When Cody Rhodes marched out to the middle of the ring on RAW with a microphone in his hand, fans knew they were in for a treat, but alas, it wasn't meant to be; after beginning his remarks with some good old-fashioned Cody-isms, Adam Pearce rained on his fun and informed “The American Nightmare” that he was not, in any uncertain terms, going to mix it up in the ring with Brock Lesnar. Sure, he has an understandable bone to pick with the “The Beast Incarnate,” he did beat him to within an inch of his life on the RAW after WrestleMania, but after setting out a challenge for a match at Backlash, “The Grandson of a Plummer” wanted an answer, even if he had to grab a chair and fight off a dozen or more security guards to make that happen.

Fortunately for Rhodes, he didn't need an answer from Lesnar, as Pearce made the match official in order to keep the second-generation wrestler from turning himself into the “Chairman of WWE,” an outcome that more or less happened anyway, but with Superstar on security guard violence instead of a “Nightmare on Beast bashing” in the end, Rhodes' satisfaction was only shortlived, as he noted to Cathy Kelley in a backstage interview on RAW.

“Yes ma’am, I’m satisfied, of course,” Rhodes said. “I’m ecstatic that I’m wrestling Brock Lesnar at Backlash in Puerto Rico in three weeks. But I am also confused, bewildered by tonight’s events. In what world, what mere universe, am I not just, I’m not standing here the undisputed WWE Universal Champion? I lost at WrestleMania, and not only that, tonight I’m held back by 20 security guards and not Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar turned his back and walked out on me, and I have to apologize to Adam Pearce now. I’m sure there will be reprisals from that, I lost my temper, but come on, what is it about me? And the only way to get through this is to smash through it. If that means smashing The Beast, that’s what this is. I have backed ‘The Beast' into a corner, and the only way out is for him to win. And with everything I know, with everything I have been through, I just can’t allow it.”

Does Rhodes have a shot to best “The Beast” at Backlash and get right back into the championship picture, be that via a match at Summerlam or a briefcase win at Money in the Bank? Only time will tell, but as Cody noted before his segment on RAW went off the air, he's been around Cowboys all of his life, and Lesnar doesn't really fit the bill.

“I spent the entirety of last week throwing out positive platitudes about Brock Lesnar, and I left one out,” Rhodes noted. “Brock Lesnar can wear his silly cowboy hat all day long. But Brock Lesnar, I grew up around cowboys, and you are not a cowboys, you are a coward.”

Dustin Rhodes thinks WWE is doing right by Cody Rhodes.

While many, if not most WWE fans aren't exactly over the moon with how WWE has been treating Cody Rhodes' booking as of late, one person who actually appreciates how the promotion is treating “The Grandson of a Plummer” is the other “Grandson of a Plummer,” Dustin Rhodes, who is still doing impressive work as a player/coach in AEW. Discussing his brother's booking on Busted Open Radio, the older Rhodes voiced a vote of confidence for Cody having to “earn” his win, as it will make the inevitable victory all the more sweet.

“He’s being shot to the moon right now, and that’s great, that’s good for him,” Dustin said. “I hope he’s happy and finally gets that big one that dad never got. I’ve never won a world title. But there is a little jealousy on my part cause, ‘Man, why can’t I get that?’ You know what I mean? But it’s okay, it’s not like a bad jealousy thing. I’m extremely proud of him, I wish him the best, and he’s going to be world champion, I know it. I don’t know when but he’s going to be world champion.

“They are making him pay for it now, they are making him earn it and I like that, I do. I like that because once you put the title on him, where are you going?”

Is Dusty's namesake son correct? Will WWE fans appreciate Cody even more if he's able to secure the win following a few months of trials, instead of securing the Hollywood victory at WrestleMania 39 in Inglewood, California? Only time will tell, but it's nice to hear Dustin speak kindly of his brother and prophicize his eventual world championship win.