Oba Femi appeared on ‘What’s Your Story with Steph McMahon’ for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and WWE.
The following are some of the highlights.
On being inspired by Bray Wyatt: “I loved Bray. I really, I loved the original Wyatt family. I just felt so passionately about [them]. The NXT version and when they first got to the main roster. I remember there was one line that they hit. I actually used that line in a promo a few years ago. He said, ‘You can send anybody after us, but like, don’t send anyone that you want back.’ And I was like, ‘This is the greatest bar ever.’ What a bar, what a mic drop. So I loved Bray, I loved watching Bray.”
On being a fan of Triple H: “At this time, your husband. I’ve watched his stuff, I’ve studied him. It was the way he worked. Just the intensity, the precision. I liked the way he worked in the ring. He was like more of a complete superstar. Like, he was good at everything. Nothing was lacking. And I like that. You know, you have your promo guys and your body guys and your workrate guys and all that stuff. But he was complete. The total package, and I respected that.”
On his goal in WWE: “I want to sound real. I want to be real. I want to make people feel things. I want to give and then take it away. And I want them to go on that ride with me. That’s what I want to do in wrestling. I mean, championships and conquest is going to come. You know, The Ruler is The Ruler. But I think that’s my big takeaway. I think that’s like when I’m done, I want people to feel Oba Femi.”
On trying to be a perfectionist in wrestling: “You can, but I don’t think that’s going to work. You will be very frustrated. And I think I learned that lesson quickly. So here in NXT when I was in developmental, I’ll come up with these matches and come up with these elaborate finishes and stuff like that. And Shawn would always change it. Shawn Michaels would always change it. And I’m just like — and it used to like eat at me at first. But I’m like, he knows where we’re going after this. I don’t know where we’re going after this. So you kind of have to just lend yourself as a tool to make the art come to life and be okay with where it goes.”
On learning from Shawn Michaels: “And at the end of the day, I’m like, okay, whatever I have in mind, I have to put that to the side. It’s what Shawn wants, to give him what he wants. And I will give him what he wants. So I learned quickly, that’s part of being a student of the game. Like, sometimes I would ask him what he’s looking for and then go draft something. And then he still doesn’t like it — and that’s fine too. But at least that’s part of the learning process, seeing where his mind is at, what direction he’s trying to go on, and learning from him. Because I don’t know how to book wrestling. I’m not a booker, but it’s an important skill to learn. I feel like a lot of guys, they’re just like, ‘Make me champion.’ You know, ‘Do this for me, do that for me.’ But they don’t even understand the patterns and the way in which the booking works. The ‘why.’ So I just lent myself to Shawn and I let him take me where I needed to be.”.
Listen to the complete Oba Femi interview below.
