10 WWE Payback 2020 Impulse Reactions

9. The Riott Squad Vs The IIconics

Sasha Banks Bayley
WWE.com

After weeks of stop/start stuff significantly undermining the return of an act people seemed to genuinely like, Payback 's pre-show played host to the formal and victorious return of The Riott Squad. Or now, The Living Riott.

Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan dressed and worked alike in a solid battle with The IIconics that was far more functional than fun, but them winning set the tone for a night that was far better for the babyfaces than the heels.

Playing up to a the possibility that all may still not be well between the former and future friends, Riott was smashed into Morgan's knees before Peyton Royce and Billie Kay tried to drive a wedge further by pinning the blame for one of their Morgan sneak attacks on the innocent Riott.

All looked temporarily lost, but the babyfaces showed some rare intelligence and faith in each other before powering through a comeback sequence to get the last laugh. Execution wasn't great throughout, but this particular story desperately needed its ending, even if a pay-per-view Kickoff Show may not have been the most thrilling destination.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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