Oba Femi’s main roster introduction was a success. Femi, the NXT Champion at the time, went one-on-one with Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event earlier this month on John Cena’s last show. This was a very fun match, which saw Femi get a lot of his strong offense in, and a great showing for Femi to showcase that he can hang in the ring with anyone on the roster.
Just as things were heating up in the match, however, Drew McIntyre ran in. Unfortunately, fans knew what was coming next: a no-contest finish. However, in this scenario, I didn’t hate it. I’d rather see this than Femi lose to Cody clean. If WWE creative were smart, a feud with McIntyre would be the perfect way to introduce Femi to the main roster fans.
Oba Femi vs. Drew McIntyre is the perfect way to introduce Femi to the main roster.
The story to build to Femi taking a spot on SmackDown is right there for the taking. Sadly, SmackDown has been a purgatory as of late, as creative has been at an all-time low for the brand. However, it’s a very simple matter. Finish off the McIntyre versus Rhodes feud, which has gone on way too long, and put McIntyre into a position to help build Femi into a top threat on the show.
Rhodes and Femi left McIntyre lying after he tried to run in and caused a mess at “Saturday Night’s Main Event.” In a perfect world, McIntyre would take some offense to that and show up on NXT and get Femi back, potentially costing him the NXT Championship in the process. After all, there’s nobody in NXT who should be seen as a threat to Femi since he’s smashed so many of the top names on the show. There’s no reason to see them take the title off Femi.
However, what if McIntyre shows up to hit a big Claymore kick on Femi, setting up a finish in the process? Now, the title is off Femi, and he can come to SmackDown with one thing on his mind: getting payback. After McIntyre loses to Rhodes once again, sadly, he doesn’t get a moment of rest. Now, he has to deal with “The Ruler” breathing down his neck. Once again, in a perfect world, this would be the ideal start for Femi on the main roster.
Femi has to be looked at as a big deal upon his main roster debut. He’s not like other NXT call-ups. This guy has the look, charisma, and talent to be WWE’s next megastar. All throughout the week heading into “Saturday Night’s Main Event,” fans wanted to see Femi get a clean win over Cody; sadly, that wasn’t going to happen. If any champion could eat a loss and not be damaged by the call, it’s Rhodes. WWE had the opportunity to make a new star and failed again.
There’s a real apprehension and worry that Triple H will not book Femi correctly on the main roster, and Femi’s match with Rhodes didn’t exactly settle those fears. A scary lookback is how WWE booked Keith Lee, albeit with different ownership at the time. However, he came from NXT with all the momentum being a double champion, booked to pick up a big win over Randy Orton, and then everything just stopped.
WWE can’t let this happen with Femi. It’s almost like he, along with Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans, is the last hope to build any trust that this company will book black male talent to look, and be, strong. A lot is truly riding on Femi’s impending main roster debut, more than people realize.
Will WWE capitalize on the excitement there is around Oba Femi? Who knows. However, putting him against Drew McIntyre, a well-respected, fantastic worker, in a strong HOSS-type of feud to start 2026 would be a massive step in the right direction. But, sadly, if history is any indication, there’s a lot to be worried about.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next time
– Scott Mitchell
You can follow me on X (Twitter) and Instagram @Scott44Mitchell
