Cody Rhodes looks to be moving on to a new feud after Brock Lesnar laid him out on "RAW" on Monday, but this reportedly was not a last-minute decision.
WWE fans were left shocked and confused over the finish of the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 when Roman Reigns beat Rhodes after help from Solo Sikoa. Those who watched "RAW" the following night were treated to a bait-and-switch tag match to a beatdown angle between Lesnar and Rhodes.
Vince McMahon reportedly has taken back control of WWE after he approved of a sale to Endeavor on the same day. But this was angle was planned out a month prior, according to Fightful, per Haus of Wrestling.
Lesnar will not be taking his usual break after WrestleMania and learned a month before the premium live event he would turn 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," the report said, per Haus of Wrestling.
These decisions were made before McMahon reportedly took back control Monday, but he had a presence backstage at the March 7 "RAW" in Boston, and it would not be a surprise if Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, remained influenced by McMahon, his father-in-law, when coming up with Rhodes' and Lesnar's post-WrestleMania feud.
WWE's United Kingdom broadcast partner, BT Sport pointed out the parallels between Rhodes' WrestleMania 39 loss to John Cena's WrestleMania 28 loss to The Rock in 2012. Both men also were beaten down by Lesnar on the "RAW" after WrestleMania.
This likely will be the path for Rhodes as he goes on a redemption run. It would not be surprising if WWE booked Rhodes vs. Lesnar for Backlash in Puerto Rico on May 6.
However, with McMahon reportedly running the ship, things are now open to change, unlike in Lesvesque's tenure as head of creative. If the program isn't going how McMahon intends in his own mind, he always could swap things around at the last minute, which would make the decision for Rhodes to lose in the main event even more puzzling.
