Former WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi recently shared his honest thoughts about dropping the NXT title.
Femi is a two-time NXT Champion. During his first reign, he dominated the brand and held the title for more than 250 days. He eventually lost the championship to Ricky Starks at WWE NXT No Mercy.
However, Femi regained the title later in 2025 at WWE NXT Deadline. His second reign, though, lasted only about a month. Instead of losing the title in the ring, Oba Femi vacated the championship after receiving his call-up to WWE’s main roster.
Speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, Femi said he never questioned the decision to drop the title. “No. No. It’s a job,” Femi said. “Shawn has a vision, Triple H has a vision, and we’re all just – I hate to say it, but we’re tools to execute the vision.”
“When people lose sight of that, that’s when they get caught up in their feelings and stuff like that. When I did that, I was like, ‘I’m sure there’s a good reason why,’ and I went with it, and didn’t think too much into it.”
Oba Femi on skipping traditional WWE NXT title loss
Femi also addressed how unique it felt to vacate the title instead of losing it before moving to the main roster. “It feels very unique. It lets me know where the company sees me caliber-wise, where I am in the pecking order, which is really reassuring.”
He pointed out that only a few Superstars have vacated an NXT title before being called up. Very, very short list. I believe it’s me, Asuka and the War Raiders, if I’m not mistaken (that have vacated NXT titles before being called up instead of losing them).”
“It’s a privilege to be on that list. Not everyone gets to be on it, and it’s for a very good reason. I have to show everybody coming up to the main roster now – that wasn’t just done for anybody, you don’t just have any regular old call-up on your hands, you have a superstar here.” [H/T: Wrestletalk]
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