WWE is bringing a PLE to Italy for the first time in history on Sunday with the special Clash in Italy event from inside the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy.
If WWE still named their monthly events in the old school In Your House way — you know, In Your House: Beware of Dog, In Your House: Blah blah blah, In Your House: Insert event specific name here — this extravaganza in Italy would be called Clash In Italy: Rematches Galore.
There are two types of rematches in WWE. The first is the rematch crutch. It’s going back to previous matches quickly because there just isn’t anything else going on that’s worthy of the spot on the show. The second is the earned rematch. A return match that fits storyline and that the audience is chomping at the bit to see.
WWE Clash In Italy is packed with rematches, but each of them fall in the second bucket.
Tribal Chief up for grabs in Tribal Combat
The Clash In Italy main event is Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in Tribal Combat. What’s Tribal Combat? Well, it’s anything goes.
Reigns and Fatu had a very good championship match at the Backlash event last month. This one will be even better.
Not only is the world championship on the line for both men, but the Tribal Chief name and position is up for grabs too. If Fatu wins, he replaces Reigns as the Tribal Chief and the Head of the Table. If Reigns wins, Fatu will have to acknowledge Reigns and serve him as a member of his Bloodline.
Expect a war in this one and plenty of outside interference. Think The Usos, Solo Sikoa, the rest of The MFT’s, and maybe even LA Knight. Reigns and Fatu have developed a layer of tension between one another that they’ll be able to leverage for drama in the match.
As far as who wins, I’m doing a good luck dance for Fatu. Admittedly, I’m likely off base. Reigns is Reigns and he doesn’t lose very often. At the same time, Fatu as an unhinged and uncontrollable Tribal Chief would make for a significantly better storyline on Raw week to week. That’s a reason for fans to watch. It’s fresh.
Reigns winning is the safe play and yes, that’s kind of been WWE’s booking MO lately. I think they opt for something different this time around.
Brock’s back
Another rematch on the show is a massive one. Literally and figuratively. Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi.
Femi quickly and definitively beat Lesnar at WrestleMania 42 this year and the loss was so painful for Lesnar that he retired in the ring seconds after he was pinned. That retirement lasted about a month.
The storyline that was woven together on Raw this week was that Lesnar couldn’t live with himself after the loss to Femi and ended his retirement to try and rectify it. It wasn’t perfect storytelling, but logical enough.
Oba Femi needed Brock Lesnar. Badly. Prior to this Lesnar rematch, Femi was wasting away in random open challenge matches that positioned him more as the worst of Braun Strowman rather than the best of a Lesnar. Femi got his aura back opposite Lesnar. Hopefully Triple H learned a valuable lesson and has Femi’s next year penciled in the booking sheet at the highest level possible.
Nobody is going to like this pick, but Brock Lesnar is going to win this match. Take a deep breath and don’t hurt me, but that makes sense. WWE doesn’t have anyone else on the roster at this point that can reasonably beat Oba Femi. Roman Reigns maybe? If I’m WWE, I don’t want Femi to have the undefeated streak like Goldberg. Lesnar is a reasonable loss Femi can take and it sets up a trilogy match between the two down the road.
Rhea retains
The other WrestleMania rematch on this show is Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship. Their first match earlier this year in Vegas was significantly better than expected. Nothing wrong with going for chapter two.
Charlotte Flair has been close to this storyline and will factor into the finish. Flair helps Ripley fight off Cargill’s baddies and positions herself for a match against Cargill down the road. In doing so, she adds depth to her relationship with Ripley, which can be leveraged later for storylines around another potential match between the rivals.
The show is rounded out by Becky Lynch vs Sol Ruca for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship — a rematch from WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event last weekend — and Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther for the Undisputed WWE Championship — a rematch from 2024.
WWE Clash In Italy airs live on ESPN Unlimited and Netflix internationally on Sunday afternoon. The full card and full prediction show from The Takedown on SI is below.
WWE Clash In Italy Full Match Card
Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu - Tribal Combat for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill - WWE Women’s Championship
Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther - Undisputed WWE Championship
Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca - WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
WWE Clash In Italy Preview
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