Reason Why WWE Made Oba Femi Forgo His World Title Shot at SummerSlam 2026

Oba Femi has been made to take a detour before doubling down on his championship aspirations in WWE.

Reason Why WWE Made Oba Femi Forgo His World Title Shot at SummerSlam 2026

Oba Femi will battle Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam [via- WWE]

When Oba Femi became the King of the Ring at Night of Champions a couple of weeks ago, he was on track to challenge for the world title of his choosing at SummerSlam. All signs were pointing to ‘The Ruler’ setting his sights on Roman Reigns but he’s now set for a Hell in a Cell showdown with Brock Lesnar.

‘The Beast’ interrupted Femi on Raw last Monday and cut a rare promo, where he pointed out how the Nigerian wrestler had been calling him by certain nicknames behind his back. Lesnar didn’t put up with that and kicked Femi low before dropping him with an F-5.

‘The Bringer of War’ somehow made it back on his feet to issue a challenge to Lesnar at SummerSlam. Lesnar accepted, but only upon the condition that they’d fight inside Hell in a Cell. Later backstage, the Raw GM Adam Pearce ran into Femi, and he asked Femi if he really wanted to face Lesnar inside arguably the most unforgiving structure in WWE history.

Femi temporarily gave up his earned title shot at SummerSlam, as he said that championships won’t go anywhere and he will chase them on his own time. However, the Lagos-born wrestler was hellbent on ending his rivalry with Brock Lesnar. While the fans are excited by the prospect of Femi vs. Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell, they couldn’t help but think about what’s left behind.

Dave Meltzer recently explained the rationale behind WWE deciding against letting Femi go after Reigns at SummerSlam. The veteran journalist said during an episode of the Wrestling Observer Radio that the company wants to build Femi vs. Reigns as the biggest match possible for whenever it happens.

Meltzer also thought that Femi would now have to wait until next year’s WrestleMania to finally have a crack at ‘The OTC’ and his world title. Their match will most likely headline the so-called “SaudiMania” in 2027. While it does seem like a no-brainer at this point, Femi vs. Reigns could very well be contingent on The Rock‘s availability for a match at WrestleMania 43.

It’s already been reported that the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia was planning to offer the biggest payday to the Hollywood mogul that’s ever been made to anyone for doing a pro wrestling show.

Should it materialize and The Rock come on board for one last match, it’s hard to fathom it’d be anything other than ‘The Great One’ facing his cousin. The fact that it has a real shot at happening only jeopardizes the impending showdown between Oba Femi and Roman Reigns.

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Did WWE actually justify Oba Femi prioritizing Brock Lesnar over world title shot at SummerSlam?

The opening segment of last week’s Raw between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar was reviewed by Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray on the Busted Open Radio podcast. Both the wrestling pundits were impressed with how WWE made Femi forgoing his title shot at SummerSlam make sense.

Ray and LaGreca put emphasis on that line from Femi when he told Adam Pearce backstage that the championships won’t go anywhere and he could have his title match whenever he wanted.

Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi on Raw
Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi on Raw [via- WWE]

It didn’t come across as Oba Femi devaluing the magnitude of going after a world championship in WWE but instead provided for a logical pathway for Femi to wipe out Lesnar first, who has been a thorn in his side for months now. Bully Ray also underscored Paul Heyman convincing Pearce to ratify Lesnar vs. Femi inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam.

‘The Wiseman’ sold it as one of the biggest matches of all time, and made Mr. Pearce realize that booking it would only make him look good corporately.

LaGreca further asked Ray if it was smart to put Femi in the King of the Ring tournament when he wasn’t going to wrestle for any of the world titles at SummerSlam. The WWE Hall of Famer justified it by saying that the KOTR crown helped the Nigerian wrestler bolster his resume.

Moreover, delaying his inevitable title match would allow WWE to continue making Femi break new ground in the meantime. There’s also a possibility that the upcoming SummerSlam match could be Lesnar’s last one in WWE. If that were to be the case, he’d forever be known to be retired by Oba Femi, which, in itself, would be a mammoth feat.

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