Summary

Mark Henry believes Oba Femi's next step is learning when to push back on ideas that do not fit his long-term growth.

Femi has continued to build momentum after his WrestleMania 42 win over Brock Lesnar, and Henry said that kind of rise makes it even more important to protect the direction of a young star. Rather than rejecting ideas for the sake of it, Henry framed that as being careful with development and making sure a character does not get pulled backward.

Quote from Mark Henry

Speaking during a recent interview, Henry said:

"It's learning to say no. There's some things that are not going to be good for you going forward and it's tough to say no, but you have be able to say, 'We worked too hard to get to this point, I think that would take us backwards. Is there another way we could do it because that just doesn't work for me.' You're not being difficult, you're not being a butthole, you're being cautious and careful about your development and where you're going. That's just my advice to Oba and well as my advice to the company. Do the right thing and be flexible. Don't be so rigid when an idea is struck and you just don't feel it. If you emotionally can't get your mind into it, it's not going to play out well to the people that are watching."

What Henry's advice could mean for Oba Femi in NXT

Oba Femi's open challenge series now carries even more weight, because it gives him a weekly showcase while also testing how WWE wants to present him after a major WrestleMania win. Henry's point is that a talent in that spot has to protect the version of the character that is already connecting.

If Femi keeps stacking strong performances in the open challenge, that only adds to the pressure to keep his presentation focused. Henry's comments also put some responsibility on WWE to stay flexible if a creative idea feels out of step with the momentum Femi has already built.

Sources

Mark Henry while speaking with the Toronto Sun