Omos Is One Of Many Basketball Players To Become Pro Wrestlers
Professional wrestling has a rich history of performers from athletic backgrounds, and its current generation of stars is no different. In WWE, one of the promotion's fiercest big men in the ring was also once a dominant force on the court.
Jordan Omogbehin, who wrestles as Omos in WWE, enjoyed a long basketball career before testing his strength in the squared circle, working his way up to the NCAA Division I ranks with Morgan State and the University of South Florida. Immigrating to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria, Omogbehin played basketball throughout his teenage years and landed in the AAU developmental travel league that often produces future NCAA and NBA stars. Omogbehin played for Team Takeover in the AAU before signing to play with the University of South Florida, where he played from 2012 until 2014.
At South Florida, the Nigerian-born center scored nine points and brought down 13 rebounds throughout his brief time with the team, which ended after he only appeared in nine games in his second season. Omogbehin then transferred to Morgan State, where he saw short spurts of playing time in 11 games during the 2014-15 season, scoring four points before wrapping up his basketball career for good.
Omogbehin Becomes Omos
After hanging up his basketball jersey for the final time, Omogbehin joined in the lineage of former basketball players turning to pro wrestling – a list of wrestlers that includes The Big Show, Kevin Nash, Nia Jax, and Bayley. In October 2018, Omogbehin was part of the WWE's highly touted class of recruits, which included Mia Yim and Matt Riddle. The WWE's new 7-foot-3, 370-pound giant made his in-ring debut in July the next year at a "WWE NXT" house show, according to Sports Illustrated.
Omos immediately made his impact felt each time he debuted in the WWE, first defeating Scott Parker and Shane Matthews in a two-on-one handicap match in his "NXT" debut and later becoming an intimidating doorman character on "Raw," before making his official main roster debut alongside his future tag team partner AJ Styles. After aligning himself with Styles on the main roster, the WWE gave Omogbehin the name "Omos."
With Styles, Omos found immediate success on the main roster. The unlikely tag team went on to win the "Raw" Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 37 in 2021, defeating The New Day for the belts after Omos pinned Kofi Kingston. Their tag team has since disbanded, and Omos has moved on to picking fights his own size. In the second half of 2022, the WWE's biggest big man has been locked in a feud with Braun Strowman, most recently taking him on in a losing effort at WWE Crown Jewel in November.