Backlash will be the first WWE Premium Live Event since WrestleMania 42, and the Triple H-led creative team has put together a stacked card to ensure that it delivers. As of this writing, five matches have been confirmed for the event. Roman Reigns will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against his cousin, Jacob Fatu.
Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker will collide in a singles match, and IYO SKY and Asuka will battle it out from the women’s division. Trick Williams will defend the United States Championship against the former champion, Sami Zayn, while Danhausen will team up with a mystery partner to take on The Miz and Kit Wilson.
While the card looks good on paper, Triple H needs to feature one superstar at the Tampa PLE. We are talking about Oba Femi, who is riding a wave of momentum after retiring Brock Lesnar at The Show of Shows. The Ruler has decided to create an opportunity for the roster by hosting open challenges.
Femi has established himself as a major threat by dominating The Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania 42. Anyone who steps into the ring with The Ruler would receive a major opportunity to potentially defeat the man who ended Lesnar’s in-ring career.
On this week’s WWE RAW, the Nigerian star hosted his first open challenge, which was answered by The Alpha Academy. Tozawa first stepped up to Femi, but quickly realized that it wasn’t a fight worth picking. However, Otis then came face-to-face with The Ruler, and a match began between the two behemoths.
Despite Otis’ size, Femi made quick work of him, defeating the heavyweight in a squash match with a Fall From Grace. Despite all his momentum, Oba Femi isn’t booked for Backlash, something Triple H needs to change.
Femi must come out unannounced at the event and host another open challenge. Having him call out anyone on the roster at a major event would boost his open challenge’s credibility. Moreover, after a career-defining victory over Brock Lesnar, Oba Femi needs to be showcased at the following PLE.
WWE Hall of Famer compares Oba Femi with Goldberg
On a recent episode of his Kliq THIS podcast, Kevin Nash compared Oba Femi’s current presentation with Goldberg’s in WCW. The WWE Hall of Famer stated that The Ruler needed to have some vulnerability. If he continues to dominate, it would risk fans turning on him.
“There are a lot of similarities with Goldberg, like the chanting. Bill had a very specific ring entrance; Oba has a very specific ring entrance. It’s chantable. They were both super over, super quick. To me, it’s just like, he’s got to be vulnerable, or they’ll build the exact same thing they did with Bill, where now it becomes cool to go against him because they started to boo when Bill became so successful,” the WWE Hall of Famer said.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Oba Femi in WWE. Who will be the next person to step up to The Ruler and accept his open challenge? Only time will tell!
Edited by Parth Pujara
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