in December? I’m in! Is it a Triple Threat with Drew and Cody? Sign me up! And don’t threaten me with a good time by suggesting a Fatal 4 Way involving Jacob Fatu! Oba’s stock would rise by just being in a WWE Title match at the Grandaddy of Them All, and if that happened, Oba Feminists worldwide would probably be satisfied. His trajectory would be set for superstardom.
But if the WWE wanted to take a calculated risk and shoot for the stars by having Oba win the big one this April, they would undoubtedly cement him as the generational talent that can carry the company for the next decade.
