WWE Payback Power Rankings: When Steph Got Slapped

WWE Payback lacked in several areas, especially with little storyline development and a weak card, but there were a few cool moments that saved the pay per view from being a waste of time.

Check out our WWE Payback Power Rankings to see who ended up making the PPV a worthwhile one.

Honorable Mention: Sheamus: His opening match with Antonio Cesaro was probably the most technically sound of the night. Although there was no Brogue Kick from The Great White, Sheamus more than held his own with one of the best workers in the company and perhaps the world. The fact that he sold for most of the match not only helped Cesaro as a heel, but it makes a rematch possible. With the U.S. title still around his waist, Sheamus is still just a hop, skip and jump from the upper part of the card again. Add in plenty of chemistry with Cesaro and you have a great feud for the middle of the card.

5: Alexander Rusev: His first victory over a legitimate talent, Rusev destroyed Big E. Langston at Payback, thanks to the Accolade and an absolutely vicious Superkick. Although he’s still got a ways to go and his cliche gimmick isn’t helping him, his performance at Payback was a step in the right direction. Who’s next for the Bulgarian Brute?

4: Wade Barrett: In a solid performance against the always offensive Rob Van Dam, Barrett retained the Intercontinental title at Payback. With a lack of real competition in the division and plenty of charisma, Barrett is completely in a league of his own right now. Crazy to think that six months ago, he was pretty much an afterthought.

3: Daniel Bryan: Perhaps Bryan’s wife, Brie Bella should have made this list instead. Slapping her former boss Stephanie McMahon and leaving her job at the WWE, Bella allowed Bryan to hold on the WWE World Heavyweight title. This opens the door for a whole slew of ramifications for Bryan that could only spice up a nonexistent title scene.

2: John Cena: The leader of the Cenation hasn’t been in a match this brutal in a long time. One that doesn’t hurt the street creed of Bray Wyatt, Cena was able to maintain his legacy, but not destroy the budding one of Wyatt and the Family. At the same time, you have to wonder where Wyatt and Cena go from here. With WWE title runs out of the question for both competitors for the time being and their feud presumably over, they’re desperately in the need of something new and daring.

1: The Shield: Evolution tried their hardest to take them out and came very close at Payback, but when it was all over, The Shield swept Evolution- and in grand fashion, began what will be the beginning of their run as a top face faction in the WWE.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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