WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi spoke with Cameron Hawkins of Uncrowned about several topics, including explaining to his parents that he wanted to get into wrestling.
Femi said, “[Wrestling was] easy to explain because imagine having to explain to your parents that you are going to go throw a metal ball [shot put] as far as you can for a living.”
On his quick success in the business:
“No one ever [expects immediate success]. If they said they did, they lied. It was never a question of my capabilities as a performer. I’ve always known eventually I would get this thing down.”
On what The Rock told him backstage at NXT New Year’s Evil:
“I’ve come around at a very opportune time when big-man wrestling is not the main thing. It’s become like a niche, almost a lost art because everyone’s doing Canadian Destroyers and everyone’s high flying and everyone’s spring-boarding, trying to pop the crowd. … It’s refreshing that the fans get to see an Oba Femi who comes in and stays on the ground and is physical and fires up and is riled up. I think people miss that… [The Rock] said, ‘Good job, great match. Can’t wait to see you on the main roster.’”