WWE Payback Reax

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw-brand WWE Network special.

-- Kickoff:
- Sasha on the panel:
I keep thinking we're in for Sasha turning on Bayley. I mean, she can only do so much with Bayley as the top face.

It's going to be important for Alexa to show she can hang with the Raw wrestlers.

- Enzo/Cass vs. Club:
Anderson and Gallows are growing on me. I think a lot of my feelings on them were due to hype backlash.

Nice tag work from the veteran heels.

Fine match so far.

Formulaic, but good within that frame.

I like Enzo selling the beating.

Not bad at all!

- Hardys/G. Truth:
Wow talk about an Attitude Era reunion.

Hmmmmm.... could we be in for a Golden Truth heel turn? It would be fresh, and R-Truth was an AMAZING heel in 2011.

- Sheamus/Cesaro:
How do you not have something of a plan against the Hardys? You're trying to win the titles against the legends. There's no telling how many Hardy matches there are to see on WWE Network.

These two can be pretty fun when they're allowed to let loose.

Pretty fun overall.

- MizTV:
Miz vs. person who was a big deal in a different company has been done a LOT now.

Miz can score some pretty good hits in on the mic.

Wow. Balor has some pretty big goals!

Interesting takeaway there. I expect Miz will keep Finn away from the title picture.

Fine ending.

-- Payback:
- Owens vs. Y2J:
Wow, Jericho might have a pretty quick night. He's got a run with Fozzy to get ready for, after all.

Two great athletes here.

I'm loving this already.

They're going pretty hard already.

Nice psychology on display.

Jericho's a really solid worker, and Owens is game to match him.

NICE way to get out of the Walls.

Jericho's PISSED.

I love heel Jericho.

NICE coutner to the powerbomb.

I love Owens not being able to stretch because of the work earlier.

WWWHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT??????? Didn't see that one coming AT ALL.

Very surprising ending. I assume Owens gets it back Tuesday night to send Jericho back on the road.

- Neville vs. Aries:
Already impressed by both men here.

Glad to see these two getting some good time here instead of working Kickoff again.

OH MY GOD that dropkick to the ropes was brutal.

Neville has totally snapped since returning from injury.

This is pretty good. They match up well.

Nice action all around.

Good counter to Aries' finisher.

Don't count Neville out!!

NIIIIIIIICE setup into the Last Chancery.

Ehhhhhhh I guess I'm OK with that to set up a third (and hopefully final) round.

- Hardys vs. Sheamus/Cesaro:
Good start here.

I'm liking this so far.

Crazy to see Matt and Jeff still doing this in 2017.

Sheamus and Cesaro make a good physical duo. They complement each other quite well.

Jeff just lost a tooth!!

Man Jeff still pulls out the crazy.

Pretty fun work going on here.

Cesaro's no slouch in the crazy high-flying department himself.

Hahahaha Jeff with the assist with that rope!

I'm loving this. Pandemonium!

That was a great ending! Both sides did good stuff.

- Post-match:
OH MY!!!!

I GUESS I'm OK with the heel turn, although this might mean we miss out on Revival vs. Sheamus/Cesaro for now. That match could be incredible. I assume Goldust and Truth get their asses kicked so the Europeans can get another crack at the champs.

- Bayley vs. Alexa:
Bayley is dominating in the early going.

Alexa has her work cut out for her here!

I like Bliss' mean streak. She has to make the most of a frame that small.

Nice stuff now that Bayley's back on offense.

This is pretty solid!

A Bayley to Belly from up there would have been BIG.

I'm liking this a pretty good deal.

NICE clean ending. Great work from both ladies.

- House of Horrors:I have been looking forward to this for some time now. I'm all for something new and different.

WWE Studios presents?

WWE used to have In Your House PPVs, but this is something very different.

Oh shit creepy baby dolls!

Good thing this house is already in such bad shape, because I don't think it's going to be a place for Bray to spend his nights off the road after this.

This is silly in the best possible way.

Bray should pay his light bill and do some cleaning every once in a while.

Damn. Bray's just going to jack his limo like that? I guess it's faster than that tractor.

- Rollins vs. Joe:
Seth has to be careful. Joe's a killer.

I love seeing these two guys raise the bar.

Rollins always gives every little bit of energy he has. He doesn't go down without a fight.

Mostly good so far, but I do wonder if Seth could hold back a little. It strains credibility of the bad knee for him to fly so much.

Crazy to think we're seeing this on a WWE PPV.

Joe's not just here to win. He's here to cripple.

I love Joe's killer instinct. He looks lethal out there.

Samoan Submission Machine at work!

Rollins has some serious guts to fight through all this.

God, I was cringing for the potential buckle bomb after what it did to Sting and Balor.

Seth's in incredible shape.

Good story of Seth not being able to capitalize on the bad leg.

Not a bad ending. Hopefully they absolutely tear things up at Extreme Rules. I think they could have a hell of a war then.

- House of Horrors, Part II:
Man, how far away was this house?

OOOOHHHHH Randy must have found a portal or something at the house.

Fun stuff here.

Man! Randy's got enemies from all over WWE.

Wow. Randy almost beat three people there, in a match his opponent got to pick!

Hey wait. How are Smackdown names on this show anyway? Kurt needs to invest in better security.

Not bad at all!

- Reigns vs. Braun:
Oh man. This should be something else.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Roman's got some pretty good fight in him, too.

GOOD GAWD what a counter to the Driveby. I'm loving this already,

Braun Strowman is an absolute BEAST.

I love the "Roman's not over" bullshit when the entire crowd is chanting about him.

This is a lot of fun. Pure carnage!

Braun's like a damn bear out there.

Roman's trying, but he's got his work cut out for him beating someone that monstrous.

This is great.

How are they going to top this at Extreme Rules!?

That countered spear killed Roman. He's fighting valiantly, but Braun's just too tough.

LOVING this. This is how you tell a story of attrition.

NICE ending. Both men took one hell of a beating. They made the right move to make Roman have to earn his way back into the title picture.

- Post-match:
Strowman won the match and he's STILL going to kill this dude.

It's a shame the crowd is ruining this like they ruin so much else.

This is pretty cool other than the fans. I hope they change the audio at some point.

Roman took one hell of a beating.

Pretty good overall, idiot fans notwithstanding.

More wrestling coming up.