Cody Rhodes defeated Brock Lesnar in their first-ever match in the main event of Saturday night’s WWE Backlash Premium Live Event.
Rhodes made the first entrance, but then attacked Lesnar at ringside during Lesnar’s entrance. Rhodes used the announce table, steel ring steps, and a steel chair to destroy Lesnar at ringside. When the match started, both competitors took control at different points. After being sent into an exposed turnbuckle, Lesnar was busted open at one point. The Beast bled profusely and briefly donned a crimson mask. Lesnar’s blood was also on Rhodes.
They began the sequence to the end shortly after Lesnar began bleeding. Lesnar kicked out after Cody hit a Cody Cutter, a Disaster Kick, several punches and kicks, another Cody Cutter, and two straight Cross Rhodes. Lesnar then countered a Cross Rhodes with an F5 in the middle of the ring, but Cody also kicked out. Then, from their knees, Lesnar and Cody fought until a bloodied Lesnar applied the Kimura Lock.
As the Kimura Lock was tightened, the referee checked on Rhodes. While in the submission, Rhodes suddenly leaned forward and used Lesnar’s own weight against him to turn the Kimura into a 3 count out of nowhere, picking up the clean win. Rhodes and the referee both exited the ring quickly. Instead of hanging around to celebrate and greet ringside fans, Rhodes went straight to the back, stopping only briefly to turn and acknowledge the crowd. As Backlash ended, Lesnar sat up on his knees and wiped the blood from his face with a towel.
WWE stated in a post-show tweet that Cody’s story now lives on thanks to his victory over Lesnar.
There has been no word on a possible rematch between Lesnar and Rhodes, but Lesnar is now a free agent and can appear on both brands. RAW selected Rhodes in the 2023 WWE Draft. It will be interesting to see how both Superstars factor into the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament, which begins on Monday’s RAW, continues on Friday’s SmackDown, and culminates on Saturday, May 27 with a RAW Superstar vs. a SmackDown Superstar in the finals at WWE Night of Champions.
Our detailed Backlash results can be found at this link.
Here are highlights night’s Backlash main event at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico:
