Omos Is Global
The 'Nigerian Giant' Wins Gold Abroad. I'm Taking Notes.
This is Omos. (Pronounced Oh-Moss)
At seven feet and three inches tall, he was formerly a mainstay on WWE programming as ‘The Nigerian Giant.’ And while I always wondered if in-storyline wrestlers give themselves their nicknames or not (because I’m sure him being 7’3” would be considered ‘regular’ to him and not a giant at all), there was no denying he was a presence. His moves weren’t fancy and frankly, didn’t have to be. He was a mountain of a man. I saw this dude compete at WrestleMania 39 and the pictures do not do him justice. Peep:
For reference, Brock Lesnar is billed as 6’3” and 287 lbs.
And while being a huge guy in wrestling seems like a good idea, just being a big man isn’t enough in the WWE (anymore). Longtime fans would find that previous sentence hilarious, as Andre the Giant was a guy who did less in the ring but was still one of the biggest stars of his time.
So Omos, not really having a compelling character reason to justify him being on the WWE roster, faded away from the limelight. That is until recently when he appeared in Pro Wrestling NOAH, one of the bigger Japanese wrestling promotions. Not to say that Japanese wrestling DOESN’T have storylines or compelling characters, but their flavor of wrestling leans more on each wrestler’s “Fighting Spirit.” That is, grappling is more combat-based in Asian markets. And well, fighting spirit fits a giant pretty well. This past week, Omos (along with Jack Morris) became Pro Wrestling NOAH’s tag team champions.
And so, every wrestling ‘pundit’ has released ‘think pieces’ about what transpired here. Wrestling fans (a community in which I’m simultaneously included fortunately AND unfortunately) love to portray themselves as the smartest people in the room. The common consensus here was that there were geniuses over at Pro Wrestling NOAH who treated Omos like a monster in a way that WWE couldn’t and so should get all of the credit. I of course disagree, The Nigerian Giant has always been portrayed as a giant. Omos has always been more agile than how he looks. He always has put in the work. So I’m down to give props to the performer as much as any promotion.
And while fans could argue that the WWE has shifted the giant roles to Bronson Reed and back to Braun Strowman, and the Nigerian roles to Oba Femi (we are NOT going to talk about Apollo Crews’ Nigerian Prince thing from the pandemic). Everyone, wrestling fans or otherwise, knows sometimes you have to make a move to keep yourself fresh. And that’s advice for life.
Not getting the promotion you want? Find a company that will. Not impressed by the dating pool? Time to check out a new town. Feel your cell phone company isn’t giving you the deal that new customers are getting? You know what you have to do.
If any business makes me feel like that entrance, I would be a customer for life. And if Target or Singapore Airlines is watching this, I prefer pyro when I walk through the doors please, and thank you.
…I JUST WANT A DISCOUNT!
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