WWE Payback was last night, and it was the first Pay-Per-View since WrestleMania. There were a lot of first time matches, title defenses, and one nasty injury. With Payback in the books, let’s take a look at the best and worst moments of the night.
The Best
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Steal the Show
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had the tough job of going on after the Tag Team Championship #1 Contender match, which ended in a nasty injury to Enzo Amore (more on that later). To get the crowd back into the show, they had to have one hell of a match, and they succeeded. Chicago is full of wrestling fans that follow independent promotions, so they know they decade long story between Owens and Zayn, and they knew that this one was going to be brutal.
Owens and Zayn had so many great spots in their match, including the tornado DDT through the ropes and a back drop to Owens on the apron. Sami Zayn increased the brutality of his offense, and gave Owens the best he had. However, Owens would pick up the clean victory over his best friend.
Following their match was the Intercontinental Championship, where Kevin Owens would be on commentary. Halfway through the match, Zayn would return to attack Owens, and their brawl would end up interfering with the Intercontinental Championship match. This is a feud that will probably never end, and the fact that it ran over two segments made it once of the most stand-out moments of the night.
Kalisto and Ryback Steal the Pre-Show
Most people (including myself) probably saw this match happening for the second time on a pre-show and thought it was a throwaway match. However, The United States Champion and the self-professed “Pre-show Stopper” took the time they had and had the best match possible. There were some great spots, including a super military press to Kalisto, but what stood out in this match was the chemistry between these two. I would not mind seeing Ryback and Kalisto square off more often, as long as they keep putting on these great matches.
Side note: Ryback immediately reeled me into this match by mocking CM Punk’s “It’s Clobberin’ Time” entrance, as well as having the “Pre-show Stopper” on his belt.
The Worst
The Chicago Screwjob
Going into the WWE Women’s Championship match, it seemed like a hot mess. The entire buildup to this match was based around Ric Flair and Bret Hart, instead of Charlotte and Natalya. Natalya brought Bret Hart at her side to prevent Ric Flair from cheating, and to be fair, Flair didn’t cheat.
What did happen, however, was Charles Robinson screwing over Natalya. Charlotte had Natalya in the Sharpshooter (Natalya’s and Bret Hart’s finishing submission maneuver) and Charles Robinson, the referee in this match, rang the bell even though Natalya never tapped out. This was purely a reference to the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, when the same thing happened to Bret Hart. We can only assume that this will lead to a rematch at Extreme Rules in three weeks, where Natalya will hopefully get a fair shot at the Women’s Championship for once.
Enzo Amore Suffers Concussion During Tag Team Finals
To start off Payback was the match to determine the #1 Contender for the New Day’s Tag Team Championship. The match had barely gotten underway, when Enzo Amore was sent through the ropes to the floor by Simon Gotch. When Enzo was going through the ropes, his face caught on the second rope and whiplashed his head on the ring apron. Immediately after hitting the apron, Amore was unconscious and the match had to be stopped.
After some concern that it was a serious neck injury, it turned out to be a concussion, and Amore was released from a local medical facility later that night. It is unknown how long the “Smacktalker Skywalker” will be out of action, but we wish him a speedy recovery. This clearly was not a planned part of the show, but it was a rough way to start Payback.
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