With WWEs next pay-per-view (or special event) happening on June 1st, the creative team find themselves in a delicate situation. The neck injury sustained by Daniel Bryan leaves them without a WWE World Heavyweight Champion and reduces the shows star power even more. Coming from Chicago for the second consecutive year, Payback only has rematches of Evolution vs The Shield and John Cena vs Bray Wyatt, along with an Intercontinental Championship match between Bad News Barrett and Rob Van Dam. Whilst the two main events will be interesting and should deliver in quality, these rematches wont convince non-Network subscribers to fork out $45. And with the WWEs stock plummeting recently, the corporate staff in Connecticut certainly doesnt want to miss out on money! In a rare move, a promo has been announced for Payback, where Bryan has to either surrender his title or his wife Brie gets fired. The lack of attention given to the secondary titles has backfired on WWE, as a well-built title defence for Sheamus or Bad News Barrett could have had some intrigue. Simply put, Payback needs a high profile return, someone to boost buy rates and get people talking afterwards. Its time to assess ten candidates who might generate that buzz.
10. The Miz
Ok, before you laugh, hear me out. The Miz has been away filming highly anticipated The Marine 4 and, before then, had been steeply descending ever since winning in the main event of Wrestlemania XXVII. Recent years have seen the likes of Jack Swagger, The Great Khali, Christian, Dolph Ziggler and Rey Mysterio hold a world title, hence cheapening their worth, but Miz seems to be the poster boy for quickly being pushed down the card. But should he have been de-pushed? He can speak, has regular media appearances, has charisma and is passable in the ring. For all those that dislike The Miz, he has overcome the hostility encountered upon first arriving in WWE from reality TV. In 2013, he was approved by Ric Flair and started using the Figure Four Leglock as a finisher but that new credibility didnt get him anywhere. But maybe hes been away from TV just long enough to make fans forget the way his character has nosedived. A return at Payback, accompanied by a fresh heel gimmick, could give the momentum needed for The Miz to eventually return to the main event.
From Chester-le-Street, with Newcastle as my spiritual home. 24 years old, I'm at Sunderland University studying for a Sports Journalism MA. It's all about football and WWE. Wordplay jokes and puns are also encouraged.
