Gunther targets Rhodes' legacy in heated SmackDown confrontation before Clash in Italy title defense
Gunther and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes traded sharp words in the closing segment of Friday Night SmackDown on May 29, 2026, at the Olimpic Arena in Barcelona, Spain, setting the stage for their title match at Clash in Italy on Sunday. Gunther, whose path to the championship bout was secured through a favor Paul Heyman owed him, declared Rhodes "the perfect symbol of the crumbling American dream" and accused him of building a career on access rather than merit.
Gunther, who had attacked Rhodes from behind on multiple occasions in the preceding week, opened the confrontation by pledging the sneak attacks were finished. He then delivered a pointed monologue positioning himself as a self-made performer who emigrated and earned everything through discipline, hard work, and sacrifice - a contrast he drew explicitly against Rhodes. "Whereas, for you, everything was just one phone call away," Gunther said, calling Rhodes "a little, entitled brat" and framing his own purpose as protecting "this sacred sport" from people like him. Rhodes countered that Gunther's hunger for visibility - championship posters, mainstream media, a stadium crowd that sings along to his entrance - betrayed the austere image Gunther was projecting. "I'm going to tell you something. I know that you want it," Rhodes said. "Otherwise, I'd be talking to a 330-pound version of yourself in front of a couple hundred people at an indie show." Rhodes closed by telling Gunther the worst discovery awaiting him Sunday was a simple one: "You're just not that good." Gunther responded by noting he had already ended the in-ring runs of Goldberg, AJ Styles, and John Cena, and placed Rhodes next on that list.
Elsewhere on the card, the fractured relationship between Rhodes and Sami Zayn continued to deteriorate. Zayn, who had turned away from the ring the previous week as Gunther applied a sleeper hold to Rhodes, argued he had nevertheless intervened to break up the attack - and that Rhodes repaid him with a Cross Rhodes delivered from behind. Rhodes disputed Zayn's framing, reminding him of the moment he watched the champion being choked out. The exchange ended without resolution, with Rhodes warning that once his business with Gunther was settled, Zayn could be next. Zayn's ongoing sessions with a catatonic Johnny Gargano were interrupted by Matt Cardona, prompting Zayn to challenge Cardona to a match later in the evening.
In the women's division, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis booked Jade Cargill against Alexa Bliss after a six-woman confrontation between Cargill's faction - which includes Michin and B-Fab - and Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, and Bliss escalated into a brawl. Cargill, who pinned Ripley in a six-woman tag team match at Saturday Night's Main Event one week prior, defeated Bliss with her Jaded finisher and then hit the move a second time on a chair before Ripley and Flair cleared the ring. Ripley and Cargill are scheduled to meet for the WWE Women's Championship at Clash in Italy on Sunday. United States Champion Trick Williams, who won the title at WrestleMania 42, announced his entry into the King of the Ring Tournament during a tense segment with Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints. Williams offered a future title shot to whichever man won the subsequent Hayes-Saints match; the bout ended in a double count-out.
