WWE Payback 2023: 10 Things That Must Happen

7. WWE Changes IC Title Plans

WWE Payback 2023 Shinsuke Nakamura
WWE.com

Why in the good name of Imperium is GUNTHER vs. Chad Gable not on this thing?! The writers messed up by having Chad struggle to overcome Ludwig Kaiser on Raw, then announced the title bout for TV instead of Payback. Get it on here, please.

Gable deserves that sweet PLE payday, and they’d deliver in-ring with 20 mins or so to work with. It's wise not to let a known workhorse like GUNTHER skip too many PLEs, especially when he's cast as somebody who meets challenges head on (but still kinda fancies being a bully and surrounding himself with others ruled by fear).

Payback currently only has six matches pre-SmackDown, so adding the Intercontinental Title to the card sounds like the right thing to do. GUNTHER deserves one more pay-per-view success before crowing about beating the Honky Tonk Man's longstanding record, and his rivalry vs. Chad has been rewarding enough to earn a slot on this show.

Pretty please?

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.