Oba Femi’s Biggest Challenge Begins Now

The main event of SummerSlam Saturday was not the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes but the Hell in a Cell battle between Minnesota’s own Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi. Despite Lesnar being from the state, the crowd refused to boo the Ruler. As the night ended, Femi was victorious and given an emotional seal of approval by the Beast. In a short amount of time, Oba Femi has arguably become WWE’s biggest star. Now begins his greatest challenge, because he and the company will need to find a way to keep his popularity this high until he becomes a world champion. It’s a huge risk.

Brock Lesnar Called Oba Femi the Future of WWE After His SummerSlam Loss

• Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar main evented SummerSlam Saturday.
• The Ruler beat the Beast inside Hell in a Cell.
• Lesnar called himself the past and Femi the future.

Hell in a Cell wasn’t the main event of SummerSlam just because Brock Lesnar is from Minnesota and this could possibly be his last match. The match headlined because of Oba Femi. From his jaw-dropping entrances that get the crowd chanting and moving, to his immense size and aura in the ring, the Ruler is going to be WWE’s next big thing. Anyone can see this, including Lesnar himself.

After putting over Femi in the last match, Lesnar came back to the ring and hugged his rival. He also took the mic, something Brock doesn’t do often, in an ultimate passing of the torch moment. As he pointed first at himself, then Femi, Lesnar said:

“This is the past, this is the future.”

Oba Femi Is Destined To Be a World Champion in WWE

• Femi is a natural babyface who is very over with fans.
• It seemed like he’d challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam.
• Despite winning King of the Ring, WWE decided to wait on crowning him.

Oba Femi is going to be the face of WWE for years to come. Someone like him doesn’t come around often. He’s a superhero come to life, and there’s no need for the company to force him on the fans like they did with babyfaces such as John Cena and Roman Reigns. The audience absolutely adores him.

From the moment he answered Lesnar’s WrestleMania 42 challenge on Raw several months ago and thousands in attendance lost their minds, it was clear that his reign would begin sooner rather than later. At first, it seemed like it would begin at SummerSlam itself. After Femi and new World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns called each other out at the WrestleMania post-show, a clash at SummerSlam was inevitable. The parallels to SummerSlam 2002 were there, when the new Brock Lesnar took down WWE Champion The Rock. For whatever reason, despite making Oba the King of the Ring, WWE didn’t pull the trigger. This is likely because they want to wait all the way to WrestleMania 43 to crown him as the new face of WWE. It’s a very risky move to wait so long.

WWE Must Plan a Perfect Eight-Month Run to a Match With Roman Reigns

• Oba Femi’s crowning moment will happen at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh.
• WWE could make him a world champion sooner, but they won’t.
• Bad booking and less exciting feuds could hurt Femi if WWE isn’t careful.

Oba Femi is him. That much is very clear. What’s not as clear is how WWE gets from August 1, 2026 to April 2027, when it’s likely Femi will challenge Roman Reigns for the title at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh. WWE could always crown him earlier at a smaller show like Money in the Bank. His time to become champion really shouldn’t wait. He should have become the titleholder yesterday. WWE wanted to wait, and they’re not going to listen to the fans and make it Oba’s time earlier than the biggest show of the year. They have a plan and they’ll stick to it.

This could also be Femi’s downfall. For eight months, he must stay at the top without challenging Reigns or someone else for a world title, even though he should be the number one contender. That’s a very long time of figuring out what to do with the Ruler, a decision made even more worrisome because of WWE’s lackadaisical booking. If they take his popularity for granted and start phoning it like they do with Cody Rhodes, there’s a chance that the audience could get bored and move on.

Even if WWE invests in Femi, they must figure out who to put him up against in eight months worth of feuds. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are as big as it gets. Nearly everyone else pales in comparison. If Cody Rhodes stays away from the WWE Championship, he’d make a fascinating rival. So would someone like Randy Orton or Drew McIntyre. But then the question must be asked of whether Femi has to win all of those feuds. Keep him as unbeatable for eight months and he could become too predictable. WCW did a lot wrong, but they got it right with Goldberg at first. When it was clear that he was going to be the man, they built him up fast, having him take down Hulk Hogan on an episode of Nitro. You can argue that the moment should have happened at a pay-per-view, but what WCW didn’t do was wait more than half of a year, drawing it out just so it could happen at the biggest show. WWE is restraining themselves with WrestleMania’s popularity. At this point, Femi is bigger than a Saudi WrestleMania. If they are really going to wait that long, what happens over the next eight months is a make-or-break time for both TKO and Oba Femi’s career.