When Cody Rhodes marched down to the SummerSlam ring to the anthemic notes of his theme song, “Kingdom,” it was all smiles from the “American Nightmare.” Though he didn't exactly tell the kids shaking his hands that they should say their prayers and eat their vitamins, Rhodes was in full-on red, white, and blue babyface mode, with a smile near-permanently etched on his face.

Brock Lesnar didn't seem to like that too much, as, once the two entered the ring and the bell officially rang, Lesnar began his methodical dismantling of the “Grandson of a Plummer,” leading Michael Cole to suggest the match may eventually be nicknamed American Nightmare: Dismantling Cody Rhodes in reference to his recent Peacock documentary.

Though this segment of the match wasn't particularly exciting, as it effectively amounted to Lesnar Suplexing Rhodes, Rhodes getting back up, and then the “Beast” throwing him out of the ring to begin the referee's count, the tactic did pound in the idea that, through it all, the babyface wasn't going to simply lay down and die, no matter how much his foe wanted that to be the case.

Despite repeated requests from Lesnar for his opponent to “save yourself,” Rhodes refused an easy out, and after his umpteenth exit from the ring, the “Beast” had had enough, hitting an F5 on the floor of Ford Field before expecting his win.

That, unfortunately for Brock, didn't happen, as Rhodes got back into the ring once more and went on the offensive, punching Lenar a few times before being F5-ed through the announce table as the crowd yelled, “holy you-know-what.” Still, Rhodes persisted, and after taking a few more shots from his future Hall of Famer foe, he decided to remove one of the turnbuckle covers and begin his comeback, beating Lesnar with the steel steps before spamming Cody Cutters on the “Beast” on the way to his first pinning attempt. Lesnar then locked up Rhodes in the Kimura, but finally, the “American Nightmare” found a solution to the hold, forcing a break before tricking Lesnar into the exposed turnbuckle. Though the maneuver didn't quite work, Rhodes still locked Lesnar in a Kimura, and in the end, Rhodes hit three Cross Rhodes for the 1-2-3.

After the match, Lesnar rose to his feet and looked like he was going to give Rhodes some more punishment, but instead, the duo locked eyes and shook it out, signifying that the “American Nightmare” earned more than a win in the match; he earned Lesnar's respect. Was this match good? Eh, not really; the babyface rope-a-dope was beyond obvious and the match was incredibly predictable, but hey, the right man won, and in the end, that's all that matters.