Oba Femi defeats Brock Lesnar in WWE WrestleMania debut

Oba Femi WWE
Oba Femi makes his entrance at WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

The opening match of WWE WrestleMania 42 night two was a showcase for Oba Femi.

Further establishing him as one of WWE’s top stars for both the present and future, Femi made his WrestleMania debut on Sunday night by defeating Brock Lesnar. It was a passing-of-the-torch moment with Lesnar leaving his gloves and boots in the ring after the match, all but announcing his retirement.

The commentary teamed hyped up Femi vs. Lesnar as being one of the most anticipated matches in WrestleMania history. When he took Lesnar off his feet near the start, Femi received a big pop from the crowd. Lesnar then mostly had the advantage until Femi was able to pop up after an F5. Femi followed with a chokeslam and Fall From Grace on Lesnar for the win.

Femi vs. Lesnar aired during the ESPN TV simulcast portion of tonight’s broadcast, with WWE positioning this as a star-making night for Femi. He’s built significant momentum with the audience since being called up from NXT at the start of 2026 and received praise from the likes of Roman Reigns and Paul “Triple H” Levesque during WrestleMania week.

After joining WWE as part of the company’s NIL program for college athletes, Femi was a two-time NXT Champion. He made his official main roster debut in the Royal Rumble this year, where he and Lesnar had their first confrontation.

It was expected that Lesnar would be retiring from WWE soon, though most rumors had him continuing until SummerSlam 2026. He left his gear in the ring after losing to Femi, embraced Paul Heyman, and was visibly emotional as he took in cheers from the fans after what looks to have been his final match.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.