WWE Payback 2013 DVD Review

WWE Payback 2013 is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray, available at www.wwedvd.co.uk, priced at £12.99 for DVD and £13.99 for Blu-Ray. Broadcast live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, it featured a main event that saw John Cena defend his WWE Championship in a Three Stages of Hell bout against Ryback, as well as CM Punk's return to WWE against Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. You can check out our full event review of the show here...http://www.acrossthepondwrestling.co.uk/2013/06/wwe-payback-review.html

Content Listing

Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match
The Miz vs. Wade Barrett (C) vs. Curtis Axel with Paul Heyman (10:35)

Mr. McMahon interupts Triple H

Diva's Championship Match
Kaitlyn (C) vs. AJ Lee with Big E Langston (9:59)

Layla, Natalya & Alicia Fox comfort Kaitlyn

United States Championship Match
Kane vs. Dean Ambrose (C) (9:33)

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Dolph Ziggler (C) with AJ Lee & Big E Langston (13:50)

CM Punk with Paul Heyman vs. Chris Jericho (21:20)

Tag Team Championship Match
Team RK-No vs. The Shield (Reigns/Rollins) (C) (12:14)

WWE Championship Three Stages of Hell Match (Lumberjack/Tables/Ambulance)
John Cena (C) vs. Ryback (24:30)


Special Features

CM Punk & Paul Heyman discuss Payback

The History of The Shield, Team Hell No & Randy Orton

Review

If I hadn't watched SummerSlam live a few weeks ago, I would have been mentioning that Payback was the PPV of the Year, so far, but just because SummerSlam was a little bit better, that doesn't stop this show from being very good. There is a lot for fans of WWE to enjoy here, and with matches that will be remembered for sometime, as well as a couple of battles that could quite possibly end up being forgotten gems, that you'll rediscover when you purchase this set.

Unfortunately, however the set is let down by it's main event contest. Whilst John Cena defending his WWE Championship against Ryback in a Three Stages of Hell match is a pretty decent match, it simply can not follow what has preceded it on the show and probably goes a little bit too long for what it is. There are some nice moment, like Cena jumping on to a whole host of wrestler in the Lumberjack match and a good exchange in the Tables match, whilst the Ambulance match struggles to get going with an over gimmicked ambulance putting a dampner on things. Maybe in isolation, this bout would be more enjoyable, but if have just watched the rest of the show, it is a little bit of a let down.

Now on to the more positive stuff, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho. This was CM Punk's first match since losing to The Undertaker at this year's Wrestlemania. Anyone that watched Money in the Bank 2011, will know that when Punk is in his hometown of Chicago, the atmosphere is always fantastic, with the crowd unanimously behind The Straight Edge Saviour. The action is every bit as good as you would expect, with some hard hits and some exciting near falls. This is also the catalyst for the CM Punk and Paul Heyman feud that is still raging on television, with Heyman almost costing Punk the win. Definitely the match of the night.

Dolph Ziggler defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio is another top quality match up. With some really good work from both men, they manage to pull off a really nice double turn, with Ziggler walking out a face, due to some fantastic selling, and Del Rio leaving as a heel, helped along by nice promo from Del Rio later in the night. The bout plays well of Ziggler recent concussion, really playing at the heartstrings at points, and whilst it was a risky decision to use the concussion and have Ziggler take so many head blows, it paid of nicely and this is very strong match up. 

Elsewhere, The Shield defend their Tag Team Championships against Team RK-No, in an exciting, storyline fueled tag team battle, where it's really interesting to see Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan teaming with the two now so pivotal in the main storyline in WWE. Wade Barrett defends his Intercontinetal Championship against The Miz and Curtis Axel in a decent triple threat match, where all three of the men gelled well together, as well a really nice finish. Kaitlyn defending her Diva's Championship again AJ Lee is my favourite main stream women's match this year, with strong wrestling and storytelling throughout, and it was really nice to see a decent women's match on WWE television after so long. Dean Ambrose defending his United States Championship against Kane is probably the weakest match on the card, but still not bad. It suffers from running too long and a poor ending that leaves more questions open than it answers.

The special features on the DVD are pretty disappointing. For some reason, WWE have decided not to include the solid Payback Kick Off match between Sheamus and Damien Sandow that would have been an excellent addition to the show. Instead, we get a short interview with CM Punk and Paul Heyman backstage, which is interesting but doesn't really add much to the show and a highlight video of the rivalry between The Shield, Randy Orton & Team Hell No, which is as usual well put together, but after watching the show already doesn't really add much to the production.

Overall, Payback was a very strong show, and certainly WWE's strongest event for sometime, with a lot of quality action to keep WWE fans satisfied. If you're considering not purchasing this show, because it isn't one of the big names, change your mind, this is an excellent showing and you will not regret having this one your DVD shelf.  

Top Three Matches from Payback 2013

1. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

2. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio

3. Team RK-No vs. The Shield 

WWE Payback Predictions

We're only a few hours away from WWE Payback, and after getting only 50% for TNA's Slammiversary, I better step up my game.

WWE Championship Three Stages of Hell Match: John Cena (C) vs. Ryback

Now I've had my problems with this match since it was announced. Firstly it was a messy build up with the match seemingly being changed on the fly to include the two extra falls. Secondly, this feud really doesn't have enough behind it to warrant this kind of match, especially when compared to the previous Three Stages of Hell matches. As well as the three match types chosen not being particular favourites of mine. However, part of the build has been effective such as Ryback's path of destruction over recent weeks. I won't be expecting this contest to be a hold for hold, catch as catch can classic, but it might, just might tell a decent story if put together correctly. I see Cena picking up the first fall in the Lumberjack match after some hi-jinx with the lumberjacks, closely followed by Ryback slamming Cena through a table (maybe more than one) and dominating Cena for most of the Ambulance Match until Cena makes his comeback. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similiar ending to Cena's Ambulance Match with Kane, seeing Cena AA Ryback off the Ambulance.

WINNER AND STILL WWE CHAMPION: JOHN CENA

World Heavyweight Championship Match: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

This rivalry was harmed somewhat by Ziggler's concussion which kept him off Television until last Monday's Raw. With WWE forced to tread water with a series of matches between Del Rio and Big E Langston, there really isn't much to talk about here in term of built up for this match. Ziggler and Del Rio are both good technical wrestlers and this should be a very good contest, it would have been even better if it were given a heated storyline to back up what was going on the ring. I'd be very surprised if Ziggler lost the title here, as what would have been the point keeping the belt on him throughout his injury just to drop the title here.

WINNER AND STILL WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: DOLPH ZIGGLER

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

A lot of people have been discussing the idea that this match might not take place, and even the CM Punk might not turn up. I've got to say it would be a foolish move on WWE's part for a number of reason, most importantly a lot of the Chicago fans will have payed good money to see Punk's return. If WWE does this, it will not help garner CM Punk heat from his hometown, it will garner WWE themselves heat, Chicago is full of smart wrestling fans and they will know when they are being played. Personally, I think this match will go a head, and with the claims made by Jericho on Smackdown this past week, I'm expecting nothing less than an absolute classic. It's going to be hard to top their previous contests, but I'm sure these two could find a way. I'm predicting a CM Punk win in his home town, but also think we could see some shenanigans come the end of the contest.

WINNER: CM PUNK

Tag Team Championship Match: The Shield (Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns) (C) vs. Team RK-No

This match has been well built up to over not only the last month but since way before this year Wrestlemania, even if WWE didn't intend to do so originally. It seemed at the start of the month, that WWE would go for the team of Orton and Sheamus to face the Shield, but these plans were quickly changed and now we have this match. The dynamic between Orton and Bryan is an interesting one and a nice development in what is essentially a branch of the Team Hell No storyline. With Daniel Bryan currently the hottest property in WWE, I'd expect another top notch performance from not only him but everyone in this contest, with the storyline seemingly reinvigarating Randy Orton as of late, well he certainly looks a lot less bored at ringside. With Orton and Bryan seemingly moving into a match with each other at Money in the Bank, before Team Hell No faces of at Summerslam, I'd expect the Shield to retain here, after some dissension from Team RK-No.

WINNER AND STILL TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS : THE SHIELD (SETH ROLLINS & ROMAN REIGNS) 

Intercontinetnal Championship Triple Threat: Wade Barrett (C) vs. The Miz vs. Curtis Axel

Certain people haven't enjoyed how Curtis Axel has been built up since his re-christening the night after Extreme Rules, I for one am not one of these people. Personally, I think having matches with big names like Triple H and John Cena, and not losing certainly helps build Axel as a character and the manner in which he wins helps him garner even more heat from the crowd. He's also had pinfall victories over Chris Jericho, Wade Barrett and Sin Cara and looked impressive in all of these wins. However, his replacement for the injured Fandango in this contest has certainly played with the dynamic of the match, and I'm not sure it's a positive move, mainly because Fandango and Barrett were too different types of heels and I think Axel and Barrett might be a bit too similiar. If given time it has the potential to be a good match, and I'm torn on who's going to pick up the win in this one. I can't see The Miz getting the nod as we've already seen him take the title from Barrett. So it's between Axel and Barrett. I'm going to say Barrett retains, but pins The Miz with Axel possibly getting distracted by somekind of outside interference.

WINNER AND STILL INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION: WADE BARRETT

United States Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Kane

With this match being swiftly made on this weeks Raw, after a Disqualification win for Kane in a non-title match up, it would be easy to say that there is not enough to warrant this Pay-Per-View contest. However, if you've been watching WWE over the last six months, you'll know there has been a lot gone on between The Shield's Dean Ambrose and Kane. Although their television contest wasn't exactly a barnburner and suffered from time constraints and the frustrating ending, hopefully this match will go a little longer and get a clean finish. I'd expect Dean Ambrose to retain the title against The Big Red Monster and continue his title run into Summerslam at least, with Kane building towards the Team Hell No pay off.

WINNER AND STILL UNITED STATES CHAMPION: DEAN AMBROSE

Diva's Championship Match: Kaitlyn (C) vs. AJ Lee

Yes, this match has suffered from numerous set backs in it's build. For example, when was the last time Kaitlyn defended her Championship on television? This match really should have gone a head at Wrestlemania, but was pushed back and back for some reason. Then there was the atrocious Number One Contenders Battle Royal, which I can't believe was back in April when I was at the O2 Arena! Then the on-off storyline with Kaitlyn's secret admirer which had seemingly been forgotten and then brought back. But...I'm actually happy the Divas have finally got a meaningful storyline to play with! It's certainly gone some way to helping the crowd get into Divas match, instead of seeing them as simply toilet breaks. Hopefully this match is a sign of things to come and is worth the wait. Once again I'm torn on this one, with a possibility of Kaitlyn losing it and attacking AJ for a DQ finish, but because I haven't had a title change so far in my predictions....

WINNER AND NEW DIVA'S CHAMPION: AJ LEE

Payback Kick-Off Predictions

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow

Now, for the most part this rivalry had featured some pretty embarrasing segments, which were difficult to sit through. But when this rivalry got serious, it became a lot easier to watch, hopefully this match will go a similiar way, because when Sheamus does serious as seen in matches with Antonio Cesaro on Main Event, he can really put on some good in ring action. This match would benefit from some extra time, but with this being the Pre-Show, I would expect it. I'd like to think WWE would go with Sandow in this one and allow this rivalry to play out a little longer, using the more serious elements, however I reckon it's gonna be a Brogue Kick from Sheamus to finish this feud for now. 

WINNER: SHEAMUS

Right, that's my Payback Predictions. For what it's worth, I expect this to be a good show, however with a lot of matches looking for the attention and extra time, I think a few of these contests may be slightly disappointing. Enjoy the show! 

WWE Smackdown 14th June 2013 Review

It was huge night for Smackdown this week, as something significant actually happened! Yes, The Shield suffered their first loss as a group.

Team RK-No & Kane vs. The Shield

The show started with Daniel Bryan in the ring, as he cut an entertaining promo about his accomplishments in WWE, including his nine month tag team run with Kane in Team Hell No, calling Kane out to the ring in the process. With the two eventually beginning to squabble after Daniel Bryan revealed he wouldn’t team with Kane anymore as he and Randy Orton were going to win the tag team championships at Payback, even coming up with a new team name, Team RK-No. With Kane about to chokeslam Bryan, Orton came out to make the save. However the three then continued to argue, until The Shield turned up on the video screen. The Shield put over their partnership as a group, as well as the main event and their respective match at Payback. It was a good opening segment that revealed each of the players in the main event well and set up any potential conflicts that might be seen later on as well as at Payback.

The match between the six, was as is now the norm for these six man tag team contest, was well worked and well paced by all six competitors. Some of the spots and sections during the beginning and middle of the match may have be familiar to some regular reviewers but this didn’t make seeing them again any less enjoyable. With The Shield dominating for most of the match, the match was driven by a number of hot tags from the face team, with of course the highlight and final turning point being the hot tag to Daniel Bryan. Bryan has managed to bring something new on every occasion he receives the tag, this time a nice dropkick to Rollins who had just springboarded of the ropes, which certainly helps to keep these matches feeling fresh and exciting.

With number of near falls for both Bryan and Seth Rollins really got the crowd worked up with the match beginning to look like it could go either way. The ending of the match saw the crowd almost red hot, as an exciting ending section began with Kane dodging Roman Reigns’ spear, sending Reigns over the barricade, Kane then choke slammed Ambrose on top of Reigns, which looked effective on screen. With The Shield finally outnumbered, Kane pushed Rollins off the top rope into the arms of a coiled Randy Orton who struck with an RKO, before Bryan had Rollins submit to the No Lock. It felt a fitting ending to match, which told a fantastic story throughtout and the reverse of the outnumbering was a clever move by WWE.

Many will be upset that The Shield lost their first match here, especially on Smackdown. However, I think it was a wise move by WWE, for a number of reasons, firstly it helps to build for the matches at Payback, by making showing the Orton, Bryan and Kane can beat the Shield and therefore could take the championships as well, secondly The Shield’s unbeaten run would have become repetitive very soon with them running out of opponents to face and it’s better to end something while it’s still hot than allow the crowd to grow tired of something, and finally it may not be a PPV or Raw, but because Smackdown is taped it would have meant a lot of people tuned into watch to see The Shield lose for the first time, rather than just another Shield match elsewhere, the ratings will hopefully prove this theory correct. 

Alberto Del Rio & Chris Jericho with Ricardo Rodrigues vs. World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston with AJ Lee

This match was set up by acting General Manager Teddy Long, during another blantant advertising segment for some American fast food restaurant. With Teddy munching his way through a burger, he was met by the returning Dolph Ziggler, alongside Big E Langston and AJ Lee. With Ziggler unhappy at being forced to compete tonight, Teddy Long basically told him to go away so he could eat more of his burger. With Ziggler gone, Teddy settled down for his dinner before Big E Langston turned up and stole it. It really was as bizarre as it sounds and I really hope WWE drops the burgers before the next episode of Raw.

The early parts of the match were slow with Langston doing the majority of the work for his team, dominating Jericho and Del Rio, who made quick tags after impact moves. The match picked up a gear with some nice work on the outside between Jericho and Langston, including Langston getting thrown into the steel steps and Jericho going spine first into the barricade. The little of Ziggler we saw during the match looked to be showing very little signs of ring rust, as he performed a nice section controlling Jericho, before the hot tag to Del Rio.

The end came pretty quickly after the hot tag from Del Rio, with another classic tag team breakdown segment. With Del Rio being bulldozed by Langston, Jericho quickly dispatched of him before receiving a good looking drop kick from Ziggler. With Ziggler taking time to celebrate Del Rio capitilized with a nice small package for the victory. It was a solidly worked ending to a solidly worked match that built up well throughout it’s ten minutes or so. Del Rio picking up the victory here gives him good momentum going into Payback, whilst Ziggler’s spree of moves on Jericho showed that he will be more than able to counter any threat shown from Del Rio, keeping both looking good heading into their Payback show down.

After the match, Jericho was interviewed by Renee Young. As we’d expect from Y2J he gave a very good interview his match with CM Punk this Sunday. He built up the connection between CM Punk and Chicago, as well talking about his connections to the city. Jericho then made the claim that this match will be better than their previous contests, which is a brave claim to make after the quality of those matches, Punk-Jericho III (as it’s being billed) will have to have to set the world on fire to live up to it’s high expectations. Punk’s manager Paul Heyman turned up to talk up his client, before Jericho shoved the mic in his face, it’s nice to see Jericho playing a different kind of face than we have been taught to expect from WWE, although without Punk being present his aggression towards Heyman feels a little out of place. The absence of Punk has obviously harmed this rivalry, as it’s been difficult to build any kind of story around it, similar to the absence of Dolph Ziggler, especially with the rumours that Punk might not even turn up in Chicago. 

Best of the Rest

Elsewhere on Smackdown, the build for Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat at Payback continued with Curtis Axel facing champion Wade Barrett. Although with Barrett suggesting the two hold of the fight until Payback, it seemed the match would not happen. That was until The Miz came out with a slightly annoying promo in an attempt to get the two to fight. The Miz clearly has a lot of skill when handed a microphone, but his character and personality do not suit the face role he is currently in and everything he says comes out like a brattish child who really wants you to like them. The childish behaviour continued with the Miz attempted to get the crowd to chant “Fight” on television it seemed like this worked, although I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE added in a few extra chants.

For some unknown reason, Axel and Barrett decided to have their fight. For me, it would have made more sense for the two to leave, allowing them to garner heat for not doing what the crowd wanted. The match itself was short but good between these two, with the two going back and forth throughout. The ending came with Barrett ducking a clothesline from Axel who took out the Miz, with Barrett distracted by Heyman, once he was ready to get back in the ring, Axel was waiting with a Rope Hung Spinning Neckbreaker for the victory. It was a logical ending to the contest involving all parties that will be involved in the triple threat and giving Axel a credible victory over Barrett giving him a reasonable claim to the title. The only problem is we’ve seen Wade Barrett lose so many times as Intercontinental Champion recently, it’s difficult to see him as the credible champion we know he could be.

Kaitlyn continued to show signs of a breakdown in a contest with Aksana. Before the match, the reveal of Kaitlyn’s secret admirer was shown on the screen with Kaitlyn clearly affected by it. She charged at Aksana and a catfight eschewed, all the was missing was Joey Styles over the top. The match never got started, although I’m sure there isn’t a lot of people too upset about that fact. With Kaitlyn battling Aksana to the outside and the referee trying to break up the fight Kaitlyn slapped the referee in the face before Aksana escaped. It was a decent segment, an helped to further Kaitlyn’s new persona, although we’ve seen similar storylines before with the Divas. With Kaitlyn and AJ now showing signs of being a little big crazy, they should have a decent match at Payback, it goes to show that all the Divas need is a little TV time, a storyline and some character development to get the people interested.

The first match of the show saw a rematch from last weeks Main Event, as Sheamus faced Antonio Cesaro. Before the contest there was a promo from Sheamus’ Payback Kick-Off opponent Damien Sandow, who did a good job building the rivalry on the whole and finally appeared to be the heel in the story. If anything it was refreshing not to have to watch another awful games segment as we’ve experienced over the last three weeks. The match was another good match between these two who shared the offence more or less equally throughout the match, with highlight seeing Sheamus catch Cesaro on the outside and send him overhead into the barricade and Cesaro driving Sheamus into the ring steps. The ending saw a Brogue Kick out of nowhere from Sheamus for the victory. These two seem to work well together, with Cesaro’s serious wrestling style bringing out a more serious side of Sheamus which is a lot better to watch than the goofy side we’ve seen for most of his face run. Whilst Sheamus headed to the back Sandow reappeared with a blindside attack. With the rivalry now feeling a lot more serious than in recent weeks, I have high hopes for their contest at Payback Kickoff and hope they keep the serious nature for the contest.

There was also a match pitting The Great Khali against 3MB’s Heath Slater. Khali dominated most of what was a poor match, although if you were expecting anything else from Khali then you obviously haven’t been watching WWE television in the last six years. The end saw an altercation between the other members of 3MB and Hornswoggle which distracted Khali allowing Slater take down the giant, before a thunderous DDT gave him the victory. I’m not sure of the last time Slater won a match on TV, especially on a Raw or Smackdown, but it’s been a very long time indeed. It would be nice to see 3MB move higher up the card, as I think they’re all fairly talented guys and have taken to the poor 3MB gimmick well, but I’m not quite sure where they will fit into current WWE plans.

Finally…

What have we learnt from this weeks Smackdown? 

1. WWE isn't afraid having huge moments, like The Shield first loss, happen on what is essentially the B show.

2. Dolph Ziggler looks ready to go come this Sunday's Payback.

3. WWE should really stop the over the top advertisement of Fast Food product during segments of their show.