WRESTLEMANIA 42 FALLOUT: OBA IS THE FUTURE – SO WHY DOES WWE LOOK ALLERGIC TO BUILDING ONE?

WrestleMania 42 wrapped in Las Vegas on Sunday night, and WWE walked away with three new champions on Night 2, a Roman Reigns coronation, and a Brock Lesnar retirement tease that had everyone firing up Twitter. Pretty good weekend, all told. Then came the Raw after WrestleMania, and… hmm.

The good bit: Oba Femi looks like a genuine top guy

Let’s start with the obvious. Oba Femi beating Brock Lesnar in a short, stiff, uncomplicated match was the kind of star-making moment WWE has been chasing for years. Lesnar took off his gloves and boots and left them in the ring afterwards, in what’s been reported as an apparent retirement (whether that sticks or turns out to be a work is anyone’s guess right now).

Yahoo, CBS and pretty much every outlet covering Night 2 said the same thing: this guy needs to be world champion in 2026. For once, WWE has built something from scratch without tripping over its own feet. Femi was dominant in NXT, got called up, stayed dominant, then beat the biggest physical specimen the company has ever had. That’s a clean narrative. Don’t overthink it.

The question: who’s actually next for Roman?

Which brings us to the Raw after WrestleMania. Roman Reigns came out, celebrated with Jey and Jimmy, and was interrupted by… Jacob Fatu. Another family member. Another Bloodline-adjacent storyline.

Look, Jacob Fatu is fantastic. But if the first challenger for the newly-crowned World Heavyweight Champion is another cousin, we are — once again — back in the “Roman faces his family” loop we’ve been stuck in since 2023.

This is the core tension of the post-WM42 booking. WWE clearly knows they need new blood (Femi, Trick Williams taking the US title off Sami Zayn, Sol Ruca and Ethan Page called up to Raw) but at the top of the card, they keep defaulting to what’s comfortable. Reigns vs. a Uso. Cody vs. Punk teased as the next megafight. Rhea Ripley back with another title. Familiar faces, familiar positions.

The Raw after that wasn’t

The Raw after WrestleMania used to feel like its own event. WhatCulture called this year’s version “the Raw after WrestleMania that didn’t feel like the Raw after WrestleMania,” and honestly, that’s generous. The Ring Report pointed out that absolutely nothing had been advertised for the show going in. No big return reveals. Just Roman celebrates, CM Punk broods, the Street Profits come back (again).

Sol Ruca and Ethan Page debuting is genuinely cool — Ruca coming in as a fresh NXT champion and getting a non-title match with Liv Morgan on her first night is the kind of momentum she deserves. But two NXT call-ups on a Raw after WrestleMania is a long way from the days when the show would casually debut three future Hall of Famers before the first commercial break.

So what’s the actual direction?

Here’s the honest read: WWE’s post-WM42 plan looks like a company trying to have it both ways. They want to tell everyone they’re building for tomorrow — Femi, Trick, Penta retaining the IC title over five younger challengers in a stellar ladder match — while quietly keeping their big dogs in the top spots. Reigns is World Heavyweight Champion again. Cody is still the Undisputed Champion. The biggest match being teased is Punk vs. Cody, which is a dream match, yes, but it’s also two guys who’ve been world champion multiple times in the last 18 months.

That’s not inherently bad. Reigns vs. Punk was, by most accounts, an all-timer of a main event. Cody vs. Orton sort of delivered (Randy punting Cody after the match was a proper “oh no” moment). But if WrestleMania 43 rolls around in 2027 and the top of the card is still Reigns, Cody and Punk rotating around each other, this “new era” talk is going to ring pretty hollow.

Femi’s the test case. Give him Money in the Bank, let him cash in on Reigns at SummerSlam, run him through to Mania 43 as champion. That’s the booking direction that actually backs up the talk. Anything less and we’re just watching the same three guys pass the ball again while the company tells us things are changing.

The Raw after WrestleMania used to answer these questions. This one mostly just asked them.