JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MAY 8: Gunther in action against Cody Rhodes during SmackDown at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 8, 2026 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
WWE via Getty Images
WWE will round out a busy May with its first-ever premium live event in Italy. WWE Clash in Italy is set for May 31 and we know what the main event will be. On last week's episode of SmackDown, we learned Cody Rhodes would defend his WWE championship against Gunther. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jade Cargill receive a rematch and a chance to regain her WWE women's championship against Rhea Ripley.
That's just two matches on what figures to be a card with five or six bouts on deck. Here's everything you need to know about the event.
Rhodes vs. Gunther for the Undisputed WWE Championship is officially locked in. The match was made on the May 8 SmackDown when Paul Heyman delivered the contract to Rhodes, framing it as the "favor" he owed Gunther for his WrestleMania 42 assist on Seth Rollins.
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Heyman dictated the venue and date — Turin, May 31 — and Gunther stormed out without signing in the same room. Rhodes pushed to fight on the spot, but WWE creative built the contract escape into the storyline. Gunther briefly locked in a Gojira Clutch attempt before Rhodes spiked him with the microphone and threw him through the ropes. Rhodes' line — "you think retiring Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles has me scared?" — pulled the storyline implications forward. Gunther has been undefeated since his November return, and the booking of him as the "career killer" gives the Clash main event real coronation stakes for the Austrian.
Keep an eye on Royce Keys and his feud with MFT — or what’s left of them. It would seem a premium live event spot is upcoming for the big man.
Perhaps that’ll happen at SNME
Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill II is the heavily telegraphed women's title match, even though WWE hasn't put a graphic on it yet. The build started on the May 8 SmackDown when Cargill returned and attacked Ripley during a six-woman tag, laying out Ripley along with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss in one sequence.
Ripley left WrestleMania 42 with the WWE Women’s Championship after beating Cargill in a match that surprised people with its quality. Cargill showed off her improving in-ring skills and that might convince creative to push this feud out longer.
Cargill never got an immediate rematch, with WWE creative routing Ripley through a Fatal Influence program first. With the Fatal Influence storyline still mid-arc, the Cargill return on SmackDown is the clearest signal that WWE creative is rebuilding the rematch for Turin.
Raw on May 11 didn’t pull focus away from the angle, but we’ll see if Smackdown on May 15 does.
Several other matches are in the "very likely" bucket coming out of Raw. WWE creative's booking pattern suggests the Penta IC title storyline gets settled at SNME XLIV on May 23, then blows out into a multi-man at Clash in Italy. Penta is especially over with European crowds, which makes a four-way at Turin involving Ethan Page, Rusev, and Je'Von Evans a logical narrative payoff.
On the women’s U.S. Championship side, Tiffany Stratton is the likely champion to defend, with Giulia and Chelsea Green the most logical challengers in a potential Triple Threat.
Giulia hasn’t had her rematch since dropping the title to Stratton, and her stablemate Kiana James just failed to bring the belt back on the May 8 SmackDown, leaving Giulia’s path clear. James could be in line to get a shot at the title again instead of Green.
This title needs some serious juice and new blood. It’s the least interesting championship in the promotion.
Bron Breakker vs. Seth Rollins is also in the mix as a likely rematch from Backlash 2026, with both men cutting promos pointing toward an unfinished story.
Three more Raw episodes (May 18, 25, plus possible Memorial Day adjustment) and three SmackDown episodes (May 15, 22, 29) sit between now and the show.
That's a lot of TV to confirm the matches that are currently sitting in the "telegraphed" tier. Expect Cargill-Ripley to be made official within the next two weeks of TV, the IC multi-man to come together off SNME XLIV's payoff, and the Breakker-Rollins stipulation match to fall into place if Rollins' Saturday Night's Main Event interactions with The Vision keep him out of the tag title picture.
Clash in Italy slots into WWE's European Summer Tour as the centerpiece of the international calendar, with Cody-Gunther positioned as the kind of marquee title match WWE saves for tour show main events. The full card will likely come together by the May 29 SmackDown.
With one confirmed title match, one telegraphed women's title match, and three logical supporting bouts already taking shape, Turin is on track to deliver a five-to-six match card without needing any last-minute surprises.
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