Another Nigerian has shot into the spotlight at USA’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), as Isaac Odugbesan (aka Oba Femi) pulled off a huge shock by flooring the more popular Brock Lesnar on Monday.
Sports247 reports that ‘Oba Femi’ was the name on all lips during the night’s latest episode of ‘WWE Raw’ inside Boston’s TD Garden, with a huge line of positive permutations emerging in his favour in the build-up to WrestleMania 42.
Femi looked every bit like the next monster in line, shrugging off an early F-5 attempt and launching Lesnar over the top rope in a moment that felt symbolic as much as it did physical.
It was not an official bout, but Femi used it to announce himself into the WWE’s main spotlight and boldly called out Lesnar to confront him in a sanctioned fight at WrestleMania 42, which the mouthy champion gleefully accepted.
Sports247 gathered that Femi was born in Lagos on April 22nd, 1998 to Niyi and Maria Odugbesan, following which he became a fan of wrestling at the age of six, with Triple H and The Undertaker being his favourite wrestlers.
He first competed in track and field during his high school days as well as at University of Lagos, where he studied studio art and won ten shot put medals in the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) during his freshman season in 2016.
The former athlete relocated to United States in 2017, to attend Middle Tennessee State University on a track and field scholarship, following which he emerged as Conference Male Freshmen of the Year and outdoor first-team All-USA selection.
Odugbesan transferred to University of Alabama in 2019, then won SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships shot put title in 2021 and 2022, after which he graduated in May 2022 with a degree in visual arts.
Although Odugbesan initially joined the WWE as part of its new Next In Line program to develop college athletes into potential professional wrestlers, he went in fully after his graduation, as he began training at the outfit’s performance center.
He officially signed with the WWE December 8, 2021, won the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge, with NXT Championship title twice as well as NXT North American Championship once.
Following a number of defeats while growing through the ranks, Femi made his first huge mark at Royal Rumble on January 31st this year, as he entered the namesake match, eliminating five wrestlers before got sent packing by Lesnar.
On the March 9th episode of Raw, Femi defeated Rusev in three minutes and a week later, on the March 16th episode of Raw, Femi attacked Lesnar by hitting him with a Fall From Grace and accepted his open challenge for WrestleMania 42.
Quick Facts –
*Lesnar’s Challenge: The Beast issued an open WrestleMania title challenge on March 16
*Femi’s Answer: Rising star Oba Femi answered by hitting an earth-shaking Fall from Grace on March 23
*WrestleMania 42 Match: Lesnar vs Femi officially confirmed for Vegas championship bout on April 18/19, 2026.
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