Extreme Rules 2016 Review

While I enjoyed watching Payback live last month, the show left little in terms of actual storyline progression. It was very blatantly obvious that many of the matches on that card were going to get rematches at Extreme Rules. However, I had no idea that ALL the matches would. With maybe the exception of the United States Championship match, every match at Extreme Rules was a variation of a rematch from Payback. But, as we get closer to SummerSlam, these rivalries should be brought to a close around this time so we can start setting things up for the Biggest Party of the Summer. So with that, there's a lot of intrigue to see how WWE "goes extreme" this year, while also seeing how these feuds come to an end on PPV. I'll be brutally honest, I wasn't expecting much. I was actually thoroughly pleased with what I saw at Payback, so I thought there was no way WWE could top themselves by doing the matches again. The result was about what I expected. The matches were collectively good (with the exception of one or two main event matches) and did keep me entertained for 3 hours. This is a pattern that's been occurring on most of the shows this year, so I can't help but feel good about the time we're in right now. It's good to be a wrestling fan, even if we still complain about everything. So here are my first impressions with Extreme Rules.

Big Cass Confronts The Dudley Boyz

Since Enzo Amore's injury, Big Cass has been keeping the momentum afloat in singles competition. That's why I love that tag team. Either one could be injured and they're so popular that they won't lose a hint of momentum. Anyways, this was a pretty basic formula. The Dudley Boyz come out to cut a generic heel promo, prompting Cass to come out and beat them up. That's what happened and it worked fairly well. I was just hoping Enzo would've been cleared to compete, since it was in their home state of New Jersey. But overall, a fun enough segment to open the Kickoff Show.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin

This wasn't a bad match, technically. I still have a number of issues. First, they really should be doing more with Corbin. Give him other people to work with and have him dominate. Build him up as the future big man to watch out for. Secondly, the No Disqualification stipulation really was unnecessary until the very end of the match. And thirdly, the low blow from Corbin really hurt his character in my opinion. He doesn't need to do that. Just let the guy be a dominant heel. Using a chair would've helped a lot more than doing a more cowardly heel tactic. Now that Corbin has beaten Ziggler on PPV, they should move him away from this feud and have him do something else that's much more interesting.

Tornado Tag Team Match: The Club vs. The Usos

The opener really benefited from the stipulation. Things have gotten so personal between The Usos and The Club the last month or so that having a standard tag match wouldn't have felt right. The action was very back and forth but the right decision was made with this one. The Club had to win in order to be taken seriously. I'm curious how long The Club will go without challenging for the WWE Tag Team Championships and I'm wondering if fans will come back to cheering for The Usos if they kept their distance from their cousin.

United States Championship Match: Kalisto vs. Rusev

While Kalisto was able to get some of his innovative offense in this match, the story here was how dominant Rusev's offense was on Kalisto's back. Targeting it throughout the week, it really played well into a match with solid psychology. And when Rusev hit the Accolade on Kalisto, I cringed at the angle of it. In fact, he should make that his version of the Accolade from here on out. It takes a classic signature and puts on a twist on it that feels like a signature for Rusev. And now let's see if they make Rusev a transitional champion or if they'll try and give him a solid push with this belt.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. The Vaudevillains

With how impressive the tag team division was, I was really looking forward to this match. But I'll be honest and say I was the tiniest bit underwhelmed. The match wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything overly impressive either. The idea to have Xavier Woods wrestle the match was enjoyable, since he's so underutilized in terms of wrestling nowadays. But this was pretty much a "paint by numbers" type of tag match. It probably could have benefited from a gimmick match or having the titles change hands to give it that extra spark.

Fatal 4-Way Match for Intrcontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

And the award for Match of the Night goes to this match! From the start, the action was fast and furious, with tons of exchanges between the multiple rivalries. Admittedly, a match like this is very spot heavy, but it's still enjoyable if the components are right. This match had some tremendous components and I was on the edge of my seat throughout. I honestly didn't know who was going to walk away with the belt. I couldn't predict it and that's how it should be. I'm really liking where things are going for the IC belt right now. Give us a few more classics like this one, and this title we've declared dead in the water could have its value restored just like that. Keep it up guys!

Asylum Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

If it wasn't for the thumbtacks at the end of this match, this would have been one of the most disastrous main event matches I've ever seen. When they announced this match, I got nervous because it seemed like something straight out of early 2000s WCW. This would have worked as a normal cage match, the weapons weren't a necessity. It was just so routine to watch. They climb the cage, pull down a weapon, and use the weapon. Lather, rinse, repeat. The fact this went on for over 20 minutes before a really important spot happened, especially with these two men attached, is an absolute sin and everyone should be ashamed of themselves. The thumbtacks will probably make this match memorable to some people, but I'd honestly be very happy if we never see another Asylum match again.

Submission Match for WWE Women's Championship: Charlotte vs. Natalya

Having this match follow the Asylum match really hurt the momentum for this show. I've never been huge on the submission match already, and these two women (who can normally have really good matches together) had a very boring match. The ending really hurt everything about this. Having Ric Flair banned from ringside should have been Charlotte's big chance to prove why she's Women's Champion and can do stuff on her own. Instead, they have Dana Brooke come down to ringside, aligning herself with Charlotte. UGH!!!! THAT'S NOT EVEN REMOTELY HOW YOU SAVE CHARLOTTE'S CHARACTER!!!!! Done, just done. Charlotte is a lost cause thanks to the WWE booking team and until they can either change her character or have someone take that belt off her, the Women's division will continue to be in jeopardy.

Extreme Rules Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

This match was really good, but I definitely enjoyed their match at Payback a lot more. There were some very good spots here and there, but things really didn't click until the last few minutes when The Club and The Usos interfered. I'm intrigued to see where things go for AJ next, as he's put on some incredible WWE Championship matches in the last 2 months and has come up short. As for Reigns, he's continuing to impress, despite the fans hating his guts, and hopefully that'll morph into a full-on heel turn. And in conclusion, SETH FREAKING ROLLINS!!!!! That's right everyone, HE'S BACK! How is the landscape of this new era going to change now that The Man is back? We'll find out soon enough, but talk about ending the show on a high note and a cliffhanger. I'm so excited to see what happens next.


Final Thoughts: With the exception of the Asylum match and the Women's Championship match, Extreme Rules really delivered some great action. The midcard is really thriving in delivering short but sweet matches, while the higher up matches go for that "big fight" feel. The Intercontinental and WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches are worth the price of admission and the return of Seth Rollins really has my anticipation levels cranked to an 11 as we head into SummerSlam season. Recommended for those willing to sit through 2 boring matches so they can enjoy the first 4 matches and the main event.


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Top 5 Favorite Extreme Rules Matches

You know who I am and what I do, so this shouldn't have been a surprise. With one week to go until Extreme Rules, it's time to look at 5 of my favorite matches from past Extreme Rules events. The criteria for this one was simple: choose 5 matches from 5 different events that have held up over the years, not just because of the stars involved, but also because of the gimmick matches that were involved. Without further ado, here's my Top 5 Favorite Extreme Rules Matches.


Number 5: Sheamus vs. Triple H (Extreme Rules 2010)

While it might seem like a strange choice at first, the Street Fight actually told a great story for Triple H and Sheamus. The match was originally supposed to open the show, but was delayed after Sheamus attacked The Game backstage. With nerve damage in his arms and neck, the remainder of their official match was met with tons of psychology, focusing on the injury. It was a great way to play to Triple H's ability to not say die against the dominant offense from Sheamus. They flubbed Sheamus' push at WrestleMania in his match against Triple H, but this match made up for it by having Sheamus injuring Triple H and keeping him off TV for nearly a year.

Number 4: The Shield vs. Evolution (Extreme Rules 2014)

From someone who is a huge fan of the Ruthless Aggression Era, this was a faction war that was the stuff dreams were made of. This was certainly a passing of the torch feud that showed all 3 Shield members could hang in the main event against guys like Orton, Batista, and Triple H. All 6 men had moments where they could shine, but I'd say the biggest highlight was that dive Seth Rollins took. Looking back, that was really the moment a lot of us should've realized he was going to be the breakout star from The Shield. But WWE was probably focusing too much on making sure Roman Reigns looked strong while making the pinfall. Go figure.

Number 3: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (Extreme Rules 2011)

I've always been partial to ladder matches and the moments they can bring us, and this was one that I knew would be special. After Edge's shocking retirement, the World Heavyweight Championship was vacated until Extreme Rules. Del Rio and Christian would have a ladder match to see who would be worthy of replacing Edge as champion. Yes, Christian winning was obvious, but that wasn't the point. I had been a fan of Christian since first seeing him in TNA in 2007, so seeing him win the World Heavyweight title was amazing. To have his best friend Edge there, was even better. While it sucked he lost the championship a week later to Randy Orton, I like to focus on living in that amazing moment that Christian had at Extreme Rules.

Number 2: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho (Extreme Rules 2012)

I loved the match Punk and Jericho had at WrestleMania, but the story was really demanding a brawl between the two, instead of a technical masterpiece. We got that necessary brawl at Extreme Rules in a Chicago Street Fight. The crowd was into every moment of it and it's one of the best Street Fights I've ever seen thanks to the attention to detail Punk and Jericho had at mapping the match out. From wearing jeans to the ring, to having Punk's family at ringside, to the amount of weapons they used, to the amount of reversals, signature moves, and nearfalls they had throughout the match, this match was pure awesomeness held by two of my absolute favorites in Punk's hometown.

Number 1: Edge vs. Jeff Hardy...then Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (Extreme Rules 2009)

Clearly I have a bias for all things ladder matches and CM Punk, so combining them had to be my favorite moment from Extreme Rules. At the inaugural Extreme Rules event, two ladder match icons had a really great match for the World Heavyweight Championship. But the story here was what happened after the match. While Jeff Hardy celebrated, CM Punk ran down, cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and won the World Heavyweight Championship. It was a great surprise to see the beginning of Punk's heel turn and the beginning of a fantastic rivalry that highlighted the summer of 2009. The match with Hardy and Edge was great, but the moment that followed the match cemented it in the annals of history as something worth remembering for all-time.

Are there any that I'm forgetting? Is there one on this list that you think isn't deserving of a top spot? Well, let me know in the comments and also suggest what type of wrestling countdown you'd like to see me do next.


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Top 8 Favorite Judgment Day Matches

Pretty much everything I said about past Payback and Backlash PPVs can be used for the Judgment Day and Extreme Rules PPVs as well. Naturally, if you put 2 and 2 together with WWE's calendar year, you know I'm going to review my favorite matches from both Judgment Day and Extreme Rules in the coming weeks. The original concept of Judgment Day was to carry over from the fallout of Backlash, which was the fallout of WrestleMania. The only difference during the Brand Extension days was that it was primarily for SmackDown talent, while Backlash was for RAW. But in many ways, yeah, this was the "final chapter" in a lot of feuds that had started months ago heading into Mania. That concept alone should have a lot of fans bored, but there are a surprising number of instant classics that took place at Judgment Day over the 11 years it existed. And I'm going to give you my 8 favorite matches from 8 different Judgment Day events today.


Number 8: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (Judgment Day 2009)

Jericho and Mysterio had a wonderful trilogy of matches in 2009 that temporarily restored credibility to the Intercontinental Championship. The match at Judgment Day I think is the weakest of the three, but it set a good standard for them to try and top. The psychology and storytelling in this match was how Jericho was determined to make sure Mysterio didn't hit the 619. If he could kill that momentum and crush the fans' spirits, he'd have succeeded in his own mind. Little subtleties like that are the reason Jericho has consistently been one of my all-time favorites, but especially when he gets to be the heel. This match was thought out and performed very well, leaving the fans in Chicago happy with the show-stealer they received.

Number 7: Chris Benoit vs. Finlay (Judgment Day 2006)

This one's purely out of nostalgia. My first experience with pro wrestling happened on a 2006 episode of SmackDown. The match I saw was a Chris Benoit/Finlay match. They tore the house down and kept me completely enthralled with their ring work. I was hooked from that moment on. So seeing these two go at it for a lengthy period of time during Judgment Day 2006 was a real treat. This is a match for fans of wrestling, filled with technical moves and psychology. A very rough and physical match, Benoit and Finlay went out and showcased the "sports" aspect of sports entertainment. I watch this match with a smile, because it reminds me of what got me into the world of professional wrestling in the first place. I hope that match from SmackDown finds its way to WWE Network sometime down the road, because I'd love to get reacquainted with it.

Number 6: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Judgment Day 2008)

As far as story was concerned, this match served as the stepping stone for one of the biggest rivalries of 2008, if not THE biggest. The equation for why I enjoyed this one is simple. Put my number 1 and 2 favorite performers in the ring together and have them go at it. The result will be a match that leaves me thrilled. Even matches that would be considered simply average get a boost in quality when you have guys like Shawn and Chris in the ring together. This match didn't even need Jericho's Intercontinental Championship on the line to make it pop. The story was just that interesting heading in, but it was only the beginning to a long list of memorable encounters these two had in 2008.

Number 5: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (Judgment Day 2001)

As far as a 2 out of 3 falls match goes, I thought Angle and Benoit really brought it. It's hard for two performers like them to have a bad match and they'd really found a nice rhythm by this point. Both men had regular finishers and submission finishers, so having the first fall be pinfall only and the second being submission only was a good idea. The ladder match as the third fall feels a little out of place for their competitive rivalry, but makes sense with the Benoit stealing Angle's gold medals story they used for this match. Little nuances they threw throughout the match really helped as well. From Edge and Christian helping their buddy Angle (setting up a moment later in the night when Benoit joined a team with Chris Jericho so he could get his revenge on Edge and Christian), to sequences of Angle and Benoit trying to duplicate each other's signatures, this match really delivered in action and pacing, told a solid story, and showcased why Angle and Benoit are two of the all-time greats of the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras.

Number 4: Edge vs. Kurt Angle (Judgment Day 2002)

A real turning point int he careers of both men at the time. A star on the rise, Edge really needed a huge victory to cement his status, and Angle was just the type of performer to help give Edge the rub. Add a stipulation where the loser would have his head shaved bald, and you had a match that guaranteed people would be watching because the stakes of humiliation were at an all-time high. The action really delivered, with momentum swinging like a pendulum, tons of signature moves being hit, and kickouts happening constantly. Edge came out victorious and it really helped validate his status towards the upper mid-card, semi-main event level at the time. But the real defining moment here is that it brought us the bald Kurt Angle we know today. The baldness brought an end to his goofier days and unleashed a more aggressive side to him. And for me, I noticed that a lot of my favorite Kurt Angle matches occurred after he got his head shaved. Food for thought, but I might have this match to thank for that.

Number 3: The Rock vs. Triple H (Judgment Day 2000)

I'm not the biggest fan of the Iron Man match purely on concept. It really takes 2 performers I'm actually invested in to make the hour feel worth it, as well as how they book the falls in the match. The pacing for it really makes the timing go by. I'll give the most credit, however, to The Rock and Triple H. Those men really brought out the best in each other around this time and were perfect opponents at the time. If I had one little critique, I'm not a fan of the overbooking. The Shawn Michaels as ref factor is nearly non-existent throughout. Triple H doesn't want the McMahons to interfere so he can settle this man to man, only for them to interfere with only a few minutes left in the match (or maybe him saying that was a ruse, I couldn't tell). And the Undertaker returning and debuting the biker gimmick is a fun moment for any Taker fans, but really diminishes the end result of a match that was working so well for 59 minutes. Other than that, it's one of the stronger examples of the Iron Man match that combined both sports and entertainment into an hour of pure fun.

Number 2: John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (Judgment Day 2005)

There must have been something in JBL that made him want to bring a little extra something around the time of Judgment Day, because he put on bloody, gruesome main event matches for two years in a row. His I Quit match with John Cena was lacking in story, but made up in the action category. The subtext for the match was that in JBL's mind, saying "I Quit" means you give your soul to somebody. At the time, it was virtually impossible to imagine one of them would say it, so it added a lot of suspense to what was happening. The physicality in their spots were really inventive and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of buckets that Cena bled. It's freaking disgusting, but in that awesome kind of way. For anyone that was disappointed with the level in quality their WrestleMania 21 match was lacking, this match more than made up for it.

Number 1: Eddie Guerrero vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (Judgment Day 2004)

This match had all the brutality that the JBL/Cena match has (I mean, look at Guerrero after that chair shot. Absolutely brutal!), but has a deeper, more personal story attached. JBL targeted Eddie's Latino heritage in some very racially insensitive promos and vignettes, attacked Eddie's family, culminating with his mother suffering a heart attack. Things couldn't get more bitter between these two if they tried. This match beautifully and brutally showed why Eddie deserved to be WWE Champion, displaying a "never say die" heart that the fans had to appreciate. It also showed how far JBL was willing to go to get the WWE Championship, stooping to all kinds of low, dirty tactics. The blood more than makes up for the DQ finish, which I'm not normally a fan of. The DQ in this instance helped show just how much these two men hated each other and promised that the feud would continue. JBL might've won the fight on a technicality, but Guerrero won something much more important. He regained a level of honor and pride as he stood over JBL a bloody mess and still WWE Champion. An absolute classic to remind us why Eddie was one of the absolute best.

Are there any that I'm forgetting? Is there one on this list that you think isn't deserving of a top spot? Well, let me know in the comments and also suggest what type of wrestling countdown you'd like to see me do next.


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Payback 2016 Review

I hadn't been to a WWE show live in more than 7 years, so to be part of one that was not only a PPV, but with a Chicago crowd, I knew I was in for something special. After a historic WrestleMania that fell a little flat on a wrestling standpoint, Payback was here to give us a lot of that quality ring work that we were wishing for at Mania. On top of that, this PPV was marketed with the theme of being the first PPV in a new era of WWE. The younger stars were finally coming up the ranks and at the forefront of the match card. This event could be a huge deal if they played their cards right. And the result was good wrestling, but not much to offer in the realm of storylines. It was obvious most of these matches would get a rematch at Extreme Rules in the end of May, so we weren't going to get a whole bunch of conflict resolution in these matches. But I didn't really mind that when I was sitting in the crowd, enjoying my time. When I got home and re-watched it on PPV with an open mind, that's when the nitpicking started. But again, for the most part, it's just nitpicking. This is still a real good event from beginning to end if you're a fan of quality matches. If you're about the spectacle and the escalation of storylines, this probably isn't the event for you. If you like both, like I do, you'll still have a great time with Payback. So let's see what they got right and wrong at the event.


Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

I'm a little concerned at how they're treating Baron Corbin already. Not only was his debut PPV match bumped to the Kickoff show, but it was also a losing effort. That's not the way he should be built up. He dominated the entire buildup, so having Ziggler sneak the victory seemed a bit odd. I mean, I'm not surprised WWE would book it that way, I just wish they wouldn't have. There's way too many NXT guys who have had tainted careers since coming over to the main roster and I don't want Corbin being one of them. He won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, make something out of him other than a big guy who jobs to the stars. Otherwise, not a bad match and the crowd was really into rooting for Ziggler and booing Corbin.

United States Championship Match: Kalisto vs. Ryback

I was absolutely shocked at how good this match was. You wouldn't think the two styles would mesh, but there's something that just works when they fight each other. Ryback definitely does a few more risks when he's facing off against Kalisto and he had some great heel tactics to piss off the Chicago crowd, including an entrance that completely mocked CM Punk. Kalisto always impresses with his offense and this match was a nice surprise in quality. Although, I do wonder what the plan is for Ryback if they keep having him lose to Kalisto.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. The Vaudevillains

I was really looking forward to seeing two of my all-time favorite NXT tag teams go at it in the WWE, but it just wasn't meant to be. The big story with this match is what happened to Enzo Amore. It was beyond scary seeing him suffer that concussion live. When you understood just how legitimately hurt he was, there's part of you that fears the worse. Thankfully, he was able to move and breathe, and was eventually discharged from the hospital. I wish Enzo a speedy recovery and hope to see him back doing what he loves real soon. There's not a whole lot else to critique on the match. The crowd was really behind Enzo and Big Cass, and really lit up when The New Day came out, so it's a shame something with so much buzz had to come to a sudden end like that.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Since Kevin and Sami are, in my opinion, the two best workers right now in WWE, this had show-stealer written all over it before they even locked up in the ring. The problem early on was that fans were still shaken up about what happened to Enzo, that it took a few minutes to get into their match. But once we were into it, we were hooked. These guys showed why they are two of the brightest stars in this new era and put on a spectacular match. I actually could've seen them fight for another 10 minutes, I was THAT entertained. It's perfect storytelling, with Zayn the underdog we love to root for and Owens being the best heel in the business right now. This match was so good, that we had the contents of its story spill over to the next match when KO decided to stick around and do commentary.

Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Cesaro

I was expecting Cesaro to be good here, but I seriously underestimated The Miz here. With Maryse in his corner, Miz has been able to breathe new life into a very stale heel gimmick. They put on a really good match for the IC belt that combined quality wrestling with overbooked shenanigans. When Kevin Owens was on commentary, Sami Zayn came out and attacked him. Their action spilled into the action in the ring, cause The Miz to take advantage and roll up Cesaro to retain his title. This obviously sets things up for a Fatal 4-Way at Extreme Rules and I think the combination works really well with these 4 guys.

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

This was a dream match for yours truly. Jericho is one of my all-time favorite performers, definitely in my top 3. And Ambrose has been a favorite all the way back to his Shield days. To see them go at it live was a win-win for me. Whoever won, I was sure the match would be good. And the match was pretty good, but it did drag on a little longer than the crowd would have liked. I'm sure this was the match they had go longer to make up for the incident with Enzo, but something wasn't clicking with the crowd. We weren't enthralled from beginning to end, but were gassed in some sequences in the match. A good effort from both men, but could have used a little fine tuning. Glad to see they let Ambrose get the win here, as he REALLY needs to get some traction going for his character in terms of the win column.

Women's Championship Match: Charlotte vs. Natalya

We've seen this match up quite often in the last few years, even with having Ric Flair and Bret Hart in their respective corners. The crowd went crazy when Bret came out and I'm really glad he got that reception, considering this was his first major WWE appearance since fighting cancer. The ring-work was fine throughout, but this match will be best remembered for the ending. We had a callback to the Montreal Screwjob, and it was clever for them to get Charles "Lil' Naitch" Robinson involved, but that isn't even remotely what people wanted to see happen. I know there's some that say "Charlotte's a heel, so this is what a heel should do, right?" But the big problem is that we're in a state where the Women's division should be putting on the most amazing quality of wrestling matches in the world and an ending like this sucks the life out of the entire effort. Charlotte and Natalya are both better than this and I'm looking forward to a rematch at Extreme Rules, cause there is bound to be some stipulation added to make sure a crap ending like this doesn't happen again.

Mr. McMahon Announces Who is in Control of Monday Night RAW

This segment was in a really bad spot on the show. It had to follow a crappy match ending and was right before a main event match where their golden boy was about to be booed out of the building. On top of that, this was just boring. They talked way too long and the outcome was the worst possible. We were promised a decision was going to be made between Shane and Stephanie, and we were given the compromise of both of them equally running Monday Night RAW. How deflating, right? Do they even know where they're going with this? Shane got a nice pop though, and the crowd loved to hate Stephanie. So at least they got that part right.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

I've been a fan of AJ's since 2007 when I first got into wrestling, so it was a dream come true to see him wrestle live. That being said, I didn't have high hopes for this match. With that in mind, this match was amazing. I was really surprised at their chemistry, playing up the big guy vs. little guy theme that had been scattered throughout the show. That spot at the announcer's table was incredible to see. There are only two gripes I have with the match. The first is that they really didn't give us the answers we were looking for with The Bullet Club. The other problem was that Reigns kicked out of nearly everything AJ threw at him, but AJ couldn't kick out of one spear from Reigns. Minor gripes for an otherwise awesome way to end a fun show. The fans have totally embraced that they are going to boo Roman Reigns and the WWE has decided to just go with it and have him beat every one of our favorites until we "have" to like him. The story here is that Reigns retained his belt, but the fans cared more about AJ's performance. I'm excited to see what comes out of this next as they build towards a rematch at Extreme Rules.


Final Thoughts: Payback was a really enjoyable PPV throughout, and that isn't a bias talking. Yes, I saw the event live and in person, but even if I hadn't, I'd give this a Highly Recommended. With the exception of the incident with Enzo Amore, the show was nonstop action. True, there was little long term development that happened, but the wrestling quality made this possibly the best transitional PPV we've had in years. The Chicago crowd always brings out the best in WWE, and this event was no exception. Definitely worth checking out.


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