Oba Femi’s run as NXT Champion came to an end this week, as confirmed on Wednesday afternoon by WWE.
Less than 24 hours after Femi hinted at vacating his title, ending a second run with the Tuesday-night brand’s top belt, WWE announced on social media that Femi had in fact dropped the belt.
“After his victory at New Years Evil, Oba Femi has officially vacated the NXT Championship,” WWE wrote on social media this week. “Stay tuned for more details.”
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
After his victory at #NewYearsEvil, Oba Femi has officially vacated the #WWENXT Championship. Stay tuned for more details. pic.twitter.com/NwMFVOuJjG
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 7, 2026
Femi left his NXT Championship in the middle of the ring on Tuesday night after defeating TNA’s Leon Slater in the main event of New Year’s Evil.
It had been clear for a while that Femi would drop the belt soon, as video packages teasing his arrival on WWE’s main roster have aired on Raw and Smackdown recently. With no belt forcing him to return to NXT anymore, he’s set to join a class of early 2026 call-ups alongside Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams and Jordynne Grace.
Femi had a dominant 263-day reign with the NXT Championship last year, winning the title in January 2025 and defending it on TV nearly a dozen times. He eventually dropped the belt at No Mercy against Ricky Saints, a loss he avenged a month later at the promotion’s Deadline Premium Live Event.
The former collegiate-level shot put athlete was recruited to WWE in 2021 as part of the company’s Next In Line program. He has been wrestling in NXT since 2022.
