7 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (8 May - Results & Review)

3. Unfinished Business

The Backlash Ups and Downs column rated the finish of the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar main event as a “down” – with a caveat: If this was leading to a rematch at Night of Champions, then it could possibly negate the criticism.

Fast-forward 48 hours, and Rhodes was battling Miz and Finn Balor in a triple threat for a spot in the semifinals of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament. Cody nailed three consecutive Cross Rhodeses on Miz and appeared to have the match won when Brock – with a black eye and fresh stitches – appeared out of the crowd and pulled Rhodes out of the ring. He quickly nailed the American Nightmare with an F-5, leaving him laid out as Balor got the win.

Lesnar wasn’t finished though. He hit Cody with another F-5 through the announce table and screamed at Rhodes that he had lucked into a victory at Backlash – Rhodes’ rollup while in a Kimura was more fortuitous than anything – and that he wanted a fight at Night of Champions.

So, there you have it: Lesnar/Rhodes II at NOC, likely with a stipulation such as Last Man Standing or Falls Count Anywhere. That gives Cody a main event-level feud that isn’t a world title match (though it would be a lot better if this was for the WWE Championship) and explains the rollup finish.

Cody fleeing the ring afterward and celebrating while retreating up the entryway at Backlash though… that was just dumb.