The seemingly never-ending parade of WWE PPVs continued Sunday night with Payback, a hastily assembled affair that exceeded low expectations and delivered several quality matches. A hot crowd that reacted to nearly everything and stayed strong throughout the night certainly added something, but the performers definitely upped their game. Payback was the second of four special events taking place within a seven-week span from late April through mid-June, a rapid-fire run that could lead to a WWE overdose among fans. On paper, there really wasnt much to draw people in: Extreme Rules, Elimination Chamber and Money in the Bank all have their gimmick matches to sell each event. Payback offered seven matches (on the main card) with the only gimmicks being a two-out-of-three falls tag title match, a Fatal Four-way for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and an I Quit match for the United States Championship. Despite the rushed, nondescript nature of the PPV, those who watched were treated to solid matches overall and an evening that breezed by. Being in a period where you sometimes walk away from WWE programming cringing, having an enjoyable evening is a welcome occasion. So what put butts in the seats and what sent fans heading for the exits? Lets find out.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
