8 HUGE WWE Night Of Champions 2023 Predictions You Need To Know
3. Cody Rhodes Vs. Brock Lesnar
When Cody Rhodes took his jacket off to reveal the bruised tiddy seen around the world in June 2022, he punched his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 39 the following April.
It was a visual signifier of the man’s heart, guts and determination in the face of adversity. In this case, his own frame had failed him but he was determined to no-sell it to at least conclude his personal issues with Seth Rollins. This was yet more fantastic character-building. He was prepared to take care of the business at hand even if the body wasn’t as strong as the mind.
This is just a small example of why ‘The American Nightmare’ had faced more than enough adversity before the rubber chicken hit the ring at the ‘Show Of Shows’, but also an illustration of why WWE believe lightning can strike twice for a character that’d better “finish the story” in the summer. Brock Lesnar’s kayfabe assault on Cody’s arm on the go-home Raw was vicious in execution but cowardly in concept; he doesn’t want all of Rhodes on the night - he wants a broken-down version still trying to hide mental and physical scars from all he’s endured in the last year.
It’s either incredibly dramatic or charmingly hokey depending on where you stand on Cody Rhodes, but the former AEW EVP has a way of making magic in situations that’d swallow others whole. WWE will never get another shot at a hole-in-one quite like the one they blew in LA, but two consecutive and clean wins over Brock Lesnar would at least be the possible best mulligan.
No chickens in the ring or backstage this time, please.
Winner - Cody Rhodes