The up-and-coming Oba Femi accepts Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania challenge on RAW and makes a powerful statement. It is possibly the last Mania match of the “Beast Incarnate”.
Is this man the beginning of the end of a legend? One thing is certain: His first appearance on the biggest of all WWE stages could hardly be bigger.
On the current edition of the TV show Monday Night RAW, the wrestling market leader has fixed the next big match for the WrestleMania 42 mega show in Las Vegas: Up-and-coming heavyweight Oba Femi will challenge longtime division figurehead Brock Lesnar in what could be the final Mania match for the former UFC heavyweight champion, who once ended The Undertaker’s legendary winning streak there.
WWE: Oba Femi challenges Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania
The duel between the “Beast Incarnate” and the former shot putter from Nigeria had already been foreshadowed at the Royal Rumble in January: Femi, who had just debuted on the main roster, was powerfully staged there and could only be stopped by former champion Lesnar after eliminating five competitors, some of them well-known (including Bron Breakker and Rey Mysterio).
The clash fueled speculation that the 48-year-old Lesnar and the 21-year-old younger Femi were heading for a generational duel: Former NXT champion Femi, standing 1.98 meters tall and reportedly weighing 140 kilos, is similarly physically imposing to Lesnar and has already acquired a similar destroyer aura: The “Oba! Oba!” chants with which Femi is greeted by the fans are not coincidentally reminiscent of Lesnar’s old rival Bill Goldberg.
Until now, however, WWE had left it open whether the match would take place: Lesnar had issued an open challenge for Las Vegas a few weeks ago, which had remained unanswered – until now.
“The Ruler” puts an exclamation mark on RAW
On RAW, WWE tied the Femi and Lesnar storyline to another WrestleMania storyline, Seth Rollins’ vendetta against Lesnar’s longtime mouthpiece, managerial legend Paul Heyman.
Heyman tried to pull out his ultimate weapon in response on Monday, unleashing Lesnar on Rollins. Lesnar did indeed plow through Rollins’ armada of masked men in familiar fashion – but when he tried to turn his attention to Rollins, the tide turned.
With the fans cheering, Femi’s music played as he faced the “Conqueror” in the ring. And with a little help from Rollins, who briefly distracted his rival, Femi grabbed Lesnar and gave him his special move Fall from Grace – a variation of The Undertaker’s famous Last Ride.
Femi then posed over the downed Lesnar and pointed to the WrestleMania poster hanging in the arena. WWE later officially confirmed the match.
Lesnar’s last hurrah at WrestleMania?
With the role as Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent, Femi joins an illustrious circle that includes top stars and legends such as Roman Reigns, Kurt Angle and current WWE leader Triple H alongside the Undertaker, Goldberg and Rollins – and it may not stop there.
Rumor has it that Lesnar wants to end his WWE career this year, with the summer highlight SummerSlam in his adopted home of Minnesota being talked about as a farewell event.
If true, the duel with Femi would be Lesnar’s WrestleMania match – and a Femi victory a logical step to upgrade him in a similar way to how Lesnar was upgraded in 2014 with the victory over the Undertaker. The weekend of April 18 and 19 will show whether the bout will indeed be as historic as it’s shaping up to be.