WWE Payback 2015 Preview and Predictions

Not the Mel Gibson movie. FYI he’s a bigot.

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeySplashwater, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlargh.

Curtis Axel and Macho Mandow vs. The Ascension on the pre-show

Joey:

Cosplay Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. Cosplay Road Warriors. What a time to be a wrestling fan. There’s usually a pre-show match worth checking out. This doesn’t seem like one of them.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow win.

Tim:

Get a load of this. The amount of gimmickry in this match is reaching dangerous levels. Sandow is back to impersonating and I’m back to not caring. I don’t expect this to be a hot warm-up for the show.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow win.

Tom:

Poor old Sandow. Poor old Axel, for that matter. Both of them deserve better. Maybe The Road Warriors: Fury Road will fall over or pee their pants or something and this’ll be worthwhile.

Interest Level: X/10
Prediction: Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow win.

Ryback vs. Bray Wyatt

Joey:

I’ve been watching RAW for the most part and I have ZERO memory of any interactions between Bray Wyatt and Ryback. On the bright side, this match is like a Super Bowl of guys to become completely irrelevant after feuding with Chris Jericho. Maybe Fandango will be the referee?

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins

Tim:

Bray Wyatt had another vague bone to pick with someone so here we are stuck with this match-up. I don’t care about either guy and I am almost certain this won’t be anything to write home about but I’m curious as to what this match will even be like. What’s the chemistry here? Will this end in a handshake and The Nexus getting back together?

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tom:

Such a weird match-up that I’m almost sort of interested? Except for the fact that this is one of the many things that feels like it should be on an episode of Raw. I can’t remember why they’re feuding, I assume it’s the same reason why Bray feuds with anyone (i.e. FUCK KNOWS, HE JUST NEEDS SOMETHING TO DO, NEW FACE OF FEAR ETC.)

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

King Barrett vs. Neville

Joey:

These two have very good chemistry. I’m not usually into the King of the Ring winner walking around in a crown but it has helped improve Barrett’s stock. King Bad News has to get the win here. Neville can take losses and it doesn’t hurt him as much. He’s already become a consistent member of the upper mid-card giving him credibility. I’d assume Barrett wins this match and Neville wins the Elimination Chamber match for the IC title in a few weeks.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Barrett wins.

Tim:

King Barrett really works for me. For the most part, Neville has been the main reason for me to watch Raw. I’m liking what they bring out of each other. This should be one of the more fun matches of the night.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: King Barrett wins.

Tom:

THE NORTH-EAST OF ENGLAND / NORTH-WEST OF ENGLAND FEUD MUST CONTINUE! This should be good, if not great? Am I giving Barrett too many chances to impress me? Sure, maybe. He’s usually pretty good but he might be great here.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Neville wins.

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler

Joey:

I can’t remember ever caring less about a feud than this. The last match bored me and the Kiss My Ass stuff was cringeworthy. Sheamus must be heartbroken he can’t use his new heel character in a storyline with Daniel Bryan and has to settle for months of Dolph Ziggler and his jeans jacket.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Sheamus wins.

Tim:

Kind of bummed these two don’t entertain me in their matches like I thought they would. This feud never had a chance with me though since they went straight for an ass-kissing gimmick. You would think we could move on by now but here we are. I’m also still not into Sheamus.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Sheamus wins.

Tom:

Zigman’s wearing eyeliner now, cool.

Interest Level: 2/10
Prediction: Sheamus wins.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi for the Divas Championship

Joey:

I like these two. Their match last month was fine and the revamp of Naomi is very well done. I enjoy the Bellas playing the face role more too. Naomi’s new character would make for a new and good champ but I believe WWE is looking to build towards Charlotte being the one to end Nikki’s title reign in a few months.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Nikki Bella wins.

Tim:

I like Naomi a lot and wish she would be the winner here but I figure they want to keep it on Nikki Bella. I’ve found myself enjoying their stuff and think this should be fine. I really wish WWE would make me care more about these Divas matches.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Nikki Bella wins.

Tom:

This continues to feel like an episode of Raw. Fair play to Naomi and all that for doing her best but man.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: “Fearless” Nicole Bella wins.

The New Day vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the Tag Team Championship

Joey:

These two teams had a stellar match on the last PPV as I predicted! There’s chemistry, talent, motivation and titles at stake here. Between this and an Elimination Chamber tag title match soon, I have faith in Cesaro, Kidd, and New Day being able to make the tag titles relevant again.

Side note – Imagine if the Usos were healthy and the third team in that upcoming Chamber match.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd wins.

Tim:

This should be the match of the night. I’ve actually been really into the tag team scene lately and I can not began to express how happy that makes me! Both of these teams are just great and so entertaining. To keep this going I feel like the belts need to change hands again. Keep it competitive, you know? At least until another team is ready to step in and keep this fun tag stuff going. I doubt that will happen though…. so New Day retains.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: The New Day wins.

Tom:

SAVE THIS SHOW, KIDDSARO/NEW DAY. Is calling them “Kiddsaro” annoying? The answer is yes, it is quite annoying.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: The New Day wins.

John Cena vs. Rusev in an I Quit match for the United States Championship

Joey:

The John Cena United States Championship Challenge is so amazing that I’m most excited about Cena moving far away from Rusev. The match will probably be good but I can’t say I have high expectations or anything more than a moderate interest.

Reminder that losing Lana will hurt Rusev far more than his losses to Cena. Shades of Bray Wyatt working with Chris Jericho for 4 months last year. It’s the curse of decisions after losing to Cena that kills ’em.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.

Tim:

JUST END THIS ALREADY FOR GOD’S SAKE. They don’t even know what this is about anymore. Cena has open challenges to get to, damn it! I’m sure it’ll be solid. Get Rusev into a feud where he can win some.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.

Tom:

Another year, another John Cena feud that goes on TOO FUCKING LONG after Wrestlemania. What match did they have last month? The chain thing, right? I don’t know about all this. I wish Lana wasn’t turning face. I still bloody love Rusev but this is just too much. I want to see him win and drop the flag.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: John Cena wins.

Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Championship

Joey:

I’m sure this match will be excellent. Seth Rollins is a superstar. Dean Ambrose is great when used in situations like this. Randy Orton is doing the best work of his career. Roman Reigns has been used great since Wrestlemania. This will likely be one of those random WWE ****+ matches that happen on a PPV you forget. Kane’s interference at the end will likely sour it, though.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.

Tim:

This match is stacked with some great talent that are doing and/or being used well at the moment so I’m looking forward to it. Rollins really is something special and I’m sure he will be the highlight of it all. I’m trying to forget about Kane.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.

Tom:

God, I hope it’s good. I’m not feeling it right now because I haven’t been able to last until the end segment of a Raw for ages, but the Shield lads should still be able to play off that whole dynamic in a way that’ll make this fun and hopefully Randy Orton is just fine and doesn’t make too much of a fuss.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.