WWE continues to sell Cody Rhodes’ redemption arc as “story,” implying a larger, epic kind of scale for his climb up the mountain after his now infamous loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the story’s first major chapter ended in a weird way with an effective roll-up win over Brock Lesnar at Saturday night’s 2023 edition of Backlash in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Again: A roll-up win over Brock Lesnar.
It was as weird as it sounds and reeked of WWE backing itself into a corner and then trying to find the best of both worlds. The corner – Rhodes’ loss to Reigns at ‘Mania – and the botched balancing act of prolonging the Rhodes-Lesnar feud.
It’s a shame, because otherwise the match was great.
Rhodes was the youngest brave underdog with hard-hitting moves to look great, as Lesnar is one of the best-sellers of his generation. He looked like he belonged there.
The beast incarnate slammed his face against the exposed turnbuckle to add a serious touch of purple to the match was a nice touch.
But Rhodes, having to endure a submission just to get a roll-up win, was draining. It’s begging fans to believe he can knock a former UFC champion out of the ground, which is silly. Even Reigns needs interference to beat him. This is the booking solution?
To make matters worse, Rhodes then high-tailed away as the show went black, pulled himself up the ramp and headed backstage after his big win while a blood-covered Lesnar watched from ringside.
It’s like there’s a rule that since its return, The American Nightmare has to be this modern era’s weirdest-booked babyface. First losing to Reigns and now fleeing after a roll-up win in what was meant to be a marquee moment.
Playing most of the same match was the better idea, but Lesnar won. For some reason, however, WWE feels Rhodes can’t possibly lose two major competitions in a row – as if losing to Reigns and Lesnar would somehow end his career.
It’s worth wondering if Lesnar’s excessive blood forced the match to an early end. The chance is always there, not that we’d ever find out from the company itself.
But…that still feels like WWE’s 50-50 booking is getting back on its feet in a weird way. Especially in this case, it’s a reconsideration when every fan on the planet knows that Rhodes’ “story” could drag on until the next “Mania” doesn’t matter.
What is the goal of this messy outcome? It’s classic WWE writing – enraged Lesnar ruining Rhodes’ shot at the new WWE World Heavyweight Title. After all, he can’t possibly aspire to a title struggling to shake the consolation prize as it seems nobody can beat Reigns, the unified champion. He needs to be in marquee programs until he pursues The Tribal Chief again, but giving up and pursuing another title would look terrible.
So now WWE can continue the feud with a rematch at the Night of Champions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 27th. Maybe Rhodes wins there to end it 2-0 and that ends things… but that’s WWE.
Chances are Lesnar gets his win back and they go 1-1 into SummerSlam, which is a powerful tool to delay this thing for as long as possible.
What’s also a low-key shame after all of this is that the messy ending probably didn’t deserve the main event.
If that was the end, fans probably would have been happier if the classic Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest ended the show. That was one of the best viewerships in recent memory and further proof that WWE needs to reach international spots more often, so it’s a shame that the main event couldn’t prove to be the better end of the show.
There’s a lot to suggest that WWE isn’t just hosting a finisher spam fest before a routine pin. But one wonders how this feud ends cleanly when the goal is to protect everyone involved with these finishes in the first place.
Either way, mission accomplished in the sense that the feud will continue. But an amazing crowd was left somewhat disappointed by the end of the show, and what could be an epic story just tumbled out of the gates with an ending that ultimately won’t exactly be in a prominent spot on the highlight reels.
Based on everything leading up to the finish, it’s understandable that fans are hyped for the next entry in the Rhodes Lesnar chapter of this story – while cringe a little as the finish draws near.