WWE clearly wasn’t just handing Oba Femi a crown so he could walk into SummerSlam like every other King of the Ring winner.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s plan was always for Oba Femi to win the 2026 King of the Ring tournament, but turn down his championship opportunity against Roman Reigns so he could face Brock Lesnar instead.
“The decision was always for Oba Femi to win King of the Ring but turn down his title shot at Roman Reigns for a match with Brock Lesnar.”
That explains why RAW opened with Oba standing tall as the new King of the Ring, only for Brock Lesnar to crash the moment before he could make his SummerSlam decision. Lesnar came out with Paul Heyman, congratulated Oba, then reminded him what happens when someone talks trash. Brock dropped him with a low blow and an F5, but Oba did not stay quiet for long.
After Lesnar started leaving, Oba grabbed the microphone and fired right back, saying Brock was standing in front of him and was still a “b*tch.” That led to Oba challenging Lesnar for SummerSlam. Brock accepted, then raised the stakes by making it a Hell in a Cell match.
Dave Meltzer also noted that the bigger idea behind all of this was to make Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi feel as huge as possible down the line. So, WWE is not throwing away Oba Femi’s title shot for nothing. The company appears to be building him through Brock Lesnar first, while saving the Roman Reigns match for a bigger moment later.
That is a massive spot for Oba. Winning King of the Ring was already big, but turning down Roman Reigns and stepping into Hell in a Cell with Brock Lesnar is WWE’s way of telling fans that The Ruler is being treated like a serious main event player.
Now the pressure is on. If Oba Femi survives Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, that eventual match with Roman Reigns could feel even bigger.
Do you think WWE made the right call by having Oba Femi choose Brock Lesnar over Roman Reigns for now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
