Kickoff Match
United States Championship Match
Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback
In a rematch from WrestleMania 32, Kalisto will once again defend his championship against Ryback. Ryback earned this opportunity by knocking off Kalisto in a non-title match on a recent edition of Thursday Night Smackdown. Despite the fact that Ryback is trying to claim that size does matter, this was actually the first time that Ryback had beaten Kalisto; Kalisto has already beaten Ryback on two different occasions. At Payback, this will be as close as Ryback gets to taking the U.S. Championship from Kalisto because Kalisto will once again beat Ryback and retain his championship.
Pay-Per-View Matches/Segment
WWE Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders’ Tournament Finals Match
The Realest Guys in the Room (Enzo Amore & Colin Cassasdy) vs. The Vaudvillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch)
A few weeks ago on Raw, Shane McMahon, who has temporarily been running Monday Night Raw, put together a Tag Team Tournament to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championships, which is currently held by The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston & Big E). The two teams that made it to the finals are The Realest Guys in the Room (Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady) and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch). The two tag teams cut their teeth down at WWE’s developmental System, NXT. The Vaudevillains once held the NXT Tag Team Championships and while The Realest Guys in the Room have come so close on many occasions, the NXT Tag Team Championships have eluded them. At Payback, I think that The Realest Guys in the Room will win the Tag Team Tournament and earn their first opportunity at the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
If Baron Corbin, another guy who cut his teeth down at NXT, did not get moved up to WWE’s main roster going into the 3rd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, then he certainly did after he won the match. On the first Raw after WrestleMania 32, Baron Corbin went one-on-one with Dolph Ziggler and the match ended in a double countout. After the match, Corbin laid out Ziggler with his finishing move, the “End of Days”, outside of the ring on the floor. After witnessing that, I predicted that this would turn into a rivalry and I was right, these two have been going at it for weeks now. At Payback, Dolph Ziggler will hand Baron Corbin his first defeat since getting moved up to the main roster.
Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho
This rivalry really got started when during a segment of Chris Jericho’s talk show, The Highlight Reel; Dean Ambrose came out to hand Jericho a letter that stated that Shane McMahon had cancelled The Highlight Reel and replaced it with a new talk show segment called “The Ambrose Asylum”, which is hosted by Dean Ambrose himself. At Payback, Jericho’s ego will be bruised even further when Ambrose defeats him.
Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs. Cesaro
After recently winning a #1 contenders’ match, Cesaro has earned the right to challenge Miz for his championship at Payback. At Payback, I think that Cesaro will beat Miz and become the brand new IC Champion. While I am happy that Cesaro is getting an opportunity at the IC Championship, the guy who should really be getting the opportunity is Zack Ryder. At WrestleMania 32, Ryder won a 7-Man Ladder Match to become the brand new IC Champion. On the first Raw after WrestleMania 32, Miz made an impromptu challenge to Ryder for the IC Championship, which Ryder had accepted. Thanks to a timely distraction from Miz’s wife Maryse, a 2-time Divas Champion who made her return to WWE that night, Miz was able to steal the win and the championship. After Ryder invoked his rematch clause, Ryder got screwed once again, thanks to Miz’s wife Maryse diverting the referee’s attention, which allowed Miz to give an illegal thumb to Ryder’s eye, steal the win and retain the IC Championship. On paper, Cesaro may be facing Miz one-on-one, but in actuality, he may very well be facing both Miz & Maryse in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. So, I hope Cesaro realizes this so that he can overcome this. After Cesaro becomes the new champion, I really do hope that he gives Ryder a fair one-on-one opportunity at the championship because I am sick and tired of WWE screwing Ryder, as well as the WWE Universe, over. First, in late 2011, Ryder wins his first and only U.S. Championship. Then, about a month later, Ryder loses the championship in his first defense under controversial circumstances. Ryder would then slowly begin to fade away from the championship picture and the spotlight. Finally, a few years later, Ryder gets back into the spotlight and championship picture when he wins his first and only IC Championship. Then, the very next night, he once again loses the championship in his first defense under controversial circumstances. Now, it looks like Ryder is beginning to slowly fade away from the spotlight and championship picture just like before. Come on WWE, you need to stop doing this to Zack Ryder and the WWE Universe; this is one of the things that is wrong with WWE right now. Make it right WWE, put Ryder back into the spotlight and championship picture and do not take it away from him or the WWE Universe this time.
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
This match is all about years of friendship being flushed down the drain. Both of these men were good friends before even arriving in WWE. Both of these men cut their teeth down at NXT. This all started when Sami Zayn won his first and only NXT Championship at an NXT Special. After the match, Kevin Owens came out to celebrate with his longtime friend. Then, all of sudden, Owens shocked the world when he brutally attacked Zayn. Shortly after, Zayn defended the championship against Owens. Owens ended up beating Zayn so severely that the referee deemed Zayn unable to continue and declared Owens the winner and the brand new NXT Champion. Shortly after that, Zayn suffered a shoulder injury that put him out of action for many months, which Owens takes full credit for. Owens eventually would get moved up to the main roster and ended up becoming a rising star. Months later, shortly after making his return, Zayn moved up to the main roster when he entered the 2016 Royal Rumble Match. He got some retribution on Owens by eliminating him from the match. Since then, this deeply personal rivalry has continued. At Payback, this rivalry will be settled once and for all when Zayn defeats his former BFF.
WWE Women’s Championship Match
Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
For months, Charlotte’s father and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has been helping her win most of her matches, especially the ones that were championship matches. Natalya, however, is looking to change all that because she announced that while Charlotte will have her father in her corner, Natalya will have her uncle and WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart in hers at Payback. In this battle between two multi-generational Superstars, Natalya will become the brand new WWE Women’s Champion because her uncle will keep the father-daughter duo’s dirty and underhanded tactics at bay.
WWE Chairman and CEO Vincent K. McMahon will announce who will have full control of Raw going forward
The night after WrestleMania 32, Mr. McMahon decided to let his son, Shane, run Raw for the night just to prove that Shane “will run Raw into the ground”. Shane, however, did everything but run Raw into the ground because due to overwhelming support from the WWE Universe, Shane got to run Raw for the next three weeks. One night during Shane’s most recent running of Raw, his younger sister and WWE Principal Owner Stephanie made her return and announced to Shane that at Payback, their father will announce who will permanently have full control of Raw; either Shane or Stephanie. Shane has been running things while trying to keep things fair and in the best interest of the WWE Universe. Stephanie, along with the rest of The Authority, has been running things the exact opposite way. While Mr. McMahon is currently a member of The Authority, I think that at Payback he will leave The Authority, turn face and do the right thing and give full control of Raw to Shane. This will be the beginning of the end for The Authority once and for all.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles
After winning a Fatal 4-Way #1 Contenders’ Match, AJ Styles has earned the right to challenge Roman Reigns for his championship at Payback. In the weeks leading up to this match, some interesting things have happened. First, on a recent addition of Raw, Luke Gallows made his return to WWE, along with tag team partner Karl Anderson, who made his WWE debut, and attacked Reigns’ second cousins, The Usos (Jimmy & Jey). The following week on Raw, AJ Styles welcomed his longtime friends with open arms and they thanked Styles for putting a good word in for them. For anybody who knows their wrestling history, people should know that AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were once members of a faction called “The Bullet Club” in the wrestling company New Japan Pro Wrestling. In the weeks following all of this, Gallows & Anderson have been giving numerous attacks to Reigns, as well as The Usos. While Styles has confirmed that he is in fact friends with Gallows & Anderson, he claims that he does not condone his friends’ actions and that Gallows & Anderson have been acting alone on their attacks and not at Styles’ behest. While Gallows & Anderson have been making things a little more convenient for Styles, I am going to say that Styles is telling the truth and I will not believe that there is any collusion until there is no doubt anymore. At Payback, I think that Styles will finally put his foot down and tell his friends not to interfere in his match with Reigns. While I am a fan of both Reigns and Styles, I will be rooting for Styles to become the brand new WWE World Heavyweight Champion since he has never held a championship from WWE. In addition, I also think that Styles will do it all by himself and not have any help from his boys.
