Cody Rhodes made his big return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 and since then he’s faced some of the biggest names on the roster. The night after WrestleMania 39, The American Nightmare kicked off a feud with Brock Lesnar which quickly turned into one of Cody’s most heated rivalries.
Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes faced off three times in the months that followed with Rhodes picking up two big wins over The Beast Incarnate. The American Nightmare shared some details about what it was like to face Brock Lesnar on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast and he explained why he’s proud of the matches he had with the former Universal Champion.
“So, I don’t need to say this is… But I can tell you, if people ever wonder how real, wrestling can be, the three matches I had with Brock Lesnar are the most competitive. And there’s a thing when you work with a guy who’s a big monster. ‘Where they’ll make you earn it,’ is what they’ll say. You’re not just grabbing my leg, even though that might be the spot. You’re not just hitting me with that, the Cody Cutter. It’s not just happening that way. You have to actually earn it. And earn it is as close to it being in a real fight as I’ve ever been in my life. I look back at the three matches with Brock, lovingly and so proud of the body of work we put up.
“But also I remember, scared is probably an appropriate term. But just, that was the most aggressive, and I’ve been in fights and I’ve wrestled folk style, freestyle, did all that. That was the most real anything had ever been for me in the ring. And it actually gave me a whole new education on getting to the, I guess to the top of our game. What it really means is there is an element of, ‘You’re not just taking this.’ Like you… This is going to be a bit of a struggle. Because that man is a freak athlete.”
Brock Lesnar last appeared on WWE programming when he faced off against Cody Rhodes at the SummerSlam premium live event in August of 2023. Triple H has stated that Lesnar is not gone from WWE, but there’s currently no word on whether or not he could return in the future.
