WWE Champion Leaves Mid-Match; Shield 2.0 'DarkState' Shockingly Still Manage to Lose

A top WWE champion had to leave a match midway. Despite this, Shield 2.0 DarkState still managed to lose.

Oba Femi has been a dominant force in the ring ever since he debuted in NXT. After a successful run as North American Champion, Oba then went on to win the NXT Title. As the black and silver brand's top champion, Oba has looked unstoppable in the ring. He has defended the title several times against some of the brand's top stars.

His last title defense was at Heatwave when he defeated Je'Von Evans. However, he now faces his biggest threat in Ricky Saints, who earned the right to challenge him for the title at NXT No Mercy after defeating Josh Briggs last week.

Last week, Oba Femi and Ricky Saints came face-to-face in the ring. However, they were confronted by DarkState. As the faction, which many have dubbed the next Shield, tried to attack them, Oba and Ricky got some reinforcements in Hank Walker and Tank Ledger. Hence, an eight-man tag team match was set up for tonight on WWE NXT.

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During the match, Oba kept pushing Ricky Saints' buttons. He even struck a Saints pose during the bout. However, things escalated between them after The Ruler forcefully tagged himself into the match. Ricky and Oba got into a brawl as the match was going on. The two men then brawled all the way to the backstage area, leaving Hank and Tank to fend for themselves against Darkstate.

As Cutler James was about to hit a chokeslam on Hank Walker, taunting that there was no one to save him, the latter uttered the name 'Joe Hendry,' which prompted the TNA star to show up. This distraction allowed Hank and Tank to pick up the big win.

WWE Stars Oba Femi and Ricky Saints Continued to Brawl After the Match Was Over

It's only been a week since Ricky Saints became the number one contender for Oba Femi's NXT Title. However, the animosity between the two men reached a boiling point tonight as The Ruler kept trying to push Ricky's buttons. Even after the match was over, these two men couldn't stop brawling.

As Hank Walker and Tank Ledger celebrated their win with Joe Hendry in the ring, the WWE cameras panned to the backstage area where Ricky and Oba continued their brawl and had to be separated by officials.

It remains to be seen who walks out of No Mercy as the NXT Champion.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Harish Raj S