10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Payback

10. The Reason For Payback's Initial Cancellation

Yes, Payback was reintroduced for one night only in 2020 during the ThunderDome days prior to the event's return this year, but why was Payback removed from the PPV/PLE calendar in the first place?

The answer comes down to the ever-fluid topic of WWE's brand split.

Having been introduced in 2013, Payback ran as a regular annual show until 2016. By 2017, though, the event had been tweaked to become a Raw-exclusive PPV. Of course, the Superstar Shake-Up had taken place just two weeks before Payback 2017, meaning the show featured certain SmackDown talents, but hey, that's forever the case when something involves WWE and a brand split.

For 2018, Payback was intended to be a SmackDown-exclusive PPV, though a change of plan on PPV strategy saw those plans ultimately scuppered. Once WrestleMania 34 was in the history books, WWE decided to abandon the concept of brand-exclusive PPVs, which in turn decreased the number of annual PPVs to be held by the promotion.

One of the PPVs to be cut as part of this? In case you hadn't guessed by now, it was indeed Payback.