Chris King: Will Oba Femi Be A Made Man At WWE WrestleMania 42?

WrestleMania 42 represents the opportunity for WWE to launch Oba Femi into the stratosphere against Brock Lesnar

Oba Femi will take on Brock Lesnar in his first match at WrestleMania, and this match feels so important. ‘The Ruler’ has had Lesnar’s number for several weeks, and they even had to keep both monsters apart to prevent another massive brawl on the go-home episode of Monday Night Raw. 

‘The Beast Incarnate’ is hoping to continue his reign of terror against the young up-and-comer, while Femi is looking to cement his legacy with the biggest win of his career. It took me a minute, but the last time there was so much importance in a Lesnar match was at WrestleMania 36. 

At that time, Drew McIntyre was trying to make the biggest impact on his career by slaying The Beast. 

Long before Covid happened, the entire WWE Universe was fully behind McIntyre after eliminating  Lesnar and then winning the Royal Rumble. Lesnar worked his ass off to make sure his challenger looked like a million bucks. 

There was an instance where McIntyre hit a Claymore Kick, and there were rumors that Lesnar told his challenger to raise the title to build more momentum going into their match. While the WWE Championship match was held inside of the Performance Center due to COVID, Lesnar utilized everything he could to make McIntyre’s moment that much more special. 

Since then, Lesnar has dominated a plethora of opponents including John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and even Roman Reigns. The Beast recently joined The Vision inside their WarGames match. On the February 23rd episode of Monday Night Raw, Paul Heyman and his client Lesnar laid out an open challenge to any superstar for a match at WrestleMania Night Two. 

On the March 16th episode of Raw, Femi answered The Beast’s WrestleMania challenge by hitting his Fall From Grace Powerbomb. Lesnar was rumored to have told his challenger to stand on his throat and point at the WrestleMania sign. This not only solidified Femi as the ‘Next Big Thing’, but it also helped make the moment more impactful. Lesnar has not dominated Femi one time in their encounters, which is very different from all of Lesnar’s previous opponents. Typically, it’s either very one-sided with The Beast dominating his opponent, or they both trade victories. 

Nobody has looked this strong since Lesnar in 2002. The Beast would come in and destroy all of his opponents. Lesnar was a freak of nature, as he quickly moved up into the main event title scene. He won King of the Ring and defeated The Rock at the 2002 SummerSlam PLE to become the youngest WWE Champion in WWE history. For twenty-five years, Lesnar has been portrayed as this immovable object. That was until The Ruler answered his challenge and dropped Lesnar like he was nothing. 

On Night Two, if Femi really does beat Lesnar, he will take his place on the throne. This could truly be a passing of the torch moment, as perhaps Lesnar’s days in the WWE are numbered. There’s a lot of speculation that he may have his retirement match at this year’s SummerSlam PLE. Femi could use this opportunity as a huge stepping stone to the main event title scene, where ‘The Ruler’ truly belongs.