Cody Rhodes, the Undisputed WWE Champion, walked out of Inalpi Arena in Turin on May 31 with the belt still over his shoulder, turning back Gunther in the closing match of Clash in Italy. Rhodes broke the Austrian’s sleeper hold, then stacked a Pedigree, a Disaster Kick, a Cody Cutter and two Cross Rhodes to put away a man who spent the past year ending other careers.
The reputation that walked to the ring with Gunther was loud. He arrived in Italy as the self-styled “career killer,” the man who closed the books on Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles. What that record never carried was a clean win over an active champion in his prime, and Turin did not change that.
Cody Rhodes Survived the Sleeper and a Disputed Count
Gunther controlled most of the bout. He worked Rhodes down, locked in the sleeper that had finished his three most famous opponents, and looked a beat away from a fourth signature scalp. Rhodes powered out, and the closing run came in a rush.
The finish itself drew the noise. As the referee counted to three, Gunther appeared to slide a boot under the bottom rope, the kind of rope break that should stop a fall cold. The official never saw it. The bell rang, Rhodes kept the title, and Gunther was left arguing with a referee who had already turned away.
It capped a stacked night in Turin. The card stretched across the company’s biggest names, with title matches up and down the run sheet and one belt changing hands. You can scan the full Clash in Italy results card for the order, but the headline numbers were simple.
- Roman Reigns beat Jacob Fatu in a Tribal Combat match to keep the World Heavyweight Championship.
- Rhea Ripley turned back Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
- Brock Lesnar defeated Oba Femi in a singles match.
- Sol Ruca dethroned Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, the night’s only title switch.
- Cody Rhodes pinned Gunther to keep the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Gunther Built the Career Killer Tag on Three Farewell Wins
The nickname has a clean origin. Over roughly ten months, Gunther served as the last opponent for three departing stars, and he beat all three by submission with the same sleeper hold. The pattern is what made it feel like a curse rather than a coincidence.
The Cena result carried the most weight. When Gunther made him give up in December, it was John Cena’s first submission loss in 22 years, a number that traveled further than the result itself. The Goldberg and Styles wins followed the same template, a veteran on a farewell run fading out under the same hold.
| Opponent | Event | When | How it ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldberg, age 58 | Saturday Night’s Main Event, Atlanta | July 2025 | Passed out to the sleeper |
| John Cena | Saturday Night’s Main Event | December 2025 | Tapped out, first submission loss in 22 years |
| AJ Styles | Royal Rumble, Riyadh | January 2026 | Passed out to the sleeper |
Gunther himself has shrugged at the weight of it, even as the moments landed. He spoke about the strange feeling of retiring men he grew up watching, then snapping back to the job at hand.
It’s surreal for a moment, but you kick out of it quickly, you’ve got to be focused in the moment.
That measured tone fits a wrestler whose run through WWE’s championship picture has leaned on cold efficiency. For the full backstory on the Cena finish, our earlier write-up on his vow to break John Cena before the final bell tracks how that one was set up.
Why Rhodes Refused to Treat the Streak as a Threat
Rhodes told broadcaster Joe Tessitore that the list of names Gunther had beaten was beside the point. His concern was the wrestler in front of him at his sharpest, not the ghosts of the men who had already left.
He praised the fundamentals too, calling Gunther a “wrestler’s wrestler” and pointing to how far the Austrian had come since his independent days as WALTER in wXw (westside Xtreme wrestling, a hard-hitting German promotion) and NXT UK. The respect was real. The fear, by his own account, was not, and his stretch atop the WWE title scene gave him reason to back the talk.
The Gap Between Retiring a Legend and Dethroning a Champion
Here is where the consensus gets thin. A retirement match and a title defense look similar on a poster, yet they ask for opposite endings. One is built to send a beloved veteran off with dignity. The other is a fight to take something a champion has every reason to protect.
Goldberg, Cena and Styles all came to their final bouts with the exit already booked. The story called for them to lose. Gunther supplied the finish, and he did it well, but he was pushing on a door the script had already cracked open.
Rhodes offered none of that. No farewell tour, no soft landing, no narrative pulling the result toward a passing of the torch. He came in to keep a belt, and the booking gave him every reason to leave with it.
That is the quiet flaw in the “career killer” line as a threat to the top of the card. Beating legends on their way out proves Gunther can finish a chapter. It does not prove he can start one by taking the company’s richest prize off a man fighting to hold it.
The Foot Under the Rope Hands Gunther a Rematch Hook
The disputed count is the reason this story did not close in Turin. A pin that should have stopped at a rope break instead counted to three, and that gives Gunther a grievance with teeth.
In wrestling terms, a controversial finish is rarely an accident. It is the cleanest way to protect a challenger while keeping the champion’s reign intact. Gunther loses without looking beaten, and a return bout writes itself the moment the cameras catch him pointing at his boot.
So the result reads two ways. Rhodes keeps the title and the bragging rights, while Gunther keeps an argument that the only thing standing between him and the belt was a referee who looked the wrong way.
Where Rhodes and Gunther Head After Turin
Rhodes hinted before the match that his own future is in motion. He spoke about contract talks and the chance of turning up on SmackDown, even as he insisted the championship came first. He has also been open about life after the ring, including his post-wrestling plans in Hollywood and a role in the coming Street Fighter film.
Gunther, for his part, has no veteran to retire next and no farewell to anchor. His path now runs through champions who intend to stay, which is a harder assignment than the one that built his name. A rematch with Rhodes is the obvious next chapter, and the foot-under-the-rope ending practically demands it.
The company also leaves Italy with a refreshed picture elsewhere, from Reigns holding off Fatu to Sol Ruca’s first title. You can track the next steps on the Clash in Italy event hub as the road to summer takes shape.
For now the question is whether Turin was a one-off or the start of a series. Book the rematch and hand Gunther a clean three-count, and the nickname finally graduates from farewell tours to title reigns. Leave it where this night left it, and it stays a record built on goodbyes.
