ATLANTA, GA. -- In the world of the WWE, there have been thousands of feuds over the years. One wrestler has issues with another for some reason, and they will fight to resolve those issues. Most come and go, some are memorable for a time, but a select few of those feuds have gone above and beyond, and transcended the sport.
Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock. The Undertaker vs Sean Michaels. John Cena vs Randy Orton. To name one of the more recently established ones, Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins.
Tonight at WWE’s Sunday Night’s Main Event, ‘The Unpredictable Badass’ Bron Breakker and ‘The Ruler’ Oba Femi face off for the first time, in a match that has the potential to launch their feud on the trajectory to joining that heralded list of the best of all time.
As with all of these above feuds, Breakker vs Femi not only has the star power needed, but also has that captivating story and human element to it, that if used correctly, could be stretched for decades.
Bron Breakker has had a little more time than Femi on the main roster, and he has established himself as the future of this company. With the fiery persona and wrestling style he adopted from his father Rick Steiner, he was speared and barked his way to the top. After dominating in NXT, he has won the Intercontinental Championship on the main roster, as well as joining ‘The Vision’ faction with Seth Rollins, before he turned on Seth and really catapulted himself forward. He suffered an injury in February, but after he returned at WrestleMania, he and Seth went on to have an amazing series of battles, including a Breakker victory over the visionary at Backlash. Since this feud, he has not been put in such big spots, but is still tag team champion with The Vision.
Oba Femi has redefined the saying ‘taking something by storm’, already forcing the WWE Universe to consider him the future of this company after just seven months. After showing the world what he could do against Cody Rhodes at the John Cenal retirement show in December, Femi officially debuted in a massive way at the Royal Rumble. After being eliminated by Brock Lesnar, Femi called his shot and attacked Lesnar on Raw a few weeks later, setting his iconic rise into motion. As you know, he and Lesnar then went on to have a historic three match feud, in which Femi destroyed Lesnar at WrestleMania and Lesnar got his revenge at Clash in Italy, but ‘The Ruler’ ultimately slayed the beast at SummerSlam inside Hell in a Cell, sending Lesnar into retirement and earning his respect. Femi also has a King of the Ring victory under his belt.
Now if you’ll notice, one thing I said for both of these superstars is, they are considered the ‘future’. Both young superstars are on their rise at a time when many of the past legends are retiring, so it's only right we label them the next big thing that will carry the company.
But that's the problem, neither Breakker nor Femi are fine with sharing that burden.
After a couple of staredowns following SummerSlam, the two finally got to hash it out on the mic and send jabs at one another. Breakker feels that he was on his way to being in sole possession of that title before it was stolen from him with his injury.
After all, Breakker was on track to face Seth sooner in the year before he got hurt in February. In those two months he was gone, Femi established himself as a monster weekly by obliterating just about everyone he could on Raw, and really put his name on the map by attacking Lesnar on the March 16th episode of Raw. By the time Breakker returned at Mania, Femi would already have his crowning moment of squashing Brock Lesnar the very next day. This match is a chance for Breakker to prove he is the true future, and to conquer the man who 'momentarily' stole his spot.
For Femi, this feud with Breakker is a little more than just business as usual. He knows in his mind that he is the future of the WWE after he ended ‘The Beast’, but the fact that someone else is coming for that title, he’s ready to use this opportunity to cement himself, before he hopes to go on to compete for a world title.
So what will happen Sunday when an unstoppable force in Breakker meets an immovable object in Femi?
Either of them dominating in this first match would undoubtedly set the other back, so it’ll be interesting to see how the creative team goes about this, and if there will be shenanigans from the Vision getting involved.
Regardless, we cannot overlook this match tonight. If done well, which I’m confident it will be, it will be the first chapter in a career long battle. Who is the true future of this company? Tune into Sunday Night’s Main Event, live from Atlanta, GA, at 8:00 p.m. EST.