A new report has shed light on why WWE had Oba Femi win the 2026 King of the Ring tournament, despite not following through with a world championship match at SummerSlam.
Oba Femi earned a title opportunity by winning King of the Ring at Night of Champions. However, on the following episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar returned and challenged him to a Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam. Femi accepted the challenge, giving up his guaranteed world title opportunity in the process.
The decision left many fans questioning WWE’s creative direction, but Dave Meltzer has offered a possible explanation.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer claimed WWE wanted to establish Femi as a future world title contender without rushing into a championship match before WrestleMania.
“They wanted him to win King of the Ring and give him a big push coming off of the loss to Brock and they felt they needed something really big, but they don’t want to do the championship match until Mania,” Meltzer said. “But they wanted to get that in your head that this guy is in the championship picture and he’s the real top contender and when we get to it, it’s not just a title match, but a special title match.”
WWE Could View Oba Femi As A Future World Champion
If accurate, the report suggests WWE views Oba Femi as a future world champion, with the company opting to delay his title challenge in favour of a high-profile rivalry with Brock Lesnar before eventually moving him into the championship picture.
