Oba is away for now.
NXT Star Oba Femi
Back in October, Oba Femi lost the NXT North American Championship to Tony D’Angelo and hasn’t really been seen since. Oba seemed like a surefire star for WWE, so, his absence has had a lot of people questioning what he’s up to. Is he injured? Is a main roster call-up coming? Or, is he leaving altogether?
Thankfully, Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has provided a lengthy update on the status of the Nigerian monster. For the record, he’s not injured and we may see him soon. You can read the update below.
Oba Femi has not been backstage at recent NXT tapings but there is no need to worry.
In our November 26th NXT Scoops Thread, Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan reported that Femi has not been present at NXT shows since the Halloween Havoc Premium Live Event, where he lost to Tony D’Angelo. Following the loss, rumors circulated that Oba had said his goodbyes after the show, which we previously debunked.
Following our report on November 26th, many questioned if this meant that Oba was on the way out of the company or was on the way to the main roster. When we enquired further, we were told that Femi has been enjoying time off in his home country of Nigeria. We have also not heard of Femi dealing with any sort of injury or visa issue that would prevent him from wrestling. When we asked for a timetable on his return to TV, we were told it would be ‘sooner rather than later’, but were not told of a specific timetable.
When we asked about Oba’s contract status, we were met with uncertainty, but one NXT source expressed that they would be ‘shocked’ if WWE had not extended the deal Femi signed in 2021. Femi has long impressed officials in NXT, including producers, Shawn Michaels and more.
Triple H is also said to be a very big fan of Femi, but we have not heard of any indications of a main roster call-up at this time. We will continue to ask about Femi in the leadup to NXT Deadline.
NXT Deadline is tonight on Peacock at 7PM ET, headlined by Trick Williams vs. Ridge Holland for the WWE NXT Championship.
H/T Fightful Select
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