The Cody Rhodes Story Takes Odd Turn with Weak WWE Backlash Win vs. Brock Lesnar

WWE continues to sell Cody Rhodes' redemption arc as a "story," which implies a grander, epic sort of scale to his climb back up the mountain after the now-infamous loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.

Unfortunately for all involved, the first major chapter of the story closed in odd fashion with what was effectively a roll-up win over Brock Lesnar at the 2023 edition of Backlash on Saturday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Again: A roll-up win over Brock Lesnar.

It was as odd as it sounds and reeks of WWE booking itself into a corner and then trying to best -of-both-worlds its way out. The corner—Rhodes' loss to Reigns at 'Mania—and the botched balancing act of prolonging the Rhodes vs. Lesnar feud.

A shame, because the match was awesome otherwise.

Rhodes was the latest plucky underdog with big-hitting moves to look great because Lesnar is low-key one of the best sellers of his generation. He looked every bit the part of belonging there.

The Beast Incarnate slamming his face into the exposed turnbuckle to add a serious dash of crimson to the match was a nice touch.

But Rhodes enduring a submission only to score a roll-up win was deflating. It asks fans to believe he can out-ground-game a former UFC champion, which is silly. Even Reigns needs interference to beat him. This is the booking solution?

To make matters worse, Rhodes then high-tailed it out of there as the show faded to black, retreating up the ramp and going backstage after his big win while a bloodied Lesnar watched on from the ring.

It's like there's a rule that The American Nightmare has to be the strangest-booked babyface of this modern era since his return. First, the loss to Reigns and now running away after a roll-up win during what was supposed to be a marquee moment.

The better idea was having most of the same match play out, but with Lesnar winning. For whatever reason, though, WWE feels Rhodes can't possibly lose two big contests in a row—as if losing to Reigns and Lesnar is somehow a career-ender.

It's worth wondering if the excessive blood from Lesnar forced the match into an early finish. There's always that chance, not that we would ever get to know that from the company itself.

But...this still feels like the 50-50 booking of WWE rearing its head again in a strange way. In this case, especially, it's overthinking things when every fan on the planet knows the Rhodes "story" could get dragged out until the next 'Mania, regardless.

What's the goal of this messy outcome? It's classic WWE writing—angry Lesnar ruins Rhodes' chance at the new WWE world heavyweight title. After all, he can't possibly go after a title struggling to shake the consolation-prize tag because nobody can seem to beat Reigns, the unified champion. He needs to be in marquee programs until going after The Tribal Chief again, but giving up and pursuing another title would look terrible.

So, WWE can now have the feud continue with a rematch at Night of Champions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 27. Maybe Rhodes wins there to make it 2-0 and that ends things...but this is WWE.

Odds are Lesnar gets his win back and they go 1-1 into SummerSlam, which is a strong vehicle to drag this thing out as long as possible.

What's also a low-key shame in the wake of all this is the messy finish probably didn't deserve the main event.

If that was the finish, fans probably would have been happier to have the Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest classic close the show. That was one of the best crowds in recent memory and more proof WWE needs to hit international spots more often, so it's a shame the main event couldn't prove to be the better show-closer.

There's something to be said for WWE not just going with a finisher-spam fest before a routine pin here. But it makes one wonder how this feud actually ends cleanly if the objective is to protect all involved so much with these finishes in the first place.

Either way, mission accomplished in the sense that the feud will continue. But an amazing crowd got a bit of a show-ending letdown, and what could be an epic tale just stumbled out of the gates with a finish that won't exactly be in a prominent spot on the highlight reels when all is said and done.

Based on everything before the finish, it's understandable for fans to be hyped for the next entry in the Rhodes-Lesnar chapter of this story—while cringing a bit as the finish(es) get closer.