In the latest episode of CNN’s African Voices, Larry Madowo sits down with Nigerian pro wrestler, Oba Femi, to discuss his journey from track-and-field athlete to WWE.
Femi tells Madowo about how WWE messaged him on Instagram, asking him to try out, “I'm guessing they saw the package, they saw the size, they saw some of my throwing videos, I showcase some sort of intensity during my throwing, so I'm sure that's what drew them to the market.”
The name ‘Oba Femi’ came about when entering the wrestling scene. He tells Madowo about this choice, “Oba is the king, and Femi is like ‘wants me’. When you say, ‘this person of Femi’, that means they desire me or they want me. So, it's a way of saying the one who's after the king's heart or the
one the king loves. So, God loves me. I love the meaning of the name.”
As well as just in his name, Femi brings a lot of Nigerian flare to his role in the sport, “I want to showcase my culture. It's definitely one of the things that is on my mind. I want to show that there's layers to my character but in any way that I can put my culture out there and represent and let them know that I'm Nigerian and Nigerians are talented and we're doing well in the world.”
Femi’s debut on the main roster was at Royal Rumble. He explains what it was like walking onto that stage for the first time, “Walking into Saudi, it wasn't like, oh I've made it, it's more like, OK, we're here, how can we make this better now? With the Saudi crowd, I didn't think they were going to be behind, Oba Femi. I didn't think they were hip to my stuff because I was on NXT for a long time and as big as NXT is now, it's not as big a stage as the main roster, so I didn't think that the Saudi crowd would be on board. And then when the music hit and I came out and I heard them chanting Oba, they understood the assignments.”
Femi went to college in Lagos before he moved to the United States, studying visual arts and competing as a shot putter. He delves into his aspirations to take up shot put professionally, “I have this mentality of finish what you started. So, whatever you are doing, it's not just a hobby to me. When I take on something when I say, OK, I want to be a shot putter or I want to be a wrestler or I want to be an artist like I mean it too, so I'm going to go as far as the sport or the craft will let me. When I did those things, I definitely had aspirations to go to the world championships, to go to the Olympics, to win medals, and I did all that to some degree and been very successful in everything I do and that's just because I try to go as far as I can.”
Femi discusses his childhood and growing up with parents who were, “Affectionate, but very like firm. My parents already had their dreams taken from them. My dad was a very good basketball player […] but his dad didn't see it the same way. So, when it came to that juncture for me, my dad was already aware because the same thing happened to him, and he always told me the story.”
Femi speaks to Madowo about the pressure that comes with having to consistently perform on a huge platform, “I had to understand that it doesn't matter where you go to compete, the shot put ring is the same, the shot put ball is the same size, even though it's not the one you throw with every day […]
Femi ends the show with a look into what he wants for the future, “I just want to be that symbol of emotional attachment for some young child watching right now, so when they grow up, they can remember watching Oba Femi […]. I just want to leave an impact on the generation coming up so they can feel how I felt coming up.”
Saturday 9th May 2026 at 07:30 WAT and 11:00 WAT
Sunday 10th May 2026 at 03:00 WAT and 18:00 WAT
Monday 11th May 2026 at 03:00 WAT
https://edition.cnn.com/world/africa/african-voices