Cody Rhodes sparked an incredible amount of speculation when he announced he would be on Raw, but by the time he made it to the ring, it was business as usual.
A week earlier the show went off the air with Brock Lesnar laying in a vicious assault on the American Nightmare. Just 24 hours after the star missed out on the Undisputed WWE Universal Title, Brock Lesnar — for reasons unknown — decided he was done with Rhodes despite agreeing to team with him earlier in the night.
In Seattle, Washington, Rhodes began by addressing his defeat at WrestleMania, but he made no secret of the fact he’s got a new problem.
The American Nightmare explained that Lesnar is a predator, and as such, sees everyone as a victim. Rhodes went as far as admitting that he’s scared of Lesnar, but that didn’t change the fact that he wants to fight him.
Rhodes ended the segment by challenging Lesnar to meet him at Backlash.
"Laying there surrounded by 80,000 people with a rubber chicken a foot away from your head…"#WWERawpic.twitter.com/buLzvT6HBc
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2023
Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania Loss Was “Always The Plan”
Cody Rhodes had been tipped by many to dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, so his defeat proved controversial to say the least.
This led to speculation that Vince McMahon could have played a part in the booking, given he was now exerting his creative control over WWE. However, it was quickly reported that this wasn’t the case. Despite rumours to the contrary, Reigns had always been scheduled to defeat Rhodes.