6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Payback 2023 (Results & Review)
2. ‘Taking The Crowd Out Of The Match’
That’s the kind of statement that you really don’t want to hear during a featured PLE match, and it’s doubly troubling when it’s one of WWE’s announcers admitting it.
LA Knight has been getting some of the loudest reactions from fans at WWE events for the past few months, and Saturday’s match against the Miz was no different, with the crowd rallying behind him throughout the contest.
But as with many matches in the Triple H era (and on a three-hour PLE with only six matches), the runtime was clearly padded out by several minutes, resulting in this bout missing its peak. The crowd grew silent during one of Miz’s several “heat” segments, which is not exactly what you’re shooting for when you’re supposed to be building support for the babyface.
Fans came back to life when Knight made his comeback and erupted for his win, but WWE’s penchant for making every match last 10+ minutes could have crippled this contest. All that was really needed here was a brief period of Miz in control, a false finish and then LA stomping Miz and putting him away. It’s not like this was some epic feud that required multiple back-and-forth segments.
Right result, good overall reaction, but man it got dull in some parts, and that’s not what you’re going for in this situation.