Oba Femi offers advice to WWE NIL prospects: ‘Show your strengths’

As a success story from WWE’s NIL program, new NXT Champion Oba Femi has some advice for other college prospects.

Femi — real name Isaac Odugbesan — was part of WWE’s inaugural NIL class. A shot putter at the University of Alabama, he officially joined the WWE Performance Center in 2022. Just over two years removed from his first match, Femi became the NXT Champion last week by defeating Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe in a triple threat match at New Year’s Evil.

The Takedown spoke with Femi after his title win and asked him what advice he would give to college athletes entering WWE through the NIL program. Femi said recruits should focus on their strengths and show what they’re good at. After that, they can work on expanding their skillset.

“Show your strengths. A lot of people try to balance it all on day one. No, show them what you can do,” Femi said. “Work on what you can’t, and then when you can do what you can’t, then show that too. That’s my big thing. Consistently delivering. Nobody cares [about] the reason you didn’t deliver… Do what you know. That’s my advice for anyone who’s NIL.”

Femi added that he hopes his story can show college athletes that WWE is a viable career path for them.

“I’m just happy that I get to be the example,” he said. “I get to be the mold, the prototype, the one who made it. When people look at my story, they can [see] this is a viable option.”

The WWE NIL (Next in Line) program was established in 2021. Athletes who sign NIL deals are able to partner with WWE while still in college, opening the door for a potential in-ring career after they graduate.

Femi pinned Williams in last week’s triple threat after Thorpe had introduced a steel chair to the match. We’ll see the fallout of Femi’s title win on NXT tonight as the show builds to next month’s Vengeance Day PLE.

This is the second championship that Femi has held since joining WWE. Last year, he had a reign with the NXT North American title.