I just recently watched Shawn-Vader from SummerSlam '96 so this is cracking me up right now.

Nothing screams new era like a title match built around the McMahons.

This is officially one of the worst shows I've ever seen at this point.

 

Heel Roman Reigns is going to be something really special.

If they really wanted to get him over as a heel, they would have just left this on a countout finish.

 

Well I fully expect them to fuck up the booking but Roman has a totally unique presence as a heel.

This match was really great until this restart business. Just loved it. Working it start and slow early with AJ on point in the small man game while Reigns was great with his staggered selling and chasing. Then we need to use the world title match to put over the family. Fuck.

Nothing screams new era like a title match built around the McMahons.

 

Well I mean the Attitude Era was largely built around a McMahon in some form so why not make the New Era the same thing

 

This might a new era in terms of in ring work and guys in the ring but in terms of finishes not much has changed

The wrestling in this match has been really good though.

Ha they couldn't even wait till tomorrow to start mcmahonmania.

Reigns has great heel facial expressions.

Ok, the slow-mo replay on that mid-air Superman punch was pretty boss.

The moment when Roman looked over after the low blow as Stephanie walked out, I genuinely felt sorry for him. Genuinely.

 

It's like he was looking over and his face said "I know, I'm being totally fucked by booking and there's nothing I can do about it".

 

This show has made me sad.

This could very well be a legit MOTY without the shenanigans. Fantastic chemistry and a great spotlight for both of them. Love how Reigns was booked here as well.

This finishing stretch has been laid out really nicely.

These guys had the crowd (and me) hooked despite all the bullshit. That's saying something. Great performance by both.

Even with the family nonsense, that was a great match. Nonetheless bitter at what it could've been without it.

They put together some really nice near falls there. Totally suckered me in. I love that.

AJ Styles, WWE Main Event Run lives another 3 weeks!

They put together some really nice near falls there. Totally suckered me in. I love that.

 

Absolutely bought a couple of those Styles near falls.

So Styles vs Reigns at Extreme Rules now. So I guess the Finn Balor to RAW speculation will continue for another month

Reigns > Four Pillars

That main event was outstanding, even with the overbooking. It would have been better without it, but it was still so awesome with it.

 

I am pretty forgiving of the extra tricks, considering that it was all leading to something, and there was a rematch announced with a date by the end of the show. That's booking with purpose. I felt the same way about the finish to Cesaro-Miz -- great stuff clearly building to an eventual Cesaro title win.

 

The show wasn't perfect, but those are two huge positives.

I really liked the main event (I'm a sucker for overbooking if it's done rarely and with meaning) and the show as a whole. I LOVED Owens/Zayn and the ensuing brawl during the IC Championship match. I haven't watched much WWE in 2016 but this show was just really fun.

Meltz seems to be implying the Steph/Shane thing was a panic over the ratings. I doubt that was the original plan

Quick thoughts:

 

Corbin-Ziggler - This was good. Ziggler was annoying but I thought Corbin worked hard. The finish was dumb & the wrong guy won though.

 

Ryback-Kalisto - Great match. Loved the near fall escalation from Kalisto's pin attempts & their were some awesome spots in this. Kalisto's lucky Ryback caught him on that springboard corkscrew plancha.

 

Enzo/Cass-Vaudevillians- This was going good until the scary Enzo injury. I was terrified for a few minutes. The reports seem positive & I hope he's okay.

 

KO-Zayn - Great match. Didn't like the cannonball/suplex/clothesline no selling spot, but the last few minutes were amazing. Loved the apron powerbomb tease & the finish.

 

Cesaro-Miz - Great match. Cesaro's arm selling was iffy but I can live with that somewhat cause the guy has a superman gimmick. The interweaving booking with the Ko-Zayn brawl & madness leading to finish was awesome. I loved that for it's uniqueness. Plus, Miz is improving, a good heel, & should keep the belt for awhile longer.

 

Jericho-Ambrose - Both guys aren't very good, especially Jericho, but I thought this match was structured well enough to where I though it was good. Liked Ambrose fighting out of the Walls of Jericho, the teased announce table payback spot, & the finish. Jericho was pretty bad in this though. His age is really showing.

 

Charlotte-Natty - Match is decent but the least of their series. Liked Natty's leg selling but Charlotte looked pretty bad in the match. She's a good heel character but her execution & sloppiness is distracting at times. There was a lot of that in this match. The finish was of course terrible & stupid. Only good thing about was the continuity of Charles Robinson being the ref to screw Natty referencing 99 WCW Lil Naitch gimmick.

 

AJ-Roman - Incredible match that is definitely my MOTY without the overbooking. The restarts hurt the flow & pissed me off. However, the work in this was so good that they brought me back in with the near falls down the stretch. Amazing performances from Roman & AJ.

 

Overall, Payback was a very good show but was hurt with some silly overbooking throughout the card.

I enjoyed the show despite the flaws and overbooking. Ryback/Kalisto was great and the big guy really served well as a base and saved Kalistos grits on that second dive. Enzo getting hurt really sucked, Owens and Zayn were great to bring the crowd back. I enjoyed that. Didnt like the finish for Cesaro/Miz but its a storyline progressor for the IC. Jericho/Ambrose was fine, im not a fan of either guy.

 

 

I enjoyed Nattie/Charlotte despite the shit finish. They definitely had some bumps in the road but overall solid. Reigns/Styles was terrific even with the overbooked shenanigans. Told a good story, it felt like a prizefight early on and the overall work and progression was great. Id have it slightly behind Nakamura/Zayn in MOTY status but thats only because of the ancillary stuff. I cant wait for them to tear it up at Extreme Rules. They have wonderful chemistry and are both great workers.