Review for WWE Payback 2013

WWE Payback is one of the newer PPV names and finally a PPV that doesn’t just throw stipulations and their meanings out of the window (Rumour is they are thinking of getting rid of the Hell in a Cell PPV and I couldn’t approve of that more!). This PPV is actually great, which is rare for a PPV that isn’t one of the big four. That is not to say that it is perfect, but there is enough here on here to recommend and certainly including one of the definite contenders for match of the year is certainly a highlight.

However, one of the problems I do have is the main event. This is a ‘Three Stages of Hell’ match for the WWE Championship between John Cena and Ryback. Now anyone who knows me knows that the original ‘Three Stages of Hell’ match between Triple H and Stone Cold is in my Top Ten matches of all time. This was an amazing match and it seems any time that WWE try to repeat it, they fail. This one is the same.

The reason it fails is due to the types of matches included. They are Lumberjack, Tables and an Ambulance Match. Now any of these stipulations on their own would have been fine, but combined they make no sense. I always feel that with these matches the first fall should always ALWAYS be a straight up wrestling match, after that you can do whatever you want, but by having the Lumberjack match first made no sense. In fact the whole Lumberjack dynamic makes no sense (Originally this is a stipulation to keep the wrestlers in the ring for whatever reason, but there was no build to necessitate this).

The other problem is that by having the Tables match second makes the whole being put through a table look pointless. This is something that would generally end a match, but not this time, no it’s just on to the next fall. Maybe if they had made it a wrestling match, lumberjack and then tables it would have been better.

The match itself is fine, Ryback is improving and shows that with the right people he can be in a good match, but this is hardly the main event I would expect. To be honest after the second fall (not to spoil it, but they always go to the third fall) you knew exactly what was going to happen.

The Divas match between AJ and Kaitlyn is great. Both look amazing and work well in the ring. I think what makes the match more interesting was the feud going into it which was entertaining. I don’t think I’ve said that about the Divas since the days of Trish Stratus and Mickie James.

Of the rest of the PPV the World Heavyweight Championship between Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler is fine, nothing special, other than getting to look at AJ again. The US match between Kane and Dean Ambrose was fine, but nothing you would remember. The bizarre Tag Championship match between The Shield and Randy Orton/Daniel Bryan is a fine tag match, but feels more like a match you would see on Raw.

It’s at this point you’re probably thinking where is the match of the year all I need to say is:

CM PUNK VS CHRIS JERICHO

I mean I should even need to say anymore. I mean you know they will have a great match and they do and as I say it is the best match of the night and it is such a shame that they don’t have a title or a title shot to fight for. However, no matter, the match is amazing and for those who like straight up wrestling and in ring psychology then this is the match for you.

WWE Payback is certainly not the best PPV of the year, but I really did enjoy it. It actually felt like the old PPVs where you would get 2-3 strong matches along with some matches that fill up the card. Sometimes not everything has to be a five star classic, but watching this back it is certainly a PPV that I would rewatch even just for the CM Punk/Jericho or the AJ/Kaitlyn matches.