They did it. The crazy b*****ds actually went and did it. Oba Femi slayed “The Beast Incarnate” and Brock Lesnar – a notably emotional Brock Lesnar – left his gloves and his boots in the ring. 

Now, it would be a categorical lie to say I wanted Lesnar to return, that I even enjoyed a moment of his latest run for reasons that are on record whether appreciated or not. But at the same time, no one was ever going to say with a straight face that the performance, however short it was inevitably going to be, was not going to be an attraction. 

Lesnar is Lesnar. Certainly not the most decorated combat sports athlete of all time like billed in WWE, but still a mostly genetic freak who did win the UFC Heavyweight title and run through the NCAA in legitimate wrestling. He is, objectively speaking, a legend in the business. But he is also, objectively speaking, well past his prime and a man with more questionable moments than moves in his arsenal. 

Enter Femi, a man who dominated to win the “WWE NXT” Breakout Tournament, then the North American Championship, then the NXT Championship, and left that title in the ring while still unbeaten. He has come onto the main roster and enamored the crowd from the get-go. An entire stadium bumped along to his entrance, chanted his name in a manner befitting one of the biggest stars in the business, a flow synonymous with another name who dominated in a way Femi has. He is and will continue to be one of the biggest stars in every physical and technical metric. 

This story was one told a few times before — this was not Lesnar’s first loss, especially not his first WrestleMania loss. He is not the Lesnar that defeated the Undertaker and broke the streak. But this was one told a little bit differently. Each and every time before, Lesnar has either been scared, or vaguely resembling scared, of his opponent and overcame. Or he has been defiant, dominant, and surprised to get his loss. Or, you know, he wins. 

This time, Lesnar wasn’t just depicted as something vaguely resembling scared. He was scared. He was scared each and every week he tried to get the better of his would-be usurper. He was scared in the match as he tried again. And when he overcame, suplexed the brains out of Femi and hit the F5, up popped Femi with a chokeslam, a Fall From Grace and the end. 

The epilogue saw Lesnar rise slowly, beaten. And it seemed as though he retired. Though if you’ll forgive me, I will not be holding my breath.

Written by Max Everett