Oba Femi Credits Lagos Church Grace Assembly for Funding His Move to America and WWE Stardom

Before Isaac Odugbesan became Oba Femi — the 6’6″ powerhouse currently tearing through the WWE main roster — his path to America depended not on a corporate sponsor or athletic scholarship, but on the collective generosity of a Lagos church congregation.

In a sit-down interview on the What’s Your Story? podcast with Stephanie McMahon, the Lagos-born wrestler disclosed that Grace Assembly church and its leader, Pastor Femi Paul, provided both the financial backing and emotional guidance that made his transition to the United States possible.

“As a matter of fact, my entire church community came together to raise money too when I was coming over to the States. Shout out to Grace Assembly,” Femi said during the interview, extending direct public recognition to the congregation that invested in his future.

The support from Grace Assembly was not limited to finances. Femi described Pastor Paul as a surrogate father figure who intervened during periods of domestic tension and offered counsel that has continued to shape his conduct as a professional athlete. “My pastor, he was a very respectable man. His name is Femi Paul. He said a lot of wise things to me, you know? When tensions were building between like me and my dad he would always step in — be your father. He loves you. He’s used as a good guardian for me,” Femi recounted.

The wrestler also highlighted specific advice from Pastor Paul that he credits with maintaining his family relationships throughout his transition to international competition. “He told [me] never to disrespect my parents. That is the big one. […] Femi Paul was a huge inspiration for me,” he added.

Femi was candid in pushing back against a common perception of Nigerian religious institutions. “People always say Nigerian churches are bad or stingy, but my pastor, Femi Paul, is a very good and respectable man,” he stated, framing the Grace Assembly community’s involvement as a counter-narrative to that stereotype.

Before entering professional wrestling, Femi was a student-athlete at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where his physical attributes first drew attention. His journey from that academic environment to WWE’s main roster represents one of the more unconventional career trajectories in recent wrestling history, and one that was materially enabled by grassroots community support rather than institutional infrastructure.

The personal disclosures come at a moment of considerable professional momentum for the Nigerian superstar. Following a landmark victory over former UFC and WWE heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, Femi has continued an assertive run on the WWE main roster that has drawn widespread attention across the industry. Analysts and wrestling commentators have described his current stretch as among the most dominant extended performances by a relatively new main roster addition in recent years.

At 6’6″ and with a physical profile that commands attention, Femi’s in-ring identity is built around raw power and tactical aggression — a persona that stands in deliberate contrast to the grounded, community-oriented portrait he painted during the McMahon interview. That duality, between the dominant ring performer and the Lagos church member who carries the investment of his congregation, appears central to how Femi frames his own story.

For Nigerian sports followers, Femi’s emergence adds another dimension to the country’s growing footprint in global sport. His rise coincides with the continued international prominence of Nigerian footballers across Europe’s top leagues, reinforcing a broader pattern of Nigerian athletes competing and succeeding at the highest levels of their respective disciplines.

With his WWE profile continuing to grow and his backstory now more widely known, Femi’s trajectory will be closely watched — both as a professional wrestling career and as a case study in how community networks in West Africa can produce globally competitive athletes.