At WWE Backlash on May 6th, Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event.
Early on in the match, Lesnar went headfirst into an exposed turnbuckle, cutting him open and causing his face to be covered in blood for the remainder of the bout. He remained fierce throughout the rest of the bout, but despite getting Rhodes’ arm into a Kimura, Lesnar was rolled up and pinned, handing The Beast a rare defeat.
The next Monday night on Raw, Cody Rhodes was scheduled to face off against Finn Balor and The Miz in the first round of a tournament to crown a new World Heavyweight Champion. Rhodes was a heavy favorite to win the match, particularly coming off such a monumental defeat the previous Saturday. However, Lesnar wasn’t content to accept his defeat, and he attacked Rhodes in the middle of the match, helping Finn Balor pick up the win and dashing Cody’s dreams of WWE gold.
Brock Lesnar’s attack continued once the bout was over, and he put Rhodes through the announce table before grabbing a microphone to point to the head wound he’d suffered at Backlash and declaring, “I want to talk about me!”
Several In WWE Say Piped In Crowd Noise “Wasn’t Needed” During Brock Lesnar Segment
Throughout Lesnar’s attack and the following promo, WWE production piped in heavy boos for The Beast Incarnate. The company is known to use pre-recorded crowd noise when attempting to control the way the audience views a particular character, and it would appear they wanted to make sure audiences at home knew to treat Lesnar like a villainous monster.
Fans online were critical of the decision to use canned crowd noise during the segment, and according to a new report from Fightful Select, many backstage in WWE agreed with that assessment, believing the piped in noise “wasn’t needed.”