Brock Lesnar did it again! He mercilessly mauled a hometown hero in front of the latter’s mother, turning back the clock. This time, at the receiving end of Lesnar’s wrath, was Cody Rhodes, who found himself indulging in a bitter feud with the WWE icon.
Many predicted the nature of Rhodes’ fate in his hometown after he called out The Beast Incarnate on the July 10th episode of RAW. The level of brutality, however, stunned many. Lesnar did so with Rhodes’ mother, Michelle Rubio, sitting in the front row. The 46-year-old’s assault kept social media users busy, as they shared their thoughts on the vicious beatdown. But before reading them, let’s find out how it unfolded.
Brock Lesnar accepts Cody Rhodes’ challenge, fixes SummerSlam encounter
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The July 17 episode of RAW started with the hometown hero initiating proceedings. He received a warm welcome and interacted with the crowd. Cody Rhodes also introduced his mother and spoke about her role in shaping him as a wrestler, as the two shared an emotional moment.
Next, he called out Lesnar yet again. But the former WWE Champion did not come out. He made Rhodes wait for a long time before his iconic music hit. Even after that, we did not see the Beast Incarnate. A frustrated Cody Rhodes walked down the ramp to get his SummerSlam opponent.
After a wait, Rhodes went backstage and that is when Lesnar came out swinging. He used a chair on Rhodes as the crowd watched in dismay. What followed was minutes of torture and humiliation for the Georgia native. Taking pleasure out of Rhodes’ pain, Lesnar hit an F5 on him right in front of Michelle Rubio.
"The Beast" @BrockLesnar just wrecked @CodyRhodes right in front of The American Nightmare's mom on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/6ZYEcGD75S
— WWE (@WWE) July 18, 2023
This forced the mother to call out her son’s attacker, as Rubio told Lesnar “you s**k”. Undeterred, Lesnar used the Kimura Lock on the 38-year-old, as the latter writhed in pain. After throwing him inside the ring, Lesnar snapped once more and used the same move again, before telling Rhodes, “Challenge accepted. I’ll see you at SummerSlam, b**ch.”
Meanwhile, the violence from Lesnar had fans shocked, while it reminded many of his actions nearly 20 years ago.
Not the first time, says social media users as The Beast attacks Cody Rhodes
Brock Lesnar has been at loggerheads with Cody Rhodes since April this year. The Beast Incarnate turned heel after he snapped and attacked The American Nightmare on the RAW after ‘Mania episode. Since then, the two superstars have met each other inside the ring a few times, headlining the Backlash and Night of Champions PLEs.
The score remains 1-1 as of now, with a match scheduled for the upcoming WWE SummerSlam on August 5. However, Lesnar’s acceptance of the match came at a cost for Rhodes. His beat-down elicited responses from fans on social media as videos of the attack circulated on Twitter.
This person called Brock Lesnar bad for doing what he did to Cody Rhodes.
Brock is a baaaaaad man!!! 😈
— Shot of Wrestling (@ShotOfWrestling) July 18, 2023
One social media user shared that Lesnar had done this in the past as well. For those of you who don’t remember, Brock Lesnar had brutalized one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen in the latter’s hometown on the August 21, 2003, episode of SmackDown. Gowen’s mother, who was at ringside witnessed the unfortunate ordeal.
That's not the first time Brock "assaulted" a Superstar in front of their mother
— Sabrina Diamonde (@SabrinaDiamonde) July 18, 2023
We have seen relatives of wrestlers getting involved in the past as well. One user commented they wanted a similar thing from Cody Rhodes’ mother. Who knows what could have happened?
I was hoping for Mama Rhodes to give Brock a smack across the chops. #WWERaw
— Westie (@Wee_Westie29) July 18, 2023
The atmosphere did change, as stated by them. No one likes the hometown hero receiving a brutal beating.
The atmosphere changed… FAST. And the way the Beast looked at Cody's mom! He enjoyed what he just did… immensely!
— PzzAzz (@PzzAzzWWE) July 18, 2023
Some fans issued a word of caution for all the superstars and reminded them of the rules of engagement with The Beast Incarnate.
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The 1st commandment of confrontation in sports entertainment states thus:
"DO NOT CALL OUT THE BEAST BROOK LESNAR, THE BEAST IS THE ONE THAT CALLS YOU OUT."Seems Brook has this thing of humiliating people in front of their family members. He did the same thing to Zach Gowen.…
— Cyude™ (@Cyudeofficial) July 18, 2023
That said, this beat-down has certainly set the temperature soaring. It will be interesting to see what Rhodes comes up with as his rebuttal. For now, Rhodes vs. Lesnar is on at SummerSlam.
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So, what’s your take on Brock Lesnar’s merciless assault on Cody Rhodes? Do let us know in the comments.