WWE Payback 2015: Power Ranking Every Match at PPV
Sunday night, WWE rolled into Baltimore for its Payback pay-per-view and delivered a show full of strong in-ring performances, surprisingly solid storytelling and even a Shield reunion that threatened to break the Internet.
In the night's main event, Seth Rollins successfully retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Roman Reigns, Dean Ambros and Randy Orton, though not without the assistance of Director of Operations Kane.
John Cena continued his United States Championship reign by knocking off Rusev in an "I Quit" match, thanks to the interference of Lana, who spoke the two words on behalf of her associate.
The New Day retained the tag titles, Bray Wyatt notched a big (though tainted victory over Ryback) and Sheamus took a big step toward championship contention with a win over Dolph Ziggler.
Despite a lack of interesting and intriguing build, the Superstars and Divas put in grade-A effort to ensure that Payback delivered at a time when WWE is heavily pushing new subscribers to the WWE Network.
With strong work up and down the card, which match ranked as the best of the night?
Take a look for yourself.
9. The Mega Powers vs. The Ascension
1 of 9
It is a good thing expectations were relatively low for the Kickoff match pitting the modern-day equivalent of the Mega Powers and The Ascension, because neither team did anything to exceed them, even if Damien Sandow and Curtis Axel's portrayals of Hall of Famers Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Hulk Hogan were amusing.
In the end, this wound up as a showcase for Konnor and Viktor of The Ascension, who seem poised to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championships in two weeks.
The action was basic, for the most part, the only high spot coming early in the match when Axel delivered Hogan's trademark legdrop for two.
The Ascension's victory threatened to take the air out of the crowd early, but luckily, fans would be more than excited once the main card action started.
8. R-Truth vs. Stardust
2 of 9
The fact that R-Truth vs. Stardust was not even advertised for the Kickoff Show indicates just how much WWE Creative cared about it.
Nothing more than a match one would expect to see on Raw or SmackDown, the performers were tasked with warming up the crowd early on in the night's festivities.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to care about two guys who have been so routinely misused in recent weeks.
Truth won the match to pop the crowd, but it was the frustration that Stardust showed afterward—sitting outside the ring, appearing emotionally spent as he took in his most recent loss—that could prove interesting going forward.
Could WWE fans witness the return of Cody Rhodes at some point in the near future? Perhaps.
Otherwise, the placement of this on the card is even more questionable.
7. The Bella Twins vs. Naomi and Tamina
3 of 9
The sloppy and somewhat disjointed finish really hurt what was otherwise a fine Divas tag match Sunday night.
At one point, Tamina was supposed to trip up Nikki Bella, leading to the Rear View from Naomi. The timing was off, though, and the Divas champion was forced to wait for the spot, something that completely threw off the flow of the contest.
Otherwise, the action was crisp if unspectacular, and Naomi got the much-needed pinfall victory over Nikki to continue her push toward the Divas title.
Tamina continued to prove that she is much better in explosive spurts than as a worker who sees a lot of ring time. Overexposing her in the ring will hurt her pairing with Naomi going forward, so that is something WWE Creative should be conscious of when booking the act on Raw and SmackDown.
6. Neville vs. Bad News Barrett
4 of 9
Given the quality of their match at the Extreme Rules Kickoff Show, and the subsequent King of the Ring finals match, there was reason to suspect that Neville and Bad News Barrett could have stolen the show at Payback.
Unfortunately for them, they struggled with a lack of crowd heat and a terrible finish that left fans scratching their heads.
The in-ring action was fine, but Barrett opting to get counted out rather than continuing the match felt far too much like a cop-out on the part of WWE Creative, as the writers were reluctant to book a decisive finish at the expense of either one of the Superstars.
But rather than letting both Barrett and Neville save face, they booked the King of the Ring to take a German suplex and Red Arrow.
So if that was the logical wrap-up to the segment, why not just go with Neville winning in the first place?
The match was average at best, the crowd disappointing and the booking absolutely dumbfounding.
5. Ryback vs. Bray Wyatt
5 of 9
The battle of the heavyweights was a much better match than anyone could have expected given the talent involved.
Ryback and Bray Wyatt have a history of underwhelming on the big stage, but Sunday night, they had their working boots on, with The Big Guy being most impressive thanks to the toughness he displayed throughout the bout, particularly after suffering a midsection injury following Wyatt's senton from the ring apron to the arena floor.
The drama developed late, with both Superstars teasing their finish before Wyatt pulled the turnbuckle pad off, setting up a finish that saw Wyatt deliver Sister Abigail after sending Ryback rib first into the exposed turnbuckle.
The psychology was strong and the right guy went over in the proper fashion. Now, the argument can be made The Big Guy never lost clean, thus setting up a rematch for Elimination Chamber, barring a legitimate injury to the ribs.
A really strong match between two powerhouses that did not try to be something it was not and, as a result, succeeded greatly.
4. John Cena vs. Rusev
6 of 9
The "I Quit" match between John Cena and Rusev at Payback was very much like a Hollywood blockbuster in that it was loud, obnoxious, lacked psychology and storytelling but was jam-packed with action and violence.
Anyone looking for a traditional match out of these two was sadly disappointed, as the two Superstars used every weapon they could get their hands on, including the pyro display at the top of the ramp, before Cena recycled the ring-ropes spot from his 2007 classic against Umaga.
The finish was completely expected, with Lana quitting for Rusev and furthering the schism that exists in their relationship.
How Rusev rebounds from yet another pay-per-view loss should be interesting to see, but once again, he and Cena demonstrated some killer chemistry, as they blew off their months-long rivalry with another spectacular pay-per-view war.
3. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro vs. the New Day
7 of 9
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro's rivalry with The New Day is among the best programs WWE has to offer right now, thanks to the in-ring dynamic that exists between the teams.
Cesaro and Big E are power wrestlers for their respective teams, while Kofi Kingston and Kidd bump around the ring to make their offense look even more impressive. The explosive ring work between them, the high spots they are capable of and the hard-hitting nature of the Swiss Superman's offensive skill set make the matches fun to watch.
Sunday night, the teams delivered yet another potential show-stealer, complete with Xavier Woods evoking the memory of the Freebird Rules concept from World Class Championship Wrestling, then acting on it late in the bout by scoring the win for his team despite not officially being involved in the bout.
The work of all involved was typically great and makes the feud one of the most must-see elements of WWE programming at this point.
2. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus
8 of 9
The hardest hitting match of the night pitted Dolph Ziggler against Sheamus.
Ziggler showed strong babyface work, as he delivered some wicked forearms that connected with the face of Sheamus in an attempt to mount a comeback. The Celtic Warrior, conversely, was every bit as great, not only delivering his usual spots but working the crowd in a way that only intensified its hatred for the biggest bully in WWE.
In recent months, fans have seen the Showoff utilize a headbutt more and more in his matches, perhaps as a way to show a more tenacious and aggressive side of himself. Sunday night, intentionally or not, that headbutt came back to bite him, as it busted Ziggler open, allowing Sheamus to blast his weakened and bloodied opponent with the Brogue Kick and score the pinfall victory.
While blood may not belong in today's wrestling environment, it certainly added a level of drama to a match that already had the fans in Baltimore on the edge of their seats, thus making the finish that much more memorable and effective.
1. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
9 of 9
The main event of Payback should have been an overbooked mess, based solely on the constant interference of Kane and J&J Security.
Thanks to the will of Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and a late flurry from Randy Orton, the contest interjected itself into the discussion for match-of-the-year status.
Everything from The Shield mini-reunion that saw Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose work together to momentarily eliminate Orton from the mix with a triple powerbomb through the announce table, to Reigns and Ambrose tearing it up with a brief interaction in the middle of the bout, to Kane playing up his end of the story by taking out the Lunatic Fringe and the Juggernaut—it all worked together to create a brilliant bit of sports entertainment.
Was the Pedigree from Rollins to Orton ugly? Sure. But it was the perfect bit of sucking up from Rollins to Triple H to ensure that the man known as the Architect remains in favor with "daddy" over fellow Authority member Kane.
At a time when WWE Creative is chastised for its lack of quality storytelling, this was a gem.
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