WWE Payback 2016 Spoilers and Predictions

[Reznor]

The rest of the show was great. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in particular did an incredible job of getting the fans back into the show after Enzo left looking dead. I really enjoyed all the shenanigans that connected Sami and Kevin's match to Miz and Cesaro's too. Kevin Owens was a riot on commentary.

 

Any goodwill I had for that Zayn/Owens match (and there was a fair bit of it) was instantly wiped out with that spot. Stuff like that is bad enough under any circumstances, but it was made even worse and more incredible by the fact it was used it to make the heel look all brave and full of heart & fight! My face probably resembled Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino a bit when I witnessed that shit.

 

I really want to like (dislike) Kevin Owens. From what I've seen, outside of the ring he's fantastic as a bad guy, but between the ropes, nonsense like that makes it difficult to take to him. Not that Zayn's blameless either as he either called it or went along with it, and he had a similar spot earlier in the match.

 

It would be nice for a dinosaur like me if they could find a way of eliminating all traces of that indie mindset from these types of guys.

[Otto Dem Wanz]

Really enjoyed the show overall, glad Enzo is ok. Most things have been mentioned but I thought there was a lot of good heel work on that show; Owens' commentary, Stephanie's promo and Charlotte's smugness really helped their bits get over (save for that shite ending to the womens match). Crowd were lively which always helped, despised that 'you can't wrestle' chant though.

 

Really looking forward to seeing how this McMahon stuff plays out, and the Extreme Rules rematch.

[SuperBacon]

Echo everything about this show. Absolute cracking, apart from the end to Natalya/Charlotte. Terrible idea all round, I don't even want an explanation, it was that terrible.

 

Main event was overbooked fun, both guys worked their Arse off. Crowd were hot too, usually hate the CM Punk stuff but was funny when Vince was trying to talk.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I appreciate they don't want to acknowledge Punk, but I'm amazed one of the McMahons haven't employed a variation of the 'he chose to leave you cretins. We gave him lots of money and a million day title reign, and he still left to pretend he's a real athlete' theme to try and shut it down.

 

It's not like they're stopping him from returning. If he came cap in hand to Vince today, he'd be back in the main event by the end of the night.

[Hugh Thesz]

I didn't watch the PPV so can I ask how long was it between the injury and the next bout starting?  I'm only asking as I am curious how the commentary team handled it.  So far I have only caught a youtube clip which stops shortly after the ref called for the bell.

 

Thanks

[The King Of Swing]

If the screw job finish was the start of a Little Naitch story then I can live with it but if it was just to get Shit Nattie out of doing the job in front of her Uncle then they can get fucked.

 

Glad Enzo is going to be alright.

[Nick James]

I must admit, Kevin Owens does nothing for me. I enjoyed his first few months in NXT, but these days he generally just bores me to tears. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a brilliant heel and is good in the ring, but something is just not clicking for me. I don't know if it's his look, the fact that he always seems to be pretending to chew gum or something else. Also, the spot him and Zayn keep doing where they're trading fast punches for a good 30 seconds seems to happen every time they're on screen.

[SuperBacon]

I didn't watch the PPV so can I ask how long was it between the injury and the next bout starting? I'm only asking as I am curious how the commentary team handled it. So far I have only caught a youtube clip which stops shortly after the ref called for the bell.

 

Thanks

I'd say 5 minutes tops. Handled well I thought

[Benno]

They shit the bed on that Charlotte/Nattie finish. Bret and Flair worked as corner men in the NXT match because they weren't the focus, the women in the ring were. Just couldn't help themselves here though could they.

 

That aside, this was a super show, Ryback/Kalisto, Zayn/Owens, Miz/Cesaro and Jericho/Ambrose were all very good matches.

 

AJ/Roman was superb. Even if I maybe wouldn't have done the finish the same way, they solidified AJ as a top level star last night. It's easy to overlook and see it as a foregone conclusion, but AJ looked unbelievably comfortable at the top of the card 4 months in. To their credit they've presented him as a proper star for the most part and he's more than held up his end. It's great to see.

[Duke]

I'm assuming when they do the four way zayn will win the title to give Owens a reason to want another match? Particularly after KOs promo.

[ColinBollocks]

Wow, best PPV show they've done in ages. In fact, since 'Mania you've got to give them credit for putting a bit of work in to all the matches, as I felt invested in most of them, which hasn't happened in years.

 

It shows how brilliant both men were in the main event that they still managed to have a great match despite the unwelcome way they tried to shoehorn the McMahon's storyline into the match. I think it would have sunk most WWE main events, but it was well done. I can't remember the last time I've literally jumped out of my chair for near falls, like I did when Styles was hitting his finishers at the end (despite knowing full well Reigns is winning). AJ Styles is incredible to watch in these big matches, rarely does he not deliver something brilliant. Can't wait to see what these two come up with next month.

 

Enzo's injury was horrible (obviously), but pleased he's ok. Such as odd thing.

 

Screwjob finish aside, everything else delivered big time.

[Mr_Danger]

I can buy KO and his millions of moves. It's not really for me but there's clearly a good portion of the audience that loves it. What I can't get behind is the idea that he's a vicious bully or prize fighter. He's too damn cuddly and cartoon bear like.

[Otto Dem Wanz]

Tell you what, that Phenomenal Forearm off the top rope through the table gets better every time I look at it. Amazing spot.

[WeeAl]

This was a really easy watch of a PPV. I wouldn't say entertaining from start to finish but everything seemed to have a purpose and thought put into it. The opener was all about Enzo's injury, and i'm just glad he's ok as he looked in a very bad way after it. It just reminds us all how easy the worst can happen. With regards to the teams involved, I can't get into the Vaudevillains at all, it's early days, but I would still have them go on and face New Day and see how they do and keep Enzo and Cass working with the Dudleys and come out on top against Bubba and De-Von.

 

I'm loving Zayn and Owens. It's a long burning fued, with some thought behind it and they make it easy to genuinely think "these two just want to beat the hell out of each other." They've great chemistry and I really liked the way the match blended with the IC title match, rather than just ending and being picked up tomorrow night on Raw. What I don't like, however, is Owens moveset. There's too much going on. Moves being performed 3 minutes in that really could be finishers. He needs more back rakes, eye pokes, low blows, hair pulling mixed in to calm it down a bit. But then that's not really all down to him as I think Vince isn't a big fan of those types of things?

 

Jericho and Ambrose was a fun match too, some sloppy spots but then that's to be expected with a Jericho match. Entertaining and with the right result.

 

I skipped the womens match. I gather it was a good choice.

 

The McMahon segment was what it was. It could have been ten minutes shorter and we wouldn't have had any less information than we ended up with. I'm not so sure I like what they are going with, but it's better than another bloody draft or The Authority again for a little while.

 

The main event was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Aj and Roman worked extremely well together. It had me hooked, it felt like a big main event and I can't wait for the rematch. What more could I ask for.

[Reznor]

Tell you what, that Phenomenal Forearm off the top rope through the table gets better every time I look at it. Amazing spot.

 

Even the plain old in-ring one is an absolutely fantastic move. Easily the best thing he does, a totally worthy finisher and infinitely better than that Style Clash shite.