Predictions for WWE Payback 2016
The first pay per view after Wrestlemania often feels like a weird mix of tying up loose ends, setting the course for Summerslam, and a little bit of throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks. While it’s strange that we’re only seeing one rematch from Wrestlemania at Payback, I guess it’s a good thing since I’m not sure anyone would sit through another AJ vs. Jericho match. While I think Payback has a lot of good matches on the card, it really shows how little WWE cares about their storytelling right now. Why hasn’t anyone even mentioned Triple H getting a rematch? Why does Nattie get a Women’s title shot instead of Sasha, who was screwed at Wrestlemania? Has Ryder really been written out of the Intercontinental Championship scene that fast? Let’s dive in to this Sunday’s event and take a closer look at what we’re dealing with.
Kalisto vs. Ryback for the US Championship
WWE has done next to nothing to promote this match and it makes for a sad, sorry situation for Kalisto and Ryback. Their Wrestlemania match was fun, if not groundbreaking, and I think they deserve more than just an off hand announcement about this match on Raw. It’s hard to pick a winner when so little has been put into this match, so I’ll just go with Kalisto for the win due to Ryback mouthing off about finding a different place to work a couple of weeks ago.
Who will win: Kalisto
Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler
Speaking of people losing because they talked about life after WWE, Ziggler will lose to Baron Corbin.
Who will win: Baron Corbin
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. the Vaudevillains (winner is the number one contender for the tag team titles)
Full disclosure: I only have one NXT shirt in my closet, and it features none other than Aiden English and Simon Gotch, the Vaudevillains. I am a fan. All the same, I can’t deny that they’ve received a poor (quiet) reception on Raw, and I think it’s because the average WWE fan doesn’t know how to react to the gimmick. I think the NXT fans are able to appreciate the goofy old-timey gimmick better than little kids and their drug-along parents, and I think if English and Gotch are going to have any success at this level they will need to tweak or update their gimmick a bit. Maybe something about moustaches and manliness? All that being said, I still think the Vaudevillains will win and go on to lose to the New Day. Enzo and Cass are red hot right now, and I don’t think WWE will rush them to the titles this quickly. I think the Dudleys will probably interfere, but hopefully we’ll see the Vaudevillains win with some sneaky underhanded tactics so people have a reason to boo them.
Who will win: The Vaudevillains
Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) for the WWE Women’s Championship
Charlotte and Nattie’s match at NXT Takeover: The First One, was one of the best matches of 2014, and while I’m glad to see it happen again on a larger stage, I really don’t understand why Nattie gets this title shot over Sasha Banks. While I’m definitely looking forward to the match and it’s great to see Natalya get the spotlight again, it’s hard to look past Sasha Banks sitting on the sidelines.
Who will win: Charlotte
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
It’s great to see these two finally get a match together at a Pay Per View. A lot of people were hoping we’d see this match at Wrestlemania, but I think the extra time on screen has served Sami Zayn well, and given casual WWE fans a better idea of who he is. I’m hoping this match really puts Sami on the map because I think he could be a top babyface like Daniel Bryan was. He’s just so darn likable! I could go either way on who will win, but I guess I’ll go with Kevin Owens since WWE has invested more in him at this time.
Who will win: Kevin Owens
The Miz (with Maryse) vs. Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship
My deep dark dirty shame is that I actually think Miz is a pretty good heel and I’m glad to see him back in the mix for the Intercontinental Championship. I’m glad to see Maryse back as his snooty wife too, as long as she keeps away from actually wrestling. Cesaro is well known as an underdog in WWE, and it’s great to see him getting a push, especially with his tear away suit. The man looks good in a suit! You can’t deny it. I think Miz will win, but it will be done in a way that will prolong this feud for at least another Pay Per View.
Who will win: The Miz
Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho
Heel Jericho is officially back and he’s better than ever. While I know I should just sit back and enjoy this feud, I can’t help but wonder how long he’s actually going to stick around for. This smacks of one of Jericho’s short lived one-and-done feuds, like the ones he’s had with Bray Wyatt and Ziggler, which aren’t bad, but don’t feel like they matter a whole lot in the long run. It is fun to see how seriously Jericho takes “the Highlight Reel” and how offended he is when Ambrose clearly doesn’t care about the “Ambrose Asylum”, but at the same time I feel like it’ll be done in a week and we’ll never hear about it again.
Who will win: Ambrose. He has to win sometime!
Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
While I’ve no doubt that Roman will win, I’m still excited to see what kind of a match AJ will pull out of him. Roman can have some good matches depending on his opponent, and I think this match with AJ will be much more exciting than Roman’s 27 minute snoozefest with Triple H at Wrestlemania. Of course the real thing everyone’s excited about is Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and Finn Balor and if they will attack AJ or Roman. Personally I think Anderson and Gallows will turn on AJ by themselves with no Balor appearance, but I’ll be okay with being wrong too. While I’m extremely excited to see what happens with all that, I’ve no doubt that Roman will be holding onto the gold for a big ol’ feud with Cena.
Who will win: Roman Reigns
All in all I think the card for Payback looks really solid. All of the matches look really good and will hopefully provide a fun, light Pay Per View to wash away the seven hour marathon that was Wrestlemania. We’ll also see who Vince names as the new authority figure on Raw. I’m predicting he just appoints himself to that role, but maybe he’ll want to see if Stephanie can fall off a Hell in a Cell cage first to see if she wants the job as badly as Shane.
This PPV has a pretty amazing card! I’m actually more positive towards it than Wrestlemania. I’m actually glad Sasha is just simmering in the background right now, because I feel she deserves to be the one to unseat Charlotte – and that feud deserves to feel fresh and huge at one of the big PPVs, like SummerSlam. By keeping Sasha on the DL for now, they keep fans from getting bored with her facing Charlotte before a really big payoff, and in the meantime we get to see Nattie and Charlotte refresh their feud on the big stage. It’s win-win, as long as you’re patient for the big payoff.
I think either balor shows up just as it looks like gallows and Anderson (Anderson?) are attacking AJ and looks like he’s going to help him before leading the beatdown himself. or G&A do the beatdown themselves, AJ confronts them on RAW. and they tell him, we’re following “his” orders now the Balor reveals himself as “him” a bit later
side note- has the “we’re best friends from this other place” where one side is acting heelish but the other guy(s) is a face caught in situations that look bad on the surface due to his association, ever ended up with the “bad” ones turning face to remain besties with the other part of the group? seems like it always leads to a turn against the “good” one, or the good turn turns bad to hang with the others- never seems to lead to them all turning face.
If they play this Aj/Gallows and Anderson thing right it might be a good way to finally get Romaine heel. It seems like they’re already trying with that whole he’d rather be respected than liked thing.
I like Sasha, but i”m amazed at the response online about Sasha and only Sasha. Becky is just as awesome and deserving!
Agreed.
Sasha’s great, but has she really done anything since her call-up? Becky has put in work, turning herself from a generic henchwoman to the biggest babyface in the division, and I’ve said it a lot, but she’s so good she turned Charlotte’s character into something worth caring about.
Sasha is young and beloved, but let’s reward Becky’s hardwork and give her something.
Finally, someone with some sense! 😀
Becky’s very popular, I just think her fans are a little bit more quiet because Sasha is higher-profile. She’s gotten the docs, the big solo entrances, Becky is always “…and Becky Lynch!”