Payback (2014)

Payback was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on June 1, 2014 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.[1] It was the second WWE pay-per-view held under the Payback name, the first having been held in 2013 at the same venue.

Payback
Promotional poster featuring Triple H holding his trademark sledgehammer
PromotionWWE
DateJune 1, 2014
CityRosemont, Illinois
VenueAllstate Arena
Attendance13,311
Buy rate67,000 (excluding WWE Network views)
Tagline(s)Payback… it’s what’s Best for Business!
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
NXT TakeOver		 Next →
Money in the Bank
Payback chronology
← Previous
2013		 Next →
2015

Nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, were contested at the event. In the main event, The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns) defeated Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista) in a No Holds Barred six-man tag team elimination match. In other prominent matches, John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett defeated Rob Van Dam to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

It was the first WWE pay-per-view since Armageddon (2006) not to feature a World Championship match. Payback drew 67,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from previous year's 186,000 buys.[2]

Production

Background

In 2013, WWE established Payback and it replaced their previously running pay-per-view No Way Out. The 2014 event was subsequently the second event in the Payback chronology, thus establishing Payback as an annual event.

Storylines

The card consisted of nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[3][4] Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.

The main feud heading into the event was between Evolution (Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista) and The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns). After losing to them at Extreme Rules,[5] Evolution continued to feud with The Shield. The following night on Raw, Triple H forced Ambrose to defend his United States Championship in a 20-man battle royal, which was won by Sheamus. The Shield then fought The Wyatt Family later in the night; just as things turned in The Shield's favor, Evolution came out and distracted The Shield, allowing Bray Wyatt to pick up the win for the Wyatt Family by pinning Reigns. Evolution then assaulted The Shield and hit Reigns with The Shield's signature triple power bomb.[6][7] The following week, The Shield challenged Evolution to a rematch at Payback, which Evolution accepted.[8] It was announced following week on Raw that the match at Payback will be a No Holds Barred six-man elimination tag team match.[9][10]

Since costing him title matches at the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, The Wyatt Family have been feuding with John Cena. This led to several matches at subsequent events, with Cena defeating Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania XXX in a singles match and Wyatt winning a steel cage match at Extreme Rules via escaping from the cage.[5] On the May 12 episode of Raw, Wyatt challenged Cena to a Last Man Standing match,[11] which was accepted by Cena on the May 16 episode of SmackDown.[12][13]

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan announced on May 12 that he would have undergo neck surgery later that week.[14] Because of this Stephanie McMahon suggested that Daniel Bryan would have to surrender the title if he cannot return to action by the pay-per-view where he was originally scheduled to defend against Kane. While his surgery was successful, it was still unknown if Bryan could compete for the title so McMahon gave him another week to surrender the title. On the May 26 episode of Raw,[15] Bryan stated that while he found no shame in dropping the title due to injury, he did not want to give it to McMahon after everything he had been through. Upset at this, she gave Bryan one more chance to give her the title saying that if he does not surrender the title to her by the pay-per-view, she would fire his wife Brie Bella.[16]

El Torito and Hornswoggle would continue their feud. They previously fought at Extreme Rules in the first ever WeeLC match, which saw Torito defeat Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle put forth a Mask vs. Hair match wagering his hair against El Torito's mask which would take place on the Kickoff pre-show.

Paige defended her WWE Divas Championship against Alicia Fox at Payback. The two divas faced each other on the May 12 episode of Raw,[17][18] which Paige won, and on the May 19 episode of Raw, which Fox won.[19]

Sheamus defended his United States Championship against Cesaro at Payback. The two wrestlers fought to a double countout on the May 13 episode of Main Event.[20] On the May 19 episode of Raw, Cesaro defeated Sheamus in a non-title rematch due to a distraction from Cesaro's manager Paul Heyman, setting up the title match at the pay-per-view.[19][21]

On the May 19 edition of Raw, there were three beat the clock challenge matches to determine a new number one contender to face Bad News Barrett for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Payback. The matches were Big E vs. Ryback, Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio, and Dolph Ziggler vs. Mark Henry. Big E beat Ryback to set a time of 5:02; Van Dam defeated Del Rio and set a new time of 4:15, and Ziggler and Henry wrestled to a time limit draw. This gave Van Dam the win and the title shot.[19][22]

On the May 26 episode of Raw, Zack Ryder celebrated Memorial Day by coming out with an American flag before facing Rusev. Rusev defeated Ryder via submission, but refused to let go after the bell rang until Big E came in, eventually knocking Rusev out of the ring. This set up a match between both men at Payback.[23][24]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English Commentators Michael Cole
John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Jerry Lawler
Spanish Commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodriguez
Ricardo Rodriguez
Backstage interviewer Byron Saxton
Ring announcers Lilian Garcia
Justin Roberts
Referees Charles Robinson
John Cone
Darrick Moore
Ryan Tran
Chad Patton
Pre-show panel Josh Mathews
Booker T
Kofi Kingston
Alex Riley

Pre-show

During the Payback Kickoff pre-show, El Torito defeated Hornswoggle in a Mask vs. Hair match which was followed by El Torito shaving the head of Hornswoggle in a barber's chair at ringside.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Sheamus defending the United States Championship against Cesaro. In the end, Cesaro performed a Cesaro Swing on Sheamus. As Cesaro went to pin Sheamus, Sheamus pinned Cesaro with a Small Package to retain the title.

Next, Cody Rhodes and Goldust faced Ryback and Curtis Axel. The match ended when Rhodes attempted a Beautiful Disaster Kick on Ryback but Ryback caught Rhodes and executed Shellshocked on Rhodes for the win. After the match, Rhodes told Goldust that because they lost a lot of matches together recently, he deserved a better partner and walked out on him.

After that, Rusev wrestled Big E. Rusev forced Big E to submit to The Accolade to win the match.

In the fourth match, Kofi Kingston faced Bo Dallas. The match was ruled a no-contest after Kane came down to the ring and attacked Kingston with a Chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver.

Later, Bad News Barrett defended the Intercontinental Championship against Rob Van Dam. The end came when Van Dam attempted a Split Legged Moonsault but Barrett countered the move by raising his knees. Barrett executed a Bull Hammer to retain the title.

Next was a segment involving WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Stephanie McMahon about Bryan surrendering the championship or his wife Brie Bella would be fired. As Bryan was about to surrender the title, Brie announced that she had quit instead. After McMahon laughed at her, Brie slapped McMahon.

In the next match, John Cena faced Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing Match. Before the match, Tag Team Champions The Usos came out to support Cena and counteract Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of The Wyatt Family. During the match, both men executed their respective finishing moves - Wyatt a Sister Abigail and Cena an Attitude Adjustment - but in both cases, the opponent did not stay down. After Rowan attacked Cena, Harper and Rowan fought with The Usos. After both men attacked the other with a chair, Wyatt performed a Drop Suplex through a table on Cena but Cena beat the count. Cena leapt off the apron but Wyatt caught Cena and executed Sister Abigail, with Cena managing to stand. Cena delivered an Attitude Adjustment to Wyatt but Harper and Rowan came back, attacked Cena and helped Wyatt stand. The Usos came back, attacking Harper and Rowan. Jey put Rowan through a table with a Running Hip Attack, which was followed by Harper putting Jimmy through two tables with a Superplex. Wyatt executed a Running Crossbody through the barricade on Cena but Cena managed to stand. In the end, Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment through an equipment crate on Wyatt and pushed another crate onto the crate which Wyatt was in. As Wyatt could not stand, Cena won the match. The match would later be named Match of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

In the penultimate match, Paige defended the WWE Divas Championship against Alicia Fox. Paige forced Fox to submit to the PTO to retain the title.

Main event

In the main event, The Shield faced Evolution in a No Holds Barred Six-Man Elimination Tag Team match. At the start, Rollins fought with Triple H, Ambrose fought with Orton and Reigns fought with Batista. Eventually, the two teams fought in the ring. The match descended into a brawl throughout the arena, where Orton attacked Ambrose and Triple H hit Rollins with a TV monitor. Evolution performed a Triple Powerbomb through a broadcast table on Reigns. Ambrose and Rollins fought with Evolution in the entrance way, where Orton executed a Belly-to-Back Suplex through a chair on Ambrose and Triple H executed a Pedigree on Rollins onto a chair. Back in the ring, Batista executed a Spinebuster on Reigns, Evolution hit Reigns with kendo sticks whilst he was incapacitated on the steel steps.

Reigns executed a Superman Punch on Orton, but Triple H hit Reigns with a chair. Evolution fought with The Shield in the entrance way again, where Rollins leapt off the TitanTron onto Evolution. Back in the ring, Rollins attempted a diving knee, Batista countered with a mid-air spear. When he was just about to cover Rollins, Reigns executed a spear on Batista, allowing Rollins to eliminate him. Ambrose hit Orton after Orton attempted a second-rope DDT on Reigns with a chair and executed Dirty Deeds onto the chair to eliminate him. Triple H hit a low blow on Ambrose and attempted a Pedigree but Reigns executed a Superman Punch on Triple H. Batista executed a Spear on Reigns and Orton passed Triple H his sledgehammer. Triple H hit Ambrose with the sledgehammer and attempted to hit Reigns with the sledgehammer but Rollins executed a springboard high knee on Triple H. Reigns executed a spear on Triple H to eliminate him and win the match for The Shield with a clean sweep.

Aftermath

On the June 2 episode of Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Kane in a stretcher match if he is able to compete.[25] If Bryan is not able to compete, he will be stripped of the title, and the Money in the Bank ladder match will be for the vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, Bryan was officially stripped of the title on the June 9 episode of Raw.[26][27]

Seth Rollins, on his knees, being confronted by his former teammates Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns after he betrayed them

While Evolution was in the ring addressing that their loss to The Shield is not the end of their feud, Batista interrupted Triple H, demanding the one-on-one WWE World Heavyweight Championship match which he earned at the Royal Rumble. After Triple H explained that Batista cannot have a title shot that night due to Bryan's injury, Batista announced his resignation and left the ring. Later that night, Triple H and Randy Orton confronted The Shield, with Triple H announcing that their loss at Payback was "Plan A", and that he had a "Plan B". Without warning, Seth Rollins attacked Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns with a steel chair, turning his back on The Shield and aligning himself with The Authority.[28]

Bo Dallas took on Kofi Kingston in a rematch. Bo ended up defeating Kingston, continuing his undefeated streak.[29]

The next night on Raw, Cody choose Sin Cara as the new partner for Goldust and the two took on Curtis Axel and Ryback. Sin Cara and Goldust ended up losing and Cody, who was watching the match backstage, had a disappointed look on his face. He then proceeded to choose R-Truth next week on Raw and finally as a new persona called Stardust.

In June, Paige feuded with Cameron and defeated her in two non-title matches. However, Cameron's tag team partner Naomi went on to beat Paige in a non-title match, leading to Naomi being granted a title match at Money in the Bank, which she lost.

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[30]
1P El Torito (with Diego and Fernando) defeated Hornswoggle (with Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal) Mask vs. Hair match[31] 07:14
2 Sheamus (c) defeated Cesaro (with Paul Heyman) Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[32] 11:38
3 RybAxel (Curtis Axel and Ryback) defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust Tag team match 07:49
4 Rusev (with Lana) defeated Big E by submission Singles match[33] 03:40
5 Bo Dallas vs. Kofi Kingston ended in a no contest Singles match 00:32
6 Bad News Barrett (c) defeated Rob Van Dam Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship[34] 09:32
7 John Cena (with The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated Bray Wyatt (with Erick Rowan and Luke Harper) Last Man Standing match[35] 24:24
8 Paige (c) defeated Alicia Fox by submission Singles match for the WWE Divas Championship[36] 06:37
9 The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) defeated Evolution (Batista, Randy Orton and Triple H) No Holds Barred Elimination match[37] 30:56
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show

No Holds Barred six-man elimination tag team match
Elimination Wrestler Team Eliminated by Elimination move Time
1 Batista Evolution Seth Rollins Pinned after a Spear from Reigns 27:32[30]
2 Randy Orton Evolution Dean Ambrose Pinned after a Dirty Deeds on a chair 28:37[30]
3 Triple H Evolution Roman Reigns Pinned after a Diving high knee from Rollins and a Spear 30:56[30]
Winner(s): The Shield (clean sweep)

References
  1. Gomez, Luis (January 21, 2014). "WWE's Payback returning to Allstate Arena". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  2. "Updated WWE PPV Buys For WrestleMania, Extreme Rules, Payback And Money In The Bank". WrestlingInc.com. July 31, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  5. "Extreme Rules Matches". WWE.com. April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/12: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - big injury angle, Batista vs. Reigns main event, Cena & Usos vs. Wyatts, post-Raw events". PWTorch.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  7. "Raw: May 5, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  8. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/12: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - big injury angle, Batista vs. Reigns main event, Cena & Usos vs. Wyatts, post-Raw events". PWTorch.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  9. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/26: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Memorial Day Raw - Daniel Bryan's (delayed) Decision, final Payback PPV hype, more". PWTorch.com. May 26, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  10. "Raw: May 26, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  11. "Raw: May 12, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  12. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/12: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - big injury angle, Batista vs. Reigns main event, Cena & Usos vs. Wyatts, post-Raw events". PWTorch.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  13. "PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 5/16: Ongoing, not-quite-virtual time coverage of Friday show, including John Cena vs. a Wyatt Family member". PWTorch.com. May 16, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  14. "Raw: May 12, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  15. "Raw: May 26, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  16. Benigno, Anthony. "Stephanie McMahon demanded Daniel Bryan surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championship". WWE. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  17. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/12: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - big injury angle, Batista vs. Reigns main event, Cena & Usos vs. Wyatts, post-Raw events". PWTorch.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  18. "Raw: May 12, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  19. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/19: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of London Raw - fate of WWE World Title announced, Batista vs. Rollins, Beat the Clock, Wyatts-Cena, more". PWTorch.com. May 19, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  20. "CALDWELL'S WWE MAIN EVENT RESULTS 5/13: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Sheamus vs. Cesaro brawl, Alicia Fox has another meltdown, Sandow loses again". PWTorch.com. May 13, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  21. "Raw: May 19, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  22. "Raw: May 19, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  23. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 5/26: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Memorial Day Raw - Daniel Bryan's (delayed) Decision, final Payback PPV hype, more". PWTorch.com. May 26, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  24. "Raw: May 26, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  25. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 6/2: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - PPV fall-out, huge angle at the end of Raw, post-Raw coverage, MITB hype, more". PWTorch.com. June 2, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  26. "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 6/9: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - Daniel Bryan's WWE Title status, Cena joins Shield for main event, Bray Wyatt returns, more". PWTorch.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  27. "Raw: June 9, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  28. Caldwell, James. "Caldwell's WWE Raw results 6/2: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – PPV fall-out, huge angle at the end of Raw, post-Raw coverage, MITB hype, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  29. "Raw: June 2, 2014 | Matches, Results, Videos, Photos, and More". WWE.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  30. Caldwell, James (June 1, 2014). "CALDWELL'S WWE PAYBACK PPV RESULTS 6/1: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live PPV - Bryan's Decision, Shield vs. Evolution "Final Battle," Cena vs. Wyatt". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  31. Clapp, John. "Hornswoggle vs. El Torito (If El Torito lost, he would unmask himself. But, if Hornswoggle lost, he would shave his hair. Mask vs Hair Match)Match". WWE. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  32. Clapp, John. "United States Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro". WWE. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  33. Taylor, Scott. "Rusev vs. Big E". WWE. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  34. Clapp, John. "Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam". WWE. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  35. Clapp, John. "John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt (Last Man Standing Match)". WWE. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  36. Wortman, James. "Divas Champion Paige vs. Alicia Fox". WWE. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  37. Clapp, John. "The Shield vs. Evolution (No Holds Barred Elimination Match)". WWE. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.