A week on Sunday, WWE Payback will take place and as the first Pay Per View since Wrestlemania 32, there is a lot of intrigue as to how the new characters will shape up following the traditional introduction of fresh performers following Wrestlemania. There are some fascinating match ups including AJ Styles taking his first shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship since he joined the WWE in January. In this piece, I will offer my thoughts and predictions for the matches of Payback.
Match 1: Kalisto (c) (with Sin Cara) vs Ryback- Singles match for the United States Championship
This match is the one that I assume will be on the pre-show and hence I can't see a title change happening. Kalisto is a popular character who is seen as the heir to Rey Mysterio and is currently enjoying a lengthy US title reign after a feud with Alberto Del Rio. At Wrestlemania 32 Kalisto beat Ryback in the first match of the pre-show and I can see a similar result happening at Payback. Additionally Ryback has recently been publicly slating the direction of his character in WWE, which will surely not sit well with the higher-ups. The only way I can see Kalisto dropping the belt is through Sin Cara double crossing him and turning heel, and whilst I believe this will happen, I don't think it will be at Payback.
My Winner: Kalisto
Match 2: The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs Cesaro- Singles match for the Intercontinental Championship
Despite not winning the seven man ladder match as Wrestlemania, the Miz somehow comes into Payback as the Intercontinental Champion. Through interference from the returning Maryse and the general squashing of Zack Ryder (who deserves better), the Miz has managed to win the belt and brings it to Payback to fight the also returning Cesaro. This match seems to be a little rushed in its booking to me, as I felt that Ryder should have got a real feud that at least resulted in one PPV match, however WWE chose to give that honour to the excellent Cesaro, who is a real fans favourite. With the Miz being one of the last truly despised heels, I wouldn't mind seeing him have a serious run with the belt, especially since Cesaro should really be fighting for the world title at this stage. I think it would do no good to have Miz drop the belt at this stage and WWE knows this too, so I believe he will defend his belt with some help from Maryse.
My Winner: The Miz
Match 3: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English)-
Tag Team match to determine the #1 contender for the Tag Team Championship
The introduction of these two tag teams has been a real breath of fresh air for a tag team division that was really being carried by the New Day. Both teams have already got over, Enzo and Cass with their Jersey Shore, loud-mouth gimmick, and the Vaudevillains with their old-school throwback style. Whilst it is important to remember that Enzo and Cass never won the NXT Tag Team Championship, something which Gotch and English did achieve, despite this I believe that it is the team of Enzo and Cass that will win at Payback. I think that WWE is pushing Amore and Cassady a little more that the Vaudevillains, as shown by them debuting on the first Raw after Wrestlemania whilst the Vaudevillains debuted on Smackdown. For me, Enzo and Cass are being primed for a big feud with the New Day that WWE know will get over in a big way.
My Winner: Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady
Match 4: Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair) vs Natalya (with Bret Hart- Singles match for the Womens Championship
The build to this match has felt as if the WWE is giving the Women's division a cool-down following the thrilling matches with Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch whilst climaxed with a fantastic match as Wrestlemania. There is no doubt that Natalya is an excellent worker, but she recently lost to Charlotte at Roadblock and if seems as if this match will be more about the return of Bret Hart, who is recovering following an intially successful battle with prostate cancer, and the comeuppance that he can give to Charlotte's father, Ric Flair, who has been getting involved in a number of his daughter's matches. Overall, I can't see Charlotte dropping the title to Natalya, and thus I have to predict a win for the "Dirtiest Diva in the Game".
My Winner: Charlotte
Match 5: Dean Ambrose vs Chris Jericho- Singles match
This feud began somewhat at Night of Champions when Jericho shoulder checked Ambrose following the their loss in the the 6 man tag match against the Wyatt Family (they teamed with Roman Reigns). However, WWE dropped the angle until now and ,following Jericho's win at Wrestlemania and Ambrose's loss, it seems like a great time for Ambrose to go over. Jericho is 45 years old and coming towards the end of his career, whilst Dean Ambrose is arguably the most over babyface on the roster. Ambrose, in my opinion, should have won at Wrestlemania over Brock Lesnar an now feels like a great time for him to bounce back with a win that won't really hurt Y2J, who is already secured in his status as a legend.
My Winner: Dean Ambrose
Match 6: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens- Singles match
This is will be WWE's first main roster instalment, in a feud that started when Owens arrived in WWE at NXT TakeOver: R Evolution in 2014, and has continued intermittently ever since. These two wrestlers are both excellent performers in the ring and on the mic, and are destined to be contending for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the future. In the meantime, however, this is an excellent substitute and the match will almost certainly be one of the best of the night. The build up to the match has featured a number of brawls between the two men, which has given the contest a real emotional factor. For me, this is the hardest match of the night to predict, but since this is a night in which a number of faces will take victories, I have Kevin Owens winning the first of what I can see as being a series of at least three PPV matches.
My Winner: Kevin Owens
Match 7: Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles- Singles match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
It came as a huge shock to me when WWE had Styles win the fatal four way on the Raw following Wrestlemania, since Styles had just lost at Wrestlemania, and is one of the most popular babyfaces in the company, Roman Reigns is WWE's big project, however fans have responded in a less than perfect way, booing the champ out of the building. Therefore it seemed at first to be a poor step to have his first contender since winning the title to be the insanely popular AJ Styles. With the introduction of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson of Bullet Club to the storyline, this match is enthralling even if the result is a foregone conclusion. Reigns will win, but how? I believe that Finn Balor, who has just lost the NXT Championship on a house show to Samoa Joe, will make his main roster debut as Bullet Club double cross AJ Styles, giving Roman a big win and setting up a Balor vs Styles feud. It is doubtful that this will be a great match as ,despite AJ's huge in ring talent, Reigns is still a relatively average performer with a limited move-set, however, it is the choice of storytelling that WWE take that will make or break this clash.
My Winner: Roman Reigns
So there are my predictions for Payback, check back after May 1st when I'll look back at how the event went and how my predictions fare.
Thanks for reading,
James
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