Gunther and Cody Rhodes are set to do battle at Clash in Italy on Sunday in Turin, and the match is being framed as a chance to put both men back on track. Bleacher Report argued that Gunther should win, even if that means Rhodes takes another hit in a booking stretch that has already pushed him through too many twists.
The reason Rhodes is drawing so much attention now is simple: he keeps ending up in title stories. He won the belt, lost it to Drew McIntyre on SmackDown because of outside interference, then got it back before WrestleMania, where he beat Randy Orton in a Night 1 main event that also featured Pat McAfee and Jelly Roll. That is why a lot of eyes are on Turin this weekend, with a start-time guide for Cody Rhodes and the rest of WWE’s May 31 show already being read closely by fans looking for the first clue about where the card lands. Gunther has his own searchlight on him, too. After retiring John Cena, he has worked matches with L.A. Knight, Sami Zayn and AJ Styles, but he still has not had the kind of follow-up run that makes the company’s biggest win feel fully locked in.
That is the friction in this matchup. Gunther has the resume of a monster and the aura of a final boss, but WWE seems to forget that he is the man who retired John Cena, which makes his current place on the card feel smaller than it should. He was not even an obvious WrestleMania lock until injury changes opened up a spot for Seth Rollins, and after that he still wound up in a run of matches that did not quite settle him into a new level. A win over Rhodes would change that fast. It would also fit the argument that a dominant champion taking on all challengers is better television than trying to force another surprise for the sake of it, especially when Rhodes is strongest in chase mode.
That is why Sunday matters. Gunther beating Rhodes in Turin would not just settle one match; it would give WWE a cleaner direction for both men, with Rhodes back in pursuit and Gunther finally treated like the threat his name has promised for months. If WWE instead protects Rhodes again, it keeps the same loop going and leaves the company still looking for the next turn that sticks.
