I think your explanation about the controller not wanting to isssue a go around makes lots of sense. It's not too difficult to visualize the turbulance settling down onto the Cessna.
Two very good scenes in the movie Pushing Tin with billy bob thorton and John cusak:
Billy bob at one time is at the end of a runway as a 747 comes in for landing and the wake picks him up and throws him about 100 feet then near the end they both do the same thing.
Just hollywierd but funny as can be.
Also about ten years ago a guy in a Maule airplane was on the edge of the marion military operations area in central florida. Two f-16 screamed by with both wakes hitting him sending him into a roll and nearly killing his. Not to funny.