WWE pulled into Turin, Italy for the first ever Clash In Italy event. The show had the unfortunate job of following up Saturday night's amazing AAA show, especially the main event, and you could kind of tell everyone was in over their heads. For more, read the Clash In Italy 2026 Results Page, as well as 3 Things We Hated and 3 We Loved.Now, it's time to talk about the Winners and the Losers from Sunday's show. There were plenty of winners, like Sol Ruca, who got a showcase victory over a major star, and plenty of losers, like the big Austrian "career killer" who cannot beat the most vanilla man WWE has ever seen.As always, winners can be losers, losers can be winners, and people who didn't even wrestle can catch strays from me. If you want to continue the conversation, I point you in the direction of the comments section. Otherwise, it's time to ascribe some winners and losers.
WWE Clash In Italy took place in the shadow of Saturday night's main event mask vs. mask match between El Grande Americano and OG El Grande Americano. The match was heavily praised before the final bell even rang, with the AAA Spanish commentary team outright thanking AAA booker The Undertaker during the match itself. Because of this, every match at Clash In Italy was weighted by WWE fans remembering what the company is capable of, when they simply focus on what the crowd is into.Where many of Sunday night's moments felt forced, Saturday wasn't, and it meant that both Grandes' Saturday performances were on fans' minds during the perfectly cromulent show that WWE put on on Sunday. Quite frankly, no one at Clash In Italy had a chance to compete, and since we don't do AAA Winners/Losers, I simply had to address it.Saturday's main event raised the bar for literally every other match produced under the WWE banner, as the company seemingly has no excuse, outside of laziness. Now obviously, WWE won't luck itself into a perfect story line like Americano vs. Americano, but the fact still remains that it proved the company can pivot to something popular when they put their mind to it. Every endless Bloodline saga, or circuitous booking of midcarders is going to feel that much more glaring, now that we know WWE can actually chase a legendary crowd response when they try.The match was so good that they're replaying it after Raw on Netflix.
Gunther has retired John Cena, Goldberg, and AJ Styles, and has absolute d*** to show for it. His loss to Cody Rhodes in the opening of Clash In Italy was a serious case of terminal geekery.I guess they could build him up again, but even if he eventually wins the WWE Title, or regains the World Heavyweight Title, he's been a little too vulnerable. This is the guy who tapped out to Jey Uso and lost to Pat McAfee. They have humanized Gunther to an unfortunate degree, considering just how good he is.It wasn't a bad match, but it just didn't feel like it helped anybody. Cody didn't get a definitive win, Gunther looks like a whiny b***. The whole opening segment felt like a giant step back for everyone involved, and I'm not sure the SummerSlam program is going to be able to save it. At this rate, Gunther will be back in the Intercontinental Title scene by WrestleMania.
There's something pretty incredible about how quickly Sol Ruca went from Green As Grass NXT Surfer to beating Becky Lynch in a PLE title match. Yes, Becky has always felt a little big for the women's midcard division. But only one person gets to transition that title back into its midcard status, and that is Sol Ruca. It is a heavy honor for the former NXT Women's North American Champion, and a refreshing change of pace to other, slower call-ups.Ruca clearly has something special, and WWE is striking while the iron is hot. Who knows what the future holds for Ruca, but she'll always be able to say she beat "The Man" on a PLE. It's very possible this feud could go all the way to SummerSlam. It doesn't feel like WWE has done anything by half-measures with Sol. This win also puts her in a nice position to possible compete in the women's Money In The Bank Match, a stipulation that should fit Ruca like a glove.
I simply do not believe that WWE will ever pull the trigger on Jacob Fatu. He is destined to be an almost-ran, who acts as muscle for guys like Roman Reigns, and possibly even Jey Uso. WWE has had many chances to make him into a main event player, and it feels like he is constantly sacrificed on the altar to bigger stars. He is a placeholder contender, until guys like Drew McIntyre wrap their feature film obligations.He didn't have a bad match on Sunday, but he was never in any convincing position either. The match felt like a long walk to an inevitable conclusion, Reigns's title never in danger. In the words of the poet Rodney Dangerfield, Fatu simply gets "No respect, I tell ya. None at all." Roman Reigns is the center of the Bloodline universe, and everyone else must play their parts, with their entrances and exits, but the king stays the king, and everyone else better know their place.
