It was the power bomb heard around the world during last week’s WWE Monday Night Raw. Oba Femi answering Brock Lesnar’s open WrestleMania challenge was a highlight on this year’s Road to WrestleMania.
Femi interrupted what was being teased as a potential match being made between Lesnar and Seth Rollins. The Nigerian superstar certainly was the fans’ choice to answer Lesnar’s open challenge—and the powers that be at WWE concurred. So, why was this power bomb received so positively by the fans, you ask? It’s because there is clear investment from Lesnar to not only make this match mean something, but to help build a strong foundation for Femi to build his career on.
Let’s face it: Everyone doesn’t get the figurative co-sign from Lesnar, so it speaks volumes to the company’s belief in Femi’s abilities.
Brock Lesnar is no fool
Let’s not forget that Lesnar, when invested, is the quintessential pro-wrestler. I think so much has gotten lost during this second run of his career, as he has become more of an attraction. We tend to forget at times that Lesnar really does have a mind for the business. And he knows what a money-making rivalry can look like. But as he becomes longer in the tooth, there’ll be fewer opportunities to showcase that sort of acumen. So, what we saw last Monday night was just a preview of how invested Lesnar is in this match with Femi at Wrestlemania. His reactions to his entrance and eventual offense are indicative of his respect for the newcomer.
The perfect situation for Oba Femi
For Femi, I don’t think you could’ve asked for a better star-making scenario. To be this powerhouse of an athlete being matched up with a legendary combat athlete in Lesnar, it’s the perfect storm. If Femi is able to conquer the beast at WrestleMania, it automatically makes fans take him more seriously than they already do. It’ll set him on a path to world title success, probably within the next year. With his no-nonsense offense and very viral strut entrance, he has all of the makings of a believable badass. Of course, if he keeps some of his more personal ideologies to himself, that’ll help the audience embrace him more, too.
WWE’s twilight era
As this is rumored to possibly be Lesnar’s last WrestleMania, it’s very possible that he simply wants to put on a star-making performance. He may want to shed the idea that he isn’t willing to get younger talent to the next level. So, in this showdown, I expect him to be very generous. What we may very well witness in April is a passing of the torch. It’ll literally be from one beast to the next. And it’s really cool to see that vote of confidence given to Femi.
By the time WrestleMania 42 rolls around, we’ll be ready for these two to face off and have the physicality truly mean something. As it seems the WWE is in a transitional period, seeing the likes of John Cena and AJ Styles retire. They’re looking to the new crop of stars to begin taking on the mantle.
As Lesnar may not be long for the wrestling world, we’ll now see the likes of Femi, Trick Williams and Lash Legend begin to be mainstays on WWE marquees. It’s only right in an industry where change is not only inevitable, but ever-present that we begin to see the makings of something new once again. One may even call it… a new era? I’ll let you be the judge.