This HUGE WWE SummerSlam 2023 Moment Was Completely Unplanned

The Beast offered a handshake, hug to the American Nightmare after conclusion of their feud.

by Scott Carlson
Cody Rhodes Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

One of the more memorable moments coming out of WWE SummerSlam apparently was an off-the-cuff move by Brock Lesnar.

The Beast faced off against Cody Rhodes in the final match of their trilogy, with the American Nightmare emerging victorious after hitting three Cross-Rhodes to put Lesnar down. Afterward, Cody briefly celebrated in the ring while Brock collected himself. Then Lesnar stood up and stared Rhodes down and removed his gloves.

Lesnar and Rhodes would go forehead-to-forehead momentarily before Brock offered a handshake - which Cody accepted - and then hugged his opponent before raising his arm to the crowd, a gesture of respect Lesnar has never really offered another foe.

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During the post-SummerSlam press conference, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H noted that Brock's gesture was "completely unplanned" and Lesnar's own decision at that moment.

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Brock had been a babyface for a while up through WrestleMania 39. It was the next night on Raw when he turned on Cody that Lesnar became a heel again, attacking Rhodes throughout their feud, including last month in his hometown in front of his mother. Lesnar losing the feud and offering a genuine sign of respect is quite an interesting turn of events at SummerSlam.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.