Skip to main content
Join Now

Cody Rhodes vs NXT Champion Oba Femi ends in draw at Saturday Night's Main Event

Danby: Daniel Hager11 hours agoDanielHagerOn3

In an exhibition match that took place at Saturday Night’s Main Event Saturday night in Washington D.C., WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and NXT Champion (and former Alabama Track and Field star) Oba Femi wrestled to a draw. The match was called once Drew McIntyre interfered and attacked Cody Rhodes, ending the match via disqualification.

The match was made at request of 17-time World Champion John Cena, who will face Gunther in the final match of his illustrious career in the main event. Femi was one of four young NXT superstars that Cena picked to perform on his final show. Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater, and Sol Ruca also received the prestigious honor.

“He always said he wanted to leave this place better than he found it,” Femi said about Cena in an interview that aired prior to SNME. “I believe strongly that he has done that. He has left it better for people like me to step in. So John is very important to me.”

Femi, whose real name is Isaac Odugbesan, is currently in the midst of his second stint as NXT Champion. He defeated former NXT Champion Ricky Saints at NXT Deadline on Dec. 6 to regain the title and earn the match against Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Oba Femi won back-to-back shot put titles at Alabama in 2021 & 2022

Odugbesan was named the 2017 Conference-USA Male Freshman of the Year and an outdoor First Team All-USA selection at Middle Tennessee State before transferring to Alabama. While in Tuscaloosa, Odugbesan won the shot put title at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2021 and 2022. He began his wrestling journey with WWE in 2021 after signing with its NIL program, marking the start of an extremely promising career in the ring.

Rhodes caps off yet another phenomenal year as WWE’s QB1 by wrestling the NXT Champion to a great match Saturday night. The diehard Georgia Bulldog fan opened the year as WWE Champion, but lost the belt to Cena at WrestleMania 41 in April. After a three-month chase to regain the title, Rhodes defeated Cena at SummerSlam in August to become a two-time World Champion.

Although the night ended in a draw for Femi, the future remains extremely bright for the Lagos, Nigeria native. Following the interference by McIntyre, he even delivered a choke slam to the former World Champion. Femi, alongside the other NXT stars that were given a platform to compete on a massive stage Saturday night, will forever be remembered for their contributions to John Cena‘s final PLE.