Oba Femi Seemingly VACATED The NXT Title At New Year's Evil... Main Roster Bound? (WWE News)

The Ruler seems to be done with NXT.

NXT Oba Femi
WWE

With recent Raw and SmackDown vignettes suggesting that Oba Femi was set for a move to the WWE main roster, last night's NXT broadcast only further intensified such talks, as the Ruler seemingly vacated the NXT Championship.

Last night was the New Year's Evil edition of NXT, with Oba defeating TNA's Leon Slater in the main event to retain the NXT Title. However, the powerhouse opted to leave the NXT Championship in the middle of the ring following that win, suggesting he was done with the brand ahead of a move to Raw or SmackDown.

The focus quickly switched backstage to NXT GM Ava talking to EVOLVE talent about possible NXT call-ups, with Ava interrupted by Robert Stone asking if she'd seen what Oba Femi had just done. And when the action reverted to ringside, Tony D'Angelo could be seen looking at the seemingly vacated NXT Title from the crowd.

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As mentioned, the past few weeks have seen vignettes air on both Raw and SmackDown, teasing the impending arrival of Oba Femi. It now remains to be seen whether the 27-year-old Nigerian will land on Mondays or Fridays.

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This comes hot on the heels of Lash Legend and, more recently, Trick Williams being called up to SmackDown, while this Monday saw Je'Von Evans announced as formally signing with Raw. Joe Hendry and Jordynne Grace appear to likewise be joining the blue brand, though neither of those moves has been made official just yet. That said, NXT did have Ava confirm that Jordynne had been called up, but no brand was specified. Given the Juggernaut's recent interactions with Jade Cargill and Chelsea Green on SmackDown, one would have to think the former TNA Knockouts Champion has an extremely good chance of joining the Smackers roster.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.