Payback 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 173 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 26 2013

Despite a familiar line-up and the feelings of relative staleness due to the end of WrestleMania Season, Payback 2013 is surprisingly a great show to watch, and therefore the DVD should provide you with plenty of entertainment.

Here's why: after a very well-received opener for the Intercontinental Title, pitting Bad News Barrett against The Miz and Curtis Axel (replacing Fandango), we get the best Divas Title match since the days of Trish Stratus and Lita as AJ Lee and Kaitlyn put on one hell of a battle. Dean Ambrose vs. Kane admittedly has that filler feeling to it, but the same cannot be said about Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio, which is a World Title with a difference, namely the incredibly stiff offence (based around Ziggler's real-life concussion issues) and a double turn, which is well-executed.

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Payback 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 186 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 18 2014

Payback 2014 compensates for the lack of a World Title match, due to the injuries suffered by WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, with a memorable double main event and some gems further down the card.

The opener, between Sheamus and Cesaro, is a hard-hitting battle, with the highlight perhaps coming pre-match from Paul Heyman as he shuts down the "CM Punk!" chants within the Chicago crowd. RybAxel vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust at least serves a purpose, although most expected that to be a Cody heel turn as opposed to his eventual transformation into Stardust. Rusev vs. Big E is better than expected with the two big men putting on a very good, if brief, brawl; conversely, Kofi Kingston is demolished by Kane before his impromptu match with Bo Dallas ever gets started.

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Payback 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 192 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: June 27 2016

As annoying as WWE's repeated statements of it being "A New Era" were and are, there's no doubt that the WWE product has improved since WrestleMania 32. The first post-Mania PPV event, Payback 2016, is a fine example with several really good matches, all of which make for a very enjoyable wrestling DVD.

It starts on a sour note, admittedly, with Enzo Amore suffering a frightening concussion that results in the tag match between Enzo/Big Cass and The Vaudevillains being abandoned (fortunately, Amore ultimately needed a few weeks to recover; judging by the impact, Enzo could have been a lot worse off). The always-rowdy Chicago crowd was clearly shook up, as were the announcers. Thankfully, things get back on track in a big way with a great Kevin Owens-Sami Zayn battle, and KO sticks around to provide some amusing commentary on another strong match between Cesaro and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose is an other worthy match but, on this night, the preceding matches (as well as one later on in the show) overshadow the efforts of Jericho and Ambrose.

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Payback 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 176 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 13 2015

Payback 2015 saw the continuation of Seth Rollins' WWE Title reign and the conclusion of the long feud between John Cena and Rusev. Otherwise, it was largely a case of the same old product from WWE, although there are a number of enjoyable matches.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus is superior to their previous meeting at Extreme Rules, despite Ziggler suffering an unplanned - and huge - amount of blood loss at the finish. The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro is another strong match between the two, arguably their best yet under Two Out Of Three Falls rules. Meanwhile, Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback is a bit short, meaning that a few more minutes could have seen the two men put together a memorable effort.

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WWE Payback 2013

Image Source: Wrestling
DVD Network

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: June 16 2013
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Attendance: 12,500

Payback was a whole new PPV for WWE (well, a new name for a PPV anyway), but it's hard to see where the theme fit in with the matches on hand. John Cena vs. Ryback had a minor layer of revenge to it, and Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio did too if you consider a title rematch stemming from a Money In The Bank cash-in to represent possible retribution. But CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho didn't (not this year, anyway), nor did any of the matches involving members of The Shield. Kaitlyn vs. AJ Lee was the only match where the "Payback" moniker may have been suitable, and even that initially came about because AJ earned a Divas Title shot, hardly the sort of thing to swear revenge upon. (I'm half-joking with this, by the way, since PPV themes/names are decided months in advance.)

Fortunately, this could have been called Payback, Backlash or Honey Boo Boo's Wrestling Parade for the difference that the name made in terms of the in-ring action, which ultimately proved to be very good. Some unexpected mid-card gems were met with a worthy double main event and a big double-turn in the World Title match, all in front of the usual electric Chicago crowd. So, whilst Payback might have seemed like an odd name beforehand, it will prove to be amongst the top names on the "Best PPVs Of 2013" lists when they are drawn up at the end of the year.

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WWE Payback 2014

Image Source: Bleacher Report

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: June 1 2014
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Attendance: 13,311

The second annual Payback event promised a double main event, which were likely to bring an end to the rivalries between Evolution and The Shield and the long-running saga between John Cena and Bray Wyatt. Although the previous PPV Extreme Rules is based around stipulations, both of these big matches had unique rules in the form of No Holds Barred Elimination and Last Man Standing respectively.

One thing which Payback would not have is a WWE Title match, since Daniel Bryan's presumed defence against Kane was postponed due to a Bryan neck injury. Would Bryan vacate the title on this show? That was a key storyline heading into Payback, with many speculating that Bryan really could have to vacate his crown depending on the severity of his injury. Add to that an intriguing under card and the usually rabid Chicago crowd (many of whom would be bellowing support for the recently-departed CM Punk, no doubt), and you potentially have a pretty exciting supershow on your hands.

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WWE Payback 2016

Image Source: Strictly Sports

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: May 1 2016
Location: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Attendance: 13,250

The first PPV event after WrestleMania 32 was eagerly anticipated, largely due to the wealth of fresh talent and matches that the show would provide, especially in contrast to the usual formula of the post-WM event hosting Mania rematches. In addition, the event would apparently confirm who would be in charge of Raw after confusion concerning this situation.

Before the event began, the Kick-off Show hosted two matches, the first being Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin. Corbin debuted officially by winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WM 32 and has steamrolled through talent ever since, having targeted Ziggler in particular over the preceding four weeks. The logical assumption was that this match would give Ziggler a chance to display his array of skills but would ultimately succumb to the domination of the newcomer.

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WWE Payback 2015

Image Source: Bleacher Report

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: May 17 2015
Location: Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Attendance: 10,000

The latest WWE supercard felt like a bridge between the last remnants of the rivalries which were the basis for WrestleMania 31 and the feuds which are to take centre stage over the summer in WWE. It didn't feel like essential viewing beforehand, and having seen the show, it is unlikely to be a contender for the card of the year. However, there was still enough high-quality action to make it a worthwhile three hours.

The show opened with a rematch from Extreme Rules between Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus. This, as you may recall, stemmed from the "Kiss Me A--e" match at the previous PPV which Ziggler won but with Sheamus having been the one to, erm, make the most of the stipulation. Common sense suggests that this contest should have had a more exciting add-on to truly establish it as a feud-ender, or at least to have switched this match around with the one from the previous event. However, those days in WWE are gone, and instead we had the basic match here to follow the stip bout from three weeks ago.

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