A new report has shed light on WWE’s long-term plans for Oba Femi following this week’s episode of Raw.
On Monday night, WWE officially announced that Femi will face Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam 2026, rather than immediately cashing in his King of the Ring title opportunity against World Champion Roman Reigns.
According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, the plan was always for Femi to win the 2026 King of the Ring tournament, but to postpone his guaranteed World Championship match in favor of a marquee program with Lesnar.
Meltzer reported that WWE’s long-term goal is to build toward a blockbuster match between Femi and Reigns, believing SummerSlam would have been too soon for that encounter. While he noted he “can’t say with certainty” that the match is being saved for WrestleMania 43, he indicated that WWE views the showdown as an even bigger attraction down the line.
Meltzer also offered his opinion that having Femi lose to Reigns at this stage would not have benefited the rising star. While some have compared the situation to Cody Rhodes eventually winning the Undisputed WWE Championship after falling short initially, Meltzer argued that Femi’s trajectory is different, likening him more to Bill Goldberg than Rhodes or Will Ospreay.
With Femi instead set to battle Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam, Meltzer noted that the rivalry has quickly become one of WWE’s hottest programs, citing strong YouTube numbers and enthusiastic crowd reactions.
He added that, in his view, the only logical outcome is a victory for Femi, believing there is little upside to Lesnar winning after already defeating the former NXT Champion to set up the rematch.
