December 31, 2024 • 11 mins
From the archives of The Takedown on SI, Adam spoke with Oba Femi about his upcoming NXT Championship match against Trick Williams, a potential match with TNA's AJ Francis, and his advice for upcoming talent in WWE NIL and WWEID.
Special thanks to 10th Ward Barbershop - Proudly serving the historic 10th Ward in Lawrenceville and surrounding areas, 10th Ward Barbershop is a full service barbershop offering quality haircuts, beard trims, and hot shaves. Schedule your appointment with Finn Balor and Corey Graves' favorite barbershop today.
Host/Executive Producer: Adam Barnard
Additional Production/Narration: Sam Krepps
Engineer: Carl Pannell
Intro Music: Carl Pannell
Outro Music/Musical Accompaniment: Enrichment
Instagram/X/Threads/Bluesky: @thisisgoober | @fndradiopod
A Butts Carlton Media production. Butts Carlton, Proprietor.
Special thanks to 10th Ward Barbershop - Proudly serving the historic 10th Ward in Lawrenceville and surrounding areas, 10th Ward Barbershop is a full service barbershop offering quality haircuts, beard trims, and hot shaves. Schedule your appointment with Finn Balor and Corey Graves' favorite barbershop today.
Host/Executive Producer: Adam Barnard
Additional Production/Narration: Sam Krepps
Engineer: Carl Pannell
Intro Music: Carl Pannell
Outro Music/Musical Accompaniment: Enrichment
Instagram/X/Threads/Bluesky: @thisisgoober | @fndradiopod
A Butts Carlton Media production. Butts Carlton, Proprietor.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Foundation Radio is now an exclusive brand partner with WWE
shop dot com. Pick up all your favorite new merchandise
from Roman Reigns, Colledge, Coby Rhodes, I have to finish
the story La Night, Rubb, It's After and more using
our exclusive link in the show notes. Click below and
show your support today for your favorite WWE superstar at
(00:24):
WWE shop dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Foundation Radio was brought to you by tenth Ward Barbershop,
a full service barbershop offering high quality haircuts, beard trims,
and hot shaves. Tenth Ward Barbershop proudly serves the historic Lawrenceville,
tenth Ward and surrounding Pittsburgh areas. Adam frequents tenth Ward
Barbershop when he swings through the area and loves Ryan
Kains laser sharp precision on both his hair and beard needs,
(00:52):
but you don't.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Have to take his word for it.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
WWE superstars Finn Balor and Corey Graves frequent tenth Ward
Barbershop for their hair and your needs. The team at
tenth Ward accepts walk in, but schedules fill up quickly.
The best way to see them is to make an
appointment at Tentward Barbershop dot com. That's one zero thh
Ward Barbershop dot com. Make sure to grab some silk
pans or hair products in shop or online while you're there.
(01:17):
Schedule your appointment today to see Kane Jordan and the
rest of the team at tenth Ward Barbershop today, and
we thank them for sponsoring the program.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
What's happening in This is baron Court right here, and
you're listening to Foundation Radios.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
This is Foundation Radio. Here is your host, Adam Barnard.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Peace World, and welcome to a special conversation for the
Takedown on SI. My name is Adam Bernard. Thank you
so much for joining me today. My guest is the
longest reigning NXT North American Champion and the winner of
the NXT Men's Iron Survivor Match.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Ob femi, how are you sir? It's a pleasure to
speak with you.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Thank you for having me, Adam. I'm doing well. How
are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I'm doing all right.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It's a little bit gloomy here in New Jersey, but
otherwise I'm all right, good solid Monday. Congratulations on winning
the Iron Survivor Match. You'll be facing NXT champion Trick
Williams at NXT New Year's Evil on January seventh. Tell
me about what it means to have this opportunity and
how you're going to be approaching this match coming up
with the champion.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
As far as my approach is concerned, I stay consistent.
I'm consistently training and trying to be better, so there's
no real need to break us certain like, if something
is not broken, don't fix it. That's my approach to
this match. And as far as what it means to
me to be in this position, I find myself to
(02:58):
be a very privileged to be in this spot that
I'm in right now as a result of hard walk,
consistency and you know, grids and will and all that
good stuff. And I'm just happy that the company gets
to get the returns of the investments they made in me,
And that's the biggest takeaway from me.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
It's been really amazing this past year to see the
crossover between NXT and TNA, and during your feud with
Tony DiAngelo, get the opportunity to have a really hard
hitting match with Alex Hammerstone from TNA.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
What was it like working with Hammerstone?
Speaker 4 (03:31):
I was really nice man, Lovely to meet him, lovely
to walk with him. I'm glad we get to expand
our horizon because there's definitely a WWA and a ww formula.
So it's nice to work with these guys from TNA
and find out how they do things and how they
approach things, and there's always something to learn from everybody.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
So I love Hammerstone, lovely fellow, lovely bloke.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And also to in a recent interview, we were missed
not to mention you're mentioned a lot and a lot
of people's wish list for potential matches and tnasr A
J Francis mentioned you specifically as someone he'd like to
get in the ring with at the opportunity ever presented
itself for more crossovers. What are your thoughts on a
potential match with AJ Francis and his complimentary words about you.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Well, I always going to appreciate the complimentary words. I
hope we get to have a hard hitting big man
big man match that that'll be something, you know, exciting
for the people to see.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
You know, it's very rare that we get those.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
It's always big man, small man or you know, both
regular sized guys.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
The true potential of big man big man matches has
definitely something that's still on top in the recent years.
I'm sure when you look back at the nineties and eighties,
you'll see a thousands big men working with each other.
But like, and that's that's one of the things that
excites me about, you know, potentially working with a J.
Frans is that you know it's big man, big man,
(04:58):
and you rarely get to do that. Open to it
now you start talk about big Man, big Man.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You had a chance to wrestle Otis during your reign
as NXT North American Champion, and I have to say too,
probably could have been a main event in that big
Ee Media Man Invitational that where everybody keeps talking about.
Tell me about the experience of wrestling Otis, And I
have to know, I ask everyone who wrestles Otis, what's
it like being on the other end of that caterpillar.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
There's a lot does a lot of human being. That
is a lot of you don't know what you just
did that you just hidden something. My brain tried to
bury you. Just it's from the ground. Okay, Uh, that's
a lot of mind coming down on you. Pause. But yeah,
(05:42):
he's a big time I enjoyed working with Otis.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You're a very entertaining fellow. I like.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
I like how he makes the smallest of things mean
the most. You know, he's a he's a star. He's
a star. Definitely, so definitely pushed me into my limits
as well. You know, you know, just moving him around
was difficult, and when when something is difficult, I embraced
the challenge. So I appreciated my experience working with Notice.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Now I know that I mentioned that you're the longest
reigning NXC North American champion, and when I spoke to
Tony di'angelo a few months back before your big match
for the championship, he indicated that he was quote looking
forward to hurting you.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I'm sure there's probably.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Some unfinished bitusiness with the don, but I wanted to
know your response to that, and, uh, if there's any
opportunity for you to to potentially reclaim that title.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Oh, my good friend, Tony, we heard it. We definitely
hurt each other.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Uh, three hard hitting matches where we pushed each other
to the limit. Uh, Tony, Tony knows we have a
mutual respect for each other. Now, he knows that, Uh,
and he knows why we have that respect because as
hard as he and his family hit. I hit much harder,
so Tony can talk about the trash she wants now, Tony,
(07:05):
Tony knows he was rock had him money back foot
the entire feud.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
He knows it.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
But but I think I'm done on dusted with Tony,
Uh until our paths cross again.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
It still hurts me that he took that title from it,
but yeah, it's something that I now. I'm the eye
on survivor. It's behind me. Let's get the NXC championship now.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So you're the longest raigning NXT North American champion. You
were rather and you are going to win the NXC
Championship once your time in NXC is over. What are
some of your aspirations for the main roster once you're
called up.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Uh? Definitely.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
I want to take what I've done here in NXC,
and that is redefined what the big man style is,
and I plan to take it up there and you know,
throw it to the mix. I think I've done a
good job of putting a spin on on what the
typical big man is. I've showing that the typical big
man the new big man, let's call it that. The
new big Money is the talk of the new big
money is, I think, and the new big man moves fast,
(08:08):
so I'm changing the perception of what that is. And
I hope that I can go to the main roster
and you know, show that to the world on the
bigger platform than NXC Love, NXT to Death. NXTS is
doing very well for itself. It's going to open view
of us and it gets new view of us every year.
But the main roster is the bigger audience. So that
(08:31):
is my plan.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Now, my final question for you before I let you
go today. You were part of the Next in Line
program and you're arguably the most successful signing of that program.
So I want to say congratulations to you about that
as well. And now I know that the recent development
with the WWEID program has been in place, what advice
would you give to new signees from both programs on
how to be successful once they're at the dance.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Find a way to do pro wrestling but still be yourself.
I think people get lost trying to act like a
pro wrestler and they forget that they themselves are one.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Yeah, people are like you know, trying to do the.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
People try to imitate the.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Body language and the acts of pro wrestlers, but like
they forget, like no, it's like, this isn't what a
pro wrestler would do if they get hit.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
It's like, what would you do when you get hit?
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And I think people have to find that, especially for
new people coming in.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
You have to find you and how you would do
everything and how you would execute everything.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I think that's my piece of advice for them, and
I hope that helps absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
NXT New Year's Evil takes place on January seventh at
the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California. Will be
live on the CW, so check your local listings for
start time.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Oh but Emmi, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing
you be successful in your match against Strick Williams next month.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Yes, sir, thank you so much for having me met.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
This episode of Foundation Radio is hosted, recorded, and produced
by Adam Barnard. Additional narration and production is provided by
the executive voice Sam Kreps. Our mixing and engineering, as
well as our intro music is by Carl Panell. Our
outro music and additional musical accompaniment are produced by Enrichment.
Follow Adam on X or Twitter or whatever and Instagram
(10:44):
at This is Goober, and follow the show on X
and Instagram at FND Radio Pod. Find our entire show
archive at Foundation Radio dot net. This has been a
Buttz Carlton Media production Butts Carlton proprietor
Foundation Radio is now an exclusive brand partner with WWE
shop dot com. Pick up all your favorite new merchandise
from Roman Reigns, Colledge, Coby Rhodes, I have to finish
the story La Night, Rubb, It's After and more using
our exclusive link in the show notes. Click below and
show your support today for your favorite WWE superstar at
(00:24):
WWE shop dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Foundation Radio was brought to you by tenth Ward Barbershop,
a full service barbershop offering high quality haircuts, beard trims,
and hot shaves. Tenth Ward Barbershop proudly serves the historic Lawrenceville,
tenth Ward and surrounding Pittsburgh areas. Adam frequents tenth Ward
Barbershop when he swings through the area and loves Ryan
Kains laser sharp precision on both his hair and beard needs,
(00:52):
but you don't.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Have to take his word for it.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
WWE superstars Finn Balor and Corey Graves frequent tenth Ward
Barbershop for their hair and your needs. The team at
tenth Ward accepts walk in, but schedules fill up quickly.
The best way to see them is to make an
appointment at Tentward Barbershop dot com. That's one zero thh
Ward Barbershop dot com. Make sure to grab some silk
pans or hair products in shop or online while you're there.
(01:17):
Schedule your appointment today to see Kane Jordan and the
rest of the team at tenth Ward Barbershop today, and
we thank them for sponsoring the program.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
What's happening in This is baron Court right here, and
you're listening to Foundation Radios.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
This is Foundation Radio. Here is your host, Adam Barnard.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Peace World, and welcome to a special conversation for the
Takedown on SI. My name is Adam Bernard. Thank you
so much for joining me today. My guest is the
longest reigning NXT North American Champion and the winner of
the NXT Men's Iron Survivor Match.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Ob femi, how are you sir? It's a pleasure to
speak with you.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Thank you for having me, Adam. I'm doing well. How
are you doing?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
I'm doing all right.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It's a little bit gloomy here in New Jersey, but
otherwise I'm all right, good solid Monday. Congratulations on winning
the Iron Survivor Match. You'll be facing NXT champion Trick
Williams at NXT New Year's Evil on January seventh. Tell
me about what it means to have this opportunity and
how you're going to be approaching this match coming up
with the champion.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
As far as my approach is concerned, I stay consistent.
I'm consistently training and trying to be better, so there's
no real need to break us certain like, if something
is not broken, don't fix it. That's my approach to
this match. And as far as what it means to
me to be in this position, I find myself to
(02:58):
be a very privileged to be in this spot that
I'm in right now as a result of hard walk,
consistency and you know, grids and will and all that
good stuff. And I'm just happy that the company gets
to get the returns of the investments they made in me,
And that's the biggest takeaway from me.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
It's been really amazing this past year to see the
crossover between NXT and TNA, and during your feud with
Tony DiAngelo, get the opportunity to have a really hard
hitting match with Alex Hammerstone from TNA.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
What was it like working with Hammerstone?
Speaker 4 (03:31):
I was really nice man, Lovely to meet him, lovely
to walk with him. I'm glad we get to expand
our horizon because there's definitely a WWA and a ww formula.
So it's nice to work with these guys from TNA
and find out how they do things and how they
approach things, and there's always something to learn from everybody.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
So I love Hammerstone, lovely fellow, lovely bloke.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And also to in a recent interview, we were missed
not to mention you're mentioned a lot and a lot
of people's wish list for potential matches and tnasr A
J Francis mentioned you specifically as someone he'd like to
get in the ring with at the opportunity ever presented
itself for more crossovers. What are your thoughts on a
potential match with AJ Francis and his complimentary words about you.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Well, I always going to appreciate the complimentary words. I
hope we get to have a hard hitting big man
big man match that that'll be something, you know, exciting
for the people to see.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
You know, it's very rare that we get those.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
It's always big man, small man or you know, both
regular sized guys.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
The true potential of big man big man matches has
definitely something that's still on top in the recent years.
I'm sure when you look back at the nineties and eighties,
you'll see a thousands big men working with each other.
But like, and that's that's one of the things that
excites me about, you know, potentially working with a J.
Frans is that you know it's big man, big man,
(04:58):
and you rarely get to do that. Open to it
now you start talk about big Man, big Man.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
You had a chance to wrestle Otis during your reign
as NXT North American Champion, and I have to say too,
probably could have been a main event in that big
Ee Media Man Invitational that where everybody keeps talking about.
Tell me about the experience of wrestling Otis, And I
have to know, I ask everyone who wrestles Otis, what's
it like being on the other end of that caterpillar.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
There's a lot does a lot of human being. That
is a lot of you don't know what you just
did that you just hidden something. My brain tried to
bury you. Just it's from the ground. Okay, Uh, that's
a lot of mind coming down on you. Pause. But yeah,
(05:42):
he's a big time I enjoyed working with Otis.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You're a very entertaining fellow. I like.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
I like how he makes the smallest of things mean
the most. You know, he's a he's a star. He's
a star. Definitely, so definitely pushed me into my limits
as well. You know, you know, just moving him around
was difficult, and when when something is difficult, I embraced
the challenge. So I appreciated my experience working with Notice.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Now I know that I mentioned that you're the longest
reigning NXC North American champion, and when I spoke to
Tony di'angelo a few months back before your big match
for the championship, he indicated that he was quote looking
forward to hurting you.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I'm sure there's probably.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Some unfinished bitusiness with the don, but I wanted to
know your response to that, and, uh, if there's any
opportunity for you to to potentially reclaim that title.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Oh, my good friend, Tony, we heard it. We definitely
hurt each other.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Uh, three hard hitting matches where we pushed each other
to the limit. Uh, Tony, Tony knows we have a
mutual respect for each other. Now, he knows that, Uh,
and he knows why we have that respect because as
hard as he and his family hit. I hit much harder,
so Tony can talk about the trash she wants now, Tony,
(07:05):
Tony knows he was rock had him money back foot
the entire feud.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
He knows it.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
But but I think I'm done on dusted with Tony,
Uh until our paths cross again.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
It still hurts me that he took that title from it,
but yeah, it's something that I now. I'm the eye
on survivor. It's behind me. Let's get the NXC championship now.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So you're the longest raigning NXT North American champion. You
were rather and you are going to win the NXC
Championship once your time in NXC is over. What are
some of your aspirations for the main roster once you're
called up.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Uh? Definitely.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
I want to take what I've done here in NXC,
and that is redefined what the big man style is,
and I plan to take it up there and you know,
throw it to the mix. I think I've done a
good job of putting a spin on on what the
typical big man is. I've showing that the typical big
man the new big man, let's call it that. The
new big Money is the talk of the new big
money is, I think, and the new big man moves fast,
(08:08):
so I'm changing the perception of what that is. And
I hope that I can go to the main roster
and you know, show that to the world on the
bigger platform than NXC Love, NXT to Death. NXTS is
doing very well for itself. It's going to open view
of us and it gets new view of us every year.
But the main roster is the bigger audience. So that
(08:31):
is my plan.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Now, my final question for you before I let you
go today. You were part of the Next in Line
program and you're arguably the most successful signing of that program.
So I want to say congratulations to you about that
as well. And now I know that the recent development
with the WWEID program has been in place, what advice
would you give to new signees from both programs on
how to be successful once they're at the dance.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Find a way to do pro wrestling but still be yourself.
I think people get lost trying to act like a
pro wrestler and they forget that they themselves are one.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Yeah, people are like you know, trying to do the.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
People try to imitate the.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Body language and the acts of pro wrestlers, but like
they forget, like no, it's like, this isn't what a
pro wrestler would do if they get hit.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
It's like, what would you do when you get hit?
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
And I think people have to find that, especially for
new people coming in.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
You have to find you and how you would do
everything and how you would execute everything.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
I think that's my piece of advice for them, and
I hope that helps absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
NXT New Year's Evil takes place on January seventh at
the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California. Will be
live on the CW, so check your local listings for
start time.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Oh but Emmi, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing
you be successful in your match against Strick Williams next month.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
Yes, sir, thank you so much for having me met.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
This episode of Foundation Radio is hosted, recorded, and produced
by Adam Barnard. Additional narration and production is provided by
the executive voice Sam Kreps. Our mixing and engineering, as
well as our intro music is by Carl Panell. Our
outro music and additional musical accompaniment are produced by Enrichment.
Follow Adam on X or Twitter or whatever and Instagram
(10:44):
at This is Goober, and follow the show on X
and Instagram at FND Radio Pod. Find our entire show
archive at Foundation Radio dot net. This has been a
Buttz Carlton Media production Butts Carlton proprietor
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