WWE Payback 2020 Review

WWE Payback 2020 took place on Sunday 30th August at the Amway...sorry, The WWE Thunderdome. I'm really sorry for being so behind with the Pay-Per-Views. A combination of things have led to me putting WWE on the back burner. Anyway, let's start with the catch up and take a look at the show. 

The match on the Kick Off Show was The Riott Squad taking on The IIonics. Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott struggle to work together during the match and Billie Kay and Peyton Royce take advantage of that. In the end, Kay gets hit with a double knees followed by a Riott Kick to give The Riott Squad the win. The match was quite good and I liked the story that they told in the ring.

Winners: The Riott Squad (1 for 1)

The first match of the event is for the United States Championship as Bobby Lashley challenges Apollo Crews. Lashley gets the win after getting  Crews to submit to a Full Nelson and becomes the new United States Champion. This was a good match between the two.

Winner: Bobby Lashley (2 for 2)

The next match is Big E taking on Sheamus. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick but Big E catches him and hits a power bomb followed by The Big Ending to get the win. The match was pretty decent.

Winner: Big E (3 for 3)

Next is King Corbin taking on Matt Riddle. Corbin hits Riddle with a clothesline as soon as he entered the ring. The match was hard hitting at times and after hitting a Bro to Sleep, Riddle hits a Floating Bro to get the win. Corbin doesn't take the loss well and attacks Riddle backstage afterwards. The match was ok.

Winner: Matt Riddle (4 for 4)

We now get our second Championship match as Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax team up to challenge Bayley and Sasha Banks. Despite Bayley and Banks wearing down their opponents for most of the match; Baszler and Jax managed to put their differences aside and Baszler gets Bayley to submit to a Kirifuda Clutch while at the same time, having Banks legs trapped in a cloverleaf. While it seemed slightly similar to the women's tag team match earlier in the night, it was a good match and I really liked how it ended.

Winners: Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax (4 for 5)

Next is Keith Lee taking on Randy Orton. Lee manages to get the win after stopping a RKO amd hitting a Spirit Bomb. The ending did seem a bit out of nowhere as I expected Lee to get the win using the Big Bang Catastrophe. The match was quite good but I really hate Lee's new music.

Winner: Keith Lee (4 for 6)

The penultimate match is Dominik and Rey Mysterio taking on Murphy and "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins. Murphy tries to kick Rey but accidentally hits Rollins in the head instead. The Mysterios take advantage and Dominik hits a 619 followed by a Frog Splash on Murphy to get the win. I thought this was a fun match to watch. 

Winners: Dominik and Rey Mysterio (5 for 7)

The main event is "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defending his Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and apparently, Roman Reigns. On the Smackdown beforehand, Reigns refused to sign the match contract and vowed to do it at Payback. During the night, Kayla Braxton asked Reign's new manager Paul Heyman if he had signed it but was not given a definitive answer. So, keep that in mind. Anyway, Strowman doesn't fuck around and attacks Wyatt at the end of his entrance. The bell rings even though Reigns hasn't entered and they go on to beat the fuck out of each other. After a super plex that broke the ring, Reigns makes his appearance, signs the contract and enters the match. He goes on to hit a Spear on Strowman to get the win and become the new Universal Champion.

Erm...right, the match was fine but a lot of the things surrounding it doesn't make sense. First of all, there is no way in hell that Reigns would do what he did regarding the contract. Surely, he would have been given a deadline, right? If Reigns was taking part, why did the referee ring the bell when after Strowman attacked Wyatt? And also, what was the point of Wyatt being the Champion? I understand the need of transitional Champions. However, I didn't see the need for it, especially as it further weakened Wyatt. Anyway, it looks like Reigns is going full heel now and I'm interested to see where that goes.

Winner: Roman Reigns (5 for 8)

I thought Payback was pretty decent with a lot of good matches. However, the story surrounding the main event was dumb and ruined it for me. I've seen bits of Reigns heel run over the last couple of months and it's been ok. Hopefully, WWE won't find a way to fuck it up.

WWE Payback 2020 Preview

 

WWE Payback will be taking place this evening at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. WWE are not messing around as SummerSlam was only a week ago. There are 8 matches on the card, so let's take a look.

The Riott Squad vs The IIonics

I can see The Riott Squad winning this one. 

Predicted Winners: The Riott Squad

Big E vs Sheamus

I think that Big E will win this.

Predicted Winner: Big E

Matt Riddle vs King Corbin

A tough one but I feel that Riddle will win this.

Predicted Winner: Matt Riddle

Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio vs Murphy and "The Monday Night Messiah" Seth Rollins

This has the ability to be a good match and I feel that Rey and Dominik will be victorious here.

Predicted Winners: Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio

Keith Lee vs Randy Orton

I'm torn on this one. Lee should win this but I think that WWE will find a way to fuck up his push and give Orton the win.

Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs Bayley and Sasha Banks

Women's Tag Team Championship

A tough one to call but I think that Bayley and Sasha Banks will retain.

Predicted Winners: Bayley and Sasha Banks

Apollo Crews vs MVP 

United States Championship

I don't want them to but I think that MVP will get the win.

Predicted Winner: MVP

Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship

Wyatt has only been Champion for a week ago but I'll be surprised if he loses it. However, Reigns is involved so you never know. I'm going for Wyatt to retain.

Predicted Winner: Bray Wyatt

I'm really behind on WWE TV so it will be a while before I get to see it. I hope you all enjoy the show. 

WWE Payback 2017 Review

WWE Payback took place at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sunday 30th April. Due to the Superstar Shake Up, we have a couple of matches that we wouldn't normally have. Anyway, let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show is Enzo and Big Cass versus Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Gallows and Andersno focus on Enzo's arm and stop him tagging in Cass a couple of times. Enzo does manage to tag in Cass and, after Enzo tags back in, they get the win after Cass stops the Magic Killer and Enzo puts Gallows in a small package. The match was ok and whilst it was a good ending, it seemed to come out of nowhere.
Winners: Enzo and Big Cass (1 for 1)

After an enjoyable segment of MizTV with Finn Balor, we get the first match of the event which is The Gift of Jericho challenging Kevin Owens for the United States Championship. Owens gets the advantage after stopping a springboard dropkick and focuses on the head and neck. Jericho makes his comeback, chopping the fuck out of Owens. Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho but Owens gets one finger on the ropes. Jericho doesn't take that well and attacks the hand. Owens tries for the Pop-Up Powerbomb but he can't because of his hand. Jericho then puts on the Walls of Jericho again to make Owens submit and become the United States Champion.

This was a really good match and it was a great way to start the event. I was surprised that Jericho won and I was worried if Owens' Face of America gimmick would work without the Championship. However, Owens regained the Championship two days later so I'm not that worried.
Winner: Chris Jericho (1 for 2)

Next is Austin Aries challenging King Neville of the Cruiserweights for the Cruiserweight Championship. Aries keeps Neville off balance with arm drags before Neville stops a 450 splash to get the advantage. Aries does his comeback and hit a sunset flip powerbomb into a Last Chancery. However, Neville assaults the referee to get himself disqualified.This was a good match and based on the ending, I'm assuming we will get them again soon.
Winner: Austin Aries (1 for3)

Next is Cesaro and Sheamus challenging The Hardy Boyz for the RAW Tag Team Championship. Jeff was beaten down by Cesaro and Sheamus, including an impressive leg drop by Cesaro. Eventually, Matt gets tagged in and we get some back and forth. Sheamus hits Matt with a power slam but he doesn't realise that Jeff is the legal man and he hits a Swanton Bomb to get the win. Afterwards, Cesaro and Sheamus attack the Hardys. This was a good match that went back and forth. I was surprised by Cesaro and Sheamus turning heel but I'm interested to see where they go with it.
Winners: The Hardy Boyz (2 for 4)

We now get the RAW Women's Championship as Alexa Bliss challenges Bayley.  Bliss gets the advantage after a brutal elbow to the face. Bliss' taunting gets the best of her as Bayley uses it to mount her comeback. However, it was in vain as Bliss gets out of a small package and hits a DDT to get the win. Holy shit, I honestly didn't see that coming. I should have expected it as WWE have a tendency to book their hometown wrestler to lose. Despite that, I was surprised that Bliss won. She is currently one of my favourite wrestlers at the minute as her character is brilliant and I think that she will do well as the RAW Women's Champion.  
Winner: Alexa Bliss (2 for 5)

The next match is the House of Horrors Match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, which is not for the WWE Championship because Wyatt is a fucking moron. The match starts with Orton arriving at the house in a limo. Orton, while fighting Wyatt, has to deal with shitty jumpscares, a driverless tractor and toys hanging from a ceiling. Eventually, Wyatt pulls a fridge on top of Orton, leaves the house and gets in Orton's limo, which is nice enough to stay around, to go back to the arena. Ok, because of the rule that the match has to end in the ring, we'll continue this later on.

While Wyatt makes his way back to the arena, we get Seth Rollins versus Samoa Joe. Joe attacks the knee that he injured earlier in the night and he gets the advantage with a dragon screw against the ropes. Joe continues on the knee with a senton and a kneebar. Rollins makes his comeback after a sling blade and goes on to get the win after getting out of a sleeper and doing a fireman's carry into a pin. The match was pretty good but it's bookended by the House of Horrors Match so the fans didn't really seem that into it. Also, I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.
Winner: Seth Rollins (2 for 6)

We now return to the House of Horrors Match as Wyatt comes back in the arena. Even though the match is technically still going on, Wyatt still does his entrance. When Wyatt finishes his entrance, Orton appears out of fucking nowhere and goes on to beat the fuck out of Wyatt. When Orton goes for the RKO, The Bollywood Boyz Singh Brothers and Jinder Mahal interfere and Wyatt hits the Sister Abigail to get the win. That means that Wyatt is the new WWE Cha- oh wait, sorry. I forgot it's a non-title match so Wyatt wins by interference in his own gimmick match. Fuck's sake.

This match was fucking terrible and it looked like a fucked up horror movie that wasn't scary. I could list a lot of things that I hated about this but I can't be bothered. The worst match of the year by fucking miles.
Winner: Bray Wyatt (2 for 7)

The main event is Roman Reigns taking on Braun Strowman. Reigns, who has a taped up shoulder due to thrown round like a ragdoll over the last month, tries to win the match early. However, Strowman gets the advantage and after 2 running powerslams, gets the win. Afterwards, Strowman fucks Reigns up with the steel steps. The match wasn't too bad and it's nice to see Strowman win.
Winner: Braun Strowman (2 for 8)

Like the last few PPVs, I thought that Payback was a mixed bag, There were some good matches with some surprising results. However, it has the fore runner for the worst match of the year. Hopefully, Backlash and Extreme Rules will be better. 

 

WWE Payback 2017 Preview

 

WWE Payback will be taking place this Sunday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. There won't be a Universal Championship match nor an Intercontinental Championship but there will be a United States Championship match, even though the title is on Smackdown. Also, there will be a non-title WWE Championship match. Erm...this is weird. Anyway, let's look at the card.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

This is a bit unusual as there were fighting over the RAW Tag Team Championship two months ago. Yet, this continues without the belts. Anyway, I'm going for Enzo and Cass to win.

Predicted Winners: Enzo Amore and Big Cass

Austin Aries vs King Neville of the Cruiserweights

WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Their match was really good at the Wrestlemania Kick Off Show and I'm hoping it will be the same here. I'm going for Neville to win here.

Predicted Winner: Neville

Seth Rollins vs Samoa Joe 

This is one match that I'm really looking forward to and it's a tough one to call. I think that Joe will find some way to win here.

Predicted Winner: Samoa Joe

The Hardy Boyz vs Cesaro and Sheamus

RAW Tag Team Championship

Another tough one to call. I'm going for the Hardys to win here.

Predicted Winners: The Hardy Boyz

The Gift of Jericho vs Kevin Owens

United States Championship

This is another match that I'm really looking forward to. I know that Jericho will move over to Smackdown if he wins but I can't see that happening. Owens to win here.

Predicted Winner: Kevin Owens

Alexa Bliss vs Bayley

RAW Women's Championship

This is another tough one to call as I can see either one of them winning. I'm going for Bayley to win here.

Predicted Winner: Bayley

Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton

House of Horrors Match

First of all, Wyatt didn't make this for the WWE Championship. Ok, you're a fucking moron and there is no fucking way that he's winning this.

Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman

I can not give a fuck about this match. Hopefully they will surprise me and I think that Reigns will win.

Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

As usual, I won't get to watch this til later in the week so I hope you guys enjoy the show.        

WWE Payback 2016 Review

WWE Payback 2016 took place on Sunday 1st May at the Allstate Arena on Chicago, Illinois. Billed as the first PPV of the New Era, it looks like it could be a good event. Unfortunately, due to a wedding weekend, I was unable to write a predictions article (sorry about that). So, let's take a look at the show.

The first match on the Kick Off Show is Baron Corbin taking on Dolph Ziggler. Corbin was dominant for most of the match, focusing on Ziggler's neck. However, it was not enough as Ziggler takes advantage of Corbin's arrogance to roll him up and get the win. I felt the end didn't feel right as it should be something a rookie would do, not a veteran like Dolph. Despite that, I thought the match was pretty decent.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

 Next was the United States Championship as Kalisto once again faces the challenge of Ryback. In quite a short match, Kalisto gets hit with a Gorilla press slam from the top rope but he avoids a splash and hits the salida del sol to get the win. This was a really enjoyable match and I look forward to seeing more matches with Kalisto.
Winner: Kalisto

The first match of the event was one I was really looking forward to: Enzo and Cass taking on The Vaudevillians  to determine the Number 1 Contender for the WWE Tag Team Championships. The Champions The New Day were watching at ringside. Unfortunately, the match doesn't end well for Enzo Amore. Simon Gotch threw Amore out of the ring and his head bounced off the middle rope and onto the mat. The referee stepped in, ended the match and Amore got medical attention. Up until the accident, I was enjoying the match. I became a big fan of Enzo and Cass over the last year and I've always been a fan of Aiden English. Luckily, Enzo had a concussion and was discharged the following day. It's sometimes easy to forget that wrestling is a physically demanding and dangerous career and like sports, injuries do happen during a match. Hopefully Enzo will make a full recovery and be back wrestling soon. In terms of the tournament, The Vaudevillians claimed victory and will be facing The New Day at Extreme Rules and that is a match that I'm looking forward to seeing.
Winner: No Contest

Now another match I was looking forward to: Sami Zayn taking on Kevin Owens. Owens was dominant for a fair portion of the match before getting hit with 2 brutal clotheslines. After some tremendous back and forth, Zayn goes for the Helluva kick. However, Owens counters with a superkick then hit a pop up powerbomb to get the win. Afterwards, Owens throws Zayn out of the ring and demands a in ring interview. I was quite surprised that Owens won but it was a really good match and Zayn once again is involved in a Match of the Year contender.
Winner: Kevin Owens

Next was the Intercontinental Championship match with Cesaro challenging Hollywood Miz with Maryse. Owens decided to invite himself to do commentary, wearing JBL's hat. Miz, with a little help from Maryse, focusing on Cesaro's shoulder. Miz almost wins with the skull crushing finale and then the focus goes from the match to Sami Zayn who returned and attacked Owens at the announcer's table. The end comes when Cesaro makes Miz tap out to the crossface. However, the referee didn't see it because he had to deal with Owens and Zayn, who were fighting on the ring apron. Cesaro pushes them off and this gives Miz the chance to roll up Cesaro for the win. Afterwards, they all have a brief brawl which Owens holding up the Intercontinental Championship. This was a good match between the two, enhanced by Owens and Zayn. Hopefully this might lead to a fatal 4-way match at Extreme Rules.
Winner: The Miz

The next match is Chris Jericho taking on Dean Ambrose. Jericho gets the advantage after an elbow while he was hugging the ref (great heel tactic) and does manage to apply the Walls of Jericho but Ambrose gets to the ropes. In the end, Ambrose countered the lionsault and drag Jericho up to hit Dirty Deeds to get the win. This was a good match between the two and hopefully we get to see them again at Extreme Rules
Winner: Dean Ambrose

We now get the Woman's Championship match with Natalya (with Bret "Hitman" Hart) challenging Charlotte (with Ric Flair). Charlotte gets the advantage after a hair pull down followed by a slap. Charlotte then puts Natalya through a succession of submission moves. Natalya pushes Charlotte off the turnbuckle to the floor to give her time to recover and mount a comeback. The end comes when Charlotte puts Natalya in the sharpshooter and the referee Charles Robinson rings the bell then immediately bails. Natalya didn't tap. Bret and Natalya put Ric and Charlotte in the sharpshooter as revenge. Up until the end, it was a generally good match but I wasn't a fan of the ending as we get yet another rehash of the Montreal Screwjob. The thing that gets me is that Charles Robinson seems to have not been punished for it.
Winner: Charlotte

We now get a segment where it's announced by Vince McMahon who was going to run RAW. To cut a long story short, Vince decides that his children, Shane and Stephanie, shall run it together. Yeah, I don't really care. Vince giving Shane control of RAW after Shane lost a match at Wrestlemania is one of the biggest cases of WWE Logic I've ever seen. Despite my lack of caring, a bit of me is interested to see how it ends up.

The main event is AJ Styles challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The match goes back and forth before it dengenerates into a clusterfuck. Styles hits a phenomenal forearm, sending Reigns through the announce tble. However, he can't get Reigns back into the ring in time so he wins by countout. Shane McMahon comes out and restarts the match with no countouts. A few mintues later, Styles tries a move from the turnbuckle but he gets accidentally low blowed by Reigns, ending the match by disqualification. Stephanie McMahon then comes out and restarts the match with no disqualifications. After a brawl involving Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and the Usos, Styles comes close with a springboard 450 splash. However, Reigns wins after avoiding a phenomenal forearm to hit the spear. Afterwards, we cut backstage to the McMahons agreeing that Styles will face Reigns in an Extreme Rules match at the next Pay-Per-View.

I thought this was a good match. I enjoyed seeing Gallows, Anderson and The Usos get involved as well. However, it felt like it served the McMahon "Game of Thrones" style feud more and you shouldn't do that with your top Championship.
Winner: Roman Reigns

I thought that Payback was a decent event. They had some good matches however, I wasn't a fan of some of their endings and it doesn't feel like it's a new era just yet. Hopefully, this will be the first step towards that.

 

WWE Payback 2015 Review

WWE Payback 2015 took place on Sunday 17th May 2015 at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Seth Rollins has a tough job, facing the challenge of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. So, will he still be the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after this event? Let's take a look.

The first match is between Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler. During the match, Ziggler exposes his right butt cheek and gets Sheamus to smooch it. He then hits Sheamus with a zig-zag, which only gets 2. Sheamus recovers and hits a sit-down powerbomb for 2. After an exchange of near falls, Sheamus hit a running powerslam for 2 then hits white noise and applies the Texas cloverleaf. Ziggler eventually manages to get out of it. In the end, Ziggler headbutts Sheamus and hits a superkick for 2. Sheamus, however, hits a brogie kick to get the win. This was another good match between the two and the WWE seem to building up Sheamus to be a strong competitor.
Winner: Sheamus
Predictions: 1 for1

Next is a 2-out-of-3 falls match as Tyson Kidd and Cesaro challenge The New Day for the Tag Team Championships. The first fall happens quite quickly when Kidd and Cesaro hit the giant swing into a basement dropkick for Kofi to take the lead. The New Day get the next pinfall after Kofi and Big E hit their combination finisher. In the end, Cesaro hits an European uppercut on Kofi and Big E gets the pin. While the referee was getting Big E out of the ring, Xavier Woods slid in and rolled up Cesaro into a small package. The referee  can't tell Kofi and Xavier apart and counts the pinfall to give The New Day the win. It was another good match between the two teams, although the first pinfall happened a bit too quickly.
Winners: The New Day
Predictions: 2 for 2

The next match is between Ryback and Bray Wyatt. Early on, Wyatt tries to get a count out win when he hits Ryback with a running senton on the outside. However, Ryback gets back in the ring in time. Wyatt then continued working on the mid section before Ryback hit back with a brutal clothesline then a spinebuster. In the end, Ryback goes for the shellshock but Wyatt grab hold of the top turnbuckle, ripping off the covering. Wyatt then sends Ryback into the exposed turnbuckle and hits Sister Abigail to get the win. It was a good match between the two although I have lost interest in Wyatt as he seems to be doing the same shit and nothing changes. As for Ryback, he just doesn't interest me at the minute.
Winner: Bray Wyatt
Predictions: 3 for 3

Next is an "I Quit" match as Rusev challenges John Cena for the United States Championship. The crowd started chanting "We want Lana", which prompted Rusev to get a chair and tell her to sit on it. Later on, for reasons only know to Rusev, he got Lana to get the Russian flag and he waved it over a fallen Cena. Rusev brings in a set of steel steps into the ring and sends Cena into them. Cena responds by sending Rusev onto the steps with an AA. Cena spears Rusev through the barricade, which was a nice spot. Cena then sends Rusev into the pyro area with an AA but Rusev doesn't quit. Rusev eventually applies the Accolade and he thinks that he won. However, Cena is out cold so can't say "I Quit". Rusev unscrews the top turnbuckle then throws water on Cena to wake him up. He goes to hit Cena with the turnbuckle but he ducks and applies Rusev in the STF. Rusev starts screaming in his native language and Lana grabs a mic and says that Rusev quits. Apparently, that is good enough for the referee Mike Chioda and he rings the bell, giving Cena the win.

I thought that this was a very good match. It is good to see Cena help elevate the United States Championship and they are still keeping Rusev relatively strong. Unfortunately, due to her actions, this marks the end of the relationship between Lana and Rusev. I don't think it needed to end right now as I think it can still work. Based on what they are doing at the minute (she is now with Dolph Ziggler), I still believe that.
Winner: John Cena
Predictions: 4 for 4

It's now time for the Divas match as The Bella Twins face the team of Naomi and Tamina Snuka. Brie gets tagged in and is knocked off the apron by Tamina and this gives her and Naomi the chance to work Brie over. Eventually, Nikki gets tagged in, but she gets slammed off the top rope by Naomi, giving her and Tamina the win. The match wasn't anything special and with both teams (technically) heel, it's hard to find someone to cheer for. It also doesn't help that the only Divas I genuinely care about are Paige and the ones from NXT.
Winners: The Bella Twins
Predictions: 5 for 5

We now get a North of England clash as Neville (from Newcastle) takes on King Barrett (from Preston). In a fast paced match, Neville goes for Red Arrow early on but Barrett hit him in the face followed by the winds of change for a 2 count. Later on, Neville goes for Red Arrow again but Barrett rolls out of the ring. Neville instead does a twisting splash on Barrett on the outside. Neville rolls back into the ring but Barrett decides not to, giving Neville the win. Afterwards, Barrett tries to hit Neville with the specter but misses and gets knocked down. Neville then hits the Red Arrow. It was a good match but I don't get Barrett getting the count out loss. I would understand it if he was being kept strong but I think he has lost every match since being crowned King of the Ring. So, what's the point?
Winner: Neville
Predictions: 6 for 6

The main event is for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as Seth Rollins faces the challenge of Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Ambrose and Reigns briefly team up to beat up Rollins before Kane and J&J Security come in to stop it. Kane keeps on getting involved, chokeslamming Ambrose before getting taken out by Orton. When Orton tries to clear the announce table, Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins team up and send Orton through the announce table. The crowd goes mental and Rollins tries to get a group fist bump. Unfortunately, Ambrose and Reigns remember that they hate Rollins so they beat him up. Kane tries to help Rollins but he gets powerbombed through the Spanish announce table by Ambrose and Reigns. They then fight it out in the ring before Reigns hits a spear and covers Ambrose, Rollins runs in to stop the count.

In the end, Orton hits RKOs on Mercury and Noble then tries it on Rollins. Kane tries to interfere but he gets a RKO instead. Rollins then hits a Pedigree on Orton to get the win. This was a really enjoyable match and a great way to end the PPV.

Winner: Seth Rollins
Predictions: 7 for 7 (PREFECT PREDICTIONS!!!)

I thought Battleground was a good event with some good matches. The next PPV is Money in the Bank and I hope they can keep it going.

WWE Payback 2014 Review

WWE Payback 2014 took place last Sunday at the AllState Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Last year's event was really good. Will this one be the same? Let's look at the card.

The Pre-Show match was between Hornswoggle and El Torito in a har vs mask match. I was unable to see this match because I don't have the WWE Network;. However, I saw the ending that they shown later on in the night. The end comes when Hornswoggle pulls off the mask. Unfortunately, El Torito had another mask on underneath and takes advantage of Hornswoggle's premature celebration to hit the bullsault to get the win. Afterwards, Hornswoogle had a very badly done haircut.
Winner: El Torito
Predictions: 1 for 1

The first match of the event is for the United States Championship as Cesaro challenges Sheamus. The match goes back and forth with some cool spots such as Cesaro countering a battering ram into an European uppercut; Sheamus hitting 3 knees from the top rope; and Cesaro countering a Brogue kick into a German suplex pin. Sheamus almost wins it with the white noise then he applies the Texas cloverleaf. Cesaro manages to get to the rope then does the giant swing. However, Sheamus employs the SuperCena card and puts Cesaro into a small package to get the win.  Up until the end, I really enjoyed the match. However, the ending really bugged me.

Winner: Sheamus

Predictions: 1 for 2

We now get a tag team match with Cody Rhodes and Goldust facing Curtis Axel and Ryback. After a little while, Axel and Ryback work to wear down Goldust. Cody does get the hot tag and hits the Cross Rhodes on Ryback to almost win the match. Cody then goes for the disaster kick but Ryback catches him and hits the Shell Shock to get the win. Afterwards, Cody grabs a microphone and states that Goldust needs a better tag team partner than him. I enjoyed the match and it looks like it could lead to a Goldust/Cody feud. That is something that I'm looking forward to.

Winners: Curtis Axel and Ryback

Predictions: N/A

Next is Rusev continuing his quest to destroy all the black wrestlers in the WWE as he faces Big E. Big E does get in some offence but it turns out to be in vain as Rusev hits a German suplex to get the advantage. Big E then spears Rusev off the apron to the floor and, back in the ring, he goes for the splash but Rusev hits a brutal superkick. Rusev then applies the Accolade to get the win. Whilst I thought that the match was too short for my liking, it was a good match.

Winner: Rusev

Predictions: 2 for 3

Now we get Kofi Kingston taking on Bo Dallas. Well, that seemed to be the plan as the Corporate Demon Kane turns up. Bo Dallas goes “fuck this” and leaves and Kane proceeds to completely destroy Kofi. After Kane hits a chokeslam and a Tombstone piledriver then leaves; Bo grabs a microphone and tells Kofi to bo-lieve. I'm torn about the Bo Dallas character. His character on NXT was absolutely brilliant with him always being optimistic and acting like a five year old girl when upset. However, it does seem to have it being shoved down our throats at the minute, which might not be a good idea.

Anyway, we get Rob Van Dam challenging Bad News Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship. The match goes back and forth and RVD misses a 5-star frog splash and Barrett misses the Bullhammer but does hit the winds of change for 2. Barrett does eventually hit the Bullhammer to get the win and retain the Championship. I thought it was a pretty decent match and it was good to see Barrett deliver some bad news to RVD and his fans.

Winner: Bad News Barrettt

Predictions: 3 for 4

Next we get to see whether Daniel Bryan will vacate his World Heavyweight Championship due to his neck injury because if he doesn't, Stephanie McMahon will fire his wife Brie Bella. Bryan decides to keep his title and Brie quits the WWE. I might be in the minority here, but I think that Bryan is being a dick here. I can see Bryan's point about the Authority being determined to make sure that he doesn't become Champion. However, the fact remains that Bryan is injured for an indefinite amount of time. Stephanie is right, Bryan is being selfish. John Cena's involvement doesn't make sense either. Cena is supposed to be the boy scout and he must realise that Bryan is in the wrong here. I hope that Bryan will be back wrestling in the near future otherwise they may have to go in another direction.

We now get a match that I thought would be the main event: Bray Wyatt facing John Cena in a last man standing match. Cena, not wanting to face all the Wyatts by himself, gets The Usos to even things up. Both guys get in some good offence in the early going. Wyatt hits the Sister Abigail to put Cena down for 8. After Cena hits an AA, the Wyatts and The Usos get involved. Jimmy Uso manages to take them out (including himself) with a top rope corkscrew to the outside. Wyatt and Cena start using chairs on each other before Wyatt suplexes Cena through a table for a count of 8. Cena almost kills Wyatt by throwing the steel steps into him, which gets a count of 8. Wyatt hits Cena with another Sister Abigail on the outside, which keeps both guys for a count of 6. After Cena hits an AA on the outside, the Wyatts run in and attack Cena and he is saved by the Usos returning. They once again take each other out by them all going through tables. Wyatt sends Cena through the barrier into the timekeeper's area. That keeps them down both for a count of 8. The match then continues through the crowd up to the technical area by the stage. Cena then hits the AA, sending Wyatt through a box used to carry the electrical equipment. Cena then puts another box on top to effectively entomb Wyatt to get the win. I really enjoyed this match. However, the one thing that bugs me about last man standing matches is when someone pins down their opponent with something to get the win. I'm not a big fan of those endings. Despite that, this is probably one of my favourite last man standing matches ever.

Winner: John Cena

Predictions: 4 for 5

The Divas Championship is on the line as Alicia Fox challenges Paige. Paige overwhelms Fox with her offence and she goes off to regroup. Fox does get back into it and hits an impressive tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Paige gets back into it with some clothelines and eventually gets the win by applying the Paige Tap Out to get the win. Afterwards, Alicia has a mini temper tantrum and runs away. I thought it was a decent match and they got a lot more time than I thought they would. I think that woman's wrestling is slowly getting better thanks to Sara Del Rey and Norman Smiley training them. I hope that WWE continues with these instead of shitcanning it.

Winner: Paige

Predictions: 5 for 6

The main event is a no holds barred elimination match with Evolution taking on The Shield. After some dominance by The Shield, Evolution get back into it and start to wear down Ambrose. Ambrose does manage to get the hot tag to Reigns who hits a Superman punch to Batista. The match degenerates into an all out brawl and Evolution triple powerbomb through the Spanish announce table. The fighting goes up the aisle and Ambrose and Rollins get destroyed by chairs. Evolution go back to the ring to beat up on Reigns. They continue the fight up to the aisle to the titantron where Rollins does crossbody from the titantron to all of Evolution. Rollins and Batista go back into the ring. Reigns spears Batista and Rollins covers to get the first elimination. Orton RKOs  Rollins but Reigns stops the cover. Ambrose then hits a headlock driver onto a chair on Orton to get him eliminated. Despite Triple H's best efforts, it was in vain as he receives a top rope knee by Rollins followed by a spear by Reigns to get the win.

I really enjoyed this match and I was very surprised that The Shield did a clean sweep. I would say that I hope that The Shield would go on to bigger and better things. However, Seth Rollins decided to betray the group and join up with Triple H. Whilst I'm surprised that they would do this, I thought that Rollins turning heel was a really good move. If anyone was going to turn heel, I thought it would be Amborse. The decision to do it with Rollins was I think a good idea and I'm interested to see what they do from here.

I quite enjoyed WWE Payback. I thought it was a good show with some pretty good matches. The next event is Money in the Bank, which is one of my favourite events of the year and I hope it is as good as this one.