Away from Brie Bella’s slap heard round the world on Stephanie McMahon and The Shield’s clean sweep over Evolution, there were few off the wall moments at Payback. Aside from the Sheamus/Cesaro encounter for the U.S. Title, there weren’t many memorable moments in the ring either. While the show wasn’t a disaster, too many matches served as mere bathroom breaks.
It all came down to a puzzling order for the card. Why and how the Alicia Fox vs. Paige match went on after the Bray Wyatt/John Cena Last Man Standing match and why the Sheamus/Cesaro match opened the show, were puzzling.
Too many matches felt like things you’d see on RAW, from the Alexander Rusev squash of Big E. Langston and the Kofi Kingston/Bo Dallas match that never happened, thanks to a Kane run-in.
With Money in the Bank and the warm days of summer a few sunsets away, WWE Creative has some serious work ahead of themselves to ensure they don’t burn themselves or their fans.
Matches:
Kickoff: Hair vs. Mask: El Torito w/Los Matadores vs. Hornswoggle w/Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew MacIntyre: A complete joke. Both competitors went through old-school wrestling pranks, embodying everything that the industries’ biggest critics despise. From the ref’s participation, to Torito running around the ring with scissors, this was a debacle. After Hornswoggle missed a Moonsault and 3MB and the Matadores got involved, Hornswoggle even managed to dive into the mess of competitors on the outside. El Torito then Head-Scissored Slater to the outside before he hit Hornswoggle with the Bronco Buster. Although Hornswoggle hit the Sit-out Powerbomb and pulled off Torito’s mask, Torito had another one underneath. With Hornswoggle celebrating in victory, Torito hit the Flipping Plancha for the win. After the match, as a result of the loss, Hornswoggle was shaved bald.
WWE United States Champion Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro w/Paul Heyman: This was a physical match, as Cesaro nailed European Uppercuts at will, while Sheamus’ strike-heavy offense was strong as well. But with the Superplex, an assortment of other Suplexes and a nasty Stomp, Cesaro was certainly in control early. Sheamus fought back with an Irish Curse Backbreaker, but Cesaro quickly maintained control with a few more variations of the Uppercut. Back and forth the rest of the match went, with Sheamus nailing a Titl-a-Whirl Backbreaker and the White Noise after countering the Neutralizer. After Cesaro escaped the Texas Cloverleaf, Heyman told his client to focus and finish off Sheamus and the Swiss Superman Swung Sheamus around the ring a crazy 21 times. All set for the Neutralizer, Cesaro got caught sleeping as Sheamus snuck in a Small Package for the win.
Goldust and Cody Rhodes vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel: Par for the course the past few weeks, Rhodes was on fire for most of the match, as fans waited for him to self-destruct. After a missed Disaster Kick from Rhodes, Ryback nailed the Meathook Clothesline and a Powerbomb, but couldn’t put him away. Rhodes fought back with the Cross Rhodes, but Axel broke up the pin. Going for the Disaster Kick again, Ryback countered again and won with The Shellshock. After the match, Rhodes told Goldust he needed a better tag team partner.
Alexander Rusev w/Lana vs. Big E. Langston: A quick fight, but a battle nonetheless. Rusev was in trouble early as Langston nailed him with a Spear that sent him to the outside. Rusev quickly countered with a nasty Super Kick and followed it up with The Accolade for the win.
Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas: A no-contest as Kane hit the ring before the bell (obviously in retaliation for Kingston’s words in regards to Stephanie McMahon’s handling of the Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella situation on Twitter) and hit the Chokeslam and Tombstone before the match even got underway. With Kingston getting help from refs, Dallas asked Kingston and the fans to Bo-Lieve.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam: RVD used his educated feet early on to score a few near-falls and the advantage. RVD then took the match to the outside and continued his barrage on BNB with his signature Spinning Wheel Kick with Barrett hanging over the barricade. Barrett got back into the match with a few kicks of his own and like RVD, used strikes on the outside to get control. But after a step-through Spinning Wheel Kick RVD evened things out and followed up with a few Clothesines, a Standing Side Kick and the Rolling Thunder. With Barrett down , RVD missed the Five-Star Frog Splash, but Barrett couldn’t hit the Bullhammer Elbow either. Barrett did hit the Winds of Change, but after the action went to the outside, Barrett missed the Bullhammer and his the ring post. RVD nearly got the win with the DDT, but Barrett, even with the injured Elbow, hit the Bullhammer for the win.
Last Man Standing Bray Wyatt w/Luke Harper and Erick Rowan vs. John Cena w/Jimmy and Jey Uso: Cena got in a few shots, but Wyatt dominated most of the match in the early going. But even after the Sister Abigail, Cena wouldn’t stay down. Things broke down with the Family and Usos getting involved on the outside and Wyatt used the chair to keep the advantage. However, once given an opportunity, Cena uncharacteristically used the chair on Wyatt and then set up a table in the ring. However, Cena was unable to hit the Attitude Adjustment on Wyatt through the table, as Wyatt countered with a Drop Suplex. This allowed Wyatt to bring the steel steps into the ring, which he promptly nailed Cena with. Cena was no slouch either though as he later threw the steps from inside the ring to the face of the outside Wyatt. Fighting back and unrelenting, Wyatt then hit the Sister Abigail on the outside on Cena, but the leader of the Cenation got up at six. Cena then hit the AA on Wyatt on the outside, but Harper and Rowan helped their master up and then beat on Cena. With the Usos offering support, Cena was able to get on his feet, but Rowan and Harper set up tables that both tag teams ended up going through. With just Wyatt and Cena standing, Wyatt sent Cena through the ringside barrier with a nasty diving elbow that sent the fight through the arena. Fighting near the electrical equipment, Cena hit the AA through a large box, before he stacked another one on top of it to get the 10-count for the win.
Paige vs. Alicia Fox: Overcoming a plethora of strikes and several signature moves from Fox, Paige finished off her opponent with the PTO for the submission victory.
No Holds Barred Elimination Match: Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton: Although there was a long feeling out process, there was a five-minute span where Triple H got destroyed by Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose before Triple H was able to counter and get Batista into the ring. Utilizing quick tags and smart team-first offense, Batista and then Orton got back into the match. Reigns nearly eliminated Batista with a Superman punch, but Orton made the save. Soon enough, Triple H and Rollins were by the Tech area, while Orton and Ambrose fought into the crowd. After Triple H nailed Rollins with a piece of metal and Ambrose was disposed of on the outside, Triple H, Orton and Batista triple-Powerbombed Reigns through the Spanish announce table. Ambrose and Rollins then promptly rejoined the fight as it headed up the entrance ramp. After Orton Belly-to-Back Suplexed Ambrose through a chair on the outside, Triple H hit the Pedigree on a chair on Rollins, leaving Reigns all alone in the ring. After a Batista Spinebuster, Evolution brought in kendo sticks and the ring steps and beat on Reigns repeatedly as he was held across the steps in the middle of the ring. Although he hit a desperation Superman Punch on Orton, Reigns was quickly jumped by Triple H and Batista. When Ambrose got back in the match, Orton hit a nasty DDT on the outside that put Ambrose out of action, again. Luckily for The Shield, Rollins climbed to the top of the Titan-tron and hit a Splash that evened up the match. With the action back in the ring, Batista hit a Spear on Rollins and after Rollins countered the move, Reigns hit Batista with the Spear to eliminate The Animal. After an Orton RKo on Rollins, Reigns broke up the pin before Ambrose hit The Dirty Deeds to eliminate Orton. With just Triple H left for Evolution, Reigns hit the Superman Punch, but Batista hit the Spear on Reigns before he was escorted to the back by a referee. Orton then handed Triple H the sledgehammer before he left the match. Sledgehammer in hand, Triple H took out Ambrose, but a Rollins Flying Knee and a Reigns Spear gave The Shield the clean sweep.
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