The Ruler Standing Over the Beast

If you told me two years ago that a guy who looks like he was carved out of granite and possesses the voice of a literal thunderstorm would be the one to send Brock Lesnar into the sunset, I would have asked you for your dealer's number. But here we are in late April 2026, and the wrestling world is still vibrating from what happened eight days ago at WrestleMania 41. Oba Femi didn't just beat Brock Lesnar. He dismantled him. He made the Beast Incarnate look like a guy trying to move a fridge by himself on a humid Tuesday. It was violent, it was uncomfortable, and it was exactly what needed to happen.

Naturally, the internet is doing what it does best: panicking and over-analyzing every frame of the aftermath. The rumor mill is currently churning out reports that eight different WWE stars are being considered to answer a potential Oba Femi Open Challenge. The IWC is split down the middle. One side wants to see Oba go full 1998 Goldberg and eat the entire roster before dessert. The other side is terrified that we’re watching a massive star get rocket-strapped into the sun before he knows how to fly. It’s the classic wrestling tug-of-war between 'give me the new shiny toy' and 'don't ruin my long-term booking.'

Let's be real for a second. Seeing Brock Lesnar take the pin and then seemingly leave his gloves in the ring is a once-in-a-generation moment. It's the ultimate passing of the torch. But in the words of every concerned fan on r/SquaredCircle right now: "Where the hell do you go from here?" If you start your main roster run by killing the king, the peasants aren't going to satisfy you for very long.

The 'Give Him the Belt Already' Crowd

The enthusiasts are out in full force. You know the ones. They have 'The Ruler' as their profile picture and they’re already fantasy booking Oba Femi vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam. Their take is simple: Oba is a freak of nature who doesn't need to 'pay his dues' in the mid-card because he’s already more believable than 90% of the veterans. One popular take floating around Discord sums it up perfectly: "We spent years complaining about Roman's slow burn. Now we have a monster who can actually work and we're worried he's too good? Just let the man cook."

They want the Open Challenge to be a weekly execution. They want to see Oba toss guys like Ricochet or Dragon Lee into the third row just to see if they bounce. There is something intoxicating about a wrestler who doesn't do 'back and forth' matches. In an era where everyone wants to have a 25-minute technical masterpiece with forty-five near falls, Oba Femi is a refreshing reminder that sometimes a big guy just needs to hit a powerbomb that registers on the Richter scale. The 14 minute beatdown of Lesnar was proof that less is more when the 'less' involves a man being thrown through a announce table like a lawn dart.

"If the Open Challenge starts on Raw next week," one X user posted, "I want it to be like a horror movie. No music, no lights, just Oba standing there while some poor soul from the draft walk to their doom." It's a vibe. It's the 'Final Boss' energy that WWE has been desperately trying to manufacture for years, but with Oba, it feels organic. It doesn't feel like a corporate mandate; it feels like a natural disaster that Triple H is just trying to contain.

The Skeptics and the 'Too Much, Too Soon' Fear

Then you have the skeptics. These are the fans who remember the rise and fall of Ryback. They remember when Vladimir Kozlov beat Undertaker and then vanished into the ether. They’re worried that by giving Oba the 'Brock retirement' rub immediately, WWE has painted themselves into a corner. "He has nowhere to go but down," argued one veteran poster on the Wrestling Observer forums. "Once you've beaten the final boss, every other match feels like a side quest. An Open Challenge right now just risks overexposing his limited promo work."

It’s a valid criticism. Oba Femi is a physical marvel, but we haven't seen him carry a storyline that isn't built on 'I am big and I will crush you.' That works for a while, but what happens when the crowd gets bored of the squashes? There is a very real fear that an Open Challenge will result in eight weeks of three minute matches that eventually lead to the crowd chanting 'boring' during his segments. We've seen this movie before, and it usually ends with the monster losing a fluke roll-up and becoming a comedy act within six months.

blockquote>"Giving him the Brock win is a huge statement, but an Open Challenge is lazy booking. It’s what you do when you don't have a real story for your champion. He should be in a blood feud, not a talent showcase."

The contrarians are also pointing out that Oba's style is dangerous for the rest of the roster. There were a couple of spots in the WrestleMania match where Brock looked legitimately rattled. While that's fine for a guy made of iron like Lesnar, the skeptics are worried that Oba might 'stiffen up' a smaller worker during one of these Open Challenges. If he puts a top mid-carder on the shelf for six months because he's still adjusting to his own strength, the 'Ruler' hype will evaporate faster than a CM Punk title reign.

Why Both Sides Are Wrong and Why Oba Is Different

Here’s my take: everyone needs to settle down and enjoy the ride. The reason Oba Femi works where guys like Lars Sullivan failed is simple—presence. You can't teach the way he carries himself. When he stands in the ring, he doesn't look like a wrestler playing a character; he looks like a man who genuinely believes the ring is his private property. The Open Challenge isn't just a way to kill time until the next Premium Live Event; it's a way to establish his dominance across different styles. He needs to show he can work with the flyers, the technicians, and the brawlers.

The idea of eight stars answering the call is brilliant because it allows WWE to test the waters with potential future rivalries. Imagine Ilja Dragunov answering the challenge. That isn't just a match; it's a car crash that people would pay $60 to watch on a loop. Or Bron Breakker. You tell me you don't want to see those two spears collide in the middle of the ring and create a localized black hole? The Open Challenge is a scouting mission for the creative team to see who has chemistry with the new king.

However, I do have one major gripe. The booking of the Lesnar match was perfect, but the 'retirement' aspect feels a bit heavy-handed. By making it so definitive, you've set the bar at an impossible height. If Oba's first challenger is someone like Tozawa or a returning mid-carder, the drop in stakes is going to be jarring. WWE needs to ensure that the first three people to answer this challenge are high-level threats. If you treat Oba like a god at Mania, you can't treat him like a regular guy on a random Monday in Des Moines.

The Verdict: All Hail the Ruler

At the end of the day, the IWC is always going to find something to complain about. If he wasn't pushed, we'd be screaming that they're wasting him. Now that he's being pushed to the moon, we're worried he'll get motion sickness. The reality is that Oba Femi is the most exciting thing to happen to the heavyweight division since the early days of the Shield. He has the look, the power, and that intangible 'it' factor that makes you stop scrolling and actually watch the screen.

Whether he's facing eight stars or eighty, the outcome is the same: Oba Femi is the new benchmark for power in WWE. The Open Challenge is just the coronation ceremony. As we head toward Backlash in May, all eyes are on the entrance ramp. Whoever walks through that curtain is going to have a very bad night, and we’re going to love every second of it. Just don't expect it to be a five-star technical clinic—expect it to be a demolition job. And honestly? That's exactly what wrestling needs right now.