As the former NXT Champion settles into his WWE main roster run, fans have been trying to figure out one thing — is he a heel or a babyface?’
After his dominant Royal Rumble appearance and recent main roster moments, the reactions have been loud, but not traditional. He’s not getting clean-cut hero cheers. He’s not getting pure villain heat either. So when the topic came up on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, Oba didn’t dodge it. He shut the entire premise down.
When asked directly whether he sees himself as a good guy or a bad guy, Oba gave the simplest answer possible, “I’m just Oba.” That wasn’t a throwaway line. It was the foundation of how he views his WWE character. He explained that wrestling is evolving past the old-school alignment rules and that he has no interest in playing a cartoon role.
“And that’s how you know when you’ve gotten into that juicy character moment because people, you know, are you a bad guy, are you a good guy? No, I’m trying to transcend that now. Like I think wrestling is finally getting to a place where it’s not good guy, bad guy — it’s human being. And we want to have relatable human beings that the people can connect with and attach to.”
That mindset places Oba in rare company. He referenced names like The Undertaker, Steve Austin and The Rock — performers who reached a level where crowd reaction didn’t depend on morality.
“Very few people have been able to get that kind of reaction — like Undertaker, like you said, Steve Austin, Rock. It just gets to a point where you’re just such a good character that people are like, well he did that bad thing — oh we love him. He did that good thing — oh we love him. So that’s a great place to be, and I’m happy that the Oba character is there right now.”
That’s not a heel. That’s not a babyface. That’s a force of nature. WWE clearly protected Oba Femi on his way up from NXT, even having him relinquish the championship instead of losing it. Now on the main roster, he’s positioning himself beyond traditional roles. He doesn’t want to be cheered because he’s good. He doesn’t want to be booed because he’s bad. He wants to be respected because he’s dominant.
If this philosophy sticks, Oba Femi won’t need to turn face or heel. He’ll simply exist at the top of the card — and let the audience decide how to react.
Do you think Oba Femi is right to reject the heel or babyface label in WWE? Or does every superstar eventually need a clear alignment? Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think.
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