Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi has been inevitable since WWE WrestleMania 42.

That was the night Reigns bested CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship and Femi conquered Brock Lesnar in a matter of minutes. Femi went so far as to call out Reigns during the post-show press conference and set his sights on the prestigious prize in the process.

That promo planted the seeds for what is currently the biggest bout WWE could possibly book with their active talent. Fans assumed it would come to fruition as soon as SummerSlam, but even after Femi won the King of the Ring tournament, the company proved to have other plans and postponed it for down the road.

Since becoming the head of WWE Creative four years ago, Triple H has historically waited until the Show of Shows to deliver marquee matches and monumental moments. As it stands, all signs point to Reigns holding the World Heavyweight Championship until WrestleMania 43 and that being where Femi finally gets his shot.

However, there are several reasons why he can't afford to wait that long to pull the trigger on Reigns vs. Femi.

Femi Has No More Believable Hurdles to Overcome

Instead of immediately thrusting Oba Femi into world championship contention coming out of WrestleMania 42, WWE opted to have him resume his rivalry with Brock Lesnar, who fans were led to believe had retired from the ring following his loss to the Nigerian newcomer at 'Mania.

That also involved Femi forgoing the guaranteed title shot he earned from winning King of the Ring in order to face Lesnar in a rubber match inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam.

Once it became clear that WWE wasn't booking Reigns vs. Femi anytime soon, it was less of a question of how long WWE was willing to wait to get to it and more of about how they intended to kill time with Femi until then.

Putting him in a program with The Vision was a fine use of him post-SummerSlam, but that feud quickly lost a lot of steam once he beat Bronson Reed clean at Money in the Bank. His Sunday Night's Main Event encounter with Bron Breakker ended in a disqualification, so while they could run it back at some point, Breakker appears to be busy with the World Tag Team Championship for the foreseeable future.

The Raw roster lacks credible heels and believable opponents in general for Femi at the moment. Femi spending his time working with really anyone but Reigns going forward would make zero storyline sense for someone who has called out Reigns on more than one occasion.

Reigns' Matches Will Become More and More Predictable

Roman Reigns' recent World Heavyweight Championship defense against LA Knight at Money in the Bank was an overall exceptional outing with an electric atmosphere in New Orleans. The biggest thing it suffered from was the end result being so predictable.

From the moment Reigns took the title from CM Punk at WrestleMania 42, it was essentially set in stone that he wouldn't be dropping it to anyone but Oba Femi, regardless of when that was. Reigns' comments during the 'Mania post-show press conference about being around for the summer indicated that SummerSlam might mark the end of his reign, but that didn't end up being the case.

In all fairness, The Tribal Chief has been having a heck of a run as champ this year. All of his matches have had a big fight feel and the clean finishes have been a refreshing change of pace compared to the excessive amount of Bloodline interference during his previous reign.

It's been difficult for fans to buy into the idea of Reigns actually losing knowing that the Femi match remains on the horizon. Realistically, he could drop the belt briefly and get it back in time for WrestleMania 43, but Triple H has long been high on uninterrupted championship runs as well as ensuring Reigns looks strong.

Royce Keys could challenge for the World Heavyweight title in the coming months, and it'd be booking malpractice for him not to, but he's automatically an afterthought if Femi is the final boss at 'Mania.

WWE Runs the Risk of Fans Souring on Femi Before WrestleMania

Speaking of Superstars who are booked to look too strong, WWE has had a longstanding issue of that throughout its history, specifically with anyone being built up as the next top babyface of the top company.

It's what eventually caused fans to turn against Hulk Hogan at the height of his WWE run, John Cena infamously had a polarizing relationship with crowds during his time on top, and Reigns was never truly accepted by the audience until well into his heel run a few years ago.

Even Cody Rhodes is now approaching a point where fans are ready to see him break bad, but that's at least after years of being portrayed as "the guy" and having them mostly behind him.

Femi hasn't won a world championship on the main roster yet and WWE is running the risk of fans souring on him before then by booking him to be so unstoppable.

The sole loss he's endured so far was to Brock Lesnar at Clash in Italy. Otherwise, he's hardly been made to look vulnerable, and that could come back to bite him with it being so obvious that he'll be dethroning Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship once they go one-on-one.

Putting the title on Femi anytime soon would not be "rushing" him into a spot he can't excel in. In fact, he could have been world champ coming out of WrestleMania 42 and fans very likely wouldn't have rebelled because it would've been something new and he's already world champion material.

In other words, it wouldn't be completely out of the question for fans to be split for Femi vs. Reigns come WrestleMania.

Reigns Can't Keep Ignoring the Elephant in the Room

As noted, Femi has now called out Reigns and the World Heavyweight Championship not once but twice in post-show press conferences: first at WrestleMania 42 and again at Money in the Bank.

That's what makes it all the more puzzling that Femi has been focused on everyone but Reigns for the past six months.

Winning King of the Ring should have been his ticket to the main event scene, but he threw that title shot away so he could avenge his loss to Lesnar at SummerSlam. WWE continues to call him King of the Ring, but the implication is that his title shot is now null and void and that he'll have to earn another opportunity some other way.

Engaging in a blood feud with Lesnar was understandable to an extent, but he gains nothing from racking up wins against a dead faction in The Vision. He also wouldn't benefit from challenging for or capturing the Intercontinental Championship, either.

If anything, Reigns ignoring Femi's demands for a match makes Femi look less than. It sends the message that Reigns is too busy with worthier opponents and his ongoing rivalry with The 946 to be bothered by The Ruler name-dropping him every so often.

It will be a big deal when they do cross paths down the road, but the teases of their looming match haven't been subtle. Thus, it's illogical to get fans hyped for it when it's still many months away.

There Are Other Potential Matches for Both Men at WrestleMania

The main question fans might ask if WWE were to run Reigns vs. Femi ahead of WrestleMania 43 is what the two of them would do at the event instead.

Of course, their first match could take place at the Royal Rumble followed by a rematch at WrestleMania (assuming Reigns were to somehow successfully retain at the Rumble), but on the surface, that wouldn't be an exciting direction to go in. It'd merely be delaying the inevitable.

The Bloodline not factoring into virtually any of Reigns' matches this year has to amount to something, ideally the group turning on their Tribal Chief when Reigns loses to Femi decisively. Femi defeating Reigns at the Rumble could lay the groundwork for Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania with Fatu finally getting that elusive victory over Reigns.

Femi could then walk into WrestleMania as World Heavyweight champion and defend against a fresh face such as Bron Breakker or someone from SmackDown like Cody Rhodes or CM Punk. There are no shortage of Superstars he can face on The Grandest Stage of Them All if Reigns was tied up in a non-title affair.

Above all else, Reigns' crowning moment doesn't need to be validated by being saved for 'Mania. The Triple H regime must stop waiting for the tentpole premium live events to pay off certain stories and deliver key matches and moments as it makes everything else inconsequential in the meantime.