What did NXT star Oba Femi do prior to WWE signing? All you must know about the new champion

The latest episode of WWE NXT proved to be a pulsating affair. The main event of the night, at least the one promoted throughout much of the night, was Dragon Lee defending his NXT North American Championship against Lexis King. This was Lee's return bout after being absent from television for a brief period due to some work visa issues.

Lexis and Lee had a solid match, but despite King being so confident heading into the bout, it was the masked star who retained his title. Following the match, however, a heavyweight superstar appeared and shook things up in WWE and on NXT.

Oba Femi had a backstage altercation with Lexis King earlier in the night. Following King's loss, Oba cashed in his guaranteed title win that came following winning the NXT Men's Breakout Tournament.

Consequently, Femi proceeded to hit Dragon Lee with a Powerbomb to become the new NXT North American Champion. Now, many are curious about Femi's backstory. He has had an interesting path to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Oba Femi (Isaac Odugbesan) was born in Nigeria but eventually moved to the United States of America. While in the States, Femi went to school at the University of Alabama, where he proved his worth as an athlete by winning the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

In December 2021, the 22-year-old was signed by WWE as part of the company's 'Next In Line' program. Femi made his NXT debut on April 25, 2023, defeating Oro Mensah.

In December 2023, Femi went on to win the Men's NXT Breakout Tournament by defeating Mayles Borne in the first round, Tavion Heights in the second round, and Riley Osborne in the third and final round, to earn the right to challenge the NXT North American Champion at the time of his choosing.

The Nigerian athlete did not take much time as he cashed in his contract at the latest edition of NXT to claim his maiden title.

What does the future have in store for Oba Femi, now that he's champion? For now, that remains to be seen.

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The WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic brackets were revealed

NXT ended in a big way thanks to Oba Femi winning the North American Championship. There were plenty of other newsworthy and noteworthy moments throughout the show too, however, including the brackets being revealed for the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

In total, eight teams have been selected for this tournament. Four duos and two matches were already revealed before the show, with Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin uniting against Gallus and the duo of Axiom & Nathan Frazer defeating Tank Ledger and Hank Walker.

The other half of the field features Chase U's Riley Osborne and Duke Hudson, who will battle WWE SmackDown's Latino World Order representation in Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde. Additionally, Edris Enofe and Malik Blade will clash with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.

Hayes and Williams are a surprise pairing. As it turns out, Carmelo went to Shawn Michaels and Ava to politic the duo's way into the tournament. While Trick seemed unsure about it, Melo emphasized how beneficial it could be for both men.