WWE SmackDown On June 5th To Feature Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, King & Queen Of The Ring Qualifiers

WWE SmackDown is in Italy with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, and others featured prominently.

At WWE Clash in Italy, which took place on May 31st in Turin, Cody Rhodes successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Gunther. However, the match did have a controversial finish.

After Rhodes hit Gunther with a Cross Rhodes, he covered near the ropes, and Gunther had his foot under the bottom rope, which should count as a rope break. However, the referee, Gunther, never saw the foot under the rope. On replays of the finish, it was obvious that Gunther’s foot was under the bottom rope.

In some instances in wrestlig history, a call like that is immediately reversed, but not in this case. The referee’s decision was final.

Gunther complained after the match, but nothing came of it. There should be a follow-up on SmackDown in Bologna.

Rhea Ripley also defeated Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Title at Clash in Italy, so that could be the end of their rivalry.

The annual WWE King & Queen of the Ring tournament started this past Monday on Raw with 4-way matches. Oba Femi and Iyo Sky emerged as the winners and are now in the semifinals of the tournament, which will end at the Night of Champions on June 28th.

The June 5th edition of SmackDown in Bologna, Italy, will air at 2 p.m. ET on Netflix for international fans, while it will also air on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET as usual.

Here’s what WWE is officially advertising for this week’s show:

• Cody Rhodes returns to SmackDown after a controversial victory over Gunther
• Find out what’s next for Rhea Ripley after her victory over Jade Cargill
• Damian Priest, Trick Williams, Bron Breakker and Dominik Mysterio battle in King of the Ring Tournament
• Bayley, Raquel Rodriguez, Jacy Jayne and Kiana James clash in Queen of the Ring Tournament
• Carmelo Hayes will once again tangle with Ricky Saints

Cody Rhodes Is Comfortable In His WWE Role

As the top babyface in WWE, and especially on SmackDown, Cody Rhodes still gets some of the loudest ovations in the company, and is a top merchandise seller as well.

Recently, Cody Rhodes discussed people talking about a potential heel turn for him since he’s been a top babyface for over four years.

“I think that’s one of the things too where, like, people ask all the time, ‘When are you gonna turn heel?’ And it’s like, if that’s what the role requires at some point, sure. But right now, I get to just be me.

And sometimes being me means making a decision that maybe gets booed. Sometimes it means making a decision that gets cheered. But I’m not gonna suddenly start acting like something I’m not just because somebody online thinks that’s the move.

I’ve really enjoyed just getting to be myself in this run. And if eventually the story goes a different direction, then okay, that’s part of wrestling. But for now, I’m good with where I’m at.

Fans love when they don’t know the direction… I’ve been really bullish and really absolute, saying, ‘Oh, I don’t think there’s a heel turn for me at any point, and I’m against it.’ But at this point, I don’t believe that at all. I’m really open to all paths and avenues.

I make the choices that I make, that I was raised to make, and I play myself when I’m out there—but you can’t really call this one and the direction it goes.”

Find out what’s next for Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown on the June 5th edition of SmackDown from Italy.

Also read: Cody Rhodes Will Not Be Pleased If THIS Happens In WWE