Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus – Steel Cage match

Background: At Night of Champions, Trish Stratus defeated Becky Lynch thanks to interference from Zoey Stark, who was later revealed as Stratus’ protégé. They continued to feud, with the three qualifying for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, but none were victorious, although Stratus legitimately broke her nose during the match thanks to Lynch. Stratus then denied Lynch’s challenge to fight her, claiming she was not medically cleared. Stark instead faced and defeated Lynch on the July 10 episode of Raw. The following week, Stratus said she would accept Lynch’s challenge if Lynch could defeat Stark in a match on the July 24 episode, but if Lynch failed, she would have to get down on her knees, thank Stratus, and get “Thank You Trish” tattooed on her chest. Lynch won, setting up a rematch on the next episode that quickly ended in a disqualification win for Lynch after Stark interfered. Later, WWE official Adam Pearce scheduled a rematch for the August 14 episode with Stark banned from ringside, but it ended in a double countout and the two brawled throughout the arena with Stark helping Stratus. Later, Pearce announced another rematch, this time as a Steel Cage match, which was scheduled for Payback.

Previous PPV matches: These two girls met on PPV earlier this year at Night Of Champions and Trish came out the winner.

Payback PPV Record: Both girls wrestle at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: Tiffany Stratton is shown at ringside as Trish makes her entrance. Trish plays the cowardly heel early on, attempting to escape the cage. It’s all Becky early on and she bounces Stratus off turnbuckles and the cage and hits three Bexploder suplexes. Trish returns the favour as she takes control. Stratus hits a spinebuster for the first near fall of the night. I honestly believe that Trish has been more impressive in this run than ever before. Becky fired up and looks for the disarm-her but Trish counters. Trish does the old matrix move but Becky hits a leg drop.

It’s a back and forth match. Trish has a nasty lump on her forehead. She climbs to the top of the cage but Becky hits her with a power bong for a near fall. Lynch very audibly shouting “hit me” prior to that. Trish hits a widows peak for a near fall. Becky hits twist of fate for a near fall of her own. Trish hits Stratusfaction for a very near fall. Lots of talking from Becky in this one. Trish hits a bulldog off the top rope and is slow to make a cover that Becky kicks out of at 2. The two girls slug it out on top of the cage which results in Becky hitting a huge superplex for a near fall.

Becky climbs the cage so Trish crawls towards the door. Becky stops her but out comes Zoey Stark who tries to pull Trish out. Zoey slams the door in Becky face but Lynch then ducks a chick kick before hitting a manhandle slam. Becky hooks the leg but Zoey breaks up the cover. Becky hits Stark with a manhandle slam before hitting Trish with a manhandle slam off the top rope for the win!

Result: Becky Lynch wins by ping all.

Review: This was a great match to kick off the show. A really solid cage match, paced perfectly. The psychology was spot on. The spots were perfectly executed. A really solid cage match and puts an end to the rivalry between Becky and Trish.

Rating: 8.5/10

LA Knight vs. The Miz – singles match with John Cena as special guest referee

Background: At SummerSlam, SmackDown’s LA Knight won the Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal, during which, he eliminated Raw’s The Miz. On the following Raw, Miz took issue with the amount of attention that Knight was receiving and the disrespect he was shown from Knight. This prompted a confrontation between the two. After a couple of weeks of back-and-forth promos and interfering in matches, including Miz costing Knight a shot at the United States Championship, Miz challenged Knight to a match, which he accepted, and an interbrand match between the two was scheduled for Payback.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first PPV match between these two men.

Payback PPV Record: The Miz is 1-1, LA Knight wrestles at Payback for the first time tonight.

Match: Interestingly neither man is formally introduced for this match. Miz is reluctant to get into the ring. LA Knight drags Miz into the ring and the match officially gets underway. Knight hits a suplex but Miz counters a superplex and hits a double axe handle. Both men counter each others finishers and then smash each other into the announce desk. It’s a back and forth match. Cena physically gets involved, pulling Miz off Knight and then pulls Knight off Miz a couple of times. Knight gets in Cenas face which allows Miz to take control. Miz goes a codebreaker for a near fall.

The Miz slowly picks apart LA Knight until Knight counters a kick and hits a big side slam. Knight picks up the pace with a neckbreaker and bulldog. He counters a skull-crushing finale but gets hit with two DDT’s. Knight counters another skull-crushing finale and then avoids a clothesline in the corner before hitting a DDT for a two count. Miz rolls up Knight but Cena catches Miz’s hand on the rope. Miz hits the skull-crushing finale but Knight kicks out at 2! Miz mocks Cena which allows Knight to hit a big power slam, elbow drop and blunt force trauma for the win.

Result: LA Knight wins by pinfall.

Review: This match was nothing special but served as a way to get LA Knight a big win on a PLE over an established talent. The John Cena addition was an interesting one and you wonder if there’s a match in there for Cana and LA Knight.

Rating: 5.75/10

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Austin Theory – United States Championship match

Background: On the July 28 episode of SmackDown, Santos Escobar faced fellow Latino World Order (LWO) stablemate Rey Mysterio in the finals of the United States Championship Invitational tournament to earn a title match against Austin Theory. Mysterio was injured during the match, thus Escobar was named the winner via referee stoppage. The championship match was to occur on the August 11 episode, however, Theory attacked Escobar before the match, rendering him unable to compete. WWE official Adam Pearce then allowed Mysterio to take Escobar’s place and face Theory for the title, which Mysterio won. The following week, Theory demanded Mysterio to give back the championship as he was not supposed to be in the match, however, Pearce instead scheduled a number one contender’s match that Theory won. On the August 25 episode, the rematch was scheduled for Payback.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first PPV match between these two men.

Payback PPV Record: Rey Mysterio is 1-0, Austin Theory wrestles at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: It’s back and forth in the opening moments with Rey Mysterio trying to set a quick pace but Austin Theory soon takes control with a clothesline. Theory sets a slow pace from here as “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” adverts floor the titantron and LED barriers. Theory tries to rip off Mysterio’s mask but the United States Champion fights him off and then hits a moonsault. Rey hits a sliding DDT on the outside and then a seated senton for a two count. Theory avoids a 619 and then hits a spinning powerbomb for a two count. Theory hits a rolling dropkick. Rey hits a 619 and then looks for the west coast pop but Theory gets his knees up. Theory then looks for A-Town down but Rey counters with a roll-up for the three.

Result: Rey Mysterio retains the United States Championship by pinfall.

Review: This was a pretty underwhelming match. It was a lot shorter than I thought it would be too. Rey Mysterio wins in a routine title defence. He also wins with a roll-up so it wasn’t too conclusive. I’m not sure where Austin Theory goes from here but I liked his tag tram with Grayson Waller.

Rating: 4/10

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (c) vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) – Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

Background: Since mid-July, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had been feuding with The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley) after Judgment Day defeated Owens and Zayn’s team in a six-man tag team match. This led to a match on the July 17 episode of Raw, where Owens and Zayn successfully defended the championship against Priest and Mysterio. Also during this time, Mysterio won the NXT North American Championship and successfully defended the title against Zayn after being distracted by Priest and Ripley, who viciously attacked Owens, injuring him. Zayn’s rivalry with The Judgment Day would continue through the next month, and on the August 21 episode, Owens would make his return. Later that night, Owens and Zayn’s team would defeat The Judgment Day in a six-man tag team match. The following week, Owens and Zayn were scheduled to defend the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship against Bálor and Priest at Payback, and later, Owens and Zayn announced that after talking with WWE official Adam Pearce, the match would be a Steel City Street Fight.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time tag team match between these two teams.

Payback PPV Record: Kevin Owens is 1-1, Sami Zayn is 0-1 and the challengers wrestle at Payback for the first time tonight.

Match: Well it’s Texas Tornado rules and the two teams pair off with Kevin Owens and Damian Priest fighting down the entrance way and Finn Balor & Sami Zayn battling in the ring. It’s every bit as chaotic as you’d expect with Sami Zayn diving out of the ring and taking out both opponents. The champions use trash cans and then KO rips off his top to reveal a Terry Funk t shirt underneath. He and Zayn then lay into Balor with kendo sticks before setting up a table. The Judgment Day take control for a while as chairs get used. The fight spills out into the crowd where Dominik Mysterio shows up to help out his stablemates. Owens is busted wide open at this point. KO and Zayn put some hockey jerseys on and lay into their challengers with hockey sticks. The fight goes back to the ring where Zayn hits Balor with a blue thunder bomb on some chairs for a two count.

All four men fight back into the crowd and over by the kickoff show desk. Zayn dives off the desk on Priest. Dominik Mysterio shows up again but Owens takes him out, puts him on a table and then climbs up into the crowd and hits a swanton! That was a hell of a spot. Back in the ring Zayn hits an exploder suplex on Balor but it turns into a 2 on 1 as Damian Priest arrives. Sami manages to fight them both off, he puts Finn through a table and then KO hits Priest with a stunner before Zayn hits the helluva kick for a two count. JD McDonagh saves Priest from a three count. Owens hits McDonagh with a powerbomb onto the announce desk but Rhea Ripley runs out of nowhere and spears Owens through the barricade. Balor hits Zayn with a slingblade and shotgun dropkick but Sami avoids a coup de gras, hits an exploder and then helluva kick but Dominik Mysterio nails Sami with the Money In The Bank briefcase! Finn covers Sami and gets the 3!

Result: The Judgment Day win the tag team championships by pinfall.

Review: This was a really fun match. It was chaotic and in a lot of ways it was a throwback to an attitude era match. It basically turned into a 5 on 2 and the numbers were too much for the champions. I don’t mind The Judgment Day winning this, they have been on fire over the past few months. I’m not sure where it leaves Sami and KO though. A really fun match tonight.

Rating: 8/10

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez – Women’s World Championship match

Background: On the June 19 episode of Raw, Raquel Rodriguez took issue with Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley assaulting Natalya before their match. Also during this time, Rodriguez and Liv Morgan would win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship. Ripley continued her post-match assaults on Natalya, which eventually led to a brawl between Ripley, Rodriguez, and Morgan on the July 17 episode where Ripley injured Rodriguez’s left knee. This attack subsequently cost Rodriguez and Morgan the Women’s Tag Team Championship in a match later that night. After Morgan attacked Ripley later that night, a non-title match between the two was scheduled for the next week’s episode, however, Ripley viciously attacked Morgan, injuring her arm, thus the match never happened. On the next episode, Rodriguez returned and brawled with Ripley, only to once again get injured. Later that night, WWE official Adam Pearce stated that Rodriguez was not medically cleared to compete, however, he said that once she was cleared, she would get a match against Ripley. On the August 21 episode, Rodriguez attacked Ripley and announced that she was medically cleared and that Pearce scheduled Ripley to defend the Women’s World Championship against Rodriguez at Payback.

Previous PPV matches: This is a first time PPV match between these two girls.

Payback PPV Record: Both make their Payback debut tonight.

Match: It’s a cagey start to the match as both powerful women look to take control. The two girls exchange clotheslines before Rhea takes control. She picks apart Raquel with strikes and holds, switching the pace from slow to fast and back again. The referee’s gloves go on as Rhea is bleeding from the bridge of her nose. Rodriguez fires back with clotheslines, a fallaway slam and a stalling suplex. Raquel hits an elbow drop for a two count. Rhea counters a Tahona bomb and hits a running knee for a two count. Raquel counters riptide but can’t get Rhea up for a powerbomb. It’s back and forth for a while until Rhea applies the prism lock but Raquel powers out. Rodriguez hits a slam but her knee gives out too. The fight goes to the outside where Rodriguez powerbombs Ripley and throws her into the ringpost. Dominik Mysterop then arrives and hangs on to Rhea, getting dragged into the ring. Raquel slam Dominik but turns around into a kick to the knee. Rhea then hits riptide for the three!

Result: Rhea Ripley wins by pinfall.

Review: This was a decent enough match between these two girls. It was solid but I really think both girls could have given a lot more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another big rivalry between these two girls down the line.

Rating: 6.75/10

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – World Heavyweight Championship match

Background: On the August 7 episode of Raw, Seth “Freakin” Rollins accepted Shinsuke Nakamura’s offer to be on his team in a six-man tag team match that night. Their team won, but during the celebration, Nakamura attacked Rollins with a Kinshasa, turning heel. The following week, Nakamura stated that he wanted the World Heavyweight Championship, prompting Rollins to come to the ring, saying that he would face Nakamura at anytime with the title on the line. The two then shook hands, but Nakamura feigned leaving and again attacked Rollins with the Kinshasa. On the next episode, Rollins was scheduled to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Nakamura at Payback.

Previous PPV matches: These two men have wrestled on PPV only once before, it was at Survivor Series 2018 and Seth Rollins took the victory.

Payback PPV Record: Seth Rollins is 4-1, Nakamura wrestles at this event for the first time tonight.

Match: There’s a really cool animation before Nakamura’s entrance. The Great Muta is shown at ringside.The bell rings and it’s a cagey, back and forth start to the match with the two men exchanging reversals and strikes. Rollins hits a suicide dive but Nakamura takes control by targeting the back of the champion. Seth hits a second suicide dive and then bounces Shinsuke off the announce desk. Nakamura throws Rollins into the announce desk and then keeps control by applying a camel clutch and hitting a backbreaker. Rollins hits a hurricanrana off the top and then a slingblade and frog splash for a near fall. Shinsuke avoids a stomp and hits a flying knee for a two count. The challenger hits a snap German suplex for a two count and then an inverted exploder but Seth counters kinshasa with a superkick. Nakamura applies a triangle but Seth powerbombs out of it.

Shinsuke hits a Michinoku driver off the middle rope for a near fall. There’s some good psychology in this match. Nakamura hits a kinshasa to the back of the neck. Rollins hits a pedigree but Nakamura intercepts a stomp. Rollins then does hit a stomp and covers Nakamura for the three.

Result: Seth Rollins wins by pinfall.

Review: This was a good match. The psychology was great, it told a good story of Seth Rollins fighting back despite what Nakamura did to his back. In the end it was Seth Rollins with the victory and he continues his title reign. It felt like a routine title defence for Seth Rollins which is what it turned out to be.

Rating: 7/10