Exclusive: Oba Femi Paves The Way For Future WWE NIL Prospects
Oba Femi is no stranger to success.
Capturing the NXT Championship at New Year's Evil this past Tuesday night was just the latest in a long line of athletic accolades for the native Nigerian.
When you grow accustomed to winning, it can be easy to let moments of accomplishments pass you by. Femi, wise beyond his years, won't have to live with that regret as he was able to recognize with the confetti falling around him that he should stop and soak in his surroundings.
After all, it's not every day you win your first World Championship.
βI'm trying to do better at catching myself in those moments,β Femi told The Takedown on SI. βI don't mean to toot my own horn, but even when I was a track and field star, I was a three-time SEC Champion, number three at Nationals, number three in the country... I've accomplished so much that winning the NXT Championship almost became just one of those moments.β
It wasn't just another moment, however. His victory over Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe was a monumental one, not just for himself, but for WWE as a company. When the referee's hand hit the mat for the third time at New Year's Evil, Oba Femi became the first competitor from WWE's NIL program to capture the NXT Championship.
It was back in December of 2021 that WWE announced it's inaugural 'Next In Line' class. The group featured 15 students with various backgrounds. Among them, was Isaac Odugbesan from the University of Alabama.
With his natural size, strength and athleticism, Femi strongly believes that if he was born in the United States, he would have been playing on the defensive line for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide football team. There were even some overtures made to get him to switch sports during his college days, but the track and field star ultimately decided to stay in his comfort zone.
βIt's hard to recruit someone to play something that they've never played before and that was definitely the biggest obstacle in the whole playing football thing. So I just ended up sticking with shot put. I was good at it.β
WWE was able to clear that same obstacle when the company launched it's NIL program, made possible by the historic name, image and likeness policy that was enacted by the NCAA in the summer on 2021. That policy opened the door for WWE to recruit college athletes from across the country.
A little over three years after Odugbesan signed his developmental agreement, the man now known as Oba Femi, won the top prize in NXT.
Unlike football, Femi was very familiar with the world of professional wrestling. He had been a WWE fan for many years before moving to the United States and he believes it was that knowledge of the product that gave him a leg up on other recruits that walked into the WWE Performance Center.
"It helps to know about the magic. It was like, now I'm here, so let's find out how the trick is done. You know? I feel like I was already ahead of the curve knowing what the deal is and how everything works. The face and the heel, and we want to entertain the crowd and we need reactions and facials, all that stuff. I knew that. I was like, okay, now I'm here. How do I do it?"
Oba began his journey to find the secret behind the magic when he reported to the PC in July of 2022. He began appearing on television a few months later and it wasn't long at all before he took the NXT Universe by storm.
It was clear that Femi had earned the trust of Shawn Michaels and company very quickly, as the NXT creative team kept putting more and more on his plate. A test no doubt to see if how much the now 26-year-old could handle.
'They've thrown me so many opportunities and I'm proud to say that I've delivered on every single one of them. That's how you become that person. It's consistency over time."
Practice makes perfect. Hard work is a necessity. Consistency and reliability are the biggest keys to Oba Femi's meteoric rise. That and not trying to do too much too soon, which is the best advice he can give any recruit that attempts to follow in his footsteps.
"Show your strengths. A lot of people try to balance it all on day one. No, show them what you can do. Work on what you can't, and then when you can do what you can't, then show that too. That's my big thing. Consistently delivering. Nobody cares [about] the reason you didn't deliver... Do what you know. That's my advice for anyone who's NIL."
With the NXT Championship now draped over his shoulder, Oba Femi has goals of carrying more than just a title belt. He's ready to carry the entire brand and make Shawn Michaels' vision for the future of NXT a reality.
He's also taking great pride in being the unofficial flag bearer for the WWE NIL program. The inspiration for next crop of college athletes who have dreams of making it as a WWE Superstar.
βI'm just happy that I get to be the example. I get to be the mold, the prototype, the one who made it. When people look at my story, they can [see] this is a viable option.β
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