WWE Clash in Italy was hyped by the company as one of the biggest shows of the year. But when all was said and done, did it deliver on that promise?
Airing live from the city of Turin on May 31, Clash in Italy marked the first time a Premium Live Event had taken place in the country. With 4 title matches and the highly anticipated Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi rematch, on paper the card looked to be promising. Additionally, Triple H stated before the show that Clash in Italy would once again “change the landscape” of WWE and mark a “new era.” Remember that for later…
WWE Clash In Italy Review: Brock Lesnar Dominates & Gunther Suffers Rare Loss
While commentary claimed that this was a sold-out crowd in Italy, the empty seats were noticeable on camera. Kicking off the show, Cody Rhodes put his WWE Championship on the line against Gunther. Given The Ring General’s track record over the past year and the betting odds unable to pick a winner, Rhodes was in real danger of being dethroned here. Having had great matches before, both started out strong as Rhodes looked to continually evade the sleeper, but struggled to hit the big moves as Gunther kept blocking them. Although it started out strong, the finish felt more confusing.
Rhodes hit the Cross Rhodes, briefly paused, then went to pin Gunther. However, as Gunther got his foot under the rope to break the pin, the referee did not see it and counted 3 regardless. A frustrated Gunther spoke with the referee after the match, but the result still stands. This match felt like it could have gone on longer, and the camera should have been in a better spot so fans knew what was going on. Unfortunately, it appears that there was no more time as WWE needed to shoehorn in many trailers for Scary Movie, which was the main sponsor for the show. There is a high chance that the there will be a rematch at Night of Champions.
Rounding out the free hour on ESPN, Rhea Ripley put her WWE Women’s Championship on the line against Jade Cargill in a WrestleMania rematch. Easily Cargill’s best match to date, the former champion was able to match Ripley’s power throughout. The only negative was that B-Fab and Michin were unable to get Cargill’s foot on the rope in time, causing the referee to stop the count. With Gunther and Cody having an issue with the rope just a few minutes before, there could have been a better spot here to save Cargill and keep the match going. Ripley found an ally in Flair, who saved Ripley from being pinned. Among all the chaos, Ripley hit the Riptide and won the match. While the result was expected, Cargill definitely showed signs of improvement here.
Now on the ESPN subscription service, Lesnar vs. Femi 2 was next. Unlike the WrestleMania encounter, this was all Lesnar from the get go. Lesnar hit Femi with 4 F5s from the opening bell, putting the match in danger of being over in less than a minute. Femi did have some comeback spots, but Lesnar kept on top. After 7 F5s, one of which was through an announce table, Lesnar pinned Femi to even things up and 1 win each. With Lesnar not needing to beat Femi clean, having The Beast cheat to win out of desparation, or have the match end in a double count-out or DQ would have been a better option. That being said, this was another finisher spam match that sets up the final battle. This was also Lesnar’s first European match since 2002, and maybe his last?
The penultimate match of the show saw Sol Ruca defeat Becky Lynch to capture the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, her first main roster title. While Ruca has struggled to hit the Sol Snatcher in the past few weeks, this time the Raw star hit it when it counted the most to get the win. With both women attempting the other’s finish, and with Ruca showing off her gymnastic background, this match definitely elevated the overall quality of the card. Jessika Carr was once again the referee and had to dive out of the ring to avoid being knocked down. With Lynch having a visible pin while Carr was out the ring, The Man has something to complain about on Monday, which may lead to a match between the 2. Carr also inadvertently knocked Ruca off the ropes, but did not distract from the overall action. Match of the night.
Then it was time for the main event, Tribal Combat between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu. While there was a story going into the match that Fatu is a near-unstoppable force, there were issues when the bell rang. As is the case with a lot of Reigns’ matches, this was a bloated affair that took too long to get going and could have easily had some time shaved off. Additionally, for a “brutal” stipulation, both were quite tame with their weapon attacks. However, it has been reported that Fatu could be dealing with an injury, which might explain why the match didn’t have that execution many were hoping for. Reigns ultimately won the match, meaning that Fatu has to serve The OTC moving forward. The Usos celebrated with Reigns after the match as Solo Sikoa and The MFTs watched on from the front row. There was no post-match angle, no shock returns and nothing to make fans want to tune in to Raw tomorrow night. The show went off the air without that “landscape-changing” moment Triple H promised.
WWE Clash In Italy Review: Final Thoughts
At just under 3 hours long, Clash in Italy was an easier watch compared to some of the other shows. The adverts are still too frequent, and there was a long period of time between the last 2 matches, but this is sadly the new norm for WWE. Gunther vs. Rhodes could have finished better and Femi could have been given more offence over Lesnar, but there wasn’t a bad match on the show.
In a twist of irony, Triple H found himself on the losing end of something he became known for just a few years ago. Back in the Black and Gold NXT days, the TakeOver events booked by Triple H would often put on a stellar show on Saturday, leaving the main roster struggling to compete the following night. For Clash in Italy weekend, it was AAA Noche de Los Grandes that stole the weekend. With the heated rivalry between The Americanos reaching its epic crescendo in the main event, and with both men putting on a match of the year contender, there was little WWE could have done to top that.
If this were a standard international PLE, fans would have accepted it for what it was. However, with the show being hyped as a must-see event, there needed to be more headlines coming out of the show. Not a new era, just more of the same for the time being.
Overall rating: 3/5
Featured image: WWE
