WWE Payback General Discussion & Reviews

[mace87]

Okay I think we all pretty much agree that Wrestle Mania 32 was a disappointment on the whole but things can move on quickly in the WWE. This is what I would like to see at Payback, let me know what you think and ideas etc you guys have!
Match 1: Kalisto V Breeze (US Title match). Let's say that on next week's Smackdown there is a multi man match that Breeze wins, his angle heading towards Payback can be based around the the fact that has the image to represent America as champion (who better than Prince Pretty right?) It has been a crime how poorly utalised Breeze has been since coming up from NXT and a solid match to showcase his abilities at a Special event could be the first step to changing this. The match has the potential to be awesome. Result: Kalisto to retain.

Match 2: Kane V Corbin (Single) The big red monster came so close to winning the Andre the giant battle royal at WM only to have it snatched away by the Lone Wolf Baron Corbin. Demon Kane will be fueled to put the young up start in his place and this will happen at Payback! This gives Corbin a very credible, solid and Legendary opponent in his first feud in WWE which will be huge for him. Result: The match ends in a no contest/double count out.

Match 3: New Day V Uso's (Tag Title match) With the Uso's going over the Dudley's in there recent feud the Uso's seem like the next in line for a shot at the Tag Titles. We know this will be a good match from their previous clashes and will bridge the gap while teams like Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillians are ready to enter the title picture. Result: New Day retain.

Match 4: Jericho V Cesaro (Single) This would be such a great match for both men and the fans. For Jericho it gives the chance to put over another fast rising talent who is red hot right now and for Cesaro it gives him the chance to compete with a genuine legend straight after returning from injury! Result: Cesaro wins.

Match 5: Owens V Zayn (Single) All the bad blood ends here as these 2 former friends collide one on one at last! Result: Owens dominates most of the match but Zayn grabs the win leaving Owens frustrated which leads him to attack Zayn after the match.

Match 6: Charlotte V Sasha (Women's Title match) This has to be the match after what happened at WM and the match everyone wants to see! Result: Sasha should win the title which I believe should have happened at WM but I guess with Charlotte being Ric Flair's daughter she gets some preferential treatment behind the scenes. Sasha new champion.

Main Event: Reigns V Styles (WWE title match) It pains me to say this but Reigns needs to have a solid run as Champion after 2 very short runs previously. This match for me has more to do with slowly turning Reigns heel rather than who wins or loses the match however the way I would go is Reigns should retain in a real battle which will then feed his ego as "the guy" by beating an internet darling in Styles putting more heat on him and getting him more boos to boot. This will slowly grind Reigns down until sooner or later he snaps and loses it with the fans thus turning him heel!

So let me know what you think?

 

[Hyorinmaru]

Match 1: Kalisto V Breeze (US Title match). Let's say that on next week's Smackdown there is a multi man match that Breeze wins, his angle heading towards Payback can be based around the the fact that has the image to represent America as champion (who better than Prince Pretty right?) It has been a crime how poorly utalised Breeze has been since coming up from NXT and a solid match to showcase his abilities at a Special event could be the first step to changing this. The match has the potential to be awesome. Result: Kalisto to retain.

Tyler Breeze? Did you just pick his name out of a hat? What makes you think Prince Jobber deserves a US title shot at all much less on PPV.

Match 2: Kane V Corbin (Single) The big red monster came so close to winning the Andre the giant battle royal at WM only to have it snatched away by the Lone Wolf Baron Corbin. Demon Kane will be fueled to put the young up start in his place and this will happen at Payback! This gives Corbin a very credible, solid and Legendary opponent in his first feud in WWE which will be huge for him. Result: The match ends in a no contest/double count out.

I would agree with this but not the ending. If this match were to happen Corbin would need a decisive win. Kane would do what he does best and that's put over the new up & coming talent by not only losing but by making his opponent look like gold the entire match.

Match 3: New Day V Uso's (Tag Title match) With the Uso's going over the Dudley's in there recent feud the Uso's seem like the next in line for a shot at the Tag Titles. We know this will be a good match from their previous clashes and will bridge the gap while teams like Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillians are ready to enter the title picture. Result: New Day retain.

If this match happens for the 500th time I may vomit. This match has been done into the ground and I wouldn't pay to see it. It looks like New Day may still be feuding with LoN anyway so thank God this probably won't happen.

Match 4: Jericho V Cesaro (Single) This would be such a great match for both men and the fans. For Jericho it gives the chance to put over another fast rising talent who is red hot right now and for Cesaro it gives him the chance to compete with a genuine legend straight after returning from injury! Result: Cesaro wins.

I could get behind this match. I like both men and think they could put on a fantastic match

Match 5: Owens V Zayn (Single) All the bad blood ends here as these 2 former friends collide one on one at last! Result: Owens dominates most of the match but Zayn grabs the win leaving Owens frustrated which leads him to attack Zayn after the match.

So you want to take what can potentially be the feud of the 2nd half of this decade and blow it off in 3 weeks? This is a ******ed idea on a forum that has a lot of ******ed ideas. Can they have a match at Payback? Absolutely but it can not end here. They would need to have this match end in a way that builds the feud like ref stoppage or double count out.

Match 6: Charlotte V Sasha (Women's Title match) This has to be the match after what happened at WM and the match everyone wants to see! Result: Sasha should win the title which I believe should have happened at WM but I guess with Charlotte being Ric Flair's daughter she gets some preferential treatment behind the scenes. Sasha new champion.

I agree Sasha should have won at 'Mania and was pissed Baby Flair retained. I don't see this happening at Payback though more likely it'll happen at SummerSlam with Sasha finally winning. For now it looks like we're getting a Harts/Flairs feud with Daddy and Uncle Bret about to play a bigger part (*gag*)

Main Event: Reigns V Styles (WWE title match) It pains me to say this but Reigns needs to have a solid run as Champion after 2 very short runs previously. This match for me has more to do with slowly turning Reigns heel rather than who wins or loses the match however the way I would go is Reigns should retain in a real battle which will then feed his ego as "the guy" by beating an internet darling in Styles putting more heat on him and getting him more boos to boot. This will slowly grind Reigns down until sooner or later he snaps and loses it with the fans thus turning him heel!

I can see what you're saying here and this is more than likely what will happen. If it doesn't then I don't know.

So let me know what you think?

Some good ideas, some not so good with 1 laughably stupid idea. All in all a decent Payback card that we won't see.

 

[mace87]

My reason's for Breeze getting a US Title opportunity I thought was made clear, he was one of the best performers on NXT but since moving up to the main roster has been left to go to waste which is shame I was using this a something of a spring board to get people to see what he is actually capable of.

As for the Corbin and Zayn results I was leaving those with room to continue there feuds respectively. Of cause the end results would see Corbin go over on Kane and likewise with Zayn over Owens along the way.

with new day V Uso's this is purely for filler purposes as realistically who is going to take the titles from new day as they have beaten every current team already but with Enzo & Cass and Vaudevillians coming up that gives them fresh teams to feud with in a few months time.

 

[AJ1981]

Personally I would go with:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles (I would hold Ambrose of this PPV and use AJ to further a Reigns heel turn that has seemingly just started)

WWE Women's Championship
Charlotte vs. Natalya (I do believe the injury reports re Sasha)

Singles Match:
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (Owens wins here, Zayn need's to keep coming close but keeps getting screwed by Owens to create a bigger payoff down the line)

Six Man Tag Team Match:
The Wyatt Family vs. League of Nations

Singles Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Cesaro (I would rather see this match than Jericho/Ambrose.)

WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz w/Maryse vs. Zack Ryder (This should be billed as Ryder's last chance at the IC title.)

Singles Match:
Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler (Logical match given what we saw on RAW, Dolph is the perfect guy to introduce Corbin to the main roster)

Triple Threat Match For the WWE Tag Team Championship
The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Enzo & Cass (Would be a fun match and Enzo & Cass vs. New Day promo's would be fun too)

Kick Off Show
Becky Lynch vs. Emma

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Everyone, please swap Cesaro with Ambrose, thus making it Y2J vs Ambrose and make the Ryder vs Miz a triple threat match, also including Cesaro, in order to put Cesaro in a title hunt position.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Keep it all here. This is a no spam thread, so the rules regarding spam apply.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Okay I think we all pretty much agree that Wrestle Mania 32 was a disappointment on the whole but things can move on quickly in the WWE. This is what I would like to see at Payback, let me know what you think and ideas etc you guys have!
Match 1: Kalisto V Breeze (US Title match). Let's say that on next week's Smackdown there is a multi man match that Breeze wins, his angle heading towards Payback can be based around the the fact that has the image to represent America as champion (who better than Prince Pretty right?) It has been a crime how poorly utalised Breeze has been since coming up from NXT and a solid match to showcase his abilities at a Special event could be the first step to changing this. The match has the potential to be awesome. Result: Kalisto to retain.

The problem with this is that Tyler Breeze has less momentum right now than just about anyone that's featured even somewhat regularly on WWE television. Given the idea that it's "Payback", I ultimately see Ryback getting another crack at the title due to his belief that it was a fluke and that Kalisto wouldn't have won had the turnbuckle pad not come loose and had he not smacked into it. Ryback feels humiliated by the loss and wants one more crack so he can redeem himself.

Match 2: Kane V Corbin (Single) The big red monster came so close to winning the Andre the giant battle royal at WM only to have it snatched away by the Lone Wolf Baron Corbin. Demon Kane will be fueled to put the young up start in his place and this will happen at Payback! This gives Corbin a very credible, solid and Legendary opponent in his first feud in WWE which will be huge for him. Result: The match ends in a no contest/double count out.

This match just makes no real sense to me and the ending certainly won't be doing anyone any favors. Baron Corbin had a solid debut against Dolph Ziggler and he left him lying after beating him down. I see Ziggler getting a shot at Corbin as a means of gaining vengeance and Corbin needs to win his very first ppv match on the main roster. Going to all the trouble of setting up a ppv match with a brand new talent to end in a double count out when it's his first ppv just sends the wrong message entirely. Also, Kane is not who should be Corbin's first opponent because...well frankly, people are bored beyond tears with Kane and not many are interested in seeing Corbin in a slow, plodding match at this point. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Kane and I think he's a highly underappreciated guy, but he's someone I could see Corbin possibly feuding with a little later. Corbin's first feud should be against someone that brings a lot of energy and excitement into matches and that's definitely not Kane.

Match 3: New Day V Uso's (Tag Title match) With the Uso's going over the Dudley's in there recent feud the Uso's seem like the next in line for a shot at the Tag Titles. We know this will be a good match from their previous clashes and will bridge the gap while teams like Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillians are ready to enter the title picture. Result: New Day retain.

I'm not really sure where New Days goes from here, but I don't have much interest in seeing them go up against the Usos for the thousandth time, especially as WWE looks to be building New Day into fully fledged babyfaces.

Match 4: Jericho V Cesaro (Single) This would be such a great match for both men and the fans. For Jericho it gives the chance to put over another fast rising talent who is red hot right now and for Cesaro it gives him the chance to compete with a genuine legend straight after returning from injury! Result: Cesaro wins.

It's possible I suppose, though they'd need to shift focus from Jericho's program with Styles so he could concentrate on Cesaro. It has the potential to be a great match, though there could still be some sort of shenanigans that prevents Styles from facing Roman Reigns at Payback. Some sort of "screw you" storyline to build Styles as a sympathetic face that's already been screwed out of possibly becoming WWE Champion with Chris Jericho possibly playing a part in it. We should have a better picture of these potential programs after tomorrow night.

Match 5: Owens V Zayn (Single) All the bad blood ends here as these 2 former friends collide one on one at last! Result: Owens dominates most of the match but Zayn grabs the win leaving Owens frustrated which leads him to attack Zayn after the match.

There's potential money in this feud and I think that's one of the reasons why we've yet to see Zayn vs. Owens one on one. If WWE allows Zayn to really establish who he is, what he's about, why he hates Kevin Owens on the mic with a good, emotional, passionate promo, he'll immediately have people invested in him. For their first one on one outing, I could see Owens cheating his ass off to come out with the win as a means of further building things up to make Sami seem more sympathetic and to want to see Owens get what's coming to him.

Match 6: Charlotte V Sasha (Women's Title match) This has to be the match after what happened at WM and the match everyone wants to see! Result: Sasha should win the title which I believe should have happened at WM but I guess with Charlotte being Ric Flair's daughter she gets some preferential treatment behind the scenes. Sasha new champion.

I think it'll be Natalya who gets the next shot and I've got no problem with that. WWE has protected Sasha Banks very well since her main roster debut as she's yet to be really be beaten. After all, it was Becky Lynch who tapped out at WrestleMania while Sasha was prevented from interfering by Ric Flair. Charlotte and Natalya had a fantastic bout at Roadblock and this would could be even better now that there looks like there's going to be a story attached to it. Sasha's time will come but considering that Charlotte just became the WWE Women's Champion, I think a one month reign is kind of anti-climactic and I think she'll wind up holding the title until SummerSlam. Or, another possibility, possibly remote but one that has a much better shot of happening than in the past, is we see our first women's MITB ladder match with Sasha scoring the win and guaranteeing herself a shot at the title. Either way, I see Charlotte holding onto the title through the summer.

Main Event: Reigns V Styles (WWE title match) It pains me to say this but Reigns needs to have a solid run as Champion after 2 very short runs previously. This match for me has more to do with slowly turning Reigns heel rather than who wins or loses the match however the way I would go is Reigns should retain in a real battle which will then feed his ego as "the guy" by beating an internet darling in Styles putting more heat on him and getting him more boos to boot. This will slowly grind Reigns down until sooner or later he snaps and loses it with the fans thus turning him heel!

So let me know what you think?

This is sort of how I see the match going if it goes down. Remember, they could always do some sort of screwjob tactic to get Styles out of the title picture for a while, but I doubt it. I could see this furthering a heel turn for Reigns and I think that'd be the best scenario when you pair it with Styles giving Reigns a helluva battle. I don't think anyone expects Reigns to drop the title and that it's a situation that was sort of similar to Reigns' match with Daniel Bryan at Fastlane last year in that hardly anyone expected Reigns to lose, but they were hoping for and expecting a strong, entertaining match. If Styles looks strong in defeat, even comes genuinely close to beating Reigns a couple of times, Reigns possibly uses some underhanded tactics that're not really overtly cheating but certainly a departure from his normal tactics, etc. then I think everyone will come out a winner.

 

[kadroan]

My reason's for Breeze getting a US Title opportunity I thought was made clear, he was one of the best performers on NXT but since moving up to the main roster has been left to go to waste which is shame I was using this a something of a spring board to get people to see what he is actually capable of.

As for the Corbin and Zayn results I was leaving those with room to continue there feuds respectively. Of cause the end results would see Corbin go over on Kane and likewise with Zayn over Owens along the way.

with new day V Uso's this is purely for filler purposes as realistically who is going to take the titles from new day as they have beaten every current team already but with Enzo & Cass and Vaudevillians coming up that gives them fresh teams to feud with in a few months time.

I think Ryback would probably get another shot against Kalisto. Kalisto is 1-0 against Ryback. With it only being 3 more RAWs until Payback, it would be the easiest and most realistic match they could pull off unless they do a random number one contender's match for the title.

I think they may do Ziggler vs. Corbin at Payback. I see they've been building it up on RAW and Smackdown this past week. It'd be smart for them to continue to build on that rather than finish their feud on a RAW or Smackdown prior to Payback.

Yeah true. New Day doesn't have anybody to face. Usos make the most sense especially coming off the win against The Dudleyz. I'd just hope the Usos turn heel to add a different twist to it.

Also, Jericho looks like he's feuding with Ambrose.

 

[ShinChan]

Here is the card I am expecting:

***WWE PAYBACK***​

​

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Roman Reigns (c) Vs. AJ Styles

WWE Women Championship
Charlotte (c) Vs. Natalya

WWE InterContinental Championship
The Miz (c) Vs. Cesaro

WWE Tag Team Championship
The New Day (c) Vs. Enzo & Big Cass

WWE United States Championship
Kalisto (c) Vs. Sincara​

Other matches could be grudge matches:
*. The Wyatt Family Vs. The League Of Nations
*. Kevin Owens Vs. Sami Zayn

1. WWE WHC Match: It could have an interference considering that Anderson and Gallows have already debuted. It could be fun battle though as it would be a well mesh of wrestling styles of Reigns and Styles. I am gonna mark out if AJ Styles wins be it via interference or not. But I am doubtful on Reigns losing the title so soon.

2. WWE Women Title Match: Natalya needs to end the dirty win streak of Charlotte here itself. She deserves a title stint especially after the overhaul of the Divas Division.

3. WWE IC Title Match: Cesaro needs to win the strap from Miz and then have a long reign too.

4. WWE US Title Match: No idea what to do about Kalisto or US title. Neither me, nor WWE.

5. WWE Tag Title Match: New Day need to lose but Enzo/Cass winning the titles seems too soon to me.

Owens-Zayn needs to happen at Summerslam where Zayn finally goes over.

 

[shanezam203]

Here is my predicted card, I hope it's a good PPV because I will be there in Chicago for the event.

- Roman Reigns (c.) vs. AJ Styles (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
- The Miz (c) vs. Cesaro (Intercontinental Championship)
- Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayne
- Wyatt's vs League of Nation
- Dean Ambrose vs Jericho
- The New Day (c) vs. Dudley Boys
(WWE Tag Team Title Championship)
- Charlotte (c.) vs Natalya (Woman's Championship)
- Kalisto (c.) vs Ryback (United States Championship)

 

[Navi]

The card looks okay, but I'm struggling to find a reason why the Kalisto/Ryback feud is continuing. Ryback is most possibly one of the most boring guys in the ring right now, and even though he should win due to his size and strength, Kalisto is quicker.

I guess I'm confused as to why Kalisto is still part of the Lucha Dragons plus holds an individual title as well. Seems to me he'd be better off either ditching Sin Cara and going solo, or focusing on the tag titles. It just looks like he got it because they had no one else to give it too at the time. Cena tried to elevate this title and it's gone straight downhill since he lost it to Del Rio.

Oh and I sincerely hope that New Day retains over the Uso's. The Uso's are a great tag team, but they've held the titles before and for a long time as well. Time to either split them up with the new teams coming in, or turn them heel. They've reached their sell by date.

 

[TheKingOfKings]

Payback Card:

Kalisto(c) vs Dolph Ziggler/Tyler Breeze for the United States Championship (Doesn't really matter as long as this match is on the main card and is given the time it deserves)
Winner: Kaliso
-------------
Reasoning: Tonight's Raw(April 18th) there is a 6 man number one contenders match for the united states champion(Baron Corbin vs Ryback vs Dolph Ziggler vs Tyler Breeze vs Sin Cara(because why the heck not)/Stardust vs Zack Ryder)
While a good match takes place,Bullet club interfers and goes after the big guys, Baron Corbin and Ryback and thus giving Tyler Breeze/Ziggler a chance to be the number one contenders, This sets up two matches - Baron Corbin and Ryback vs The bullet Club

Which Brings me to...
Baron Corbin and Ryback vs The Bullet Club
Baron Corbin(Cementing himself as the badass powerhouse) and Ryback while bringing the fight to the bullet club, don't get along, Baron Corbin gives Ryback the "End of Days" and leaves, Bullet Club capitalize, hit their finisher - 1,2,3 Bullet Club Wins and makes a statement, Fear the Bullet Club!

Cesaro vs The Miz(c) for the Intercontential Championship - Already announced - Cesaro Should win

Natalya vs Charlotte(c) for the WWE Women's Championship in a steel cage match to keep ric flair away(Yeah I know steel cages don't keep people away but Ric Flair is too old to cause any real interference,but is it too far fetched?) - As far as booking, WWE should stick with what they are doing right now. - Charlotte should win

New Day(c) vs Enzo amore and Big cass - Same storyline - Enzo amore and Big cass win, ending the new day reign at over 300 days but still not longest reigning tag team champions because they can be described by one word and I'm gonna spell it out for ya..S, A, W, F, T - SAWFT!

Chris Jericho vs Dean Ambrose - Same booking as Right now, Ambrose wins

Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn - First singles match in WWE - Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens keep screwing one another out of title shots or number one contendership matches Producing heat, Kevin Owens wins this one and Quite Frankly they should have only 3 - 4 Single Matches in the near future(Either Payback, Extreme Rules, Battleground and SummerSlam or Payback, Extreme Rules and SummerSlam)

Main Event: Roman Reigns(c) vs AJ Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Frankly I'd change it to a triple threat tonight - Roman Reigns(C) vs AJ Styles vs Triple H, which roman reigns being a cocky champion leading up to Payback but if this will stay, it should be like this:

Roman Reigns has the best match of his Carrer, then the Bullet Club shows up, they stand near AJ Styles but quickly, approach Roman Reigns and stand aside him, this happens while the referee is knocked out, Bullet Club hit AJ Styles, followed up by a Spear, the referee is back, The Bullet Club is outside the ring, 1, 2, 3 - The Winner and Still your WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns and the Bullet Club stand as one stable and if wyatt's injury isn't that bad, the wyatt family thing appears and they are in the ring, having a staredown with the new stable to end the payperview.

Keep in mind: I don't watch Indys/Tna(Don't Kill me ) that much so the Bullet Club isn't as familiar to me, Nor do I watch NXT(Again, Don't kill me) that much other than usually only the main event and the women's match(Though I did see the entire last takeover), While I should start watching those, You should know that my only real knowledge of the Bullet Club is for what I have heard lately and from their segments in the WWE.

 

[ShinChan]

The card looks okay, but I'm struggling to find a reason why the Kalisto/Ryback feud is continuing. Ryback is most possibly one of the most boring guys in the ring right now, and even though he should win due to his size and strength, Kalisto is quicker.

I guess I'm confused as to why Kalisto is still part of the Lucha Dragons plus holds an individual title as well. Seems to me he'd be better off either ditching Sin Cara and going solo, or focusing on the tag titles. It just looks like he got it because they had no one else to give it too at the time. Cena tried to elevate this title and it's gone straight downhill since he lost it to Del Rio.

Oh and I sincerely hope that New Day retains over the Uso's. The Uso's are a great tag team, but they've held the titles before and for a long time as well. Time to either split them up with the new teams coming in, or turn them heel. They've reached their sell by date.

Well, I don't want to see either Kalisto Vs. Ryback or Usos Vs. New Day. The former is just too uninteresting, while the latter has been done to death.

About the former, Even Ryback himself has vented
his frustrations and displeasure about his booking of the US Title match at Wrestlemania. Considering that we haven't seen Ryback back since Wrestlemania, I am believing that WWE is not gonna book a rematch for them.

US Title has fallen big heights after Cena lost his title to Alberto Del Rio. First, the title was hot potatoed between these guys. And at Wrestlemania, Kalisto has to defend against Ryback on the pre-show.

I am hoping for Lucha Dragons to split up soon thus giving us a heel Sincara Vs. face Kalisto for the title.

US Title really needs better booking.

About the tag division, I am damn sure that Usos won't even win a chance to face New Day. The winners of tag tournament might be either Vaudevillains or Enzo/Cass (SAWFT). Usos might have to deal with Anderson and Gallows instead of New Day.

 

[Gallops77]

Baron Corbin vs Kane (Corbin wins)

Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs Cesaro (Cesaro wins by DQ/countout)

United States Championship
Kalisto (c) vs Ryback (Ryback wins)

WWE Tag Team Championship
The New Day (c) vs Vaudevillians (New Day wins)
(This one is based off the current Tag team tournament, and will be explained later)

The Usos vs Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (Gallows/Anderson win)

Enzo and Big Cass vs The Dudleys (Enzo/Cass win)
(These two matches happen as a result of Gallows and Anderson costing The Usos their match against The Vaudevillains and Enzo/Cass and The Dudleys ending in a no contest)

The Wyatts vs League of Nations (Wyatts win)

Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho (Ambrose wins)

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles (Reigns wins)

One of the tag matches would be on the preshow.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The final card is probably going to look something like this:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles
WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Cesaro
WWE Women's Championship: Charlotte vs. Natalya
WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Tournament Final: Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains
Singles Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho
Singles Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Singles Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

Ziggler vs. Corbin hasn't been officially announced, but I'm sure it's coming. Given Ryback's win over Kalisto this past Monday on Raw, it's certainly possible that a US title match will be added to the card though, personally, I'd rather they just had the title match on this Monday's episode of Raw. While they've put on decent matches, there's just not a whole lot of interest in this particular program, especially when you compare it to the rest of the card. I suppose it's possible that this bout could be added to the kickoff show but, personally, I think it'd send the wrong message having a US title match on the preshow for the 2nd straight ppv.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Pretty decent show. Sami vs KO (as expected) stole the show. Enjoyed Y2J vs Ambrose and the main event AJ vs Roman was engaging and pretty not bad. Overall it was good entertainment.

Edit: A distracting minus, the overall Byron Saxton abuse all night long. It was annoying. Why even have him there if JBL is going to discredit him at every turn, then KO abuses him during the duration of the Cesaro match. Give the guy a break.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Pretty decent show. Sami vs KO (as expected) stole the show. Enjoyed Y2J vs Ambrose and the main event AJ vs Roman was engaging and pretty not bad. Overall it was good entertainment.

Edit: A distracting minus, the overall Byron Saxton abuse all night long. It was annoying. Why even have him there if JBL is going to discredit him at every turn, then KO abuses him during the duration of the Cesaro match. Give the guy a break.

The Byron Saxton ribbing is to draw attention to him. Instead of him just being another voice, now people feel sympathy (as you did) towards him. It's a work, don't feel bad.

I agree, solid top to bottom show. It's a shame what happened with Enzo, other than that it went really well. Lots of directions they can go from here.

 

[kadroan]

Best Payback PPV ever. I used to worry in previous years how WWE gets lazy going into Summerslam. ER and MITB would be good but Payback and Battleground would suck.

Zayn/Owens was MOTY IMO with Reigns/AJ as a close second. I think the Women's Championship went too long seeing how the crowd was chanting for Sasha and doing other chants and the screwjob finish was pathetic. I'm sure we'll probably see Charlotte vs. Natayla at ER but I wonder what can making this match interesting since it'll be the 3rd time we've seen this match.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin - This was a pretty good match but the ending killed it for me. It wasn't so much that Corbin lost, though that itself was a bummer, it's that he was made to look like such an idiot in the process. This ending had Vince's fingerprints all over it in that it just didn't make any sense and I have a feeling that he came up with it all by himself and demanded that it go on. Corbin is brand new to the roster, setting him up as an undefeated badass could sustain his momentum and momentum is something he needed. **1/4

WWE United States Championship - Kalisto vs. Ryback - This was a very entertaining outing, the best we've seen out of Kalisto since his program with Del Rio ended. He utilized a lot more unique offense during the match and gave Ryback a much tougher fight. Ryback himself looked better here than we've seen out of him in quite some time as well. Kalisto retaining was the right call, especially in front of a hot Chicago crowd; now if WWE would just consistently get behind Kalisto as champion, we'd be cookin' with gas. ***1/4

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains - There's no way to rate this match as Enzo's injury put an end to it quick. I legitimately had a bad feeling about Enzo's spot from the second his head hit the rope and snapped back. I can't recall the wrestler's name off the top of my head, it was a luchadore, but he died during a tag bout against Rey Mysterio last year, I believe, during which his head whiplashed off the ropes. Enzo's head also slammed against the mat so it's little wonder he's concussed. NA

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens - A helluva match from these two all around. The storytelling, the passion, the crowd investment, the natural chemistry these two have together all just fit together so effortlessly. Owens scoring the win was the right call here as it sets things up for a rematch. Owens' post match comments and sticking around for commentary was a nice touch afterwards. ****1/4

WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz vs. Cesaro - An entertaining outing with, again, the crowd being highly invested with both men working hard to put on a strong bout. I thought the booking of this bout was a creative way of keeping the title on the Miz while putting some great heat on him in the process. I would have preferred to have seen something other than the schoolboy roll up as it's the most overly used quick finisher in WWE, but the involvement of Owens & Zayn on the outside makes me wonder if a fourway for the title will be happening at ER and, thereby, the Zayn vs. Owens rematch will be held off for a bit. ***1/2

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho - While there were a few clunky spots here & there, I thought they gave a hell of an effort and put on an entertaining bout. Jericho is a fun heel to dislike who's had a lot of momentum during his current run in WWE and Ambrose needed the win more. Ambrose looked like a scrappy, gutsy babyface in that he took so much of Jericho's offense, especially being put in the Walls of Jericho twice, and I enjoyed the story the two told in the ring. I enjoyed how they set the ending of the bout up with Ambrose having to pummel Jericho with a series of knees in order to soften him up enough to deliver Dirty Deeds; little things like that give the illusion sometimes that it's more of a fight. ***1/4

WWE Women's Championship - This was an entertaining bout until the the ending. The ending hurt this match and it's one of those endings where I just don't see what the point of it was. I get that it was an homage to the Montreal Screwjob but...what the hell for? There were other ways of having Charlotte retain in a heelish fashion and ending it this way just because Bret Hart was out there isn't reason enough, in my opinion. The match itself was fun, they told a good story with them initially trying to one up the other. The "we want Sasha" chants came about early in the match and quickly died out, I think they came about mostly because most everyone figured that Natalya wasn't going to win but, even so, I think that sort of behavior from smarks is a good example of how their attitude is hurting wrestling as a whole. ***

The Decision - The decision of Vince McMahon as to who would "run" Raw, either Stephanie or Shane, came down to exactly what I figured: both of them will run Raw and it'll be done as sort of a competition of sorts. I think that this leads up to a bout between Shane and Triple H, with Trips representing the Authority, at SummerSlam, in which the winner "runs" Raw and we'll probably see the end of the Authority. As a whole, however, I thought this segment was one huge waste of time; it was a 20+ minute promo segment in front of a hot crowd in what's been a fun, energetic show and Vince blowing hot air just sucked the energy right out of the room. There was no need for this segment to run as long as it did but Vince just can't seem to help himself in that he feels every time he's out there, it's supposed to be some sort of big happening. NA

WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles - This was an engaging match that had the live crowd invested from the opening bell. I was initially a little put off by the storytelling in that it looked as though they were painting Reigns to be this incredible powerhouse who's offense was about 10 times stronger than normal given how Styles was selling everything. However, they did eventually move from that and it became a much more even outing. The false finishes incorporating Shane & Stephanie into things were a nice touch, they didn't go too over the top with their decision making. Gallows and Anderson did interfere a bit after the bout was made no disqualification and I was glad to see that Reigns didn't go all Superman on them. There were some strong near falls scattered through the match and I thought Reigns did a very good job of selling Styles' offense and, ultimately, Styles looked very strong in defeat. The commentators sold the match as though it was going to come down to who hit one last, big offensive move effectively and that's the feeling that I had as they were coming down to the wire. ***1/4

Final Thoughts - Overall, Payback was a very good 3 hour wrestling program, even the kickoff show was much better than I was expecting. There were a few questionable booking decisions made during the show that I thought dampened things a bit: Baron Corbin lost and looked like an idiot while doing it and the homage to the Montreal Screwjob were both just unnecessary. The 20+ minute promo segment also put a damper on things, much more so than anything else as it just sucked the energy out of the place. It was also lousy that Enzo was injured, which we'd eventually find out was a concussion, as the team is so fresh and energetic but it's nobody's fault as it's just one of those freak things. More than anything, as I alluded to, the promo segment took away from the event as it felt like an absolute waste of time, it was something that could've been done within less than 10 minutes or, better yet, this could've taken place on the kickoff show.

Grade: B+