Every year we do this dance. The Rock might come back. The Rock is in talks. The Rock is circling. And every year the machine burns six months of television real estate staring at a door that may never open, while somebody actually *ready* stands in the hallway getting cold.
If Reigns versus Oba Femi is genuinely the direction for WrestleMania 43, I want to be the first guy in this building to say: good. Do it. Commit to it. Don’t hedge, don’t hold it hostage to a Hollywood schedule, and for the love of everything Pat Patterson built, don’t announce it in January and immediately start whispering “but The Rock could still happen” into the ear of every dirt sheet on the planet.
Here’s what I know about Oba Femi after watching him work: the kid has a physical presence that this business has been crying out for since Brock stopped caring. He moves big, he hits hard, and he does not look out of place across the ring from anyone. That’s not nothing. That’s actually quite rare. The question has never been whether Femi has it. The question has always been whether WWE has the patience to let him get there without pulling the ripcord early.
Roman Reigns is still, on his worst night, the most credible antagonist this company has. The Tribal Chief character may have had its peak years, but that aura doesn’t evaporate overnight. A properly built collision between those two — with real time, real stakes, and a crowd that’s been made to *hunger* for the finish — is a legitimate WrestleMania main event. It doesn’t need a Hollywood cameo to legitimize it.
What it does need is a story. Not a vignette package. Not a Bloodline subplot that requires a flow chart to follow. A story. Man wants what another man has. Man stands in his way. We find out who wins. The oldest plot in the business and still the most effective one when you actually trust it.
The Saudi show complicates everything — atmosphere, crowd dynamic, the optics of who you’re crowning and where — and I understand why the company is nervous enough to keep The Rock on speed dial as a safety net. But a safety net is how you get a mediocre show. You want a great one? Pick your horse, saddle him up in the spring, and ride.
Oba Femi is not a backup plan. Don’t book him like one.
