3 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Clash In Italy (Results & Review)

3. A Finish Out Of Nowhere

WWE Clash in Italy 2026 Gunther
WWE

Cody Rhodes versus Gunther had just hit third gear Sunday when the Undisputed WWE Champion nailed a Cross-Rhodes… for the pin?

Rhodes and the Ring General have really good chemistry, and their match at Clash in Italy was good while it lasted (more on that later), but the abrupt finish – combined with the entire “foot under the ropes” routine – was more suited to a television match than a big title fight on PLE.

Why book that finish? It seems clear that they did this to stretch out the feud, as Cody already said he’d give Gunther a rematch, which is madness. During his main roster tenure, Gunther has only lost four matches (Sami Zayn, Rhodes, Jey Uso, and CM Punk), so having him lose another here – even with the referee missing the rope break – to set up a rematch is mind-boggling.

The match was the second-shortest bout on the card, behind only Brock Lesnar/Oba Femi, and it cut off at what felt like the midpoint rather than the climax, and they booked Gunther’s fifth singles loss in a throwaway manner. What are we doing here?

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.