Cody Rhodes Beats Gunther in Controversial Finish to Retain WWE Title at Clash in Italy 2026

Cody Rhodes beat Gunther at Clash in Italy on Sunday to retain the WWE Championship.

Gunther punished Rhodes throughout the match, but the champ landed his patented Cross Rhodes finisher to score the pin.

However, The Ring General's foot was under the rope when the referee started his count, and he protested the decision after the match.

The rivalry between Rhodes and Gunther began shortly after WrestleMania 42, as The Ring General attacked Cody following Rhodes' win over Ricky Saints on the May 1 episode of SmackDown.

One week later, it was revealed that Paul Heyman had brokered a deal to help Gunther move from Raw to SmackDown and secure a WWE title match against The American Nightmare.

Heyman had owed Gunther a favor after the Austrian star saved him from an attack at the hands of Seth Rollins and then defeated The Visionary at WrestleMania.

Rhodes tried to goad Gunther into signing a contract to have a championship match on the spot rather than at Clash in Italy. While Gunther resisted, Cody got some measure of revenge by laying him out with Cross Rhodes.

On the May 15 edition of SmackDown, Gunther refused to sign the Clash in Italy contract because of Rhodes' actions from the previous week, prompting Royce Keys to step up and volunteer to sign it.

Gunther stopped him from doing so, but SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis decided to book Gunther and Keys against each other in a No. 1 Contender's match with the winner going on to face Rhodes at Clash in Italy.

Although he was pushed to the limit, Gunther prevailed and retained his status as the challenger for the WWE title thanks to interference by The MFTs.

Having spent the better part of two years as undisputed WWE champion, Rhodes faced no shortage of tough opponents along the way, but Gunther arguably posed the biggest threat of his entire reign.

Even so, Rhodes rose to the occasion and prevailed at Clash in Italy, denying Gunther the chance to add an Undisputed WWE Championship to his two reigns as world heavyweight champion.