The WWE's first time taking a premium live event to Italy was a clear success with local fans, as it provided plenty of action and big spots. But the result of the main event at Clash in Italy in Turin could end up leading to a stale storyline.
Roman Reigns may have beaten Jacob Fatu to continue his run as the Tribal Chief, but the victory could be leading us down a path we watched play out recently. How will the Reigns-Fatu saga be any different than the original Bloodline storyline?
Cody Rhodes beat Gunther to keep the Undisputed WWE Championship, but how will the controversial pinfall impact his next steps? And will Brock Lesnar evening the score with Oba Femi lead to a possible retirement match for "The Beast" at SummerSlam?
Andreas Hale provides his top three takeaways coming out of Clash in Italy.
Here we go again ...
Roman Reigns retained his World Heavyweight Championship in a Tribal Combat match against Jacob Fatu. But the stakes were bigger, as Fatu must now acknowledge and serve Reigns as the true Tribal Chief. Reigns' victory folds Fatu back into the Bloodline and into an angle that feels all too familiar.
There was an opportunity here to freshen things up by having Fatu beat Reigns, with or without the help of The Usos, and put the OTC in unfamiliar territory where he is forced to acknowledge someone else. That could have been intriguing, but instead, we've jumped into a time machine and gone back to 2024.
The Bloodline was one of the best executed stories in WWE history, but running back a rehash of it may not be a great idea. There are some new wrinkles, however. Fatu was never a part of the Roman Reigns-led faction and arrived when Solo Sikoa was the leader. With Sikoa and the MFTs staring down Fatu afterward, it appears that we're going to have a feud between the two factions of The Bloodline. They will need to be creative, considering the MFTs haven't been close to the force that the original Bloodline was. They will need a jolt to feel like this could be competitive, but there is time to figure it out and see how Fatu falls in line.
Where do we go with Roman Reigns as World Heavyweight champion? With Gunther likely in line for a rematch with Cody Rhodes, the winner of the King of the Ring will likely challenge Reigns at SummerSlam. The field includes Oba Femi, Bron Breakker, LA Knight and Seth Rollins. Of the 16 participants, Rollins feels like the favorite to win and challenge Reigns.
Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther felt like a missed opportunity
This match was trending toward becoming a memorable encounter, but it ended in controversy with Rhodes picking up the pinfall win when Gunther's leg was clearly under the ropes. The weak ending stymied a match that was just shifting into a higher gear, with Gunther overpowering Rhodes for long stretches. Don't get me wrong, these finishes happen every so often, but the way this one ended, with Rhodes escaping with the win after just over 11 minutes, was incredibly underwhelming.
For the past few weeks, it has felt as if Rhodes was moving into a darker heel persona and this win could have solidified that if it were against a different opponent. But Gunther has set himself up as a truly heinous heel over the past few years by retiring fan favorites and cementing himself as a talent that's easy to hate. And with Rhodes saying that he'll give Gunther a rematch whenever he wants, any ideas of the champion tapping into his darker side are on hold.
This is one of those rivalries that should extend over the next few months, as Gunther is the most formidable opponent for Rhodes. But wasn't there a better way to get there than this? This finish benefited neither party, but it does extend the feud.
Are you ready for Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi 3?
It was pretty obvious that Lesnar would get his comeuppance against Femi at Clash in Italy, setting up a rubber match for possibly SummerSlam. But that didn't make the bout between the two giants any less fun. Lesnar needed seven F-5s to beat Femi in this encounter. And Lesnar getting the jump on Femi and working over his arm with a kimura lock was a smart way to get to the finish, where Femi was compromised when going for his finisher. The hiccup allowed Lesnar to escape the Fall From Grace, nail Femi with a seventh F-5 and avenge his loss at WrestleMania 42.
This feud is reminiscent of Lesnar's year-long rivalry with Goldberg, where each match was short but impactful.
All signs point to Lesnar truly retiring at SummerSlam in August, in his billed hometown at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It's the perfect way for Lesnar to go out, passing the torch to WWE's new behemoth in what is expected to be a violent collision that builds on the chaos of their first two meetings.
Yes, Femi was revealed to be in the King of the Ring tournament and immediately became the favorite to win. But considering that he has unfinished business with Lesnar, you can fully expect "The Beast" to cost Femi the opportunity to win the tournament and set up the rubber match at SummerSlam.
