WWE Payback 2016 Results: Top Highlights and Low Points

The results from the 2016 WWE Payback pay-per-view are in the bag, so it's time for us to look back on the event and separate the good from the bad, the great from the terrible and everything in between.

Going into the show, an air of mystery surrounded the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match as the presence of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows seemed to signify a possible heel turn for A.J. Styles that could lead to his victory.

Other titles were in the balance due to their own set of stipulations ranging from bringing legends back into the fold with the Women's Championship and the finals of the Tag Team Championship tournament being decided.

There was a lot of heat for the bitter rivalry between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, but virtually zero momentum for Kalisto and Ryback to continue their feud, which shows just how wide of a range this event had going for it.

In the end, were there more positives than negatives? Did the good outweigh the bad, or did Payback turn out to be more of a downgrade from WrestleMania than the WWE Universe would have preferred?

Let's break down the top highlights and low points of the night in order of appearance on the card.

Highlight: Ryback Takes His Loss with a Sense of Humor

Credit: WWE.com

There were plenty of negatives to talk about when it came to this match and the United States Championship situation in general, but this segment had some positives to help balance it out.

Despite neither of these men having a prominent showing on WWE television building up to this and their poor luck at WrestleMania with an empty arena, this was somehow more fun than anything they've done beforehand.

Ryback was in a position where he should have decimated Kalisto, yet even in his loss he provided some entertaining things to counteract.

He got under the skin of the Chicago crowd off the top by mocking CM Punk by replicating his taunt. As an added bonus, his belt was labeled "Pre-Show Stopper" to make light of his position on the card.

The match itself had some fun moments, such as Ryback tossing Kalisto off the top rope and attempting a splash—albeit failing at the latter.

It's a shame this wasn't worth more in the grand scheme of things, but this could have easily been bumped off the card and it ended up being a lighter affair instead.

Low Point: Enzo Amore's Injury

Credit: WWE.com

The finals of the WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders' tournament started off interesting with The New Day, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady cutting promos with a few laughs in them.

However, the mood quickly soured when Amore went down with an injury after hitting the ropes.

Instantly, the match stopped and things became awkward, and not in a kayfabe sense.

For argument's sake, if the injury was scripted, there isn't any real positive as it just destroyed the momentum of the segment and prevented fans from being able to see a potentially fun match.

It is more likely this is a legitimate injury, and that scenario is far worse than just a booking mistake.

Details are sparse for now with the prevailing news being that it seems to be a concussion. But hopefully more positive information comes out that points to this not being too serious of an injury that cuts Amore's career short.

Highlight: Kevin Owens and the Intercontinental Championship Situation

Credit: WWE.com

Following the awkwardness of the tag team match and Amore's injury is a tough task, but Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were able to cut through the tension and turn things around.

This easily could have been a segment with no energy and a morose atmosphere, yet things became entertaining rather early on.

Owens and Zayn have proven in the past that they have great chemistry together and their storyline is a timeless one that can continue for a long while, particularly if they keep having matches that are on par with the quality of this one.

This straddled the line where both men looked as though they could win and the bigger deal of the two coming out on top. Considering the roster's need for more main eventers, it's a smart decision for Owens to go over.

Even after the match, Owens kept things interesting by cutting a promo to tie into the WWE Intercontinental Championship defense that would come next, messing with Byron Saxton and the commentary team.

The match between The Miz and Cesaro was interesting to begin with, but bringing Zayn back into the mix provides added flavor.

Now, it appears as though a Fatal 4-Way is being set up for Extreme Rules between these men. If that's the case, that could be one of the better matches of that event.

Highlight: Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

Credit: WWE.com

When you put two of the most charismatic entertainers in the ring against each other, things can't go wrong.

Chris Jericho has proven over the years that he can work as a babyface or a heel, but there seems to be an added bonus when he's playing the bad guy against someone who is incredibly over with the crowd like Dean Ambrose.

The Lunatic Fringe needed to win this match after losing many bouts over the past year, so his win meant that much more. Jericho didn't look weak in his loss and Ambrose received a boost to his credibility.

For a short amount of time, these two brawled on the outside, setting up what could be a particularly good match at Extreme Rules if they continue this feud. Giving the fans a taste of something like a Falls Count Anywhere match or a Street Fight only makes everyone want that more, so here's hoping this feud continues.

Low Point: Women's Championship Match

Credit: WWE.com

WWE remains adamant that the women's division will change soon, but while there are some improvements now and again, some of the flaws still linger.

By no means was this match offensively bad or the worst thing in the world, but compared to others on the card, it didn't measure up.

One of the biggest problems was the inability to sell the idea that Natalya had a chance to win. Anybody who has watched wrestling long enough could tell this was Charlotte's match to lose, so that cut out a good portion of intrigue.

Reminding the viewers ahead of this match that Sasha Banks was on the roster didn't help either, as this feud with Natalya stinks of stalling to avoid Charlotte dropping the belt to Banks too early.

The best thing going for this match was the advertisement that Bret Hart would be appearing. But the result didn't live up to the hype, as he was a non-factor for the most part. It doesn't help that leading up to this event, Hart's attitude was very apathetic about making an appearance at all.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ric Flair's schtick has been old for some time. If you were already tired of seeing him ringside with Charlotte, you'd be annoyed this time, as well.

Even the gimmick of having the two legends in the corner has been done before in NXT, so it lost some value by being a repeat concept.

What seals the deal about this segment being a disappointment is the callback to the Montreal Screwjob, which comes out of nothing. This was in Chicago, not Survivor Series, and the Flair family had nothing to do with the original incident.

Nostalgia can be great, but trying to bank on nothing but that it alone isn't good enough.

Low Point: Indecision from Vince McMahon

Credit: WWE.com

Whenever a promo is scheduled to eat up time on a pay-per-view match, it needs to be noteworthy enough to justify being on the card instead of another match.

In theory, the future of who controls Monday Night Raw is indeed monumental, but since it was billed as the time where Vince McMahon would make a choice and it didn't happen, it renders it all disappointing.

Segments like this make the show feel more like an episode of Raw rather than a special event, particularly when they end with the theme from Raw playing people out of the ring to set up a commercial.

Just as the Charlotte vs. Natalya feud seemed to exist only to stall the inevitable Sasha Banks title change, this came across as stalling so Shane McMahon can face Triple H at SummerSlam for control.

All this segment did was confirm that the adversarial relationship between Shane and Stephanie McMahon will continue just as it had been going on for a while.

Lateral movement isn't the same type of advancement in the storyline as if a true decision had been made.

Middle of the Road: WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Credit: WWE.com

It's tough to make a decision when it comes to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, as there were both positives and negatives to make up the last hour of the pay-per-view.

In one sense, it was a good idea to have the false finishes with the count out and disqualification as it kept the crowd on their toes. Giving Styles two victories—albeit more symbolic ones than legitimate wins—also gives him a reason to want a rematch.

Still, this wasn't without its downside. It was clear Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows would be interfering at some point as well as The Usos, which undercut the surprise.

Delaying the inevitable of Roman Reigns retaining also meant that the more cynical fans spent the rest of the time wondering when he would hit his spear rather than if Styles could pull it out.

The in-ring action was good, and there were moments when Styles showed he should be a true main eventer in WWE, disproving the doubters. In the end, though, losing solidified that while he may be a good challenger for the belt, he's still not "The Guy" like Reigns is.

The same is going to happen at Extreme Rules when they have their rematch and Reigns retains, although there will assuredly be some fun spots to balance that out as well.

What do you think were the best and worst parts of Payback? How should the segments not mentioned here be classified?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.