Oba Femi
Birth nameIsaac Odugbesan
Born (2001-05-21) May 21, 2001
Lagos, Nigeria[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Isaac Odugbesan
Oba Femi[2]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[2]
Billed weight273 lb (124 kg)[2]
Trained byWWE Performance Center[1]
DebutNovember 15, 2022[1]

Isaac Odugbesan (born May 21, 2001) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Oba Femi. He is the current NXT North American Champion in his first reign.

Track and field

Odugbesan had won several medals during his high school years. This would earn him a student-athlete scholarship at Middle Tennessee State University, winning the Conference USA title. Odugbesan then transferred to the University of Alabama in Summer 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

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]

After going winless on the program through February, Femi would make his formal NXT debut on April 25, 2023, at Spring Breakin', defeating Oro Mensah.[7] After a hiatus on television, on December 2023, Femi entered the 2023 Men's NXT Breakout Tournament. He defeated Myles Borne in the first round and Tavion Heights in the semifinals.[8] On January 2, 2024, at NXT: New Year's Evil, Femi defeated Riley Osborne in the finals to become the winner of the tournament.[9] The following week, Femi cashed in his Breakout Tournament contract and defeated Dragon Lee to win the NXT North American Championship, the first title of his career, while also becoming the youngest and first African-born wrestler to hold the championship, as well as the first Next In Line program graduate to win a WWE title.[10][11]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Oba Femi Profile". Cagematch.net. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ Defelice, Robert (December 12, 2023). "Oba Femi And Riley Osborne Advance In NXT Men's Breakout Tournament". Fightful. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  9. ↑ Defelice, Robert (January 2, 2024). "Oba Femi Wins NXT Men's Breakout Tournament At NXT New Year's Evil 2024". Fightful. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ Rueter, Sean (January 10, 2024). "Oba Femi made history last night". Cageside Seats. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  12. ↑ "NXT North American Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
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