Cody Rhodes' adversity tour continues. After insisting that he show up against Brock Lesnar at the WWE Night of Champions 2023 with a broken arm and even briefly using the said arm to his advantage, Lesnar was just too much. Despite his heroic struggle, Rhodes finally passed out from a second Kimura Lock, forcing the referee to step in and end the match, giving Lesnar the win in their ongoing feud.
Rhodes' path toward the unified title belts currently held by Roman Reigns remains very clear - Lesnar is another obstacle he'll have to face en route to dethroning The Tribal Chief.
More importantly, the recent feud between Rhodes and Lesnar silences critics who believe that the WWE handed Rhodes the shot against The Head of the Table. Central to the narrative is Rhodes' resilience, using Rhodes' real-life pectoral injury and his other subsequent on-screen maladies to great effect.
Despite winning at WWE Backlash, Rhodes remained an underdog heading into the Night of Champions. His performance in the loss was convincing as a relentless Lesnar hounded him from the start.
Rhodes' strength and courage in the face of adversity have only added to his popularity with the WWE fanbase. Although Rhodes lost to Lesnar, his journey is far from over. His feud with Brock continues, most likely ending at an upcoming PPV, either at the WWE Money in the Bank on July 1 or WWE SummerSlam on August 5.