What’s the story?
According to Cageside Seats, it’s highly possible that there will be no championship changing hands at Payback.
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If no title change takes place at Payback, it will be the first PPV since Survivor Series 2016 where no title has changed hands. Normally, every WWE PPV is marked with at least one title change.
It is not known as of yet what the main event of Payback will be, but it is rumoured that Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns will close the show. The WWE Championship should logically have been the show closer, but WWE decided not to make the “House Of Horrors” match for the WWE championship.
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Unsurprisingly, the Universal championship is not being defended as Brock Lesnar is the champion. He is expected to defend the title next around June or July, with his rumoured opponent being Braun Strowman.
As of now, the titles being defended at Payback are the RAW Tag Team Championship, RAW Women’s Championship, United States Championship, and the Cruiserweight Championship.
The Intercontinental Championship is now on RAW with Dean Ambrose, and it is definitely surprising that he doesn’t have a match on the card against The Miz, who he has been feuding with since joining the red brand in the “Superstar Shake-up”
The heart of the matter
Looking at the nature of the storylines, it would make sense that no title changes hands. The Hardy Boyz just won the RAW Tag Team titles at WrestleMania, and Bayley will be defending the Women’s Championship in her hometown of San Jose. As for the Cruiserweight Championship, Neville is still on a red-hot run and it doesn’t appear to be the right time to knock off The King Of The Cruiserweights from his throne.
As for the United States title, it goes without saying that Kevin Owens will mostly win and take the title to SmackDown Live since Chris Jericho will be taking a hiatus soon.
However, don’t be surprised if Bayley loses at Payback. WWE seems to enjoy watching superstars lose in their hometowns, with examples of the past year being Sasha Banks at Hell In A Cell at Boston, Charlotte Flair and Cedric Alexander on an episode of RAW in Charlotte, NC.
However, Bayley is rumoured to be penciled in for a program with Sasha Banks at Summerslam where Sasha will finally be a heel. This would require Bayley to keep the Women’s Championship until August, which would mean that she will be going through a series of opponents until then.
What’s next?
Payback is this coming Sunday, and it will be interesting to see if WWE decides not to change any title.
Author’s Take
It would arguably be the right decision to have no title changes on the show. No title changes is not necessarily a bad thing as long as the matches deliver. Match quality can always outweigh the outcome.
Right now, to keep the storylines going forward, it would be best for the current champions to retain.
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