If you enjoyed the dramatic finish to WWE Raw this past Monday night that saw Brock Lesnar surprisingly turn on Cody Rhodes, well, strap in, it looks like you’ll getting more from the two wrestlers. Fightful is reporting that, unlike in previous years when Lesnar took a break after WrestleMania, The Beast will be sticking around to feud with The American Nightmare. And, despite several last-minute changes to the latest Raw, this wasn’t one of them and was always the plan.
According to the report, Lesnar learned of the plan to layout Rhodes more than a month ago, and WWE creative has slyly been working in hints that Lesnar would be turning heel. Some of those creative decisions included Lesnar backing out of the ring during some of his interactions with Omos and avoiding direct contact with The Nigerian Giant. While there were rumors Vince McMahon pushed for Lesnar to face Omos at WrestleMania 39, the plan for Lesnar to turn on Rhodes was made before McMahon resumed control of WWE creative.
Many speculated what could be next for Rhodes following his stunning loss to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. He had been working alongside new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, to fend off The Bloodline but neither was by his side on Monday night, Zayn, however, has been announced for Smackdown tomorrow.
With Lesnar laying out Rhodes, it would seem that both men could see themselves in a match next month at the WWE’s Bad Bunny-hosted event, Backlash. Backlash is shaping up to be a big show for WWE and, while no plans have been announced for Reigns as of yet, Lesnar vs. Rhodes looks to be taking place alongside a blockbuster match that could feature Bad Bunny and Rey Mysterio taking on Dominik Mysterio and Damien Priest.
Vince McMahon’s promotion has good reason to go big with their first major show in Puerto Rico in nearly two decades as, “WWE is receiving a $1.5 million subsidy, plus an additional $300,000 in-kind contribution to run the Backlash premium live event in San Juan on May 6,” according to Wrestlenomics.
Stay with Haus of Wrestling for all the latest on Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes as we head into WWE Backlash.