WWE Clash in Italy preview and predictions: 5 big questions for Sunday's European showdown

WWE makes the first big stop of its latest European tour this Sunday, May 31, as Clash in Italy touches down at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy. The show marks WWE’s first-ever premium live event in the country — and the wrestling leader isn’t skimping on this debut offering.

>Sunday’s action features a loaded five-match card, highlighted by four championship tilts plus the super-sized rematch between Oba Femi and Brock Lesnar. Naturally, Uncrowned’s Horsemen — Kel Dansby, Robert Jackman and Drake Riggs — are here to preview the event, with some help from a guest Horseman, our own Raj Prashad. Let’s ride!

1. How do you rate the feud between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu? And who should win on Sunday?Dansby: The feud has been all gas, no brakes — and more importantly, Jacob Fatu finally feels like he truly belongs in the main-event picture. WWE has done a great job presenting him as a legitimate threat instead of just another Bloodline side character.

>That said, playing hot potato with the World Heavyweight Championship doesn’t make much sense right now. Roman Reigns carrying the title while promoting the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie feels way too valuable for TKO to pass up from a marketing standpoint.

>This feud actually reminds me a lot of Reigns vs. Kevin Owens during the early stages of the former’s dominant run in late 2020 and early 2021. Owens came out of that rivalry elevated, even in defeat. Fatu should lose on Sunday, but this absolutely shouldn’t be his last shot at the title.

>Jackman: It's been a decent enough feud to kick-start this Roman Reigns title run, but nothing spectacular. It's a 7 out of 10 from me.

>On the plus side, Fatu has looked ferocious every single second he's been on television, and I think he's made a convincing case as to why he's going for the world title. On the downside, the beats of this feud have grown a bit repetitive at times — they’ve had two separate contract signings on “Raw,” for goodness’ sake – but it has at least made sense, which is more than we can say for some WWE marquee matches.

>I disagree with those who’ve dismissed this as another Bloodline rehash. It's definitely part of the wider Bloodline canon (i.e. that iconic wall-chart they unveiled in Las Vegas a few years ago), but it has felt different from the whole Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa rivalry that swallowed up most of 2024. I've quite liked the way they've used the Bloodline lore without getting bogged down in it — I thought that the idea that the Tribal Chief must accept an invitation of tribal combat was a smart touch, and perfectly explained why we’re getting a rematch so close to a seemingly decisive victory at Backlash.

>As for the winner, it has to be Reigns. Putting a world title on him was a massive moment for WWE and it would be ridiculous to drop that so soon. They know he's a huge draw and they'll want to milk that as much as possible in the run-up to SummerSlam, and maybe even beyond that. Simply put, he sells tickets.

Is Roman Reigns' latest world title reign about to meet its end against Jacob Fatu?WWE via Getty ImagesRiggs: I feel like people have maybe been harsher on this feud than I have. While it is, to an extent, a big Bloodline rehash (sorry, Robert, but it’s true), it has felt pretty fresh and unique, particularly thanks to Fatu's invincibility factor. I still don't love the way he lost — or that he lost at all — at Backlash, but WWE has recovered from that decently enough ahead of Clash. The only thing is, I still think they've booked themselves into a serious corner by making a Fatu win the only positive outcome for him.

>Sure, a new role as Reigns' lackie following another loss could make for some interesting wrinkles for “The Samoan Werewolf,” but those wrinkles would be far less interesting than the opposite: Reigns serving under Fatu, the new "Tribal Chief." Especially with how Fatu has been booked.

>Reigns, presumably, could be a completely broken man after losing everything to Fatu. And because that's the more interesting option, WWE won't do it.

>The feud gets a solid 8.5/10 crown score (so far) from yours truly.

>Prashad: A continuation of the Bloodline story was a necessary flip in how WWE could pick up business after WrestleMania, with Reigns back consistently and Fatu elevated into a featured position. At a baseline, the feud has to be seen as a success for doing exactly what it needed to, so I’d give it 9/10. The story is great, the in-ring segments are wonderful — I just think things got shoehorned into Tribal Combat way too fast.

>In the last iteration of Reigns against the Bloodline, Reigns taking on Solo Sikoa in a match this caliber signaled a last resort and the end of their rivalry. I assumed there would be more twists and turns if WWE was going to squeeze more out of this rivalry, but now the only way that happens in a remotely interesting way is if Fatu wins the belt.

>This story becomes significantly different with Fatu able to topple Reigns rather being relegated to another disgruntled challenger becoming yet another follower.

Will Cody Rhodes emerge from his battle with Gunther unscathed?WWE via Getty Images2. Is it time to finally pull the trigger on a heel Cody Rhodes? And who should win on Sunday?Prashad: I felt like coming out of WrestleMania we’d get a clearer view on Cody Rhodes as a heel character, but he still hasn’t leaned all the way in. I’m on board with Rhodes at some point turning, but this doesn’t feel like the moment to do something that drastic.

>Gunther’s return to the main-event scene is refreshing and their rivalry feels new, but there’s no need to flip the title here. This program feels more like a vehicle to move Sami Zayn forward than it is about anything relating to Gunther or Rhodes. From my perspective, keep this train moving with a clean Rhodes win — with hints of those more ruthless, heel tactics — until the flip becomes absolutely necessary to move a story forward.

>Jackman: We've all seen Rhodes’ ruthless side growing over the past two years, but I still feel it's too soon to go full heel turn.

>When Rhodes does go to the dark side, he needs to have fully corrupted his whole babyface persona — not just alienating a few friends (as he's just done with Sami Zayn, for example) or taking a few shortcuts in title matches, but actually doing something that's going to make us sit upright and really pay attention. When you have a heel turn this important, there's no room for subtlety. Think John Cena at Elimination Chamber 2025, for example.

>I'd also have Rhodes win on Sunday. Don't get me wrong: Gunther practically has an “undisputed champion in waiting” tattoo on his forehead by this point, and I'd be all for the change if this match was happening a few months down the line. But we're still fresh from the Rhodes/McIntyre switcheroo, which would take some of the impact out of another title swap.

>In my view, it’s better to keep Rhodes in place as champion until Randy Orton returns. Incidentally, it lets you run Rhodes vs. Sami Zayn at Night of Champions next month. That way you can set up a backstory where Zayn has lost two world title matches in Saudi Arabia, leading to him taking one last chance to change his fortunes at next year’s WrestleMania in Riyadh.

>

>Riggs: We've seen hints of it, right? Times when Rhodes has hit dirty moves to win big matches or be selfish at the expense of others. Hi, Sami Zayn.

>Heel Cody makes the champ 10 times more interesting than he's become. We've seen pretty much everything there is to see from his ultra-good-guy position — unless he went full Homelander and started getting more and more devious, all while denying his ways or viewing them as good. There are many, many possibilities.

>So, it's weird with this match. Should he win? Only if Rhodes turns heel in the process. Otherwise, let’s freshen things up with another Gunther world title reign. He could use it more at this point, anyway. The "Career Killer" gimmick hit a serious snag before WrestleMania, and he needs some secure direction to latch onto.

>Dansby: For the same reason I think Reigns retains, I think Rhodes does too.

>Rhodes heading into the “Street Fighter” press tour as WWE Champion feels almost guaranteed at this point, and honestly Gunther doesn’t need the championship to continue his “career killer” gimmick. He’s already established enough that the aura exists without the belt.

>As for the heel turn, I don’t think turning Rhodes against someone like Gunther makes much sense. Gunther is already positioned as a dominant heel, so the alignment feels off. Rhodes should retain, hopefully in a really well-worked match, and continue carrying the title until the next true breakout babyface arrives.

>And honestly, that guy feels like Oba Femi.

Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi are running things back.WWE via Getty Images3. Was the Brock Lesnar retirement swerve too much of a WWE “gotcha” moment? Does it hurt retirements going forward, and where do Lesnar and Femi go after Clash?Jackman: Yeah, I hate this one already. It just has “WWE Unreal”written all over it. It's another of those "We got you!" moments they seem to like doing so much. And it's exactly the same pattern as the previous ones: Let's set up something that people normally take seriously (i.e. a firing, an injury, a retirement) and then pull the rug out from under them at the last minute.

>That said, I do think they did a good job of reviving the feud on "Raw," with that video package from Lesnar feeling more personal and powerful than anything we saw from him in the spring, as well as Femi’s payoff line about wanting to kill Lesnar this time around. But there's no reason they couldn't have done this stuff before ‘Mania.

>As for what happens after Clash, I suspect the model WWE has in mind is the Rhodes/Lesnar trilogy from 2023, with Femi emerging as the eventual winner sometime later in the summer. I don't hate it, but I'll be spitting feathers if they botch this somehow and end up undermining Femi’s WrestleMania moment they raved about so much.

>Prashad: Brock Lesnar’s retirement felt sideways in the moment and even worse now. Lesnar showing actual emotion and ripping his shoes off felt enormous for both his career and Oba Femi’s. The parallels between Lesnar ending Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak and his career ending on the same stage felt, at least in the moment, like a beautiful connection. It was such a significant moment of dominance for Femi, that I was at peace with the conclusion.

>Now, though? As Robert said, it really does feel closer to a “WWE Unreal” moment. I don’t know how much it hurts retirements in the future as much as it pulls into question anything that remotely feels real. And maybe that’s part of the point.

>Lesnar getting the win is probably the natural conclusion for this one, and there’s a variety of paths that could lead to a trilogy against Femi and his likely actual retirement at SummerSlam in Minnesota. That seems like the actual night he’ll wrap his career.

Dansby: Wrestling retirements almost never stick, so I don’t think most fans fully bought Brock Lesnar being done anyway.

>As Raj just mentioned, the more likely scenario is Lesnar walking away after SummerSlam, especially with the event taking place in Minnesota, where Lesnar’s wrestling legacy began. That feels like a much more fitting final chapter.

>Because of that, Lesnar evening the score against Oba Femi at Clash actually makes sense. It extends the feud through the summer and gives WWE another major attraction heading into SummerSlam. More importantly, it gives Femi another huge stage to continue building himself into the company’s next monster star.

>Riggs: Lesnar is literally "competing while retired," according to WWE. Who's to say John Cena and AJ Styles couldn't "come back" and do the same thing? Listen to how dumb it sounds. It doesn't make any sense, and, worst of all, it completely takes away a huge accomplishment from Oba Femi. His WrestleMania win will forever be great, but part of that was because he was going to be known as the man who retired Lesnar. Sure, that could still end up being the case, but now no one is going to believe it. WWE ruined any faith in that by doing its swerve. And good job — they "got" us. But no, it wasn't worth it.

>Ultimately, Lesnar should absolutely lose again and retire properly at SummerSlam, as we all expected. Ideally, that wouldn't be against Femi, as “The Ruler” should be headed directly for a WWE world title. Either one will do. He's been dilly-dallying since 'Mania, and while some of it has been entertaining, it's clearly been one big stall.

Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley are set to rematch Sunday in Italy.Ethan Miller via Getty Images4. Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Fatal Influence have all gotten involved in the “SmackDown” women’s title picture. What’s your interest level in Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill 2? Has WWE crowded the scene too much?Dansby: At the very least, the championship is finally being defended again, which is progress.

>That said, this rematch feels destined for chaos. I’d fully expect interference, distractions, and plenty of outside involvement before it’s over. In the end, Jade Cargill regaining the championship probably makes the most sense. It’s easier to build compelling chases around a dominant heel champion than a babyface one, and Cargill having a faction behind her at least gives WWE more storytelling options on weekly television.

>Jackman: I don't really see this as a rematch anyone was really crying out for. Both women did a good job at ‘Mania — and Cargill finally looked like a star for the first time at a stadium show — but the result felt like a clean changeover from one champion to the next. The whole "let’s give Jade a faction" angle didn't really add up to much beyond creating an entry point for Iyo Sky (who then got a crowd reaction you could probably hear from Los Angeles).

>As for the overcrowded title scene, it speaks to a recurring problem on "SmackDown" in particular, which is the ratio of headline talent to actual storylines. There’s just too many of the former and not enough of the latter (at least on the women’s side). We saw that earlier this year when everyone ended up getting sucked into the women’s tag scene because they didn’t have anything else to do. Now it's evolved somewhat, but this still feels like the same underlying issue.

>Prashad: The women’s title picture actually feels like something I’ve often praised over at AEW — the more challengers elevated at once, the better. I’m happy to see a handful of stories crossing lanes into each other, reducing the singular focus of one story at a time and providing an element of the unexpected.

>For the Ripley-Cargill rematch, this always felt like a match WWE would revisit. I thought their WrestleMania match was well done and Cargill needs more opportunities like this to continue elevating to the next level. I’m sold on a return to the program and I don’t think it ends this weekend.

>Riggs: I pitched this question, so shame on me, because I went into great detail about it in a recent "WWE SmackDown" recap. The division is a discombobulated mess of epic proportions. I have next to no interest in the Ripley-Cargill rematch, despite their first match being solid and surely another decent showing coming up. At least the crowd will be much more there for it.

>Essentially, WWE lost the plot a while ago, and it's shown mightily with all the endless intertwining. Fatal Influence is right there as the next big stable headed by Jacy Jayne — yet we go to a rematch of a match people already weren't high on before its prior chapter.

The program between Becky Lynch and Sol Ruca has left a lot to be desired.WWE via Getty Images5. Has WWE botched the start of Sol Ruca’s main roster run? What would you change, if anything?Prashad: I don’t know if botched is the right word, but it hasn’t been great. Her chemistry with Becky Lynch is really lacking and it’s led to awkward interactions, not to mention the baffling storytelling. For two stars I’m incredibly high on, I’m stunned this one has been so off course.

>As for things I’d change, I certainly would have found a different route to Clash in Italy rather than a confusing disqualification in what amounted to a television match. I hate to say this because her finisher is part of what makes her unique, but if I were Ruca, I’d consider changing it. For a highlight-reel move that’s become a viral element to her rise, it only works when it’s hitting and when it flows within matches. It doesn’t feel like something that should go away, just something pulled out for special occasions.

>Riggs: She would win matches. Crazy concept, right?

>It's too early to say it's been a botched start, but there have been far too many literal botches in the ring, specifically around the Sol Snatcher. So there's that.

>Ruca is awesome, and she'll be a clear face of the company soon. It just seems like a weird approach to go the underdog route for a former champion and NXT star.

>Botched? No. Mishandled? Definitely.

>Jackman: Botched is far too strong, but I won’t deny there have been wrinkles. The big problem has been the rushed timing of the Ruca/Lynch feud, not least the fact that they needed to book something better for SNME. In the end, the “match” they had was basically an extended angle that would have looked underwhelming on “Raw,” let alone on a supposedly special event.

>At the same time, I think the fundamentals are solid here. It reminds me of Lynch’s feud with Maxxine Dupri — in a good way — in that it’s clearly riffing off the vast gulf in experience between the two women. But so many issues have stopped this one from reaching its full potential. Case in point: The whole back-and-forth about whether their SNME match was going to be a title match or not. That should have been an on-screen angle (with Lynch pulling some shenanigans to get the title element removed). Instead, it ended up playing out on social media, when WWE accidentally advertised Lynch vs. Ruca as a title match before withdrawing the graphic. Oops!

>By the way, if Lynch does manage to outsmart Sol this time around, then I have the perfect stipulation for match three. Remember the comment Lynch made about how Ruca should go back down to NXT? Why not make that the stipulation: If Ruca loses the rubber match, she has to go back to the developmental show. Obviously she'd win, but it would at least add a bit of sizzle to the mix.

>Dansby: Calling it “botched” feels way too harsh.

>Sol Ruca is already getting meaningful television time and working a program with Becky Lynch, which is a pretty strong sign that WWE sees real potential in her. She still has areas to develop, especially with experience and consistency, but this feud proved she belongs in the conversation.

>She’s probably not ready to carry the Intercontinental Championship division yet, and that’s OK. Not every rising talent needs to immediately win a title. Sometimes the more important thing is giving them a storyline that helps establish their character and credibility.

>If anything, coming up short now could make her eventual climb back toward a championship feel even bigger later in the year or during WrestleMania season.

PredictionsWorld Heavyweight Championship - Tribal Combat: Roman Reigns (Dansby, Jackman, Riggs) vs. Jacob Fatu (Prashad)

• >Undisputed Championship: Cody Rhodes(Dansby, Jackman, Prashad, Riggs)vs. Gunther

• >Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley (Jackman, Riggs) vs. Jade Cargill (Dansby, Prashad)

• >Women's Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (Dansby, Jackman) vs. Sol Ruca (Prashad, Riggs)

• >Oba Femi (Riggs) vs. Brock Lesnar(Dansby, Jackman, Prashad)