King Barrett vs. Neville: Winner and Reaction from WWE Payback 2015

After falling to Bad News Barrett in the 2015 King of the Ring final, Neville got one over on his British countryman Sunday night at Payback, as he defeated the newly crowned king.

Ringside Xcess had the news: 

The ending was unexpected, even to Neville as WWE Universe showed us:

Robert Littal of BSO was not a fan of the ending, while WrestlingInc.com was surprised: 

WWE had the highlight of the match: 

The midcard has been dominated by the likes of King Barrett, Neville, Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus in recent weeks, which has led to several combinations of matches between them. Barrett and Neville have developed quite a rivalry in particular, with both Superstars experiencing some highs and lows along the way.

Neville and Barrett met on the kickoff show for Extreme Rules in a match that was ultimately won by Neville. That marked The New Sensation's first pay-per-view bout and victory, but their next encounter had a much different result.

Their rematch in the King of the Ring final was an entertaining in-ring affair, but it didn't go Neville's way as Barrett managed to hit him with a decisive Bull Hammer.

After his win, Barrett made it clear that he aimed to bring his own brand of tyrannical rule to WWE, according to the company's official Twitter account:

The longest-reigning NXT champion of all time had a chance to curb Barrett's arrogance and gain some revenge in the process, and that is precisely what The Man That Gravity Forgot did as he managed to halt the new monarch's momentum at Payback.

Sunday's match was likely going to mark the end of their feud regardless of the result, especially now that Daniel Bryan has vacated the Intercontinental Championship. Both Barrett and Neville seem like prime candidates to vie for the title, and they figure to be in the mix at Elimination Chamber.

Either one could be a believable champion as well, since they have been booked effectively as of late. Barrett didn't have much going for him character-wise before becoming King of the Ring, but now he has a definite direction, which really benefits him.

As for Neville, he has basically traded wins and losses since coming to the main roster, but the important thing is that he has put on great matches against top stars. That was especially apparent on the most recent edition of Raw when he pushed United States champion John Cena to the limit.

Now that Barrett and Neville have had three matches against each other on fairly big stages, it is the right time for both of them to move forward.

They put on another good showing Sunday, and now they are in a position to maintain their roles as staples in the midcard, although they both possess main event potential as well.

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