What's Next for Cody Rhodes After Loss vs. Brock Lesnar at WWE Night of Champions?

Despite surviving his first encounter with Brock Lesnar at Backlash earlier this month, Cody Rhodes wasn't able to repeat the feat at WWE Night of Champions 2023 and unfortunately fell short in their rematch.

However, he was neither pinned nor submitted; it was only after presumably passing out to Lesnar's signature Kimura armbar that he was deemed unfit to continue, resulting in a victory for Lesnar.

Coming off such a polarizing ending, fans have been left to wonder what's next for Rhodes in his rivalry with Lesnar and beyond.

The two former world champions have been at odds since the post-WrestleMania Raw, so although the angle is rapidly approaching its expiration date, there appears to be more story left to tell between them.

Better yet, there are a number of different directions WWE can go in from here, and the ultimate endgame is also subject to change. Either way, the immediate aftermath will be exciting to follow, especially with two blockbuster events on the horizon in Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.

The Inevitable Rubber Match

If any one thing was apparent from the finish to Lesnar vs. Rhodes at Night of Champions, it's that a third match is inevitable.

Rhodes essentially stole a win at Backlash, albeit in clean fashion. Lesnar evened the score by punishing him at Night of Champions and targeting his injured arm to score the victory.

The indecisive ending was clearly designed to keep their feud alive and to ensure neither of them emerged from their outing looking weak. Lesnar likely would have won by pinfall or formal submission if the plan was to end it after two matches.

Now it becomes a question of whether they blow it off at Money in the Bank or save it until SummerSlam.

The latter event is typically where storylines culminate a la WrestleMania, but that would mean Lesnar and Rhodes will remain rivals for at least another two months. They've been feuding for less than that and already it feels like it has run its course.

Lesnar failing to explain why he attacked Rhodes in the first place hasn't helped. Rhodes winning on back-to-back pay-per-views would have been a pleasant surprise, but now that a rubber match has to happen, getting it over with at Money in the Bank would arguably be the best course of action.

Why Rhodes Ultimately Reigning Supreme Is Imperative

Regardless of whether the Rhodes vs. Lesnar program is paid off at Money in the Bank or SummerSlam, Rhodes reigning supreme is the only acceptable outcome for that third and final match.

Lesnar gains nothing from another win over Rhodes. Of course, he can't constantly be beaten to avoid ruining whatever mystique he has left, but this is an instance where it makes total sense for him to do the honors.

The entire purpose of the rivalry has been to keep Rhodes busy outside of the title picture and to prove he belongs among the elite in the main-event scene. A second straight loss to Lesnar would essentially send the message that he can't hang with WWE's important players.

Additionally, their rubber matchup needs to have a stipulation of some kind attached to it. After how brutal and bloody their Backlash bout was, it was certainly surprising that the rematch at Night of Champions was a standard singles match.

The American Nightmare can't take his next step forward without first vanquishing the threat of Lesnar and entering a very small group of stars to have defeated him on more than one occasion. His latest loss to Lesnar is understandable so long as he avenges it the next time they collide.

Sights Set on Money in the Bank?

Adding an interesting wrinkle into everything is the looming men's Money in the Bank Ladder match, which Rhodes has been heavily expected to both partake in and win since WrestleMania 39.

Had he decisively defeated Lesnar at Night of Champions and moved on from the feud, that would have been far more plausible. Now, it seems unlikely that he would temporarily shift his focus away from The Beast so he can capture the opportunistic briefcase.

It's a possibility, nonetheless, and one that should be taken into consideration.

Rhodes can still qualify for the Ladder match and either win the whole thing or have Lesnar prevent that from happening. That would be one way to extend the storyline if the plan is for it to end at SummerSlam.

Rhodes' name has been brought up in the Money in the Bank conversation as of late because winning it could be his ticket to Roman Reigns over on SmackDown. As it stands, winning next year's Royal Rumble is the only other option seeing as how they're currently on separate brands.

Money in the Bank is tailor-made for Rhodes, but it wouldn't be characteristic of him to set his sights on anything else but one more match with Lesnar so he can right his wrong from Night of Champions.

Rematch with Roman Reigns off the Table, for Now

All Rhodes must lead to a rematch with Roman Reigns, though that doesn't appear to be in the cards any time soon.

That was made apparent twice during Night of Champions: first when Lesnar beat Rhodes to continue their feud and again when Jimmy Uso betrayed Roman Reigns in the main event.

Not only must Lesnar and Rhodes wrap up their rivalry before both of them can move on, Reigns will also have his hands full for the foreseeable future with The Usos. No one outside of The Bloodline can challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship until they settle their score with each other.

Reigns vs. Jimmy is all but a lock for Money in the Bank. It's unknown how that will carry over into SummerSlam, but it's too quick of a turnaround time between the pay-per-views for anyone else but The Usos to face Reigns at that event.

That shouldn't entirely rule out Rhodes as a future opponent for The Tribal Chief, but WrestleMania season next year may be when they can rekindle their rivalry at the earliest and allow Rhodes to finally "finish the story."

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.