Oba Femi is set to open Night 2 of WrestleMania 42 in a featured spot on ’s free portion of the event, the latest sign that WWE is willing to put its hardest-hitting developmental standout on one of its biggest stages.
Femi has torn through WWE’s developmental brand with the kind of force that makes the description fit: big, bad, boisterous and built to beat the opposition down. For a wrestler once known more for his college résumé than his ring résumé, the placement is a clear marker of how quickly he has moved from prospect to attraction.
His path to this moment did not begin in a wrestling school. Before coming to the United States, Femi was already a decorated track and field athlete at the University of Lagos. He started his American college education at Middle Tennessee State in 2017, later attended the University of Alabama and won the shot put at the 2021 SEC Indoor Championships and again in 2022. He also earned a bachelor's degree in visual arts, a background that adds another layer to a career built on discipline as much as power.
That grounding is part of what Femi says has carried him through the pressure that comes with visibility and success. Asked about the immigrant career trinity, he answered, “Engineer!” and then returned to the larger point: how a person reacts to fame and fortune depends on how they were brought up. He said a good upbringing kept him rooted in who he is, and that rain, sunshine, winning or losing should not change that. It is a lesson, he said, he plans to pass on to his own children: stay the same, know who you are, stay grounded and stay humble.
That tension is what makes his rise matter now. WWE is not simply rewarding size or momentum; it is choosing to showcase a performer whose confidence in the ring is matched by an unusually steady sense of self outside it. If WrestleMania 42 is where stars are supposed to announce themselves, Femi is arriving with the rare combination of polish, power and perspective that makes the booking look less like a gamble than a statement.