6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (29 May - Results & Review)
1. The Intensity They Needed
No, there was nothing groundbreaking about the closing promo confrontation between Cody Rhodes and Gunther, but it had intensity, a sense of urgency, and both men made good points about their respective rise to the top stories. Cody is still exhibiting some subtle heel mannerisms like little smirks and dismissive comments, but Gunther is the outright villain of the piece.
Besides, they’re about to have one hell of a match at Clash In Italy.
Some might argue that Rhodes and Gunther had to come to blows on Friday. Nah, they've already done that. Also, they weren't exactly out in front of the fans smiling and patting one another on the back. Instead, the 'Ring General' spat venom at Cody for constantly having to be the centre of attention, then Rhodes rightly spat some back by pointing out that Gunther only wants the same spotlight for himself.
The heel had no answer for that. Good, he shouldn't have bothered trying to justify his own hypocrisy. Gunther's character legitimately believes that he's the greatest worker on the planet and so he should bask in the afterglow of a successful title win/defence every month or so. He's a prize-fighting pro wrestler, not a media machine like Cody. WWE's narrative is a grounded, well-produced backdrop for this title feud, basically.
Best of all, these performances continued the trend of believability following Rhodes and Sami backstage earlier on. Gunther is another who speaks like a real human rather than a scripted robot, and fans already know how big a threat he is to everyone.
Violence or not, this was a cracking closer for SmackDown.
What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out WWE Clash In Italy 2026: 8 Things That NEED To Happen and WWE Clash In Italy 2026: 8 Nightmares That Could Come True!