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Watry’s WWE Payback 2017 Review

May 2, 2017 | Posted by Justin Watry

“I have been reading your stuff on 411mania and nodq.com for the longest time now and I have never felt inclined to email in. The general consensus of you not being most popular is harsh at times but also can be well-founded too. But I still read your stuff because I do enjoy your articles and find your perspective interesting most of the time.

That said, your article about your friend Megan and trip to Wrestlemania was the greatest thing you have ever wrote. Forget about the predictions you brag about getting right. This is your crowning piece. Maybe it is because I can relate as going to Wrestlemania is my ultimate dream and it will be happening next year. But I genuinely loved your article.

Thank you for the great stuff.”

– wrestling fan

Backstory

New reader feedback edition column planned for later this week. Until then, my WWE Payback 2017 thoughts!

WWE Payback

– The Kickoff Show was ‘meh.’ Admittedly, I was still super tired after not sleeping earlier and feeling pretty groggy. That may have played a part. The Finn Balor tease was excellent, next Universal Title match against Brock Lesnar? Maryse looked stunning, and The Miz was his usual cocky self. Big Cass and Enzo vs. The Club? Whatever.

– Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens was a good way to wake me up right off the bat. The United States Championship was on the line here. While many pegged this as an easy win for KO (hello!), the title change was tipped off by two things. First was the wild swing in the betting odds over the weekend. Those are usually hit or miss, but when a drastic change happens suddenly, yeah, it means something. Second was the verbiage WWE used in the past week. No longer was it “Jericho will replace Owens on Smackdown if he wins.” It was now “Jericho will join Owens on Smackdown if he wins.” A major difference and one that proved to be worth nothing. Just like the House of Horrors match being non-title out of the blue. Jericho wins, cool use of the finger from WrestleMania 33, and I suspect a quick little reign ending as soon as Tuesday. My one nitpick – if WWE wanted Jericho on the blue brand as the end game, then why not just move him in the Superstar Shakeup without flipping the belt so fast?

– Cruiserweight Champion Neville got himself disqualified to retain versus Austin Aries. Actually not a bad strategy. Aries lost at Mania, so he had to be protected here. At the same time, it was NOT the place for a new champ. Tough spot but one that WWE got out of. A cheap ending like this is okay to do on occasion if it makes sense. It makes sense.

– Hardyz over Sheamus and Cesaro CLEAN (again). All anybody is talking about is Jeff Hardy losing a tooth. I am more curious about how Matt started bleeding from his head. We know Sheamus is a ruthless SOB with stiff kicks; nothing was learned from him punting Jeff in the face on Sunday…but how did Matt start bleeding? I must have missed that part. Either way, it doesn’t matter. The big talking point is after the match Sheamus and Cesaro seemingly turned heel. No more Mr. Nice Guys. I had said before Payback that that would be a BAD idea. Well, the execution of it was fine and came off well. I guess I am willing to see how it goes. My pre-judgment is it won’t work. We’ll see. Off to a promising start…

– Bayley lost her RAW Womens Championship to Alexa Bliss. Fairly clean but with enough shenanigans in there to show who is heel and who is face. Where was Sasha Banks in this? She had talked such a big game earlier about being there for her best friend. Trouble in paradise perhaps? I was rooting for Bliss to win but had predicted Bayley. I would have been happy with any result here. Not only does this shut up the ridiculous story of officials ‘souring’ on Bliss (garbage reporting at its finest), but it also resets the Bayley story. Over big in her hometown – she will be fine. Alexa has made the most of the 2016 WWE Draft and keeps the ball rolling on Raw.

– Shinsuke Nakamura will make his (on air) WWE in-ring debut at Backlash. Smart move in saving it. Exactly what I wrote about when he joined the blue brand in April.

– Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins was maaaaybe the low point of the evening but still decent. I don’t know. The story ended for me in Orlando. Rollins came back from injury and beat Triple H. Yes, it was Joe who actually took him out in January, but that was due to orders from The Game. Rollins bested his long-time rival at the biggest event of the year. Story finished. Either he is being primed for a Universal Title shot soon…or the man will keep spinning his wheels on a show he has dominated the past three years. I really feel Rollins should have went to the blue brand last month. Prove me wrong WWE. Show me what else Rollins has left on Raw outside of a reunion with The Shield.

– The House of Horrors match. Okay, the House of Horrors match. Um, well, it was basically an upgraded version of The Final Deletion/Lucha Underground stuff, with a WWE twist to it. Honestly, I saw nearly all of Lucha Underground and thought it was solid. Didn’t care for the chair shots to the head, Chavo Guerrero treated as a top star, or the man/woman interactions. On the whole though, it was interesting. The Hardys’ BROKEN gimmick wasn’t for me though. You can only mispronounce words for so long and have it be funny, all the while going so far out of the box the rest of the product comes off as a joke.

That is why I had mixed feelings on Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt. We all assumed Bray would win thanks to Jinder Mahal interfering once it was made non-title. I have no issues with that. Co-promotes Backlash a bit and gives another boost to Mahal – a guy who needs help to establishing himself as a main eventer. No problem with WWE helping the guy out. The rest of the ‘match’ leading up to the finish?

Well, minus the fact it was still light out in California and obviously staged elsewhere at another time, I found myself watching THIS more intently than many of the other bouts. If you are honest with yourself, that is likely true in YOUR case as well. Whether you loved or hated it, you didn’t know what to expect next.

Isn’t that what we constantly whine about? Try something new WWE. Be different. Think outside the box. Take a chance. Well, they did. Not only with the House of Horrors presentation at WWE Payback but at the same time giving Bray Wyatt a win and showcasing Jinder Mahal.

Don’t cry about the company being predictable and then cry when they are unpredictable.

No, this is NOT my kind of wrestling, but whatever, it was a one-off spectacle that gave the show a speak and got fans talking.

– Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns was the main event and deservedly so. I didn’t want either guy to lose. Braun because of a teased showdown with Brock Lesnar and Reigns because he JUST defeated The Undertaker at Mania. Well, this match and outcome was pretty much perfect in getting out of that predicament. Strowman is still the monster, and Reigns is still hurt and overcoming his foe. That helps out both men and sets up another rematch next month. With the Universal Title off TV for awhile, that is all Raw can do until then.

OVERALL: Despite my buddy constantly ragging on Payback throughout the event saying it sucked, I think it delivered. You have to remember this is not WrestleMania or Summerslam. It’s Payback! Lower those expectations just a bit. We got some title changes, a heel turn, a compelling House of Horrors bout, and a main event where both wrestlers benefited from a clean finish. Not too shabby…