The Cody Rhodes-Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam 2023 has captured the wrestling fraternity's imagination. After all, there was so much happening in the ring and outside, and with the history that both the athletes have with the company, this one was supposed to be one for the ages, and it worked.
Several WWE and other wrestlers have spoken about what happened before, during, and after the match.
One post-match interaction, where Brock hugged Cody Rhodes and presented him to the audience as the winner, captured the wrestling world's attention and had them talking.
And one of them is the WWE Hall of Famer, Mark Henry, who gave his insight into the match on the podcast Busted Open.
The World's Strongest Man spoke about Brock's sudden interaction with Rhodes post-match when he embraced the American Nightmare in what seemed like a passing of the torch moment.
Mark had this to say:
"[If] WWE Creative asked Brock to do that, he would have been like, 'No,' "Now, Vince [McMcMahon] can ask him, and Brock would have probably said, 'How's that gonna get me paid?' He's a businessman first. If it feels right, maybe, but it has to be on his terms." H/T WrestlingIncDid Brock Lesnar really pass the torch to Cody Rhodes?
Brock Lesnar has dominated WWE programming for a while now. He was the chosen one to break something that wasn't just the Stamford-based company's but the whole industry's holy grail – The Undertaker's streak.
Since then, Brock has feuded with some of the top line of the WWE, including Roman Reigns. Cody Rhodes has recently returned to the WWE after a career-forming stint in the Indies and in Tony Khan's AEW.
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) August 6, 2023
When Brock hugged Cody, it was the closest a wrestler can come to a 'passing of the torch' moment. The passing of the torch is somewhat a tradition when old and new wrestlers fight it out in the ring, and when the younger one wins, the older wrestler points to the audience that the younger one is their new champion.
The most popular moment this happened was when Hulk Hogan faced a young The Rock at WM18, one of the rarest times the two met head-on.
Fans consider The Beast Incarnate to be a generational talent who can take a franchise far ahead, so the post-match interaction really matters.