Oba Femi recently opened up about what happened backstage after John Cena’s retirement match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, Femi said it meant a lot to be part of such a historic night. “It was a feeling of privilege for sure. Because that is another short list – the number of people who got to perform at John Cena’s retirement match. It’s very symbolic that John’s end is my beginning, and that fact I kind of enjoy.”
Femi admitted he truly hoped to share the ring with Cena before he retired. “I really wanted to work with John. I was really hoping and praying, ‘Don’t go, don’t go too fast.’ But he did. I was really hoping to work with him, especially when a lot of people were putting fire under the idea of me being the one to retire him and stuff like that. I was really hoping that would happen, but it didn’t.”
Even though that dream match never happened, Femi said he built a relationship with Cena before the retirement bout. “I’d already rubbed minds with John in the past, he had given me advice, he had seen me wrestle before, he knew who I was and what I was all about. He had good things to say about me.”
“Whatever he felt was a correction or something I could do better, he always told me. So I’m glad that before that day came, I was at least able to have some sort of relationship with John.” Femi then shared a special backstage moment that many fans may not know about.
“A lot of people don’t know this, maybe they do, but after the show, John came back to the locker room – big star, big shot John Cena – he came back to the locker room with all the boys, and he shared one last toast and took shots with us, and I’m glad that I got to be a part of that. It really showed how humble he was, no matter how big he got in WWE or in Hollywood, he was, at his core, still just one of the boys. So respect to John.”
Oba Femi shares what John Cena told him about standing out in WWE
Oba Femi also revealed the biggest piece of advice Cena gave him. “He’s very big on ‘look at me’ moments. I don’t know if you’ve heard the story with he and Cesaro, where he told Cesaro to go and get the ball that was being thrown around in the audience and pop the ball.”
“But he’s very big on crowd interaction and ‘look at me’ moments. He told me that he understands that NXT is a very fast-paced style of wrestling, because that’s what Shawn wants, but at the same time, he encouraged me to, when the opponent is down.”
“I should always take my time to interact with the crowd and do something that will be memorable to them so they can always remember me. That’s one of the things that John said to me that stuck, that was a pretty big one. Amongst many other things, but that was the big takeaway.” [H/T: Wrestletalk]
Cena wrestled his final match on the December 13 edition of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, where he lost to Gunther. The event also showcased present stars facing future talent, including Femi sharing the spotlight alongside Cody Rhodes.
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