10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Payback

Do you know the real story behind Cody Rhodes' "LAST" match in WWE?

by Andrew Pollard
Cody Rhodes payback
WWE

For the first time in three years, WWE will be revisiting its Payback PLE from Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena on Saturday 2 September.

Compared to certain other of the market leader's Premium Live Events, Payback only has a relatively short lifespan. While SummerSlam recently celebrated its 36th edition, there have only been six Payback PLEs prior to 2023. Still, that's not to say that Payback doesn't have some nice secrets and revelations hidden within those six shows.

Of course, Payback initially ran from 2013 until 2017, before then taking a hiatus until the event was dusted off for the dark days of the global pandemic. Now, the revenge-driven offering - y'know, as in actual payback against someone - is on the imminent horizon at a time when WWE has delivered some magnificent PLEs this year so far.

But are you aware why Payback was initially cancelled? Do you know the real story behind the House of Horrors? And why exactly is Payback particularly tied to a certain Feed Me More fella?

With that in mind, then, here are ten things that you likely didn't know about WWE's Payback event from over the years.

10. The Reason For Payback's Initial Cancellation

Cody Rhodes payback
WWE

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.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.