WWE: Payback Review

CM Punk (With Paul Heyman) defeated Chris Jericho

This was the match everyone was waiting for. Jericho came out first to a decent reaction, but it was nothing compared to what Punk received from the fans. The place came unglued for the hometown hero, and loud ‘CM Punk’ chants echoed through the Allstate Arena. And the match lived up to all the expectations, as two great performers once again showed just why they call themselves ‘Best in the world’. At one point, Heyman distracted Punk which nearly cost him the match. Punk yelled ‘I don’t need your help! I’m the best in the world!’ at Heyman, and the match ended after 20 minutes when Punk gave two GTS’s to Jericho for the pin and the win. Although it was one of the best matches of the year, I was hoping for Heyman to turn on Punk.

Rating: **** ½

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the WWE tag team championships

This match wasn’t as great as I thought it would be, and The Shield proved once again how they’re a cohesive unit and the other team wasn’t. The crowd was hot for Bryan, and when Bryan got the hot tag, he took on both the members of The Shield single handedly, but inadvertently hit a Suicide Dive on Orton. Shield took control, and Orton threw Bryan in harm’s way when Reigns hit a spear on Bryan. Rollins took advantage with a foot stomp for the pin and the win. I was hoping for Orton to turn heel, but once again, that didn’t happen.

Rating: ** ¼

John Cena defeated Ryback in the Three Stages of Hell match for the WWE championship

The crowd wasn’t into the match when it began, as Ryback and Cena hit their signature moves on one another. Ryback surprisingly pinned Cena to win the first fall, while Cena came back to put Ryback through a table to get even-stevens on the falls. The third fall saw Ryback and Cena trading blows, and in the end, Cena delivered an AA to Ryback while on top of the ambulance, driving Ryback through the roof of the ambulance and into the vehicle, hence picking up the victory in the process. Payback went off the air with Cena holding the WWE title. One has to believe that this is the end of the feud between Cena and Ryback, and I’m happy about it. It was a surprisingly good bout, taking into account that it was Cena and Ryback as competitors.

Rating: ** ½

Rating of the PPV: **** (Out of 5 stars)

Yes, a four star rating, so I enjoyed what WWE put on. It was arguably one of the better PPVs in the past two years, and the return of Punk, along with some surprises victories made the PPV stand out from the rest. Hopefully, Daniel Bryan will be pushed for his scheduled feud against Cena, and the return of RVD next month would only mean that things will get interesting from now in the WWE. That’s it from us for now, as we wait for RAW to see what happens after the PPV.