Brock Lesnar decided on his own to head back to the ring and acknowledge Oba Femi following the main event of WWE SummerSlam Night 1, according to The Miz.
Femi defeated Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell on August 1 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As he was walking up the ramp, The Beast Incarnate turned around, hugged Femi, raised his arm and presented him as the future of WWE.
During an interview with TMZ’s Inside The Ring, The Miz revealed that the moment did not come from WWE’s creative team.
“I think everyone was shocked about Brock Lesnar, and it wasn’t the fact that he lost. It was the fact that after the match, he was walking out of the ring and then turned back around and basically, as we call it, gave Oba Femi the rub.
People don’t understand, like, creative didn’t tell [him to do that]. Brock does what Brock wants to do. Brock isn’t told something. When he feels it, he just goes after it and does it.”
According to Miz, Lesnar also viewed Femi as the new “Next Big Thing,” the nickname used when Lesnar first arrived in WWE. Miz acknowledged that the statement puts significant pressure on Femi but said he believes he can handle it.
Femi also revealed during the SummerSlam post-show that he did not expect the hug or the public acknowledgment. According to Femi, there was respect between them despite how physical the feud had been.
The story began when Femi defeated Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 on April 19. Lesnar returned weeks later, attacked Femi and won the rematch at Clash in Italy. After winning King of the Ring, Femi issued another challenge, while Brock chose Hell in a Cell for their third match.
SummerSlam marked Femi’s first match inside the structure and Lesnar’s first Hell in a Cell loss after two victories over The Undertaker.
Three days later, on August 4, Lesnar announced his retirement on The Pat McAfee Show.