Here’s who we want to see answer Oba Femi’s future open challenges | Opinion
The Oba Femi open challenge series officially began on Monday’s WWE Raw with the first challenger — Otis — getting a viral forearm en route to a loss to “The Ruler.”
It was Otis’ first singles match on Raw since May 2025 and a rematch from their August 2024 clash in NXT for the NXT North American title.
With the series underway, here’s a few other wrestlers who could step in the ring with Femi on the upcoming editions of Raw.
Ilja Dragunov
Even after having one on-screen interaction, Dragunov and Femi never squared off in NXT despite being notable names on the brand.
Before WrestleMania 42, Dragunov was teasing a pursuit of the United States Championship, a title he lost to Carmelo Hayes in December. He was initially hesitant because he claimed wanting to go into the title match with a clear mind, avoiding all the mental blocks and confidence issues he said he was facing.
Despite being on SmackDown, Dragunov could cross over to Raw to confront Femi as WWE has done in the past with their rosters.
Ivar
During his reign as NXT North American Champion, Femi faced talents from the main roster, too. Ivar was one of them as he challenge Femi at NXT Spring Breakin’ on April 30, 2024.
On the February 2 Raw, Femi singlehandedly overpowered The War Raiders. Although Ivar has been competing solely in AAA the past couple of months, he could stop by Raw to seek redemption against Femi.
Royce Keys
After debuting at the Royal Rumble, Keys finally competed in his first SmackDown singles match last month against Berto.
With Femi being an unstoppable force in the ring, WWE could pit him against Keys in a showdown that could possibly escalate into a long term feud later. Perhaps Keys crosses over to Raw at some point before a big PLE to put that into motion, helping elevate Keys in the process.
Omos
Omos and Femi have stepped inside the ring once before, facing each other at an NXT house show in October 2025. Omos instigated the match after a brief interaction on one of the shows and stated that there could only be one Nigerian giant.
Their rivalry garnered a huge amount of attention on social media. That could be magnified if the two giants collide on WWE TV for the world to see and prove which one of the two is better in the ring. Additionally, it would also be an ideal pathway to bring back Omos to televised matches on the main roster which he hasn’t done in a very, very long time.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.