Bully Ray & Mark Henry On WWE SummerSlam's Rhodes Vs. Lesnar, Handshake, Steel Steps
A lot transpired on Saturday's WWE SummerSlam but one of the biggest talking points remains the post-match handshake between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes, which WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H later confirmed was "completely unplanned" and was a spur-of-the-moment show of respect from Lesnar to Rhodes.
On "Busted Open," WWE Hall of Famers Bully Ray and Mark Henry broke down the significance of the moment, and why it was truly a "passing of the torch moment" unlike John Cena's embrace of Rhodes earlier in the year.
"When Brock does what Brock does, it means more than when anybody else does it," Ray said. "After that match, I don't give a s–t if the handshake was planned or not — I don't care. It worked. I thought that handshake moment should come when Cody wins the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. We got it a lot earlier!" Ray reiterated that Lesnar was typically not one to stare at an opponent after a match, let alone shake their hand or embrace them for a hug, arguing that Lesnar was going to bat for Rhodes as the next face of the company.
"Brock Lesnar has told the entire WWE Universe, the entire wrestling world [that] this is the guy that is taking WWE into the next couple of years," Ray added.
Mark Henry: Brock Lesnar Is A Businessman First
Meanwhile, Mark Henry prefaced his comments by referring to Brock Lesnar as "the second-greatest attraction in the history of wrestling" behind only André The Giant. Henry — who worked with Lesnar in WWE for years — argued that "The Beast" would not have embraced Rhodes if he was told to, and therefore truly broke character.
"[If] WWE Creative asked Brock to do that, he would have been like, 'No,'" Henry said. "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."
As the "Busted Open" panel further discussed the third and final chapter in the Rhodes vs. Lesnar rivalry, Ray brought up the controversial spot in the match where Rhodes smacked Lesnar with steel steps without the referee calling for a DQ. Ray argued that even though Lesnar first attempted to use the steps, he did not, meaning there was no justification for Rhodes resorting to foreign objects.
In such an event, both Ray and Henry believe the WWE announcers should have specified that the referees "were being lenient" and allowed the competitors to go full-throttle in their battle.
"The announcers should have said something," Henry argued. "Michael Cole could have said, 'Corey, that should have been a DQ' and Corey could have said, 'No, Brock initiated it and grabbed the steps first.' Now, you cover that. It wasn't a big enough deal that the fans went off, but that was a great indicator of why I don't put all the stock in the fans' analysis of what goes on in a match."