Clash in Italy happened this past Sunday, May 31st live from Turin, Italy. Once again, we were graced with an absolutely electric European crowd for another WWE Premium Live Event. Becoming quite the yearly tradition on WWE’s calendar. The Italian crowd was presented with a stacked 5 match card, a few being rematches, but I digress. The ultimate question though, did the show live up to the overall hype and excitement that the Italian crowd brought? Let’s talk about it.
The show started off with ‘The Ring General’ Gunther challenging Cody Rhodes for his Undisputed WWE championship. I was honestly very excited about this match because I’m a big Gunther guy and think Cody is a hell of a worker and a talent as well so I knew that given the stage and the proper time they could deliver something special. Cody hit a Cross Rhodes on Gunther pretty early in the match, but Gunther kicked out. Cody attempted to stay on the attack with a Cody Cutter, but Gunther countered it with his patented Sleeper Hold, which Cody reversed into a pin attempt for 2. Gunther was relentless in his attempt to make Cody pass out though and reapplied the Sleeper 2 more times and got it on tight, but Cody found the ropes for a break. The 2 exchanged chops for a minute and Cody eventually hit his Cutter and followed up immediately with a Cross Rhodes for the pin and win, but Gunther protested immediately and upon further review it showed his foot was under the ropes at the time of the pin. The build to this match left a little bit to be desired and honestly, the match itself did as well but I can already tell they’re building this story to continue for a while still and that makes me think that eventually Gunther will end up picking the belt. He’s too strong of a heel to have him take too many losses in a row, dirty or not. At least that’s my hope. Don’t you dare ruin all the work you’ve done with Gunther for this past year.
Next up, we were in store for a WrestleMania rematch as Rhea Ripley put her freshly won WWE Women’s Championship on the line against former champion Jade Cargill. Jade dominated the early portions of this match thoroughly, using her overall size and strength advantage to the best of her ability. A spot Rhea is not used to being in, being the smaller competitor fighting from underneath. Rhea got out of the way of Jade’s charge into the corner and started mounting a comeback on the dazed Cargill from there. Rhea hit Razor’s Edge followed up by a Shining Wizard, but Jade kicked out at 2. Rhea attempted a Riptide after that, but Jade countered and eventually hit a sit down powerbomb on the champ for a close 2 count. Jade’s Baddies made their presence felt at ringside after B-Fab (sloppily, but hey it happens) pulled Jade’s foot onto the ropes to break the count after a Riptide that would’ve won Rhea the match. Charlotte came down to the ring and fought off the Baddies before putting Rhea’s foot on the ropes on a Jade pin attempt to save the matchup yet again. Jade started arguing with Charlotte at ringside and this distraction opened the door for Rhea to recover and hit Jade with a 2nd Riptide for the pin and win to retain her championship. This match was fine, maybe Jade’s best main roster match. One of these matches with Rhea or her match with Tiffany at last year’s SummerSlam are still my favorite Jade matches but I am unfortunately yet to really be blown away. It feels like she’s coming into her own now though finally and these matches with Rhea may become the new norm for her down the line. At least one can hope. At least one of the Women’s World titles were finally defended at a PLE though if nothing else. Liv has been doing nothing.
Next up, the anticipated rematch between The Beast and The Ruler as Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi went to war in an all-out 6-and-a-half-minute showdown of the behemoths. The crowd was absolutely thunderous throughout this matchup from the moment both men’s entrance hit all the way through to the final bell. Brock attacked Oba before the bell rang and began assaulting him with punches to get an advantage. He followed up by hitting him with not one, two, or three, but four F-5s and went for the pin, but Oba kicked out at 2. Lesnar, now shocked, applied the Kimura Lock but Femi slammed him onto the mat until he broke the hold. Oba went for a chokeslam, but Brock escaped and hit a 5th F-5 and went for the pin, but Oba kicked out. Oba went on the attack then and hit a chokeslam before the action spilled to the outside. Brock hit Oba with a 6th F-5 through the announce table and went back into the ring, happy to accept the count out victory so long as he gets his win back from this monster Oba Femi. That’s a position we never ever see Brock in and that’s really neat and good storytelling. He’s now this aging beast who’s reigned terror over the roster for almost 15 years now since coming back, but Father Time remains undefeated, and now there’s this monster of a man that’s testing Brock in a way he’s never been tested from a physical standpoint before. He’s treading new waters with Oba, and it makes him nervous. Oba stood back up from the announce table F-5 like Michael Myers and got back into the ring feeling fresh, much to the dismay of Brock. Oba tossed Brock around the ring like we’ve never seen before, before attempting his patented ‘Fall from Grace’, but Brock reversed and slid off his back before connecting with a 7th F-5 for the pin and win.
Next up, Becky Lynch defended her Women’s Intercontinental Championship against the newcomer exploding onto the scene, Sol Ruca. Ruca tried to use her quick and innovative offense to her advantage and Becky tried to slow things down and keep the highflyer grounded. Ruca went for a Sol Snatcher too early, but Becky caught her and got her locked into a Disarmer, until Ruca countered out into an STF which drew Cena chants from the Italian crowd. The 2 continued to counter and reverse each other’s moves until accidentally nearly running over referee Jessika Carr (Becky’s nemesis). Becky and Carr started to verbally get into it until Ruca delivered an X-Factor from the top rope for a near fall. Becky later shoved Carr into the ropes to force Ruca to lose her balance as well. I don’t know if they’re building to a one-on-one match with Becky Lynh and Jessika Carr at this point because it sure feels like it. Otherwise, what are you doing this for anyways? The ref/wrestler rivalry dynamic is kind of fun and not used all that often, but she’s been the referee for like EVERY one of Becky’s matches lately to the point that it feels like a bit of overkill if they’re not doing something with it. Later in the match, Becky attempted a 2nd Manhandle Slam on the beaten Ruca, but she escaped out of it and hit a Sol Snatcher out of nowhere for the pin and win to become the NEW Women’s Intercontinental Champion. She looked shocked and celebrated with the fans on the ramp as a rattled and enraged Becky broke down in the ring.
Then it was time for the main event as The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns put the World Heavyweight Championship AND his ulafala in Tribal Combat against The Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu. The action spilled out into the crowd early into the match as the 2 men beat each other around a massive arena stairwell and near a concession area where Roman tossed a few free snacks to the fans. Later in the match, Roman grabbed a toolbox out from under the ring after a pair of Superman Punches to Fatu and bashed Fatu’s hand repeatedly with it in hopes of taking away his deadly Tongan Death Grip. Fatu regained the upper hand and attempted to drive Roman through the barricade, but he countered with another Superman Punch before driving him through the barricade with a Spear. Roman drug Fatu back into the ring before hitting another Spear, but Fatu kicked out at 2 and a half. Roman, then trying to hide how shocked and upset he was, went to remove one of the turnbuckle pads (the ultimate cause of Fatu’s demise at Backlash), but the bought time allowed Fatu to get back into the match. He caught Roman off guard with a Spear of his own before following up with a moonsault for a near fall, but when Roman kicked out he accidentally (or probably not) low-blowed Fatu with his arm. Reigns followed up by slamming Fatu face first into the exposed turnbuckle repeatedly before spearing him through a table set up in the corner of the ring. He followed up with a Super-Spear off the ropes for the pin and win to retain the belt AND the status of Tribal Chief. This was expected, but I don’t know. It was a hard-hitting match, but it was predictable and Fatu didn’t get in enough offense. I like Fatu a lot as a character and this story as a whole just feels like it’s buried him up to this point. I’m willing to let it play out and see how things go from here, but I don’t necessarily like what this whole story has done for him so far. Alas, Roman shall remain the OTC. Keep those ones up.
Match Ratings: 1-10 scale (.25 applicable)
Undisputed WWE Championship match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs Gunther- 6.75/10
WWE Women’s Championship match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Jade Cargill- 7.5/10
Brock Lesnar vs Oba Femi- 8.5/10
Women’s Intercontinental Championship match: Becky Lynch (c) vs Sol Ruca- 7/10
Tribal Combat for the World Heavyweight Championship & position of Tribal Chief: Roman Reigns (c) vs Jacob Fatu- 7.5/10
That’ll do it for this one though! Make sure to like my page on social media and/or come back to the website often to keep up with all my latest content over pro wrestling, horror films (both old & new), new film reviews, and more! Thank you for reading and until next time, be good to one another!
