It’s hard to have a bigger Wrestlemania debut than what Oba Femi put together on Sunday night.
In less than just five minutes, “The Ruler” Femi squashed out Brock Lesnar, putting away the decorated big man in his first-ever Wrestlemania appearance. The win for Femi opened Sunday’s card, the second night of Wrestlemania 42 from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Femi’s resistance against some of Lesnar’s biggest moves was put on display throughout the quick match. After Lesnar failed to drop Femi with clotheslines in the opening minute, Femi responded with a lariat that sent “The Beast Incarnate” out of the ring.
While Lesnar got back into the match, unleashing a series of release German Suplexes and later countering a running uppercut into an F5, Femi was able to bounce back.
Femi ate Lesnar’s toughest move, the F5 finisher, sprang back up to his feet, then replied with a chokeslam. Femi then capitalized on a reeling Lesnar, putting him away with his Fall From Grace finisher to end the match in just under five minutes.
While Femi had his moment in the spotlight, attention quickly shifted in the post-match to Lesnar, who started to take off his ring boots and gloves. As “Thank you, Lesnar” chants were heard throughout the stadium, Lesnar left his equipment in the ring and exited, a move often done to signify the end of someone’s professional wrestling career.
If true, the retirement brings an end to Lesnar’s lengthy, high-profile career as a wrestler, which kicked off a quarter-century ago as part of WWE’s OVW feeder system.
Former NXT Champion Femi set his sights on Lesnar early this year, shortly after getting called up from WWE’s developmental Tuesday night brand. The feud between the two towering behemoths has been simple: One has been the dominant force in WWE for ages, and the other has considered it time for them to take over.
In a testament to how less is more in wrestling sometimes, that simply storytelling has been enough to make Femi vs. Lesnar one of the more anticipated matches of the weekend.
