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New York Times

Oba Femi, All-America shot putter turned WWE rising star, has the NCAA's NIL era to thank

Every Tuesday night in Lagos, Nigeria, a young Isaac Odugbesan would make his way out to a local store. The goal: Find a DVD of last night's episode of 'WWE Monday Night Raw.' Odugbesan was unable to watch the American show live at home, but he'd been fascinated with professional wrestling since coming across it on a TV screen as a kid. He loved the action. He loved the characters. The Undertaker and Triple H were his favorites. Advertisement Years later, Odugbesan came to the United States on a track and field scholarship, earning All-America honors in shot put at Alabama and dreaming of the Olympics. But plans change. Odugbesan, now a mountain of a man, is the reigning NXT champion, the top man for WWE's developmental program, wrestling under the name Oba Femi. When the NCAA loosened its rules on name, image and likeness monetization in 2021, WWE saw an opportunity to build a new pipeline of athletes with the makeup to become entertainers. Odugbesan became the first product of that program to hold a company title and the first to become NXT's top champion, meaning the company is pushing him upward on the scripted show. He's held the belt for exactly six months and will next defend it Saturday at WWE's Great American Bash show. 'I want to be remembered,' Odugbesan said. 'A lot of guys have good runs and accomplish a lot, but nobody remembers how much they did. I don't want my legacy to be that.' THE GAME HAS CHANGED. 🤯 OBA FEMI IS THE NEW #WWENXT CHAMPION!!! #NewYearsEvil — WWE (@WWE) January 8, 2025 One day in high school, a group of students was selected to attempt various track and field events as part of a program to find future Nigerian athletes. Odugbesan was big, so they told him to try throwing. He didn't know what he was doing with a shot put, but his throws immediately grabbed the attention of a national coach. 'He was like, 'I need to talk to your parents,'' Odugbesan recalled. He began training as a thrower and qualified for national and international tournaments, but he said the country's athletic federation needed him to pay for it and be reimbursed later. The experience rubbed Odugbesan the wrong way. So when longtime Middle Tennessee track and field coach Dean Hayes reached out about coming to America on a scholarship, Odugbesan jumped at the opportunity. He could go to America, win NCAA championships and reach the Olympics, perhaps finding a Persian Gulf oil country to represent instead of Nigeria. Advertisement 'In my mind, I'm going to get good and when they need me, I'm not going to be there,' he said. Odugbesan had been to the United States before, on a trip to visit family in Texas. It was a leap to go on his own, but he never doubted his decision. 'I was at a point where passion trumps all, and for your dreams to come true, you have to go through every single step to make that happen,' he said. 'Leaving my family was one of those steps.' Hayes was a Hall of Famer who had led Middle Tennessee's program since 1965, but when Odugbesan got there, the team didn't have a throws coach, and he was the only thrower on the roster. Still, Odugbesan credits Hayes, who died in 2022, for the opportunity and advice he offered. Even without robust resources, Odugbesan won a Conference USA championship in shot put in 2019. He was named CUSA's male freshman of the year and still holds the school shot put record. 'We took it as far as we could,' Odugbesan said, 'but if I want to get to the Olympics and win championships, I have to move.' The NCAA had just created the transfer portal the prior fall, and Odugbesan entered his name in the offseason, not knowing what to expect. Odugbesan heard from multiple SEC schools, but Alabama throws coach Derek Yush drove up to Murfreesboro to spend an hour talking with him at a Subway. 'The dude's a specimen,' Yush said. 'He's so big, strong, athletic. We saw this guy grinding, trying to figure it out. There are a lot of great athletes, but not a lot that are students. He cared about his technique. Golly, if we can ever get that guy wearing crimson, he'd be really good.' Odugbesan thrived in Tuscaloosa, earning second-team All-America honors as a junior and becoming the first Alabama thrower to win an SEC outdoor shot put title in 31 years. He majored in Studio Art and would show his drawings to teammates and coaches. Advertisement 'I never once had an issue with the dude,' Yush said. 'He came in and just tried to lead by example. He was a great communicator with the team. He's really diligent in what he does.' During his junior year, Odugbesan received a direct message on social media from a WWE recruiter, inviting him to attend a tryout in Las Vegas. He initially thought it was spam, but after a back-and-forth, he realized this was a real chance at a childhood dream he never knew was possible. The tryout didn't involve actual wrestling. It was more about cardio, running the ropes, learning how to fall and tumble and talking into a microphone. 'Childhood Isaac was excited and doing backflips (in my mind),' Odugbesan said. 'But Adult Isaac took the wheels. Being an athlete, you don't celebrate until it's over.' The tryout went so well, Odugbesan said, WWE wanted to sign him right there. But he had another year of school left, and he wanted to graduate. So he became part of WWE's first class, along with athletes that included Northwestern football player Joe Spivak. Those athletes received some perks from WWE, with plans to join the developmental program when their college careers ended. WWE's pivot to sign college athletes a few years ago is quickly paying off, finding coachable athletes and future stars at a young age. Most of WWE's NIL athletes come not from revenue-generating sports like football or basketball, but from sports with limited earning options after college, such as gymnastics and track and field. Back at Alabama as a senior, Odugbesan finished third in the spring 2022 NCAA outdoor championships and was ready to turn his attention to getting to Florida to begin WWE training when a different childhood dream resurfaced. A friend told Odugbesan that Nigeria wanted him to represent his home country at the world championships. After the initial shock, Odugbesan decided it was too late. He'd moved on from those Olympic aspirations. Advertisement 'In my heart, I was done,' he said. 'They reached out for the first time ever, actively trying to get me to go, and I told them my mind is in WWE already.' Less than three years later, Femi looks like a future WWE star. He debuted on TV just a few months into training. He won a championship in less than two years and took NXT's top title in January, pinning former South Carolina football player Matrick Belton (known as Trick Williams) in a matchup of ex-SEC athletes. Former WWE champion and Iowa football player Big E has called Femi his favorite wrestler. Yush watches him on NXT every Tuesday. In April, Odugbesan stood tall backstage during a TV segment, talking about his NXT championship and an upcoming match, when up walked The Undertaker: the childhood hero of Odugbesan, now standing eye-to-eye with Femi. 'Big man,' The Undertaker told him in a scripted segment. 'This is your yard now.' A public show of respect from The Undertaker is considered a sign of arrival in the wrestling business. Odugbesan's goal now is to be remembered like The Undertaker, a larger-than-life icon. Not just for a single match or a short run. He'd dreamed of rings; now he works in one. WWE's developmental system is full of recent college graduates coming in through its NIL program. The program has created a new career path for athletes, and atop that mountain of future potential sits Odugbesan. 'It's not an easy job,' he said. 'You get hurt or it's a lot mentally. You don't want all that to be for nothing. I'm trying to get to a place where Oba Femi has an iconic run. Where people remember they used to watch Oba. That's what I want.' (Top illustration photos: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images; John Nacion / Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)