7 New Directions For WWE After Royal Rumble 2026

5. Oba Femi = Immediate Top Guy!

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Oba Femi
WWE.com

There's not a chance WWE can ease Oba Femi into life on Raw and SmackDown after that performance over in Saudi. The former NXT behemoth eliminated a bunch of entrants and went nose to nose with Brock Lesnar in a memorable face-off. It was a fabulous night's work for him, and working Brock at ‘Mania might actually be the right spot for Oba to land.

He has top guy written all over him. Cole even outright said on commentary that Femi is "a future World Champion", so WWE aren't even trying to hide how hard they're gushing for the guy. Rightly so though - the big powerhouse is ace, and he has a future brighter than Roman Reigns' pearly whites.

The earliest knockings of the 30-man Rumble belonged to Oba. He conjured up memories of Diesel wrecking shop during the 1994 match, and of Lesnar chucking bodies over the top rope like they were bags of sugar in 2020. Femi's elimination haul didn't come close to shattering any records, or anything, but it was still an impressive showing from someone Triple H is deadly, deadly serious about.

Oba is about to become what many wanted Keith Lee to be on the main crew years ago.

If he does bag a match vs. Brock, then Femi should win it and instantly move into the WWE or World Title scene. Why wait? Some of the current top liners like Reigns, Cody, Seth Rollins and CM Punk won't be around forever, so it's time to concentrate on the next wave of poster boys.

Oba Femi must be one of them. Dude wasn't born the conventional way over in Nigeria, he was chiselled from stone.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.