Oba Femi Is Really the Second Coming of WWE's Monster Formula Perfected By Brock Lesnar

Oba Femi is the next Brock Lesnar. 

That's probably a polarizing statement. Some recency-biased segment of WWE fans might flinch at the idea of another part-time monster. Others might want Femi to be his own thing, not a Lesnar-type. 

Love it or hate it, though, Femi shares something with Lesnar that the Beast Incarnate himself doesn't share with others often: Presence. 

The kids call it aura these days, sure. Call it whatever. Femi is a big deal. His entrance oozes WrestleMania main event and final-boss status and his in-ring presence isn't that far off. 

WWE knows it, too. 

Femi vacated, not lost, his NXT title. His bout with Cody Rhodes was very specifically a no-decision. He just squashed a supposedly dominant tag team on his lonesome by beating up on the War Raiders. 

And there was that epic Royal Rumble performance. 

In fact, exiting the rumble, the pervasive feeling that WWE dropped the ball with Femi was justified. He entered No. 1 and looked amazing. It felt like the entire rumble was built around him. 

Until it wasn't. 

Femi brutalized the first half of the rumble, harkening back to those days when Drew McIntyre specially targeted and hunted down Lesnar. But the rumble seemed to lose the plot about halfway through, devolving into Jey Uso-type nonsense and Femi was a little unceremoniously chucked from the spectacle. 

Alas, no major harm done to Femi, really. It's starting to feel like WWE is, if nothing else, building up a possible "streak" situation with him. He's yet to lose and, if he scores another few wins in squashes over tag teams and lower-card members, it's a matter of time before the company talks it up. 

Truth is, WWE needs a good monster like this. One could argue Bronson Reed is, but he's off in The Vision drama. There are a few other arguments, but a solo monster who runs through the roster and only feels like he's met a physical match against the likes of Lesnar is a vacant role begging to be filled. 

A monster booked well is a different discussion, too. Braun Strowman's weekly jog around the ring to throw a shoulder tackle isn't exactly a prime example of the recent use cases that come to mind. Ditto for Omos, who was, for lack of a better term, clunky in the ring. 

Back in the day, Lesnar had Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece and some amazing talent around him to help him out. Think, prime Kurt Angle and many others. 

Femi? He might not need someone else to hold a mic for him. Heck, he might not even need to hold a mic at all, given just how much work the epic presentation and aura says for him. His feuds could certainly escape in a hurry from Rusev and Miz types on up to Sami Zayn types to great effect. 

Again, this is a guy who already looked the part against Rhodes. We're already at a point where it's more appealing to spitball him as Lesnar's WrestleMania opponent, as opposed to Gunther. 

And that's not a knock on Gunther. But there are levels to this. Femi is a monster. Gunther doesn't need the Lesnar bump at this point, not after establishing his niche and in front of the broadest of audiences possible while retiring John Cena. 

It just feels right to give Femi that run now. Lesnar's star is fading as it is. Letting the up-and-coming, new generation version of him pick up a win in front of an international WrestleMania audience only makes sense. 

Call it a chance at a passing of the torch that is oh-so-fitting. Lesnar paved the way for guys like Femi. All of this culminating in Femi's crowning at 'Mania would be a strong affirmation that WWE under Triple H, is, in fact, not totally going off the rails. 

More importantly, with a smooth monster run for Femi up to 'Mania, it would accomplish what WWE so desperately craves: Creating a bona fide main-eventer under 30 years old for a decade or more to come. 

He can't do it alone, but Femi has next big thing written all over him in a way his contemporaries just don't. The path should start now, not later.