WWE Raw – Oba Femi’s Rise Has 3 Important Elements

Oba Femi’s Open Challenge began on Raw in Omaha, Nebraska and the Ruler was in top form. It’s been a long time since WWE handled a new magnetic superstar’s initial push this well. Oba’s match with Otis had everything you’d want and expect at this point in the former’s measured and entertaining rise.

What Has WWE Done Right With Oba Femi’s Booking So Far?

The segment had comedy, which allowed Femi the continued runway to show he’s far more than a brute. Akira Tozawa continues to deliver as comic relief and Femi’s body language carried the requisite weight.

Athletically Femi displayed the kind of explosion that separates him from most other performers of a similar archetype. The diving spinning elbow isn’t quite as graceful as R-Truth’s back in the day, but for a man who weighs upwards of 300 pounds, it is pretty impressive.

The feats of strength that we have seen consistently also continued. He hit the Fall From Grace on Otis after propping him on the second rope, but he held him in the air for 3-5 seconds before finishing the move. Before the finisher, Oba hit the belly-to-back toss on the big man. During this run, Oba is showing himself to be more than the strut. He’s more than a big, strong guy. He’s a complete performer.

The booking has built around those tools instead of forcing him into a finished-product role too early. That patience is exactly what’s been missing from a lot of post-NXT call-up runs in recent years.

How Did The Otis Match Showcase What Makes Oba Work?

Otis was the perfect dance partner for this segment. The former tag team champion brings legitimate size at 330 pounds, real championship pedigree from his Alpha Academy run, and the comedy/agility hybrid that lets a heavyweight match breathe in ways a pure power-on-power bout often can’t.

That booking decision matters because it lets Oba look dominant without requiring WWE to bury a developmental name to do it. Both men come out of the segment fine — Oba elevated, Otis still a credible foil for the next time WWE needs him.

Why Does The Open Challenge Format Fit Oba’s Character?

The open challenge allows Oba to escalate through the ranks on his way to the title picture. He’s already defeated Brock Lesnar. Perhaps Lesnar returns and they clash again at SummerSlam, but either way, it will feel more earned when Oba challenges for a title.

The format itself has historical pedigree as a star-builder — John Cena’s US Title Open Challenge era and Sami Zayn’s various title runs have shown how it can be used to rotate a young performer through varied styles without committing them to a single feud before they’re ready. For Oba, that flexibility is the whole point.

What’s Next For Oba Femi On Raw?

I’d expect Oba to get a new challenger next week, which will be right after Backlash on Saturday, May 9. The opponent probably won’t be another super heavyweight. It’ll likely be a heel of some sort who has a group with him. Austin Theory could fit the bill.

A Theory matchup would slot in cleanly because it gives Oba a different kind of opponent — smaller, faster, with outside interference baked in via Theory’s group framing. That’s the kind of variety the Open Challenge format thrives on, and it keeps the runway open for the bigger payoffs WWE is clearly building toward.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com