Why Oba Femi Must Slay the Beast at WrestleMania 42

This is a word that's been uttered so many times over the last few years that it's starting to lose its meaning, but at the risk of garnering a few eye rolls, I'll use it — Oba Femi is busting the door down to a new era in WWE.

The two-time NXT Champion is riding a tidal wave of momentum heading into WrestleMania 42 next month in Las Vegas, where he'll be facing off against Brock Lesnar.

Very rarely does a talent come up to the main roster and instantly garner the type of crowd support that Femi has these past few months, but as we all saw Monday night in Boston, the WWE Universe is ready for The Ruler to take his throne.

OBA FEMI JUST DROPPED BROCK LESNAR AGAIN!!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/kCFezroRMr
— WWE (@WWE) March 24, 2026

The Takedown on SI briefly caught up with Femi during the red carpet portion of WWE 2K26 Creator Fest, and he said that his seemingly sudden success did not happen overnight.

"It's just dividends being paid," Femi said. "I put in a lot of work in NXT and these are the results we're seeing right now. The body of work speaks for itself. To be so over at such an early stage, it's a testament to the developmental system itself. A lot of people say it doesn't work, but then I show you Trick Williams and I show you Je'Von Evans and I show you Oba Femi. I show you Ethan Page. It does work. It's a great system, so it's here to stay."

It's easy to see why so many fans have taken a shine to Oba Femi. He's the complete package with a perfect combination of size, strength, athleticism, charisma, aura and believability, and he's arrived on the scene at a time when the audience is ready to witness the next generation ascend up the card.

Femi tops a recent NXT graduating class that includes the aforementioned Je'Von Evans and Trick Williams, both of whom should have a spotlight at this year's WrestleMania as well, and it's not going to be long before all three men — along with a healthy Bron Breakker and current Men's United States Champion Carmelo Hayes — become the next household names in WWE.

"I think in the next two to three years we're going to be seeing a lot of the 40-year-olds find their way out the door," Femi told The Takedown on SI. "They already have one foot out the door right now. So in the next two to three years, we're going to be seeing a lot of young champions, vibrant products. I promise you that."

There has not been a Men's World Champion in WWE under the age of 30 since the late Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship in 2017. He was 29-years-old at the time. Oba Femi is on the fast track to ending that streak, and WrestleMania 42 is the perfect platform to catapult him to the main event title scene.

The only correct option is to have Oba Femi defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 42

I'm not going to over exaggerate and say that a loss to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania would derail Oba Femi's career before it really began, but it would be a massive misstep by Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque to go that route.

At a time when the WWE Hall of Famer's booking is under constant scrutiny, it's incredibly important that he make his layups. Having Femi slay The Beast on the 'Grandest Stage of Them All' is not only a layup, it's a slam dunk — if you'll allow me one more basketball reference during the month of March.

Brock Lesnar is reportedly nearing retirement. His final match is expected to take place at this year's SummerSlam in his hometown of Minneapolis, creating the opportunity for two huge passing of the torch moments. Femi the first, and then presumably the company's new career killer, Gunther, in August.

Having Lesnar absolutely destroy John Cena toward the tail end of his retirement tour only makes sense if you pay that dominant performance forward. Much to his credit, Brock has had absolutely no problems putting Oba over in a major way the past couple of weeks, including instructing the big man to stand on his chest after enduring a thunderous Fall from Grace.

Brock is a businessman at the end of the day, and helping build up and put over Oba Femi on his way out the door is just good business. Hopefully, everyone involved in this match at WrestleMania is on the same page and in favor of the correct outcome.

A win for Lesnar in Las Vegas would do absolutely nothing for his legacy as a combat sports athlete, and neither would a loss. He would still be the man who ended The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak and dominated the Greatest of All-Time.

A win for Femi would solidify him as the next big thing, and it's the only correct booking decision.