Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes rammed into each other in-ring at Summerslam 2023, and it turned out to be a "where were you when" kind of a match. Fans, analysts, and even wrestlers are still talking about everything that happened during and after the match.
One particular spot that has everyone's attention is the post-match one, where Brock Lesnar shook hands with Cody and embraced him. That's typically a handing the torch moment where a seasoned wrestler introduces the audience to their new champion, and is a rare occurence.
Matt Hardy, who has been through, and witnessed his fair share of iconic in-ring moments, has a different take on the Brock Lesnar-Cody Rhodes interaction. During an episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, he wondered whether it was all pre-determined.
He said:
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It's one of those things that makes me wonder if that was legitimately done just in the heat of the moment, or if that was just something they were talking about doing and they said we'll just act like it wasn't gonna happen before, ahead of time. I could see that happening either way.
He continued:
So, the fact that he's cool with coming in and being badass and murdering people and doing whatever and breaking their arms, but then at very end of the program, putting over this guy and then take some time off and endorse him, I think it speaks volumes about him, realising where he's at, and also being there for the greater good and the big schemes of things that you know, not being selfish.
He certainly admires the 46-year-old legend:
I dig that. I dig that. Brock is such a beast. I have said this many many times. He is legitimately the most badass athlete I have run in the ring with. He is the real deal, through and through and through. If you go in there and touch him, and you'd had any sort of athleticism, you have dealt with athletes and you know how brutal. and how real and how unbelievably explosive he is.
Watch the video:
Brock Lesnar promoting Cody Rhodes caught the interest of a former WWE writer
Freddie Prinze Jr., who used to write for the WWE, also had something to say about the incident. In his opinion, it was a good thing that Brock Lesnar did by putting the younger man over.
On the recent episode of Wrestling with Freddie, Prinze said,
"I know Brock kinda endorses Cody there and people have been critical of it. Brock can kinda do whatever he wants. He's putting guys over now. He's getting ready to retire. Let him do what he wants. Don't trip on that." [From 8:20 - 8:33]