Triple H: Oba Femi ‘is going to be as big as anybody has ever been in this business’
Paul “Triple H” Levesque is setting expectations as high as possible for Oba Femi.
While appearing on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Levesque discussed how WWE is building for the future following the retirements of John Cena and AJ Styles. He named Femi, Sol Ruca, Je’Von Evans, and Trick Williams as young stars who will main event WrestleMania in the future — specifically singling out Femi as someone who is going to be as big as anyone has ever been in professional wrestling.
“When you see this new crop of talent, Oba Femi is going to be as big as anybody has ever been in this business,” Levesque said. “Sol Ruca has an opportunity to be a standout star. Je’Von Evans is one of the young guys, he reminds me of a young Jeff Hardy that just has this incredible move set, but just has an energy and a youth about him that you can’t look away from him. You know, Trick is just the personality plus. Again, he’s another guy you can’t look away from. These are the young talent that are going to take WWE into the future. You’re seeing them rise now, but two, three years from now, four years from now, these are going to be the main events of WrestleMania. I promise you.”
Smith said he’s always liked trash-talkers and asked Levesque which young WWE talent could fill that role. Levesque pointed to Williams as the obvious answer but also praised Femi’s mic skills.
“I think Oba Femi is incredible on the mic in a different format than what a Trick brings to the table, but I do think you’re going to see some of that coming now as these guys — and girls — get more experience and have that period of time,” Levesque said. “An Oba Femi’s only been doing this about maybe max four years from the first [time] he ever stepped into the ring. The rate at which we’re getting these talent ready now is incredible. They just need a little time to settle into their comfort zone, and you’re going to get there.”
Oba Femi set for King of the Ring finals at WWE Night of Champions —
At Night of Champions this Saturday, Femi is facing off against Jey Uso in the finals of WWE’s King of the Ring tournament. The winner earns a World title shot at SummerSlam, which means we could get Femi challenging either Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes at the PLE. A loss to Uso would likely mean WWE going back to Femi vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Those two have a 1-1 record against each other from WrestleMania 42 and Clash in Italy.
Williams currently holds the WWE United States title and will be defending against Ricky Saints at Night of Champions.
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.