Wikipedia

Oba Femi

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 North American Champion in his first reign.

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 (198 cm)[2]
Billed weight310 lb (141 kg)[2]
Billed fromLagos, Nigeria
Trained byWWE Performance Center[1]
DebutNovember 15, 2022[1]

Track and field

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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

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WWE (2021–present)

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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] cashing in his Breakout Tournament contract the next week and defeating Dragon Lee to win the NXT North American Championship, becoming the first Next In Line program graduate to win a championship in WWE.[9] Femi will retain the title against Lee,[10] Dijak and Josh Briggs in a triple threat match,[11] or main roster wrestler Ivar.[12][13]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Oba Femi Profile". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "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. ^ "NXT North American Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
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