WWE Payback 2017: Match Card, Potential Spoilers, Predictions and More

SmackDown Live's presence and a trip inside a house of horrors will make WWE Payback 2017 quite the strange pay-per-view.

Sunday's event is technically a Raw event, but SmackDown's Kevin Owens and Randy Orton will take the stage. Owens will take on Chris Jericho as he looks to keep possession of the United States Championship. Orton, meanwhile, will face Bray Wyatt in The Eater of Worlds' own creation: a House of Horrors match.

The U.S. title bout promises to be a farewell for Jericho, who has other business on his schedule.

As for Orton vs. Wyatt, it's hard to know what to make of their upcoming clash. The Man of 1,000 Truths has described it as a mental prison, selling it as a torture device Orton won't be able to escape from. Campiness may be the order of the day instead.

The fifth Payback will also feature Raw newcomer Alexa Bliss, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and The Hardy Boyz. Finn Balor, strangely enough, will be relegated to a Miz TV segment on the pre-show.

Who will come out on top inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California? What surprises await fans at the PPV? 

Read on for a preview of Payback, complete with match picks and a look at the latest news surrounding the event.

Potential Spoilers

Jericho is a longshot to win the U.S. title on Sunday, largely because he's poised to take another hiatus.

In a pre-WrestleMania interview with Chris Smith of Forbes, Jericho spoke about what's ahead for him. That will include focusing on his band, Fozzy.

"I think this [wrestling] run is pretty much winding down at this point," Jericho said. "It's time to take a break from wrestling and work on some of these other things that have been on the back burner and are starting to come to fruition."

Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc noted that Jericho's last scheduled WWE date is the Raw after Payback.

When Matt Hardy and brother Jeff take on Cesaro and Sheamus at Payback, the audience should be on the lookout for signs of his "broken" character's re-emergence. 

Matt created buzz when he was with Impact Wrestling when his wild-eyed and unhinged alter ego arose. He has not displayed that side of himself since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33.

However, he has teased several times online that the gimmick is on its way back. For example, Matt tweeted this clear reference to his broken character and Impact Wrestling:

A loss at Payback could be the catalyst for him to morph back into his broken self.

And in a sign of how weird things will get in the Orton vs. Wyatt match, Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News) that a portion of the House of Horrors bout may be taped, with the climax of the bout happening live in the ring.

That would allow WWE to incorporate any number of unusual elements, from holographic snakes to lightning shooting from Wyatt's fingertips.

Match Card

• Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
• Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
• Neville vs. Austin Aries (Cruiserweight Championship)
• Matt and Jeff Hardy vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (Raw Tag Team Championships)
• Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss (Raw Women's Championship)
• Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho (United States Championship)
• Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
• Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt (House of Horrors)

Predictions

• Amore and Cass over Gallows and Anderson.
• Rollins over Joe.
• Neville over Aries.
• Cesaro and Sheamus over The Hardys.
• Bayley over Bliss.
• Owens over Jericho.
• Reigns over Strowman.
• House of Horrors match ends in no-contest.

Top Match Previews

Bayley Fends Off the Wicked Witch

Bliss is sure to make a major impact on the Raw women's division, but she only joined the red brand a few weeks back. It's a bit early to crown her champion, especially because Bayley hasn't been giving a chance to connect with the crowd as the titleholder.

By outlasting Sasha Banks, Mickie James and Nia Jax in a Fatal 4-Way match on April 17, Bliss earned the right to face Bayley for her title in The Huggable One's hometown on Sunday.

With Payback arriving not long after that, WWE has had little time to build animosity between champion and challenger. That points to the company stretching this story out well past the PPV, which likely signals a loss for Bliss as her pursuit of the gold falters for now.

Owens vs. Jericho II

Jericho's schedule may make the outcome easy to predict, but this has to potential to be a thriller.

Owens and Jericho thrived against each other at WrestleMania 33. As good as that match was, though, it never fully tapped into the bad blood between these two men. They can amend that in the sequel.

Since joining SmackDown, Owens has begun to call himself The Face of America. He's more disdainful than ever, more focused and vicious. That's a better fit for him.

He'll get a chance to show off the character tweak in what promises to be Jericho's sendoff.

Big Dog Versus Beast

A collision of titans is likely to decide who moves on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at a later date.

Reigns will enter the battle hungry for revenge after Strowman assaulted him weeks ago and overturned an ambulance with him inside. The Monster Among Men, meanwhile, has become Raw's hottest star. His weekly acts of destruction have become the highlight of the show.

The smart move would be to elevate Strowman here by having him bowl over Reigns.

WWE, though, has been stubborn with its staunch support of The Juggernaut. Reigns rarely tastes defeat and is fresh off sending Undertaker packing. Chances are Reigns' rise continues, making Strowman collateral damage in the process.

House of Horrors

Wyatt won't get a chance to reclaim the WWE Championship he lost to Orton at WrestleMania. Instead, he will face The Viper in non-title action in a match surrounded by mystery.

Little is known about what the House of Horrors contest will look like. Judging by the direction this feud has taken, including the projected images of worms and insects invading the WrestleMania title bout, things will get weird in a hurry.

It makes most sense to give Wyatt a victory as a means to make up for his title loss to a degree. But WWE has shown little interest in committing to presenting Wyatt as a credible threat.

It's more likely we'll see a swarm of men dressed in sheep masks invade the ring than The Eater of Worlds getting a definitive win.