NXT News: Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley, Lita, More

NXT news and notes from Corey Brennan

• Rhea Ripley’s bloody appearance following an attack by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez drew concern backstage, but the segment was green lit by a ‘higher power’, meaning Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Lee Fitting or a CW executive approved the segment.

•  For those asking about NXT Deadline, we have heard that the event is tentatively planned but a date has yet to be confirmed by us. One source speculated the event could be during the first or second week of December.

•  More cameos are expected at next week’s show at the ECW Arena.

•  Brinley Reece’s arm popping out of place was a planned spot, and Brinley was said to be fine afterwards. Reece is double jointed, much like Alexa Bliss who has done similar spots in the past.

• Sean Ross Sapp confirmed that Lita had been pitched for the ten woman tag team match next week.

Oba Femi Rumor Update

On October 28th, a rumor began to spread on social media that Oba Femi said his goodbyes to NXT backstage after Halloween Havoc, with the source being a private account amplified by other outlets.

Fightful Select’s Corey Brennan has enquired about this rumor with NXT sources, and has been met with ignorance to the possibility of an Oba Femi main roster call up. In asking sources ranging from production, talent and otherwise, we did not hear of Femi saying goodbyes following Halloween Havoc, with those we spoke to being of the belief Femi will remain in NXT for the time being.

Femi has been long considered a future WWE Champion, something which we previously reported when Femi captured the NXT North American Championship. Several sources in NXT we spoke to were of the belief that Femi was next in line for the NXT Championship after Trick Williams, but we were unable to confirm if that was in WWE’s immediate plans.

It is worth noting that when an NXT star says goodbye to the brand, it is very rarely kept secret, with videos being posted to social media of stars such as Bron Breakker being filmed following his final match on the brand.