Oba Femi

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Oba Femi
Birth nameIsaac Odugbesan
Born (1998-04-22) April 22, 1998 (age 26) [1]
Lagos, Nigeria [1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Isaac Odugbesan
Oba Femi [2]
Billed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) [2]
Billed weight310 lb (140 kg) [2]
Billed fromLagos, Nigeria
Trained by WWE Performance Center [1]
DebutNovember 15, 2022 [1]

Isaac Odugbesan (born April 22, 1998) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Oba Femi and is the current NXT Champion in his first reign. He is also a former one-time and the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion and the winner of the 2024 Men's Iron Survivor Challenge.

Contents

Track and field

Odugbesan had won several medals during his high school years, earning him a student-athlete scholarship at Middle Tennessee State University, winning the Conference USA title. Odugbesan then transferred to the University of Alabama in the summer of 2019, where he won the shot put title at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2021 and 2022, as well as winning the outdoor title in the latter year prior to graduation. [3] [4]

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2021–present)

On December 8, 2021, Odugbesan signed with professional wrestling promotion WWE as part of its new Next In Line program to develop college athletes into potential WWE wrestlers. [5] Under the ring name Oba Femi, he made his in-ring debut on the November 18, 2022, episode of NXT Level Up , losing to Dante Chen. [6]

Femi made his formal NXT debut on April 25, 2023, at Spring Breakin', defeating Oro Mensah. [7] After a hiatus from television, Femi won the 2023 Men's NXT Breakout Tournament when he defeated Riley Osborne in the finals on January 2, 2024, at NXT: New Year's Evil. [8] He cashed in his Breakout Tournament contract the next week and defeated Dragon Lee to win the NXT North American Championship, becoming the first Next In Line (NIL) program graduate to win a championship in WWE. [9] Femi would go on to retain the title against Lee at NXT Vengeance Day, [10] Dijak and Josh Briggs in a triple threat match at NXT Stand & Deliver, [11] Raw wrestler Ivar at Spring Breakin’ , [12] [13] Wes Lee in a last chance match at NXT Heatwave, [14] and Tony D'Angelo at NXT No Mercy. [15] On October 5, Femi surpassed Wes Lee's 269 day title reign, thus becoming the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion. [16] At Week 2 of NXT's CW premiere on October 8, Femi lost the title to D'Angelo, ending his reign at a record 273 days and suffering his first loss in 2024 after a 30 match winning streak. [17] [18] At NXT Halloween Havoc on October 27, Femi failed to regain the title from D'Angelo in a Tables, Ladders and Scares match after interference from The D'Angelo Family. [19] At NXT Deadline on December 7, Femi entered the Iron Survivor Challenge match in place of an injured Eddy Thorpe and won the match, earning an NXT Championship match against Trick Williams at NXT: New Year's Evil [20] on January 7, 2025, where he defeated Williams in a triple threat match also involving Eddy Thorpe to win the title, [21] becoming the first NIL program graduate to win a top championship in WWE. [22]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Oba Femi Profile". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Oba Femi". WWE. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  3. ↑ Fameso, Funmilayo (November 23, 2022). "Meet Oba Femi, the Nigerian-born athlete that is the next big name in WWE". Pulse Sports Nigeria. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024.
  4. ↑ Fameso, Funmilayo (December 15, 2023). "Oba Femi: The 'Brute Force' in WWE NXT who embodies the fighting spirit of a Nigerian". Pulse Sports Nigeria. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024.
  5. ↑ Raimondi, Marc (December 8, 2021). "WWE signs 15 college athletes to NIL deals, eyes developmental pipeline". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (November 19, 2022). "NXT Level Up Results (11/18): Channing Lorenzo Faces Oro Mensah". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  7. ↑ Moore, John (April 25, 2023). "4/25 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT Title, Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Tiffany Stratton for the NXT Women's Title, Bron Breakker vs. Andre Chase, Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley vs. Brooks Jensen and Kiana James, Cora Jade vs. Lyra Valkyria, Tony D'Angelo and Stacks Lorenzo vs. Pretty Deadly in a Trunk Match, Oba Femi debuts". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ Moore, John (January 2, 2024). "NXT TV results (1/2): Moore's review of New Year's Evil with Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship, Lyra Valkyria vs. Blair Davenport for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  9. ↑ Moore, John (January 9, 2024). "NXT TV results (1/9): Moore's review of Tony D'Angelo and Channing Lorenzo vs. OTM for the NXT Tag Titles, Gigi Dolin vs. Cora Jade, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament begins". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  10. ↑ Moore, John (February 4, 2024). "NXT Vengeance Day results: Moore's live review of Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Title, Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Title, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  11. ↑ Moore, John (April 6, 2024). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT Title, Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  12. ↑ Moore, John (April 9, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/9): Moore's review of the Stand & Deliver fallout show, Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer for the NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ Moore, John (April 30, 2024). "NXT TV results (4/30): Moore's review of Spring Breakin' Night Two with Oba Femi vs. Ivar for the NXT North American Title, Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. AOP for the NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  14. ↑ Moore, John (July 7, 2024). "NXT Heatwave results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  15. ↑ Moore, John (September 1, 2024). "NXT No Mercy results: Moore's live review of Ethan Page vs. Joe Hendry for the NXT Championship with Trick Williams as special referee, Roxanne Perez vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  16. ↑ Taylor, Sanchez (October 4, 2024). "WWE Star Ties Championship Record". WrestleTalk. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  17. ↑ Moore, John (October 8, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/8): Moore's review of Randy Orton vs. Je'Von Evans, Oba Femi vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT NA Title, Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. A-Town Down Under for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  18. ↑ Chakrabarti, Shounak (October 9, 2024). "Oba Femi's Streak Broken On WWE NXT 10/08". Inside the Ropes. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  19. ↑ Berge, Kevin (October 27, 2024). "WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2024 Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights". Bleacher Report . Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  20. ↑ Powell, Jason (December 7, 2024). "NXT Deadline results: Powell's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ridge Holland for the NXT Title, Iron Survivor Challenge matches, Jaida Parker vs. Lola Vice in an NXT Underground match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  21. ↑ Moore, John (January 7, 2025). "NXT TV results (1/7): Moore's review of The Rock's appearance, Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe for the NXT Title, Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  22. ↑ Mango, Anthony (January 7, 2025). "Oba Femi Wins NXT Championship, Lexis King Keeps Heritage Cup At WWE New Year's Evil". The Ring Report. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  23. ↑ PWI Staff (December 2024). "The 2024 PWI 500". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. 45 (9): 36.
  24. ↑ "NXT North American Championship". WWE . Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
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