WWE Payback 2016: Most Intriguing Storylines to Track on Road to PPV

With WrestleMania 32 in the rear-view mirror, WWE Creative has set its sights on the May 1 Payback pay-per-view, which will emanate from suburban Chicago's Allstate Arena and feature several intriguing storylines worth tracking on the road to the event.

One centers around the top prize in the industry, a main event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that pits an Internet favorite against the machine's chosen one in what has the potential to be an outstanding wrestling match.

Another centers around a long rivalry that dates back to the end of 2014 in NXT and has exploded onto the main roster with the return of one of the Superstars involved.

Then there is the wealth of new talent that has just arrived to Raw and SmackDown. What they may or may not do at the WWE Network extravaganza also bears watching.

Coming off a so-so WrestleMania that featured questionable booking, was devoid of happy endings to prominent stories and lacked the spark of recent incarnations of the event, WWE Creative has the opportunity to right some wrongs.

Here are the three storylines to track heading into Payback, all of which could shove the disappointment of The Showcase of the Immortals to the background.

AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns

The presumptive main event of Payback will pit AJ Styles against Roman Reigns in the latter's first WWE World Heavyweight Championship match since WrestleMania 32.

The dichotomy between them makes for intriguing television. Here is Styles, a wrestler who has traveled the world and developed his craft in arenas, halls and stadiums from Nashville, Tennessee, to Tokyo, Japan, challenging a guy like Reigns, who entered WWE immediately and has worked at perfecting that company's style while simultaneously climbing to the top of the industry.

Styles is the popular babyface whose abilities are not in question. Reigns is supposed to be the franchise star of the company but is hated by those most passionate about the product.

That alone makes for an interesting premise for a match, not to mention the arrogance Reigns has shown when confronted by Styles to this point.

The Phenomenal One could be just what the doctor ordered—the emphasis for a Reigns heel turn that begins on May 1 in the historic Allstate Arena, which has played host to three different WrestleMania events and the epic, five-star encounter between John Cena and CM Punk at Money in the Bank in 2011.

Could Styles and Reigns make history at the upcoming event?

Absolutely.

A strong story build by WWE Creative would make it even that much more monumental.

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

The feud between Zayn and Owens began on the independent scene, where they battled up and down the road, both as partners and opponents. Over the course of their young careers, they became best friends, a friendship that looked like it would take WWE by storm when both ended up in NXT.

But it did not.

Owens betrayed Zayn, brutally assaulting him and eventually taking the NXT Championship that he worked so hard to achieve. Before the Montreal native could get a measure of revenge on his friend-turned-enemy, he suffered a shoulder injury that put him out of action for nearly a year.

Now back and better than ever, Zayn has been engaged in a series of electric brawls with Owens, giving fans a taste of what they can expect from the veterans of the mat wars when they finally clash one-on-one in a WWE ring.

After an episode of SmackDown on April 7 that saw Zayn avenge the powerbomb through the table that he suffered at the hands of Owens on Raw by costing The Prizefighter a tag team main event, it appears WWE may be headed in that direction in time for Payback.

If so, expect a show-stealing match that improves upon their sole NXT battle and proves to the world why both Zayn and Owens are among the best and most respected wrestlers on the planet.

The NXT Call-Ups

The April 4 episode of Raw featured the dynamic debuts of Apollo Crews and Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, not to mention the Monday night debut of Baron Corbin. Three days later, on SmackDown, The Vaudevillains joined them, defeating The Lucha Dragons in their first bout on the main roster.

With Payback rapidly approaching, all eyes turn toward those Superstars and what it is they may be up to on the card.

It seems safe to suggest Amore and Cassady will be involved in some sort of match involving The Dudley Boyz after roasting the legendary tag team with a glorious bit of mic mastery by Smack Talker Skywalker himself, Amore.

Corbin is destined to battle Dolph Ziggler in Chicago, as hinted on Raw by his brutal End of Days to The Showoff on the arena floor and a follow-up promo on SmackDown. Ziggler is the perfect guy for Corbin to work with and learn from as a much-traveled veteran who has worked with every top star to walk through the door over the last 10 years.

Crews seems destined for big things, but his two wins to this point have been over Tyler Breeze and Curtis Axel—hardly the most meaningful victories. What he does on the April 11 episode of Raw could go a long way toward determining whether the dynamic athlete will even have a match at Payback.

And finally, The Vaudevillains.

Beating a team such as The Lucha Dragons, comprising two Superstars who partook in high-profile title matches at WrestleMania, is a big boost. While there has been no interaction to suggest such a thing, a feud with New Day over the tag titles may not be a bad idea.