The fourth annual WWE Payback will come to you, live on the WWE Network, on May 1 from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.

 

The official theme song for Payback is "We Don't Have to Dance" by Andy Black, which is available May 6 on iTunes and Spotify.

 

 

Confirmed Matches/Events

WWE World Heavyweight Championship:

Roman Reigns © vs. AJ Styles

 

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

 

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

 

Intercontinental Championship:

The Miz © (with Maryse) vs. Cesaro

 

#1 Contenders' Tag Team Tournament: Finals:

Enzo & Cass vs. The Vaudevillains

 

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

 

Women's Championship:

Charlotte © (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart)

 

Vince McMahon to Decide Who Will Run RAW

 

United States Championship: Kickoff Exclusive:

Kalisto © vs. Ryback

Edited April 26, 20168 yr by TPIB

Feeling of fear they will align gallows and anderson with reigns to try and get the bullet club rub for reigns.

So what else are we looking at for potential matches on this show? I've been unable to watch the last few weeks so I'm going off memory of reading results. Ziggler/Corbin? And has Kalisto been doing anything with anyone that might result in a US Title match?

Kalisto's been going back and forth with Ryback since Mania, so I'm guessing his match will just be a continuation of that?

 

I'd imagine that the match between Gallows & Anderson and The Usos on Monday will end up as a royal clusterfudge and then get rebooked for the PPV instead. Other than that, I'm not really sure?

Seems like at that point, the card would be pretty stacked up at 8 or 9 matches, so that may be all. I assume we'll get a New Day segment before or after the #1 contenders match, just to make sure they get PPV time (I thought I originally read that the new #1 contenders would face New Day that same night, but that no longer seems to be the case?)

Vince to decide 'WHO IS RUNNING RAW' this sunday - So basically...Brandsplit 2.0 very probably incoming then.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin and Kalisto © vs. Ryback for the U.S. Title on the Kickoff has been announced in addition to the aforementioned McMahon angle.

Vince to decide 'WHO IS RUNNING RAW' this sunday - So basically...Brandsplit 2.0 very probably incoming then.

 

As much as I hated the brand split for a good chunk of the time that it existed, with the depth of the roster now, I think you really need it. And by depth, I mean actual talent, not developed characters. At very few times in the company (potentially never) has the roster been as genuinely talented as they are right now. Dividing it up is really the best way to showcase this currently.

 

Also, there's huge potential for NXT call-ups in storyline to seem like a huge deal - the people running each show fighting over them, much in the way Bischoff and Stephanie would fight over, say, Scott Steiner back in late 2002.

The way WWE has been for the last year or so, I'm open to WWE trying anything new at this point. With that said, I honestly can't see them bringing the brand split back. WWE isn't like it was back during the brand split days; since the brand split was done away with, SmackDown has went downhill in terms of importance in the eyes of the company.

 

At several points during the brand split, WWE put forth the effort to make SmackDown seem like it was on RAW's heels. While not quite as big as RAW at the time, they made it seem like SmackDown could overtake RAW at any moment. It's also worth nothing that, during the brand split, both RAW and SmackDown were two-hour shows, but with RAW at three hours, it just wouldn't work. RAW would have to have the majority of Superstars exclusive to the RAW brand and it would only serve to further diminish the status of SmackDown. Maybe if WWE can repair SmackDown's image, a brand split could be possible, but WWE would have to put a lot of work into it and I just can't envision it working the way things are in the company right now.

Anyone watching?

 

Enzo! The match just got stopped...didn't look good.

Yeah, looked like he was out cold, nasty one. Least he's moving and talking.

Yeah - just looking at the reactions from the commentary team, to Cass and everyone else at ringside, was scary!

 

You could tell Kevin Owens wasn't himself when he came out too.

 

Hopefully they'll announce his condition to the crowd also, was real hot to start off with but that deflated everyone (to be expected!).

 

Yeah, looked like he was out cold, nasty one. Least he's moving and talking.

That's a good sign, have to hope he'll be OK.

Anyone else feeling like a fatal four-way is in the works for the IC title at extreme rules?

Anyone else feeling like a fatal four-way is in the works for the IC title at extreme rules?

 

Absolutely, and it should be fantastic.

 

Show as a whole was the definition of "okay." Nothing too offensive besides that incredibly drawn out McMahon segment. Owens/Zayn was fantastic, and didn't really even touch the tip of the iceberg on what they can do together. The main event was pretty solid as well. I don't think any match will ever do the "triple finish" as well as Shawn/Vader, but this was alright. Biggest issue was Gallows/Anderson kind of losing their mystique by barely being able to handle the Usos. I'm not putting down the Usos that hard, but they're hardly a top tier threat and having Gallows and Anderson have their hands full with them kind of cuts into the aura of that team. Hopefully they pick some momentum back up tomorrow.

 

Also, really glad Enzo is okay beyond the concussion, hope it doesn't put their push on the back burner too hard. Gotta make sure he's safe though.

I watched some of this earlier and I can't believe just how much WWE has become a weird hybrid of TNA and indy wrestling. Its quite shocking.

Must have improved then lol

Womens match ending was god awful cringy

Really liked the IC stuff on the show

Really liked the IC stuff on the show

What I liked about it is that none of it seemed contrived or forced.

 

Sami v KO comes to an end and Owens wants to gloat, so gets a microphone and states he wants the belt back. Saxton tells him the IC match is next, so he decides to hang around (and slaughter Michael "Blue Thunder Bomb" Cole on commentary). Sami comes back out due to the previous post-match shenanigans, they distract the ref costing Cesaro, who dumps the two interlopers off the apron, only to get caught by Miz and the post-match ending with Kevin Owens standing tall.

 

All of that ended up with two feuds merging into one, made the IC belt seem important, created a four-way situation where you can have multiple one-on-one variants leading to a Fatal Four Way at Extreme Rules... and it all came across as a natural unfolding rather than someone scripting set-pieces.

I enjoyed the show especially the main event and the Zayn/Owens/Miz/Cesaro stuff.

 

The ending to the Women's match actually made me angry enough to swear at my TV. They're giving the women time to be able to tell a story now and these 2 women have had some really good matches recently. But for them to rake over the coals with a bullshit ending like this is just plain terrible.

I'm surprised Ziggler defeated Corbin in the kick off show, would have thought they could have given the Corbin the win considering it's his first big match.

 

Loved the IC match, great work as always from these 2.

 

As others have said, the finish to the Womens match was a total farce - no need for it at all! Although I do wonder if they'll go with the Little Naitch angle with Charles Robinson :lol:

 

There were some pretty loud CM Punk chants for Vince - can't believe it's been over 2 years already.

 

I enjoyed the Reigns/Styles match too - thought both did a good job.