wrestling / Video Reviews

Random Network Reviews: Payback 2013

November 30, 2015 | Posted by Kevin Pantoja
8.5
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Random Network Reviews: Payback 2013  

Payback 2013
June 16th, 2013 | Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois | Attendance: 14,623

Here we have our first Payback Pay-Per-View. Recently, I reviewed the third installment of this event and the first outside of Chicago. It got a very middle of the pack show. I remember this show fondly but we’ll see how it holds up. It does feature the return of CM Punk after a short hiatus following WrestleMania 29. You can also almost always count on Chicago to deliver a hot crowd.

Commentary for this is the usual Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL combination.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Wade Barrett (c) vs. Curtis Axel w/ Paul Heyman vs. The Miz

Curtis Axel was a late replacement for Fandango, who was pretty popular at the time. Miz had won the Intercontinental Title from Wade Barrett at WrestleMania, only to lose it 24 hours later. Early on, they do the whole “two guys in the ring while one rests outside” stuff. It’s typical Triple Threat match stuff. It is cool that when Barrett and Miz are going at it, Heyman is talking strategy with Axel, telling him to pick his spots. Top notch managerial work from one of the best ever. Barrett takes an extended break outside, leaving Axel and Miz to have a fine little exchange. This is highlighted by a nice snap back suplex from Axel. Miz kicks him in the leg, allowing Axel to flip sell it like his dad used to. The crowd is surprisingly hot for Miz, considering his face run was terrible. Barrett gets two on the Winds of Change. Wasteland is countered and Axel hits the PerfectPlex to a MASSIVE pop but Miz breaks up the pin. Skull Crushing Finale connects but that pin is also broken up, giving Axel the time to kick out of second pin attempt. I appreciate that effort to protect the finisher. Miz gets Barrett into the Figure Four. I’ve always felt that move didn’t fit for Miz. Axel sneaks in with the hold on and covers Barrett to steal the victory.

Winner and New WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel in 10:36
Okay, that was better than I expected. With the exception of about two minutes, the action was fast paced and the crowd was red hot. The false finishes were good and not overdone, leaving a lot of room for people to do a ton of stuff later. A nice moment for Curtis Axel to win a belt that his dad is remembered for on Father’s Day. ***

Backstage, while Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman celebrate, Triple H comes up to them. Vince McMahon appears too and congratulates Axel. He says that we should see Axel/HHH on Raw but Triple H isn’t feeling it. HHH’s work with Axel was pretty piss poor and did nothing to help Axel.

WWE Divas Championship
Kaitlyn (c) vs. AJ Lee w/ Big E

Kaitlyn and AJ Lee were former best friends in the WWE (and real life besties). AJ and Big E tricked her with a fake secret admirer angle in the previous weeks. AJ is super over. Thankfully, Kaitlyn plays the pissed off role well, attacking AJ violently. She aggressively tosses the challenger over the Spanish announce table. AJ runs away, goading Kaitlyn into eating a nice apron dropkick. Inside, AJ goes into some offense, including successive neckbreakers for two. She is great at the little things in this match like trash talk and facial expressions. Kaitlyn goes into her rally, taking down AJ using her power. She hits a gutbuster before going after AJ, who is trying to escape. Her belt gets broken in the process, which she then uses behind the referee’s back and hits the mat like she’s Eddie Guerrero acting innocent. AJ applies the Black Widow but Kaitlyn counters into a backbreaker. She nearly kills AJ with a vicious Spear but doesn’t cover instantly because she tries to get AJ back for some of the suffering she’s endured in recent weeks. That obviously costs her as AJ lock sin the Black Widow again to win.

Winner and New WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee in 9:56
Honestly, that was the best match of either girl’s career and the best Divas match since the days of Trish, Lita, Victoria, etc. They told a story, it was hard hitting, it was technical, went back and forth and had the fans into it. It wouldn’t be touched by the work of the girls until the NXT Women’s division came along. Another nice moment in this one as AJ Lee realizes her dream. Great stuff all around. It’s sad to know that both girls were gone less than two years later. ***½

Kaitlyn sells the loss like it hurts badly, crying on cue. The relentless fans in Chicago console her with “you tapped out” chants. Layla shows up to help her. Other Divas try to comfort her too but she leaves.

They send us to the “panel of experts” which consists of Josh Matthews, Big Show, R-Truth and mustache Cody Rhodes. They talk about stuff before we get a Bray Wyatt vignette. Those were so different and cool.

WWE United States Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kane

The Shield was 48 hours removed from suffering their first loss as a unit to Randy Orton and Team Hell No. Kane’s first big move is a suplex, which is oddly weird to see him do. Ambrose seems a bit overmatched early, but a dropkick to the knee turns the tide for him. Kane sells the leg pretty well. Ambrose gets two on a diving uppercut. They continue to trade offense, but most of this is actually rather dull. Kane goes into some of his signature offense. To show off how crazy he really is, Ambrose laughs after slapping Kane. Kane clears off the announce table but turns around into a DDT on the outside. Ambrose beats the count but Kane can’t.

Winner via countout: Dean Ambrose in 9:34
Really basic match here. It wasn’t bad but it seems like it didn’t belong on Pay-Per-View. The work and especially the finish, seem like something you’d see on Raw or Smackdown. **¼

A video is shown to hype Rob Van Dam returning at Money in the Bank in Philadelphia next month. The crowd is all for this.

World Heavyweight Championship
Dolph Ziggler (c) w/ AJ Lee and Big E vs. Alberto Del Rio w/ Ricardo Rodriguez

Dolph Ziggler cashed in Money in the Bank successfully on Alberto Del Rio the night after WrestleMania. He then suffered a concussion and missed a PPV, leading to this being his first PPV defense. The crowd is very hot from the start. Del Rio causes Dolph to take some early breathers outside as he comes at him aggressively. Dolph sells everything like the concussion is affecting him. Every shot from Del Rio targets the head. Big E steps in to help his buddy, only to get ejected even though it was Del Rio who went after him. The kicks to the skull from Del Rio are brutal. Out of desperation, Ziggler locks in the sleeper hold. Brilliantly, Del Rio’s counter to this sends Ziggler’s head into the turnbuckle. Dolph tends to over bump often, but it’s more subtle here as he sells the head. AJ Lee’s look of concern is perfect. He botches a Fameasser for a near fall. Del Rio comes back with a second rope reverse suplex for two. The fans bit on the near fall. Each Del Rio kick is getting more vicious. The crowd is turning on Del Rio as a medic checks on Dolph, who wants no help. Not only are the shots getting more vicious but they’re getting dirtier. He even kicks AJ’s Divas Title across the floor. Ziggler continues to fight valiantly and busts out the Zig Zag. He can’t cover due to the head trauma, allowing Del Rio to get up and kick him in the head again. That’s enough to crown a new champion.

Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: Alberto Del Rio in 13:49
For two guys that are more known for their skill in the ring, this was pure storytelling and it was masterfully done. Everyone completely bought into the sympathy for Dolph Ziggler, who gets a ton of credit for his selling being just right here. Alberto was great at slowly building towards getting more heelish by the move. Unsung credit goes to AJ Lee as well, who continued her brilliant night by reacting perfectly to everything that was going on. The best double turn since Austin/Hart at WrestleMania 13. ****¼

While in the entrance, Alberto Del Rio cuts a promo about how he’s done everything for the people. He wants their support but they are booing non-stop.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk w/ Paul Heyman
After losing to the Undertaker at WrestleMania, CM Punk left to heal up. This was his probably too soon return in front of his hometown fans. Considering who is in this match, it’s no surprise that it starts with them trading mat work. Jericho goes for his springboard dropkick, but Punk is ready and counters it. Jericho jumps in the driver’s seat as commentary uses the ring rust reasoning. Even when Punk hits a neckbreaker, it doesn’t come off well. Maybe he did return a bit too early. Punk goes for his knee strike/bulldog combo, stopping to shout “VINTAGE PUNK” at Michael Cole, though it allows Jericho to block and hit a Lionsault for two. Jericho blocks the GTS and applies the Walls, but Punk reverses and does an interesting standing Anaconda Vise. Jericho reaches the ropes to break it. We get a GTS attempt, complete with Punk shouting “Blackhawks in 7”, but Jericho counters. Heyman distracts him, leading to another near GTS but Heyman being on the apron distracts Punk. They were already planting the seeds for their split. Codebreaker connects though it isn’t enough. Punk goes into a flurry of offense, including the ugly Macho Man tribute elbow. He caps it with the GTS but Jericho gets his shoulder up. They go back to blocking each other’s finishers before Punk nails a suicide dive. Punk goes for the springboard clothesline only to get caught in a huge Codebreaker. Heyman sells this like it’s the end of the world. Punk, powered by Chicago, kicks out. He nearly rallies but his hurricanrana is reversed into the Walls. Punk fights out and hits the GTS. Jericho staggers into the corner and when he comes out, he walks into another GTS to end this one.

Winner: CM Punk in 21:21
For a guy who had some disappointing performances following this return, his first match back was one of his better ones. He showed some ring rust, as some of his stuff wasn’t as crisp as it should have been, but it’s hard for these two to have a bad match together. The playing off of their past and the red hot hometown crowd added to this. I do think they went a bit overboard on the false finishes with the GTS and Codebreaker though. ****

WWE Tag Team Championship
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns (c) vs. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton

Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton certainly make for an interesting pairing considering Bryan spent much of 2013 teaming with Kane and would feud with Orton a few months after this. He starts with Roman Reigns, lighting him up with kicks. The power of Reigns, combined with Seth Rollins’ general awesomeness puts the Shield in the driver’s seat. Orton gets the tag, hitting some of his trademark stuff like the rope hung DDT. He gets two after catching a flying Seth in a powerslam. Seth avoids the RKO, allowing Reigns to hit the Superman punch on Orton. I don’t remember it being called that back in mid-2013. Surprisingly, Orton now plays the face in peril for a bit. Before making the hot tag, Orton busts out an exploder. Bryan hits all of the hot tag stuff you’d expect, but accidentally takes out Orton with a suicide dive. Inside, Seth and Bryan go through a fun exchange, resulting in the Yes Lock until Reigns breaks it. Reigns spears Bryan but eats an RKO. Seth dumps Orton and hits the Curb Stomp on Bryan to retain.

Winners and Still WWE Tag Team Champions: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in 12:10
Really solid tag match here. The crowd again plays a big part in adding to things. All four guys delivered and the story of a great team being better than two great individuals was well played. This was all part of a great angle to have Bryan prove he’s not the weak link and it culminated in him as WWE Champion. Again, just a really solid contest. ***

WWE Championship 3 Stages of Hell
John Cena (c) vs. Ryback

At Extreme Rules, these two met and it ended with no winner. The first fall is a lumberjack match, second is a tables match and the end is an ambulance match. Not exactly “stages of hell” but still. This starts in basic fashion with Ryback holding serve. Cena gets stomped out by the heel lumberjacks a few times. When Ryback is knocked outside, everyone gets involved and Cena takes them all out with a dive from the top. Back inside, Ryback survives an attempted STFU and hits the Shell Shock. Miraculously, that’s enough to earn him the first fall. The tables come into play but neither guy is able to put the other through it for a while. Steel steps come into play, as Ryback tries to use them to put Cena through a table. Cena avoids it and Ryback throws a bit of a tantrum. Cena goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM though the AA is blocked and Ryback hits a massive spinebuster. He goes for the Shell Shock through the table but Cena counters and puts him through it with an AA. Ryback is up quickly to start the third fall. He puts Cena through the announce table. IT’S A BIT LATE FOR THAT DUDE! The fight goes up to the ambulance as we seem to be preparing for the finish. They do some cool spots with the ambulance, including Ryback punching through a window. He then literally just rips a side piece of the ambulance off and beats Cena with it. They go the top of the ambulance where Cena wins by hitting an AA through the roof.

Winner and Still WWE Champion: John Cena in 24:38
I thought that a match between these two would be pretty bad but this exceeded my expectations. The first fall was rather dull, but the next two falls were better as it was a style that Ryback was better suited for. The finish was creative but not my favorite. All in all, once it hit the second fall, the time kind of flew by which is a positive. **¾

8.5
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
Well that was far better than I remembered it being. There are two four star matches and everything clocked in with at least three stars outside of the United States and WWE Title matches. You had a red hot Chicago crowd, an expertly crafted double turn, CM Punk and Chris Jericho going at it, one of the better women’s matches in WWE history and more. It’s really all that you could have asked for at a non-big four PPV.
legend