Oba Femi’s main roster introduction was a success. He and Cody Rhodes had a fun match to open WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. It was a back-and-forth contest where Femi proved he belonged in the ring with anyone on the roster. Just as they were heating up, Drew McIntyre ran in, causing the tried-and-true WWE no-contest finish. If WWE Creative could be trusted, a feud with McIntyre would be the perfect way to introduce Femi to the main roster.
The story to build to Femi taking a spot on SmackDown is right there for the taking. It’s a simple matter to finish off the McIntyre versus Rhodes feud which has gone on way too long, and put McIntyre into a position to help build Femi as a top threat on the show.
Rhodes and Femi left McIntyre lying after he tried to run in and caused a mess. McIntyre should take offense to that and pay a visit to NXT New Year’s Evil where Femi is expected to face a new challenger for the NXT Championship. There’s no one in NXT who should be seen as a threat to Femi because he’s smashed so many of the top names on that show. There’s no reason to see them taking the title off Femi.
But what if McIntyre shows up to hit a big Claymore on Femi, setting up the finish? Now, the title is off of Femi and he can come to SmackDown with one thing on his mind, getting payback. When McIntyre loses to Rhodes once again (because he will) he doesn’t get a moment of rest. Instead, he has to deal with “The Ruler” breathing down his neck.
Oba Femi must be booked as a big deal on the main roster
All throughout the week, fans wanted to see Oba Femi get a clean win over Cody Rhodes. If any champion could eat the loss and not be damaged by the call, that would be Rhodes. WWE had the opportunity to make a new star and it failed - again. There’s a real apprehension that Triple H will not book Femi correctly on the main roster and this match wasn’t a step to quell any of those fears.
Think about how WWE booked Keith Lee. He came from NXT with all the momentum of being a double champion. He was booked to pick up a big win over Randy Orton. Then everything just screeched to a halt. WWE can’t do the same thing with Femi. It is almost like he, along with Williams and Evans are the last hope to build any trust that this company will book Black male talent in an earnest way.
Will WWE capitalize on the excitement there is around Oba Femi? Who knows, but pitting him against Drew McIntyre in a strong feud to start 2026 would be a step in the right direction.