It was right after everybody had got accustomed to it — the shoes and gloves left in the ring during WrestleMania 42 being interpreted as the final act of the Beast — when Brock Lesnar reminded everyone once again, albeit in a rather cruel fashion, that The Beast would never hang up his gloves for any other individual but himself.
Brock Lesnar’s WWE Monday Night Raw debut on May 18, 2026, took place right in the Greensboro Coliseum, North Carolina and became one of the highlights of the year. After seemingly retiring a long time ago, the monster made an unexpected comeback into the ring and delivered four consecutive F5s to Oba Femi, the very wrestler who forced Lesnar out of business.
The fans’ reaction was incredible. The social networks went wild. What is even more interesting, it turns out the retirement that fooled all the wrestling fans was merely the best acting job in modern WWE history.
The Long Road: How We Got Here
To get an insight into the reason behind the magnitude of impact of last night’s events, you need to dig deep into the roots of this feud – and the man himself, Oba Femi.
Who Is Oba Femi?
Born Isaac Odugbesan in Lagos, Nigeria, Oba Femi is a 24-year-old beast who towers 6’6″ tall with 310 pounds of sheer muscle mass. While he has never participated in shot putting before becoming a wrestler, this former shot put champion and SEC title winner at the University of Alabama is instantly recognizable due to the undeniable physicality that speaks volumes of the real strength he possesses in the ring.
Signed for WWE through the Next In Line (NIL) initiative in 2021, he quickly rose to stardom after a stint in WWE Performance Center of Orlando: he debuted in November 2022 on NXT Level Up. This was only the start of one of the fastest career climbs in the history of developmental programs.
After winning the 2023 NXT Breakout Tournament and then cashing in his contract on Dragon Lee, Femi became the NXT North American Champion – at the age when no other wrestler managed to claim this title yet. He has successfully defended it against Dragon Lee not once, but twice. The two-time Hall of Famer Booker T, who observed Femi’s entire NXT career as a commentator, stated unequivocally: “Oba is gonna have one of those Hall of Fame careers, and he’s gonna do it in about ten years.”
On January 2026, Femi dropped his title as the NXT Champion and officially joined the main roster, debuting in the Royal Rumble by entering first and staying in the ring until the very end – nearly 40 minutes long and eliminating five opponents before finally getting out by Brock Lesnar.
WrestleMania 42: The Upset That Made History
In what can only be called one of the most surprising and definitive upsets in WrestleMania’s history, in the opening match of Night Two on WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium in 2026, Oba Femi made short work of Brock Lesnar in less than five minutes.
The loss took Lesnar by a shock that was obvious to all the fans. In the post-match interview, The Beast Incarnate remained sitting in the ring silently, removed his gloves and then took off his boots and placed them in the ring while tears streamed down his face. As Paul Heyman joined him, the scene was emotionally intense and was viewed by many fans as his final farewell from wrestling.
As for the fans, it became clear to them when WWE listed Lesnar under Alumni on their official roster page. PWInsider reported that although Lesnar seemed to retire publicly, he was officially listed as an active wrestler inside WWE. However, few fans paid any attention to this.
Triple H, the Chief Content Officer of WWE and thus the company’s chief creative mind, was questioned by fans about Lesnar retiring after WrestleMania 42. His answer was telling: “Well, it certainly seemed like that, right? Because, you know, Brock is not a walk-back-through-the-curtain-and-had-a-long-conversation-guy. You know, Brock walks back very angry, get on his bus, that’s the end of it. And so, there wasn’t any conversation after.”
Paul Heyman, who was also ringside during the match, went to speak with TMZ Sports about the retirement in what was described as “an absolute masterclass of preserving kayfabe.” “If I knew he was gonna retire, would I go on record saying he’s gonna dominate the next 15 years?” he asked. He also added that the tears he shed in the ring after the match were real ones.
According to Fightful Select, WWE’s top officials expected Lesnar’s retirement some time in 2026, yet the timing of it at WrestleMania was rather unexpected. They had all expected that SummerSlam would mark his retirement date.
Femi’s Era of Open Challenges on Raw
Since emerging victorious at WrestleMania, Oba Femi has been the dominating figure on the Monday Night Raw, extending weekly open challenges for anyone who is willing to step into the ring against him. Every week, he disposed of whoever came to face him, establishing himself as the scariest thing on Raw.
However, last week’s Monday Night Raw had something very interesting for us as viewers. General Manager of Monday Night Raw, Adam Pearce let Femi know that no one on the roster would be answering his challenge. So, in order to make a point, Femi went all the way to the back and pulled out Los Garzas’ Angel and Berto and disposed of both of them.
May 18, 2026: The Night The Beast Returned
The May 18th episode of WWE Raw took place on May 18 at Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina. It began as usual, with Oba Femi appearing for yet another edition of his open challenge, delivering his trademark entrance routine, while the audience speculated as to whether someone might show up to answer the call.
But nobody did.
Because the lights went out.
Suddenly, Brock Lesnar appeared out of nowhere and stormed into the ring, tackling and taking down The Ruler without giving him a chance to react. Instead of having his open challenge match answered, Femi got four consecutive thunderous F5s, delivered with such ferocity as never before. The crowd at Greensboro went crazy. Lying there, unmoving, The Ruler got taunted and pointed at.
On WWE cameras, one could see the effects of what had just happened: Oba Femi, visibly distressed, limping away from the ring, holding tight onto his trademark bead necklace and losing the aura of invincibility which usually surrounded him – showing an unfamiliar side of himself.
This was even complemented by an accidental wardrobe malfunction: Lesnar’s pants tore while he pummeled his opponent mercilessly, adding yet another unexpected aspect to the whole thing.
Paul Heyman’s Contract: Clash in Italy Is On
In the wake of the assault, an enraged Adam Pearce went backstage telling producers and referees to find Lesnar and sort things out. As he entered his office, he found Paul Heyman already sitting and ready to face him — in his characteristically dramatic way.
At first, Heyman pretended — very convincingly — that Brock Lesnar was still retired. But, suddenly, Heyman took out a signed contract from his jacket, which stated that Brock Lesnar will make a return match against Oba Femi at the WWE Clash in Italy scheduled for May 31, 2026, in Turin’s Inalpi Arena, Italy. It will be the very first WWE Premium Live Event ever to take place in Italy.
“If you can convince Femi to sign this contract,” Heyman said to Pearce, “you will have secured the biggest rematch in the history of WWE.”
Heyman got up, straightened his jacket, and left.
It’s all down to Oba Femi now.
What Comes Next? The Stake of Clash in Italy
From a storyline standpoint, Clash in Italy looks like one hell of a setup. This marks the first true test of character of the recently established Oba Femi’s character. He had just been positioned as the most powerful force on the show – the man who humiliated Lesnar on TV within five minutes at WrestleMania. However, things change when he gets beaten up by F5 by four people on national TV. Will Femi sign the contract and get his vengeance? Or will there be another way?
Being caught in such a trap would mean a lot considering the nature of his character who represents dominance and calmness on a grand scale. That is why WWE wanted to show how Femi was limping and still had that necklace in his hands as it makes him closer to viewers.
As far as Brock Lesnar is concerned, this moment has proved beyond any doubt that his boots in the ring at WrestleMania were never meant to be a farewell gift. They represented only part of the storyline that has been skillfully played out by Paul Heyman’s comments live during the show and by his six weeks long absence from WWE’s shows.
Indeed, as Yahoo Sport reports, now there is an obvious question about Lesnar’s true retirement since Clash in Italy now seems like a continuation of the current feud. Many believe that WWE has plans to let Lesnar retire properly at SummerSlam 2026, which is expected to take place in his home state of Minnesota, and Gunther might be chosen as an opponent then.
Why This Story Is So Good
The WWE has developed this angle with such grace and skill. Some main points include:
- Royal Rumble (Jan. 2026): Femi eliminates Lesnar, sowing the seed.
- Confrontation between Raw superstars (March 16, 2026): Femi physically beats Lesnar in his first encounter with him, shifting the dynamic between them
- WrestleMania 42 (April 19, 2026): Femi beats Lesnar in an instant, starting up the “retirement.”
- Raw shows after WrestleMania for several weeks: Femi openly challenges wrestlers until nobody dares stand in his way; Lesnar’s name looms large in everyone’s minds
- May 18 Raw: Lesnar makes a return, proving once again how deadly he is by executing four F5s in a row—contract in hand
The narrative logic couldn’t be tighter. Lesnar got his ass handed to him on a platter. He still needs to redeem himself. There was nothing cowardly about the sneak attack, it was merely an action of a man that felt disrespected and wanted to take matters into his own hands. And there is no way Heyman’s contract signing in front of the General Manager wasn’t designed to give Lesnar all the upper hand without ever giving Femi time to react.
The reason why this story is particularly thrilling is the path of Oba Femi. He isn’t some veteran receiving the rub from Lesnar; he is a 24-year-old phenom that has already secured the victory for himself. Should he travel to Italy to Clash with Lesnar once more, winning him clean, he will become one of the rising stars of the company, maybe even the best. Or if things were to happen otherwise, and Lesnar won against Femi in Italy, there is room left for a defining match in SummerSlam.
Either way, we all benefit.
DeeplyExpress Knew Better
As stated by DeeplyExpress following WrestleMania 42, when Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves in the ring, he had some emotions indeed; however, there was still a story to tell. According to Triple H, the decision is not quite definite yet. As history shows once again, The Beast does not go easily.
Finally, May 18, 2026 proved our assumptions right. The retirement did not finish the story but simply provided an intro.
Now, when we have a few days left before Clash in Italy and Oba Femi has yet to write his script, the greatest feud of 2026 is just beginning its action.
And should you be interested in revisiting DeeplyExpress’s article on Brock Lesnar’s retirement from after SummerSlam, then you can read it here: The End of an Era? What Brock Lesnar’s Shocking Loss Really Means for WWE.
The information used for writing the article was taken from live broadcasts and confirmed news by WWE Raw on May 18, 2026. All the match results and storyline progressions are accurate at the time of writing.
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