WWE Payback About the McMahons, Not Wrestlers

WWE Payback is about a week in the past and some unanswered questions have come to light. To many fan's chagrin, the "special event" proved to be a vehicle to get the McMahon's storyline over, not the main event.

Let's be real here. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event was stellar. At least the in-ring parts were. I don't want to bash WWE here, but what did we really learn at Payback? Quite honestly, we were reminded that this show is about the people that run it, not the men and women that make it go.

AJ Styles turned out one of the best performances of his career, elevating Roman Reigns as the company's top guy. Reigns shined as a champion and at times, as a heel. The Chicago crowd was very much in AJ's corner and Reigns didn't pretend like that wasn't the case. Reigns jaw-jacked the crowd and finally seemed to come into his own in the persona that's going to get him truly over with the fans. What was troubling was the match's stoppages, which acted as openings for Shane and Stephanie McMahon to restart the bout to insure that it didn't end in count-out or disqualification. It was a vehicle to progress the storyline, but it certainly hurt the match and its momentum. If this is the beginning of the "new era" of WWE, it doesn't seem to be a positive one.

Many speculated that Finn Balor would debut at Payback, helping Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attack AJ and form the Balor Club. While this didn't happen, it can't be ruled out. The fact of the matter is it was speculated that we'd see a major storyline development, but instead, we were given the beginning of the Shane/Stephanie power struggle angle. At this point, we ask ourselves: Is this angle in anyway groundbreaking to significant in terms of a new direction within WWE?

Payback's card included two standout match-ups: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens and AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns. Zayn and Owens was an epic, with both proving why they deserve some major time for their feud going forward. Owens was a masterful heel and at the same time, Zayn was the ideal babyface as he gained sympathy after shining bright during the match. As stated earlier, Styles and Reigns lived up to the billing, but both matches were overshadowed by the McMahon's feud that played out at the event.

After last Sunday, not much has really changed in WWE. Perhaps Payback was what we should've expected. Maybe it was simply a filler event coming off the heels of WrestleMania 32. Extreme Rules will be interesting, though. Will WWE start showing signs of a new creative direction? Maybe we'll get our answers in the coming weeks.

Brady Sauvageau
The Heater