8 WWE Payback 2016 Results Predictions
What to look for Sunday night in Chicago.
Gotta hand it to WWE. With the exception of Roman Reigns as champion, the company has gone out of their way to configure the post-WrestleMania booking around the oft-spoken desires of its most vociferous internet patrons. Owens vs. Zayn? AJ Styles competing for the WWE Championship? A push for Cesaro? An emphasis on tag team wrestling? A lack of Attitude-era relics clogging up the main event scene? Did Triple H stash Vince McMahon in a broom closet and barricade the door?
Although the rancid Authority will soon be poking their head into the frame in order to re-affirm the dreaded status quo, Payback on the surface looks like it was assembled with us, the internet wrestling community, in mind. It might even be a three-hour apology for the endless drudgery that was WrestleMania. "Payback" for the fans, if you will.
But what can we expect from an event that is still clearly a secondary pay-per-view? Should we expect sweeping changes to go along with the whirlwind of newly-forged paths on the TV shows? Or are we better off anticipating match results that don't exactly change very much of what we're being presented now? Expectations are certainly higher in the "Shane McMahon" era of running Raw, and with The Authority being shoehorned back in, what can we expect to see?
8. Ryback Crushes Kalisto Handily
I think it's safe to say that Kalisto's window as a viable performer is firmly shut for the time being. WWE has barely put him to use since his WrestleMania pre-show win over Ryback, and his most prolific appearance on TV since has entailed him getting KOed by the Dudley Boyz in the tag team number one contenders tournament.
Not that Ryback has really been a tour de force on television since 'Mania, but you may as well just switch the title here, especially if there's some kind of plan for "The Big Guy". Ryback's recent comments about his frustrations as a performer could potentially sour the office on him, but I think it'll have the opposite effect. Instead, I think they'll jump-start his push to try and get the most out of him. He is muscular, you know.