Pre-Show:
Hair vs Mask: Hornswoggle vs El Torito
After these two put on a rousing match up on the Extreme Rules Pre-Show, you can expect another entertaining exchange here. You can expect some pretty epic high spots from the little guys, and don’t be surprised to see 3MB and Los Matadors getting involved. Fairly sure that El Torito will win and keep his mask here, WWE don’t want to ruin the bull gimmick and there is no reason that Hornswoggle needs to keep his hair. I can see a finish, where Hornswoggle loses, but before he can get his hair cut he runs away, so instead, Los Matadors attack one of the members of 3MB and cut their hair instead.
Winner: El Torito by pinfall
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Bad News Barrett (c) vs Rob Van Dam
I am glad to see WWE continuing to book the Intercontinental Championship with intention; Bad News Barrett won a tournament last month to earn his shot against then champion, Big E and RVD won a beat the clock challenge to earn this shot, long may this continue. The Intercontinental has historically been the wrestler’s title and often competed for in the most technically proficient match on the show, with mid card guys like: Bad News Barrett, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, Sheamus there is no doubt that the current crop can return the championship to some of its previous prestige, especially if it’s seen as a stepping stone to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
It is pretty clear that RVD’s job here to put Bad News Barrett over. Barrett’s gimmick is pretty hot right now, and he hasn’t held the title for long, with RVD well past his prime, Barrett has to win this. With that being said, I can bet that RVD and Barrett will have a pretty good match, Barrett’s straight forward smash mouth style, should blend well with RVD’s innovative offence. Bad News Barrett will down RVD with the bull hammer elbow and retain his title.
Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: Bad News Barrett
WWE United States Championship Match: Sheamus (c) vs Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman)
This past Monday Night on RAW, Sheamus suffered a head injury during his match with Alberto Del Rio and after the match Paul Heyman and “The King of Swing” Cesaro capitalised by attacking the United States Champion post match. This to me, seemed like WWE were stetting up and excuse for Sheamus to drop the title to Cesaro at Payback. E.g. Cesaro beats Sheamus for the championship, Sheamus comes back and claims that he was weakened but now he’s at full strength and he wants a rematch.
One could make a case for Sheamus retaining the United States Championship, his reign has only just begun and if WWE is planning to turn Sheamus heel and have him as the replacement for Batista in Evolution, then they won’t want him to lose against Cesaro. However, like Bad News Barrett, Cesaro is incredibly hot right now and moreover, after Brock Lesnar broke the Streak at WrestleMania (Has Paul mentioned that at all?) nobody is ever going to beat against a Paul Heyman Guy again.
In my opinion, this match should be a good back and forth match, Cesaro and Sheamus are two of the best workers in the WWE and I love how their style is a fusion of contemporary WWE style and old-school smash-mouth style.
Cesaro will win this match and pick up the United States Championship after neutralizer. There’ll be more celebrations on the way for Cesaro and his manager.
Winner and NEW WWE United States Champion: Cesaro
WWE Divas Championship Match: Paige (c) vs Alicia Fox
Alicia Fox is one of the WWE’s most underrated, not just Divas but Wrestlers, on the roster. Fox is a smooth worker who should have a great match up with the talented Divas Champion, Paige. Alicia Fox has unleashed her aggressive side in recent weeks; therefore it should be a heated contest between these two. Alicia Fox will dominate most of the match but Paige will complete a comeback and win with her scorpion crosslock.
Winner and STILL WWE Divas Championship: Paige via submission
Last Man Standing Match: John Cena vs Bray Wyatt:
At WrestleMania John Cena pinned Bray Wyatt.
At Extreme Rules Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena by escaping the cage.
Some fans might be disappointed that this match will not result on Bray Wyatt pinning John Cena.
At best, Bray Wyatt will be the last man standing over a prone and beaten John Cena. However, a Last Man Standing Match does make sense. This feud has been all about these two men destroying each other. One the one hand, Bray Wyatt wants to destroy the false idol John Cena. The leader of the Cenation on the other hand wants to stop the spreading of Bray Wyatt’s message and stop the WWE Universe from “following the buzzards”.
WWE’s creative team have kind of booked themselves into a corner here, on the one hand, John Cena can’t go over! if he does it will kill the momentum of the hottest act in the WWE right now. But Bray Wyatt can’t win! Because that would suggest that WWE’s top babyface failed in his quest.
There is however, two ways to get out of this predicament: John Cena wins, Bray Wyatt goes away from TV for a little while, say till SummerSlam and then Bray Wyatt returns to reap his revenge on John Cena! “Evil doesn’t stay gone long” that kind of idea. Or Bray Wyatt can beat John Cena in the Last Man Standing and somewhere down the road Bray Wyatt and John Cena can face off again, claiming that Bray Wyatt never beat him. The later is most likely.
My prediction for Payback is you expect this match to be really good, there will be some great spots and good story-telling, I predict that Bray Wyatt will do something unthinkable (Throwing Cena off/through the stage) to win. Bray Wyatt will then come out on RAW and claim that he has ended John Cena…what happens then is down to WWE and how far they are willing to take this storyline. Let’s hope Cena doesn’t return to TV in an unrelated feud, unaffected by his six month skirmish with Bray Wyatt.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Will Daniel Bryan surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?
No. It is the job of any true babyface to find a way out of an impossible scenario, something will turn up and Daniel Bryan will leave with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Brie Bella will keep her job. Maybe the revealing of the new RAW General Manager…?
No Holds Barred Match: The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) vs Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton & Batista)
The Shield and Evolution at Extreme Rules was a match of the year candidate and it is scary to consider what they might do to top it, under no holds barred rules at Payback.
One competitor I am particularly worried fore is Evolutions’ Animal Batista, as I can foresee The Shield doing something dastardly to Batista, in order to explain his absence from TV, which he’ll be taking to promote his upcoming movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Another man I fear for his Seth Rollins, who I may try and top his jump out of the stands from Extreme Rules with something even more ridiculous.
I predict that The Shield will once again leave with the victory over Evolution, in what will be an insanely good match. After Evolution put him through a table with a triple powerbomb on RAW, it makes sense that Roman Reigns will get the pinfall or at least the match will end with them delivering a triple powerbomb to Triple H or Batista.
Winners: The Shield via pinfall
Also note, that WWE may chose to add an additional match at tonight’s Smackdown tapings (to air Friday): The Usos vs Luke Harper and Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag Team Championships is a possibility, in which case I’d predict that The Usos retain their titles.
Again, I think we can expect a decent PPV from WWE Payback, it won’t go down in history as one of the best PPV’s of all time, but the if The Shield and Evolution enter another Match of the Year candidate, which they almost certainly will. And if Bray Wyatt gets the win over John Cena, in the right way, then WWE Payback could top Extreme Rules.
Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog. Love to hear your comments in the section below or on Twitter @The_EB20 or you can now like this page on Facebook WWE TNA Blog by EB20
