WWE Payback 2013 PPV Review.

Hello PEOPLE,
Sadly I missed Extreme Rules altogether which was sad but managed to sneak in a viewing of Payback and here is my opinions and review.

 

Match #1 – Triple Threat Match for Intercontinental Championship

The Miz vs. Wade Barrett (c) vs. Curtis Axel
Ok first things first, I swore Fan-Dan-Go was supposed to be in this match??? Also how many freaking entrance themes has Wade Barrett now had, this has to be his like 5^th! Nexus, Corre, Solo 1, Solo 1 remix and now this “God Save The Queen” trash, poor Barrett, so much potential flushed down the bog, after he returned from injury he should have been pushed and he hasn’t been so any potential build you can do has been ruined. Now the Miz, a another waste of talent here, since jobbing to Cena and losing the WWE title like 2 years ago this guy has just floundered and even the Ric Flair “Rub” he go hasn’t helped make him anymore interesting. Curtis Axel, I think when you start naming them as “Paul Heyman Guys” I think you have lost the magic that is there, however they have shown faith in him by letting him go over (all by pot luck) HHH and John Cena! That has to say something; I hope that given time he can evolve on the microphone as he hasn’t displayed much use on that front yet, so all in all he has portentially a very bright future. I hope this match will be a good show, yet somehow I feel a level of disappointment looming.

Curtish Axel pins Wade Barrett while he is in the Figure Four Leg Lock to win the Intercontinental championship. Wow, a good match with a good finish, the crowd were hot behind both Axel and The Miz, which I wasn’t expecting to be honest. Quite a good opener there, hope the rest of the show follows suit.

ADVERT

Mark Henry return promo and let me tell you now, if Mark Henry is charging for air then you had better keep your bill paid son or enter the Hall of Pain.

Backstage

Curtis Axela and Paul Heyman are walking, bump into HHH and they face off but Vince interrupts and sends them on their way.

Match #2 Divas Championship Match

Kaitlyn (c) vs. A.J Lee
Ok so they have been doing this “Secret Admirer” story...... Yeah, I know, seriously. Well this has lead to this match, should be ok as AJ can wrestle at least. Aside from her quite ample rack I’ve never paid much attention to Kaitlyn (Hey, honesty is the best policy)

A.J Lee makes Kaitlyn submit using the Black Widow submission move to win the Divas championship.

Ok, I will put my hand up and admit, that wasn’t a bad match actually. Wasn’t overly struck on the lead to the finish but I reckon they will keep this rivalry going, if every match they have can improve on that then they should be good. Even the sympathy set up at the end doesn’t even get people behind Kaitlyn, we get Layla out to support her friend.... they don’t make out... how disappointing.

Backstage

The divas try to support Kaitlyn, she leaves.

Advert

Money in the Bank preview advert.

Payback panel of R-Truth, Big Show and Cody Rhodes talk about the matches. Josh Matthews introduces another Wyatt Family promo. Going for a Devils rejects kind of gimmick I think..... At least Husky Harris has got a gimmick.

Match # 3 United States Championship Match

Kane vs. Dean Ambrose (c)
Ok well Kane hit the pyro so this is a closed case already. Congrats to Dean Ambrose on the win. Don’t quite understand why Kane is in this match and not Randy Orton. The Shield has been booked to precision and have yet to lose a PPV match, Ambrose has been poised as the diamond of the group so getting him into some high profile PPV matches with experienced guys like Kane is going to be critical in building him as a “to be reckoned with” talent. Sadly Kane doesn’t really need a win or a belt anymore as he has a reputation of being a genuine bad ass and has been flexible to support newer rising stars, I do however think that if someone like Kane loses too often then it really devalues him when he is a pretty useful guy to have around.

Dean Ambrose wins the match to retain the United States championship via a count out victory.

Wasnt as good as the IC title match in my opinion, wasn’t really feeling it as I felt the result was very obvious there, was still an ok match though don’t get me wrong.

Advert

RVD is back!!! Awesome to hear but will be interesting to see how he is used.

Match # 4 World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler(c)
Been a long time in the build for this match due to Ziggler having a concussion, Del Rio has had a best of 5 series with Big E Langston and a # 1 contenders match with Jack Swagger since then and is now primed for his match with Ziggler.  I’m a little disheartened that Ricardo is speaking English not Spanish, kind of takes away from the intro. The crowd are behind this match, chants for both guys going on, both guys are brilliant at what they do so I imagine they will bring a good show.

Alberto Del Rio wins the match to gain the World Heavyweight championship after a straight up kick to the face as Ziggler was prone.

Good psychology in the match with Del Rio aiming a lot in the head area, then the added bonus of seeing Big E Langston removed from ringside and then the fantastic reverse superplex. The way the crowd turned on Del Rio in this match and then with Del Rio playing it up could be moving towards turning Del Rio back heel, will see how he gets booked after this PPV. A very good match and both guys really played on the concussion angle and that really added to the match. Ziggler gets the sympathy spot at the end and the crowd are very loud chanting for Ziggler.

Segment

We are back to the Payback panel and they talk about Del Rios visicous attack on Ziggler to win the belt.

Del Rio comes back out and gets booed out of the building, he asks for the support of the people as the new world champion. I can see a heel turn here! Fantastic, he was much better as a heel.

Match # 5 - CM Punk vs Chris Jericho

Its been an interesting build to this match and one that seems to be a replay of their feud last year in a feud to decide who is the “Best in the World”, Jericho and Punk had some good matches last year so hopefully they will repeat this time. Jericho as usual hasn’t done much since returning except getting pinned by Fandango and Curtis Axel, but does generally put on a good show. Punk hasn’t been seen since the just after Wrestlemania but will be good to see him back in action, the crowd reaction for Punk is absolutely massive and understandably so, Punk is also sporting the Wolverine look, not good.

CM Punk wins after hitting the GTS after a pretty fantastic match, think the crowds reactions really added to the match as well, both guys really put on a good show! Good to have CM Punk back looking forward to seeing what they do with him next.

Match # 6 Tag Team Championship Match

The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) (c) vs. Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan
I do not understand this match unless it is building to an Orton vs. Bryan feud, as surely Kane & Bryan would be the best challengers for the tag straps. The Shield again has been booked pretty on point and they will surely bring some interest to the tag belts and even the US belt as well. Orton just seems a random pick here; I hope it does lead to a Bryan vs. Orton match as that would be pretty epic I think. Daniel Bryan, currently the best hot tag in the business today, is apparently on route for a major push so will be great to see where the next few months take him, hopefully separating from Kane will help to refresh his character.

Seth Rollins pins Daniel Bryan after a flurry of finishers to retain the tag team championships, a reasonably good match if a little confusing about the participants. Hoping this will lead to more Bryan vs. Orton booking, very interested to see who will be next up to face the Shield as there are some teams available but whether they will have the shield go over them or not is another thing.

Match # 7 WWE Championship match in Three Stages of Hell match

John Cena (c) Vs. Ryback
This match shouldn’t have been the main event, cant imagine anyone in Chicago caring about either of these guys in comparison to Jericho vs. Punk from earlier. Ryback’s heel turn has been a long time in coming, the “Feed Me More” gimmick could only go so far, so now we get to see what Ryback can actually do, I missed Extreme Rules so didn’t see how he performed at the PPV and with Cena being in there I can imagine Ryback getting the bulk of the offense. The stipulations for this match are interesting as usually these choices would be fall number 3 really, guess they wanted to push the bar a little for this one. May I also add in my two cents about the new WWE title belt... I HATE IT!!!! Now everyone gets their own custom title belt.. oh the joy.

A “You both suck” chant echoes at one stage.

Stage 1 (Lumberjack Match) – Ryback wins the fall via pinfall after hitting the Shellshocked.

Stage 2 (Tables Match) – John Cena wins the fall after using the Attitude Adjustment to put Ryback through a table.

Stage 3 (Ambulance Match) – John Cena wins the fall after using the Attitude Adjustment to put Ryback through the roof of the ambulance..... really!!!!

John Cena wins falls 2 and 3 to retain the WWE championship, this match was what it was, yeah Ryback got some good offence but Cena just pulls off the win as expected. Wasn’t a classic but was what it needed to be I guess. I still hate that new belt though.... its awful.

Well I think the shining stars of this PPV were the IC title match, the CM Punk / Jericho match and the Del Rio / Ziggler match for me personally. The major let down was the US title match, it just didn’t bring me in as much as the others, even the Divas match was a suprise for me so for the US match to not overshadow that match in my eyes is a little disappointing, considering the two wrestlers who were in there. So thats my two cents thrown in again for another PPV, I enjoyed it and I hope you did too.

Well the next PPV will be Money in the Bank PPV in July where we will see the return of the “Whole Dam Show” Rob Van Dam, I’m very much looking forward to it but for now, thanks for reading. Peace.