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Real Reason Oba Femi vs. Roman Reigns Isn’t Happening At WWE SummerSlam

By Ahmed Hamdy • Published Jun 30, 2026 17:30 EDT
Oba Femi and Roman Reigns
Oba Femi and Roman Reigns (Source: WWE.com)

WWE has major plans for Oba Femi, but they don’t appear to include a match against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

Last Saturday, The Ruler went head-to-head with Jey Uso in the King of the Ring tournament final at Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Despite the former World Heavyweight Champion’s best efforts, Femi emerged victorious to capture the crown and earn a world title opportunity at SummerSlam.

However, Brock Lesnar returned last Monday on RAW to confront the newly crowned King of the Ring, reigniting their rivalry. The Beast Incarnate laid out The Ruler before Femi challenged him to a match at SummerSlam. The wrestling legend accepted, but only if they faced each other inside Hell in a Cell. RAW General Manager Adam Pearce later made the match official.

Why Oba Femi Didn’t Challenge Roman Reigns At WWE SummerSlam

Oba Femi’s decision to forgo his world championship opportunity at SummerSlam came as a surprise to many WWE fans. With The Ruler out of the title picture, Roman Reigns is now set to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against his former Shield stablemate, Seth Rollins, at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained WWE’s backstage reasoning for not booking Femi against Reigns at SummerSlam.

They could put Oba over Roman. They could’ve sat here and gone, ‘We’ve got to make a new star. Let’s put Oba over Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.’ They could’ve done it. But their mentality is just that if he’s the guy, we want to make the guy… This is a weird thing. Before, if you wanted to make the guy, you figured out the right time to make the guy and did it.

Now, you have to do it at WrestleMania because if it’s SummerSlam, it’s not strong enough. If it’s on a B pay-per-view, heavens no. So they’ve created this weird caste system. Again — and I’m thinking the same way — sitting there going, ‘Oh God, Roman Reigns and Oba… we’ve got to save that for WrestleMania. We can’t do it now. That is the mentality. You get him over. The idea is he’s an unbeatable monster, and we take our time to get to WrestleMania. [H/T: RingsideNews]

Also read: Ex-World Champion Set For In-Ring Return After 3 Years At WWE SummerSlam

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