WWE Payback Predictions
April 30, 2017
By: Gerald Bocook of Wrestleview.com
Here’s my two cents for WWE Payback tonight in San Jose!
Roman Reigns vs. Strowman
I’m expecting Strowman to get his W here over an “injured” Roman Reigns, and we’ll see the rubber match at the next RAW PPV, or maybe at GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, GOOD LAWD! But, seriously. Braun Strowman beat the bloody hell out of Reigns and dropped an ambulance on top of him, but he’s back and ready for action in two weeks? Sigh. Sometimes, the WWE just asks you to suspend your disbelief a bit too much.
WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Well, since their match at WrestleMania wasn’t anticlimactic enough, why not have a dumb gimmick match with no stakes? I want Wyatt to win. I really, really want Wyatt to win. Wyatt needs to win. So Orton’ll win. Of course Orton wins. It’s not like a loss is going to make Bray Wyatt look even worse than he already does. And then we’ll get to see Finn Balor beat him silly leading into Summerslam. Yay.
RAW Women’s Championship, Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
Bayley retains and it’ll probably be fun to see. I expect some Sasha-nanigans leading to the finish so that Banks’ll finally decide she wants the Championship enough to put the knife in Bayley’s back (because, you know, it’s always better to screw over your friend than it is to just be cool and ask for the shot.)
United States Championship, Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho
Owens wins. And have you heard the clip of “Judas” from Fozzy? Hell yeah, he’s taking that on tour.
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
Rollins picks up the W here. What would it say about the King of Kings, the Game, the Cerebral Assassin, if his protégée picked up a victory that he wasn’t able to even when Seth Rollins had a bad wheel? I expect Rollins to have his ass handed to him after the match, though, so that Joe can stay hot and lead them into a rematch.
RAW Tag Team Championship, The Hardyz vs. Sheamus and Cesaro
Hardyz grab the win, convincingly. Make the Champions look strong, and as we slowly start to see the transition into Broken Matt Hardy, that can be the catalyst for the Championships to change hands down the line. Delightful!
Cruiserweight Championship, Neville vs. Austin Aries
Austin Aries is wasted in the Cruiserweight division. There, I said it. The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived should be in the hunt for the Intercontinental Championship, or tying it up with Styles, Nakamura, Zayn, Owens, and co on the Blue Brand. That said, if it weren’t for TJ Perkins, I think they might just pull that trigger and put the Cruiserweight Championship on A-Double. Neville has taken on all challengers and been undefeated since his return, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone on the horizon that can be the big name top-tier talent in the Cruiserweight Division that can dethrone the King of the Cruiserweights, but Neville and Perkins will make up a strong core bad-guy duo that everyone from Akira Tozowa to Noam Dar will have to contend with.
Enzo and Cass vs. The Club
Please let The Club win. Please let The Club win. Enzo and Cass don’t need the win to look good; mic work is that team’s bread ‘n butter. The Club needs to win to look strong to be challengers for the Hardyz.
Why isn’t the Intercontinental Championship being defended on at Payback? Kinda weird, don’t you think?
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