WWE Payback Review - August 30, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: The Riott Squad def. The IIconics

I would've been much more interested in this match had we not just seen it a month ago in addition to every combination of these four against each other since then. The story was that Liv Morgan didn't know if she could trust Ruby Riott, but it hasn't been all that engaging. This was perfectly fine albeit nothing special. Hopefully the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship are in The Riott Squad's future.

Bobby Lashley def. Apollo Crews to Win the United States Championship

After Lashley failed to beat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the start of the summer​, it was imperative that he won the United States Championship here. They worked well together here and produced an entertaining opener. I was also happy the rest of The Hurt Business didn't interfere. The feud clearly isn't over based on how Crews attacked Lashley afterward. If The Hurt Business isn't going to recruit Lashley into their ranks, then it's time to move on from this feud.

Big E def. Sheamus

We literally just saw this match on SmackDown a little over a week ago and I have no idea why it happened again aside from giving Big E another credibility-building win as a singles star. That makes sense, but they should have established why Big E would want to face Sheamus again after already beating him clean once before. This was a hard-hitting affair and Big E went over as he should have. Sheamus, however, has no heat after losing a lot lately.

Matt Riddle def. King Corbin

This rivalry has been going on for just over two months now, so I applaud WWE for showing some resistance and not booking this bout on SmackDown prior to this pay-per-view. It wasn't the most exciting outing, but it was enjoyable enough that I didn't mind it lasting as long as it did. Riddle winning clean was the correct outcome, but I have no desire to see more matches between these two. It should be onward and upward from here for Riddle, not right back to Corbin.

Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax def. SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Baszler and Jax are a totally random and lame duo to me. Baszler should be fighting for the Raw Tag Team Championship right now and Jax is flat-out terrible. The match itself was one of the weakest of the night in my opinion, but if nothing else, the finish with Baszler locking in simultaneous submissions was creative. Jax and Baszler being the champions now doesn't make me any more invested in the women's tag team division than I was previously, even though it was time for Bayley and Banks to drop the titles.

Keith Lee def. Randy Orton

After the disappointing debut Lee had on Monday's Raw, I was really hoping he'd be able to bounce back here with a breakout performance. What we got from them was good but far from memorable. This never had a chance to get out of first gear before it abruptly ended, but Lee winning clean was absolutely the right call. That's what matters most, even though his entrance theme and attire are still works in progress. I'd be shocked if Lee wasn't contending for the WWE Championship sometime soon coming off this huge victory, possibly as early as Clash of Champions next month.

Rey and Dominik Mysterio def. Seth Rollins and Murphy

Much like most of the other matches on this show, I would have been way more excited for this encounter had WWE not just done it on Raw six days ago. On the bright side, this was a blast. Rey and Dominik are already a terrific team and Rollins and Murphy continue to play their heel roles remarkably well. Murphy accidentally kicking Rollins was what led to their loss and Rollins walked out on Murphy afterward, so clearly WWE is teasing tension between the two. I don't know if now's the time to split them up, but it might be for the best if this Rollins-Mysterio rivalry is reaching its conclusion. I'd be all for Rey and Dominik becoming tag team champions eventually.

Roman Reigns def. Braun Strowman and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Triple Threat Match to Win the Universal Championship

This was billed as being No Holds Barred, but in reality, all Triple Threat matches are No Holds Barred because there aren't any disqualifications. Any rate, I liked the end result with Reigns regaining the Universal Championship (which I didn't think I would say a week ago but that was before we found out he was a heel), but the layout was lazy. The idea was that Reigns was an asshole for entering the match late due to not signing the contract until that moment, but that makes absolutely no sense. If that was possible, why wouldn't more people do it? It accomplished what they wanted it to, but it was a weird way of getting there. What we got from Wyatt and Strowman was solid, but nothing they did mattered because it was predictable that Reigns would wait until the closing moments to show up and pick up the win. That said, I'm excited to see what the fallout will be on SmackDown and if Reigns will explain his alliance with Paul Heyman.

Overall Show

Fingers crossed WWE never does back-to-back pay-per-views again because this was in many ways an unnecessary show. Yes, three titles changed hands, but all three of those title changes could have happened on Raw or SmackDown in the buildup to or at Clash of Champions. Although this wasn't as strong of an event as SummerSlam, it was pretty decent on the whole. The Rey and Dominik vs. Rollins and Murphy match was the best of the night and Reigns' title win is sure to keep people talking heading into SmackDown. Riddle and Lee winning their respective matches was refreshing as well. It wasn't a show I'm going to re-watch any time soon, but the fact there weren't many mind-boggling booking decisions (except for that lame Triple Threat) made the two and a half hours worthwhile.