Payback has appeared to take the place of Extreme Rules as the new Post-WrestleMania PPV. A predominantly RAW-exclusive PPV with some new Smackdown stars sprinkled into it, Payback is set to lay out the foundation for both brands for the immediate future. Let us go through each of the matches, to see how they play out and what the most likely scenario will be for each match.
The Hardy Boyz (C) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus – RAW Tag Team Championship
The high-flying tandem that graced the tag team division for many years in WWE’s glory days, the Hardy Boyz made a ceremonious return at WrestleMania to the adulation of a hot Florida crowd. Chants of “DELETE” and “Brother Nero”, references to their “Broken” gimmick that put them back into the limelight in the wrestling world at TNA, permeated throughout the crowd and the duo defeated Gallows and Anderson, Enzo and Cass and Cesaro and Sheamus to win their sixth tag team championship as a duo. Cesaro and Sheamus earned a shot at their titles after defeating Enzo and Cass in a number 1’s contender match.
This match is all about the new blood going up against the original guard of tag teams. Cesaro and Sheamus have claimed that the Hardy Boyz can’t defeat Cesaro and Sheamus because they aren’t in a ladder match, and Matt and Jeff have responded with individual victories over Sheamus and Cesaro in multiple singles matches. A heel turn seems to have been teased with Cesaro and Sheamus this past Monday, but it never came to fruition. With the return of the Hardy Boyz still fresh on everyone’s mind, and bearing in mind that Cesaro and Sheamus started out 2017 holding the RAW Tag Team Championship, it’s highly unlikely that they pick up a victory here. It’s been reported that WWE is likely to bring Matt Hardy’s broken gimmick over to the main roster soon, and I would think that the Hardy Boyz would lose the tag titles to a team that could use the rub off of their star power. It’s more likely that either Enzo and Cass or The Revival will take the titles off of the Hardy Boyz when the time comes. As for now, however, the Hardy Boyz will remain the champions after this Sunday.
Winners: The Hardy Boyz
Neville (C) vs. Austin Aries – Cruiserweight Championship
Neville defeated Austin Aries on the pre-show at WrestleMania to retain the Cruiserweight Championship and Austin had to win a Number 1’s Contender Match on 205 Live to earn another shot at Neville. Neville in the midst of the best work at his career, carrying the Cruiserweight division on his back, while Austin Aries has served as a tremendous foil for his character. The sub-plot to this feud has been Neville getting into the psyche of TJ Perkins, suggesting that no one respects him despite the fact that he was the first person to hold the Cruiserweight title. Now, he is serving as an apprentice of Neville, and has been a thorn in the side of AA in recent weeks. I’m highly convinced that TJ will play a role in the outcome and screw over Austin again, giving rise to a new challenge to Neville, and I think that it what is going to take place Sunday.
I’m sure Austin would and will make a great champion, but Neville has a tremendous amount of momentum, and I think he should be rewarded with an extended run. I’m thinking that TJ Perkins will eventually turn on Austin and become his new challenger to have a long-term feud between the two, and Neville would be sort of lost in the loop if he were to drop the title, because there haven’t been any other credible faces that have been built up to serve as a challenger to Neville. He’s already done away with Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher, and the only other faces that could conceivably be given a shot at Neville in the CW divisoin would be either Cedrick Alexander or Mustafa Ali, and right now, they aren’t in any serious feuds at the moment. I’m betting on Neville continuing his momentum and retaining over Austin once again.
Winner: Neville
Bayley (C) vs. Alexa Bliss – RAW Women’s Championship
Bayley defeated Nia Jax, Charlotte and Sasha Banks at WrestleMania to get her WrestleMania moment and retain her women’s championship. It appeared that Sasha Banks would be the next challenger to Bayley as she came out to tell her that her moment in the sun is over, but just before she could hammer home the point, one of the transfers from Smackdown, Alexa Bliss, came to make her case and put an end to the Sasha/Bayley rivalry that has been in existence since the summer of 2015. Alexa is one of only two women on the Smackdown roster to have won the Smackdown Women’s Title twice, so not only is she a credible challenger, it’s also a fresh matchup for the RAW Women’s Division. In addition, Alexa had a statement victory in her first match on RAW to earn a shot at Bayley, defeating Mickie James, Nia Jax and pinning Sasha Banks to get the opportunity.
Alexa’s slimy heel tactics in the ring and on the mic have given her a psychological edge on Bayley, not only torturing her character on the mic but blindsiding her on RAW with a good shot to the head to make a statement. However, as is typically the case in these situations, Alexa will in all likelihood take the loss this Sunday, because there is a bigger feud with Sasha Banks that lies ahead for Bayley on the horizon that is likely to take place during the summer months. Alexa is pretty much a placeholder for Sasha, and isn’t a serious contender to win the championship as of yet. These two will probably go at it for a month or two, and then the heel turn that will come from Sasha will place that future feud in cement. So bet on Bayley this Sunday.
Winner: Bayley
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
This match seems to have the most symbolic ethos of the name of the PPV, “Payback”. Triple H appeared on RAW on Monday Night to challenge Seth Rollins to a fight. Seth, not about to let the opportunity slip through his fingers answered the challenge and ran to the ring to attack him, but not before Samoa Joe came in to ambush him. Samoa Joe’s vicious attack caused Seth to tear his MCL, and put a potential appearance at WrestleMania in serious jeopardy as he was forced to go back into serious rehab. Fortunately for Seth, he was able to push through, get his opportunity at Triple H at WrestleMania, and came away victorious, giving rise to his new moniker, the “Kingslayer”. Now with Triple H out of the way, he is now setting his sights on the man who may have ruined that opportunity, the hired muscle of Triple H, Samoa Joe.
Samoa Joe has been heavily protected ever since making his main roster debut. Not only did he put Seth Rollins on the shelf, but he has also defeated prominent names on the RAW brand such as Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho. The winner of this match is kind of tricky, because I don’t think either man can afford to take a loss (or at least a clean one). Seth Rollins managing to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania despite his leg not being all the way healed was huge, and all that momentum may be derailed if he were to take a loss to someone lower on the pecking order. Meanwhile, if Samoa Joe were to lose to Seth, it may seem as though his ambush on Seth and his work for Triple H was all for naught. He should be one of the top heels for RAW, and while he cannot stay undefeated forever, losing to Seth merely two and a half months into his RAW tenure could be a potential dark cloud that hangs over his head. I want to say that this match goes to a non-finish, but because I don’t believe in non-finishes on PPV, I’ll say Seth wins via a fluke finish.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
This match was rumored to have a stipulation added towards it, and I was expecting that to be an ambulance match or a stretcher match for obvious reasons, but as of now, we have a straight up one-fall match. Braun Strowman screwed Roman Reigns out of the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble and Roman proceeded to gain his redemption by defeating Braun at Fastlane. Braun claimed he wasn’t done with Roman and came out to lay waste to him, but he was interrupted by The Undertaker. In spite of that interlude, that remained fresh in his mind, and Braun attacked Roman after WrestleMania, absolutely destroying him backstage. Shoving Roman off a ramp while on a stretcher and tipping over an ambulance while he was inside kept Roman off the shelf for storyline reasons, and so we have this match.
Despite Roman being a face, he’s basically the top heel on the RAW brand for all intents and purposes, with the negative reactions that he gets. Roman is the single embodiment of the status quo in WWE. He’s the superstar that WWE forces upon its base whether they like it or not. So when Braun comes out and destroys Roman, it gives them great joy. I wrote an article on Strowman last week, asking if he is the next big thing in WWE. He’s certainly looking like it, with the rampage he’s been on since WrestleMania. Laying aside his attack on Roman, he destroyed Big Show when he suplexed him from the top rope, causing the ring collapse that always produces a big pop (the bump the referee took was the icing on the cake), the attitude of which he’s been speaking with on the mic and his destruction of Kalisto after his fluke victory over him has caused Braun to be the modern day embodiment of Brock Lesnar in 2002. WWE has missed opportunities with Braun to build him up even more. His clean loss to Roman at Fastlane and his weak showings at the Royal Rumble match and the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal has certainly given a little hit to him. He has yet to win a big match situation, and I think that he’s about due. I
So would much change if Braun were to take another loss at the hands of Roman Reigns, especially considering how dominant he’s looked and after putting Roman on the shelf for as long as he has? Braun is set to be the next challenger for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship, a victory against Roman Reigns can go a long way in that regard. Roman certainly doesn’t need to win against Braun again, because he has nothing to lose. So give me Braun in this matchup.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Kevin Owens (C) vs. Chris Jericho – United States Championship
Kevin Owens turned on Chris Jericho after a conversation with Triple H, resulting in a United States championship between the two at WrestleMania. Kevin Owens was able to get the victory after buckle bombing Jericho, and was transferred over to the Smackdown brand in replacement for Dean Ambrose as the two mid-card champions at the time. Chris Jericho was still owed a rematch, and now the added stipulation is that Jericho will join KO on the Smackdown brand if he wins back the US Championship. These two had a solid, but ultimately underwhelming match at Wrestlemania, because the storytelling in the ring didn’t match the intensity that the feud between the two dictated. It had show-stealing potential, but we were all left with “meh”. With the two being on separate brands after the shake-up, it’s also hurt the build-up towards this match, because all we got was KO ambushing Jericho the night after WrestleMania and causing him to miss a tag team match against KO and Samoa Joe.
Chris Jericho is due for a hiatus from WWE to work on Fozzy projects and will probably be MIA for WWE for a couple of months, so of course, there’s no incentive for putting the title back on Jericho. In addition, if he were to win against Owens, he’d have to defend it against AJ Styles at the next Smackdown-exclusive PPV, Backlash, and he won’t be here to do that. Owens and Styles seems to be the plan for the US Championship going forward, so that can only work if Owens beats Jericho again. The only thing you should look for is a better match between the two and not a title change.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt – House of Horrors Match
This feud started the minute Orton joined The Wyatt Family as he was able to “get the keys to the kingdom” by surrendering his WWE Championship match against Bray Wyatt that he earned by winning the Royal Rumble match. However, he stood upon the ashes of Sister Abagail, went to the trailer of which she supposedly dwelled in and burned it to the ground. After a series of mind games between the two, and after an underwhelming and cartoonish match at WrestleMania, Orton took the title off of Bray with an RKO from out of nowhere. Bray then challenged Orton to a House of Horrors match, the first of its kind in WWE. Unfortunately for Bray, he claimed that he would get his rematch for the title, but WWE for some reason has declined to make it a title match, even changing up the Payback match card graphic between the two to hammer home that point.
This being made a non-title match is just one of a series of disappointments for Bray Wyatt’s career, because now he doesn’t even get the WWE Championship rematch that he is supposed to get. Of course, this shows they don’t have any plans to give Wyatt the WWE Championship, especially considering he is now a member of RAW. However, this also means that Bray can come away victorious in this match. Orton can now afford to take a loss because even if he loses, he remains the WWE Champion, and he is set to defend it against Jinder Mahal at Backlash next month. We don’t know what lies ahead of us for the House of Horrors match, though. It’s been reported that WWE may have pre-taped segments and have a fight start in the house before making their way into the ring. If the graphics of termites and insects that plagued the ring on numerous occasions during their match at WrestleMania, the standard for mundane antics and blatantly showing how scripted WWE is has been set for these two. We can only imagine what sort of ridiculousness or hijinks lie in store for us Sunday.
If this match was for the WWE Championship, then Orton would have won this match no problem. However, now he can afford to take a loss-bearing in mind that Orton remains the champion even if he loses. Bray Wyatt looks to be feuding with Finn Balor upon his regular appearances on RAW, and I think the best way to introduce him would be to win whatever this match is with Orton. Orton was also laid out by Mahal and the Bollywood Boyz last night, so he doesn’t have any momentum to go with this either. I’ll bet on Bray Wyatt winning because he needs a signature victory, much more than Randy.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
So, what do you think will go down this Sunday? Let me know. Until next time.
