WWE Payback Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's WWE PPV.
Pre-show:
I liked them interviewing Nikki Bella on the importance of the Bryan/Brie situation.

Jesus. I will say everyone involved went all out in that match, but it was kind of a trainwreck. They got everything they could out of the premise and 3MB/Los Matadores are good workers. This just wasn't something I personally want to see a lot of. It's true I'm more into "sports entertainment" than professional wrestling at times, but I have my limits. I wonder how many people in the crowd second-guessed not going to the Blackhawks game.

Hopefully now that WWE's done with Hornswoggle vs. El Torito, Grandpa Vince will go to bed and let HHH run the rest of the show tonight.

I liked the promo to set up the added tag match. I think it should be pretty good.

I can't wait to see what Chicago thinks of Bo Dallas.

Payback:
Heyman's promo heeling the Chicago crowd was pretty good. I do think it's pretty much time to let hopes of Punk returning go.

Sheamus vs. Cesaro was pretty cool and special. Sheamus works well with the right opponents and Cesaro's just awesome. I'm not concerned about the loss for Cesaro. He should be able to rebound pretty easily.

I liked the tag match. It wasn't anything amazing or groundbreaking, but they worked pretty hard. I hope Cody and Goldust aren't thrown under a bus with their continued losses.

This is an interesting way to presumably set up Cody vs. Goldust. I hope if they are going that route, Cody rebounds with a big win.

Another solid promo from Lana.

That was a really good showing for the short time they had. Big E and Rusev still have room for improvement, but I like what I'm seeing from both of them so far.

I love Bo Dallas. What a goof.

I'm really surprised they don't have Kane fighting for the WWE Title tonight. I guess they feared a negative reaction if Bryan wasn't champion coming into the show. All in all, good segment as far as getting Kane over. I'm glad he didn't kill Bo, too. I'm a fan of Kofi, but I don't have much of a problem with him being destroyed here. He's going to need a reboot if we're going to take him seriously again.

As much as I'd like WWE to put Barrett over with taking RVD out of action, I think they can still milk Van Dam's return.

RVD vs. Barrett was pretty good. RVD's talented. It's a shame he's not motivated enough to be a bigger part of things.

I wasn't too crazy about the segment with Bryan, Brie and Stephanie, but it served its purpose. I got a kick out of them acknowledging the C.M. Punk chants.

I thought the ending was a little silly, but all in all, Cena and Wyatt tore the house down with the help of the other four men. I think Wyatt should be able to rebound from the loss. I'm guessing Cena might be moving on to feud with Kane while Bryan recovers?

Paige vs. Fox was good for the time it had, but nothing too amazing. I think both of them worked hard. The bar's just been set pretty high. Paige is still missing something before she really feels like a top Diva, but I think for her age and main roster experience, she's doing pretty well for herself.

I'll break down the main event into falls:
- That first fall was absolutely insane. The bar was set (dangerously?) high last time, but so far, they're tearing it up. It seems a little unrealistic for Reigns to have survived all that punishment, but I'm glad they're building him as a top babyface.

- Surprisingly quick second fall. I'm not a big fan of Evolution doing so much damage just to be surprised with pinfalls, but I guess WWE wants to keep them strong in presumed defeat.

- Wow. WWE really believes in The Shield after that sweep of three of the top names of the last 15 years. I'm all for pushing The Shield, but I didn't expect that big of a rub for them. So far they're living up to the lofty expectations placed upon them. I hope that continues.

More wrestling coming up.