6. Have Cesaro Win The I.C. Title
One of the show's most jaw-droppingly inept booking choices was
having Cesaro get rolled up by The Miz after being distracted by a
brawling Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
This was after Cesaro had already made Miz tap with the ref's back
turned, making it all the more infuriating at the same time. Considering
how Miz is so ridiculously outmatched by Cesaro, and Cesaro had been
long overdue a title push, how did this not just happen?
Sure, playing hot potato with the I.C. Title isn't great either, but
it's worth it to land it in Cesaro's hands, where he could hopefully
enjoy a long title reign.
Instead, Kevin Owens will probably end up re-capturing it rather than
moving onto bigger things, which sucks for both Owens and Cesaro.
5. Take The U.S. Title Off The Pre-Show
This shouldn't even have to be said, but keep the damn U.S. Title off the pre-show please!
This
is the third time this year that the strap has been defended before the
actual PPV even kicks off, and how are we supposed to take it seriously
as a belt if it's shoved into the seat-filler portion of the card?
That's not to say that Kalisto has had particularly interesting title
defenses as of late, but perhaps that's the problem that needs
addressing rather than taking the strap off the main card.
There
are a ton of opponents who could put on entertaining, energetic battles
with him, but apparently it's all about Ryback right now. Well, maybe
not now, but it was.
Now Kalisto will do battle with Rusev. Hopefully it won't be on the pre-show...
4. Baron Corbin Destroys Dolph Ziggler
The pre-show kicked off with an almost equally bad injustice,
however, as Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner Baron Corbin
for some reason lost to Dolph Ziggler, getting rolled up for the pin.
While there's certainly an argument to be made that the booking logic
here was to illustrate that Corbin is an arrogant but inexperienced
hothead, all it did was derail the momentum he got from WrestleMania.
It's not like the WWE are probably going to do much of interest with
Ziggler following this win, so what good did it really do? Corbin
winning would have further elevated his status in the company and
possibly continued his descent as a future top-line heel.
3. Tone Down Roman Reigns' Superman Booking
As weird and entertaining as Payback's main event was, creative
really need to tone down the Superman booking with regard to Roman
Reigns.
There's a point where his victories just seem cheap and hollow if
he's able to kick out of a ton of AJ Styles' signature moves (not to
mention some interference from Anderson and Gallows), and yet puts AJ
down for the count with a fairly weak-looking Spear.
Yes, the WWE desperately want to make Reigns the next Hogan or Cena,
but in this day and age, aren't fans eager for a wrestling contest
that's, well, actually a contest?
Where's the fun in watching the
already-disliked face champion shrug off so many finishers only to
suddenly make his opponent eat his own for the win?
2. Make Kevin Owens A Commentator For The Entire PPV
Say what you want about the various booking screw-ups at Payback, but
one thing the show undeniably got right was having Kevin Owens as a
guest commentator during the Miz-Cesaro match.
Owens basically spent the entire match trolling the other
commentators, perhaps most memorably telling Michael Cole, "A sleeper
hold is literally what you're doing to everyone at home."
Why couldn't we have just had Owens as a colour commentator for the
entire show (except when he fought Sami Zayn, of course)? The likes of
Owen Hart and Mr. Perfect have shown us in the past how hilarious and
awesome heel commentators can be, and Owens could bring some much needed
bluntness and candour to the broadcast.
1. Finn Balor Debuts
It seemed like a smart bet considering that Finn Balor just dropped
the NXT Title to Samoa Joe and both Anderson and Gallows recently
debuted on Raw...but there was no sign of Balor making a WWE debut at
Payback.
For one, it would've been a perfect way to take the title off Reigns
if the WWE actually wanted to listen to fans and swerve the mundane
predictability of a Roman win.
Even if not, though, Balor,
Anderson and Gallows getting AJ's back and establishing the Balor Club
(or Styles Club) would be pure fanboy wish fulfillment come true.
Instead, we're left twiddling our thumbs until he inevitably shows his face soon enough (hopefully).
WWE Superstar Mark Henry took to Twitter to express his condolences to
the family of one of his biggest fans. Award-winning journalist Michael
Feeney was an enthusiastic member of the WWE Universe, often posting
videos from WWE Live Events on his Instagram account. The former New
York Daily News journalist passed away suddenly earlier this week and
was a respected young voice in New York City communities.
