10 Things We Learned From The Payback Go-Home WWE Raw (April 24)

9. Boyz To Men

Bray Wyatt The Miz
WWE.com

The war between The Hardy Boyz and former tag team titleholders Sheamus and Cesaro has been built as an attritional battle of respect between veterans and Raw's best of the rest.

It has done Raw's tag division the world of good to have a feud separated out from comedy after months of inferior efforts to recapture the New Day's lightning in a bottle, especially in re-establishing The Hardy Boyz as a tough team to beat rather than returning heroes on a final nostalgia tour.

Consecutive defeats to both Matt and Jeff in singles matches hasn't damaged the aura of the the 'Great White' or the 'Swiss Superman', with both entering competitive displays against the reenergised North Carolinians.

Also pleasing was Matt's juggling of his various personas. Keeping to a pattern he's established on Twitter lately, the former #BROKEN one left in teases of the popular TNA gimmick but also reverted to his 'Version 1.0' and 'Team Extreme' theatrics when the mood suited. It's a satisfying way of serving fans that desperately want the pair to return to their other-worldly gimmicks whilst managing the expectations of WWE's top brass.

Building off their excellent fortnight together on television, if the chemistry in the singles matches can be replicated in doubles action, Sunday's tag team match should be DELIGHTFUL.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett