In February 2022, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes bid adieu to AEW, freeing himself from the grip of his own mistakes.
Throughout his tumultuous journey in the company, he found himself entangled in numerous absurd angles and promos, including his ridiculous attempt at lecturing the ex-professional British Boxer, Anthony Ogogo, on the struggles faced by mixed-race children in America.
While no one ever questioned Rhodes’ prowess in the ring, it became apparent during his AEW run that he was trying to book himself as an American hero, even though the fans were clearly keen to hate him.
After failing to solve racism and get over as a babyface, Cody Rhodes hopped onto the “Nightmare bus” with WWE as his destination of choice.
Cody Rhodes vs Brock Lesnar SummerSlam 2023
Fast forward to the summer of 2023, and after overcoming a severe pectoral injury and relinquishing control over creative decisions, Cody Rhodes has managed to swiftly establish himself as the big babyface of Monday Night Raw. Tub
During the April 3rd episode of Raw, Rhodes teamed with “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar, and to the surprise of no one, Lesnar turned on Rhodes, leaving him lying lifeless in the ring.
This left many fans of Rhodes worried that “The American Nightmare” would be buried and return to the doldrums of the WWE mid-card.
However, Rhodes defeated Lesnar in the main event at Backlash, and the feud continued at Night of Champions, with Lesnar choking out Cody Rhodes.
The Rubber Match
The rivalry comes to a head at Summerslam, with Rhodes and Lesnar facing off at Ford Field in Detroit. If Rhodes is to stay on the same trajectory, then he must beat Lesnar clean, no ifs or buts.
After the loss to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, Rhodes has built himself back to a position where the fans respect his journey, and Rhodes’ resilience is over with the audience and critics alike.
Lesnar has cemented his role in WWE as a vicious part-time Superstar heel and a loss here does him zero harm.
If Cody is to finish his own story by defeating the Tribal Chief further down the line, then a dominant victory of 1-2-3 over ‘The Beast Incarnate’ is the only way WWE can maintain the American Nightmare’s hot streak and confirm his credibility as a face of the company.
