Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles, the Miz vs. Cesaro Announced for WWE Payback 2016

Two title matches were made official Monday for WWE Payback on Sunday, May 1, in Chicago at Allstate Arena.  

According to WWE.com's Anthony Benigno, The Miz will be defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against the returning Cesaro, while Roman Reigns and AJ Styles will battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, per WWE.com's John Clapp.

Cesaro won a No. 1 contender's match over Kevin Owens to kick off Monday Night Raw to earn a shot at the new champ.

Styles, meanwhile, earned the right to become the No. 1 contender April 4 in a Fatal 4-Way match with Owens, Cesaro and Chris Jericho.

But Monday, Shane McMahon granted Zayn a chance to insert himself into the title match after he suffered an injury in a 4-way match with Owens last week. If Zayn had won, the match would be a Triple Threat match.

Styles won by connecting his Phenomenal Forearm on Zayn for the three-count.

At the top of the show, Shane McMahon made some major announcements to set up the next few weeks leading up to Payback, including a meeting between Styles and Zayn to determine what kind of match the world title bout would be.

After the announcements, Owens came out to demand a rematch for the intercontinental title he never lost via pin or submission. Zack Ryder won the belt at WrestleMania, then lost it to Miz the following night on Raw.

McMahon made the match between Owens and Cesaro, with the winner taking on Miz for the title. It was a match of two contrasting personalities, but both put on a terrific performance to start the show. Both men hit big spots, and plenty of near-falls were involved.

In the end, Cesaro countered a potential Pop-Up Powerbomb and eventually used the Neutralizer finisher for the three-count. The win came just in time for Cesaro to promote his new shirt:

While Reigns was involved in a bizarre tag team match with Bray Wyatt against The League of Nations, Zayn and Styles put on a classic match that would have been main event-worthy on any other night. Styles applied his Calf Crusher submission hold, limiting Zayn and his high-flying offense. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick to finish off Styles, but The Phenomenal One countered and landed the top-rope forearm for the pinfall.

Robby the Brain thought this was the kind of match that makes wrestling fun:

As far as Miz and Cesaro are concerned, WWE found a way to make a bad situation salvageable. It would've made sense for Owens to get a rematch, but WWE needed to make up for giving Miz the title one night after the biggest win of Ryder's career. Getting Cesaro into a high-profiled match after his injury was a terrific decision, and he should be the titleholder after Payback.

While a Triple Threat match would've been exciting, it wouldn't have worked in terms of buildup. Styles and Reigns had their moment on SmackDown, so adding Zayn would've altered the dynamic drastically. WWE can begin its construction of a Zayn-Owens feud up until SummerSlam while also attempting to turn Reigns heel.

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