Now that WrestleMania 32 is in the books, it’s time to move onto the next state of affairs in the WWE.
Over the past few weeks, NXT regulars have gotten called up to the main roster. New #1 contenders have been decided. Championship titles have changed hands. With all that in mind, it’s time for everything to come to a head at WWE Payback 2016. AJ Styles will clash with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Roman Reigns. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will bring their longtime feud to the main WWE PPV stage. And a new tag team will fight to become the #1 contenders for The New Day’s WWE World Tag Team Championship. There’s so much to enjoy as we all check out this WWE PPV card full of 1st-time matchups.
Once Payback 2016 eventually gets underway (check out the links below to find out when), we’ll have all the results and highlights you need to know.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
Winner: Dolph Ziggler!
Highlights: After some jaw jacking between both men, Corbin and Ziggler got into an intense struggle. Corbin brought Ziggler down after throwing him chest first into the corner ring post. Corbin then got as brutal as possible by sliding outside the ring and laying in a solid right hand to Ziggler as he laid atop the bottom rope. Corbin continued to strike Ziggler down as the crowd went wild for Ziggler. Ziggler tried making a quick comeback, but Corbin laid him out by dropping his neck right atop the ropes. Corbin then went right back to beating down Ziggler by flinging him right back into the same corner ring post.
Corbin then locked Ziggler into a half-nelson chinlock. Ziggler rued everything in his power to escape. He laid in a nice headbutt and then a sleeper hold on the big man as the match wore on. Corbin backed up into the corner to get Ziggler off his back. Ziggler held on for a bit longer, got thrown off and then dropped Corbin with his Fame-Asser. On the outside of the ring, Ziggler went airborne but got taken out with a Big Boot counter. Corbin then flung Ziggler face first into the steel ring post. Before he re-entered the ring, Corbin taunted the booing audience. Back in the ring, Corbin got shocked with a quick-roll up pin by Ziggler.
Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback (WWE United States Championship)
Winner: And still the WWE United States Champion, Kalisto!
Highlights: Ryback threw some dirt on the Chicago fans and their hometown savior CM Punk by mimicking his entrance. Ryback wasted no time toying with his much smaller opponent. Kalisto stomped on the big man’s feet to get him off, which led to Ryback hitting the ropes and dropping Kalisto with a shoulder push. Kalisto then got the upper hand by hitting Ryback with a Monkey Toss, a dive through the middle rope and a plancha over the top rope. After all this offense, Ryback shook it off and threw Kalisto into the corner. Kalisto managed to catch Ryback off-guard with a quick hop onto him, but Ryback took hold of the little man and suplexed him.
Ryback then worked over Kalisto with a sleeper hold. Kalisto escaped but then got caught with a quick elbow strike. The action stayed in Ryback’s favor until Kalisto caught him with a nice Tornado DDT. Both men then ended up on the outside ring apron. A struggle ensued, but then Kalisto got in a good counter with a spinning DDT on the ring apron. Back inside the ring, Kalisto pulled off his best comeback moveset on the big guy. Kalisto looked to land his finisher, but Ryback almost countered it into his finisher. Kalisto escaped but then got dropped down hard with a Spinebuster.
Ryback tried to land something big off the top rope, but Kalisto put a stop to that with two nice side kicks. Ryback recovered and then dropped Kalisto with a top rope Gorilla Press Slam. Ryback then tried to flatten Ryback with a big splash, but Ryback dodged it and finished Ryback with his Salina Del Sol.
Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) (Tag Team Match to Determine the #1 Contender for the WWE Tag Team Championship)
Winners: No one…
Highlights: The New Day arrived and made some funny references to Beyonce and her newly released Lemonade album. And as expected, the crowd adored it all. They decided to sit ringside for this tag team encounter. Enzo and Cass pulled off their pre-match promo (Enzo hilariously dropped his live mic, but picked it up in due time). Enzo and Simon began the match with some lock up exchanges. Enzo ended up dropkicking Simon, who decided to tag in Aiden.
Aiden soon had to contend with the newly tagged in Cass. Cass got in some nice chops and then tagged in Enzo to land some strikes of his own. Cass and Enzo then dropped both their opponents with some efficient tag team maneuvers. Enzo ran full speed ahead at Aiden, but he paid for it by getting hit with Aiden’s feet. Enzo then got punished after getting thrown face first into the middle rope. Medical personnel got called in soon after to tend to Enzo, who was knocked out. Sadly, the match got called off…
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Winner: Kevin Owens!
Highlights: “OLE!” chants sprung out as Sami Zayn made his entrance. Zayn and Owens then struck each other with some stiff forearms to start the match. Zayn threw Owens to the outside and immediately put him down with a plancha to the outside. Zayn kept up the punishment on Owens by flinging him into the crowd barrier. Back in the ring, Owens laid Zayn’s neck over the top rope. Owens wasn’t able to capitalize though since Zayn put him down with a jumping Calf Kick. Zany got in a nice hurricanrana on Owens to throw him even more off balance. The match got even more violent as Owens later on got the heads up on Zayn. Owens threw Zayn right into the steel ring steps on the outside several times. Owens then put his rival back in the ring, taunted him relentlessly and beat him down with several strikes.
Owens worked on Zayn’s mid-section by suplexing him onto the top rope and then landing his Running Senton Splash right after. Zayn started fighting back with forearms, but Owens dropped him with a quick elbow drop. Zayn got right back to his feet and clotheslined Owens. Zayn got into his 2nd gear after hitting Owens with another clothesline and several punches. Owens kicked Zayn away from him, but then he got dropped hard with a Michinoku Driver. Soon after, the match got even crazier as Zayn hit his Blue Thunder Bomb on Owens. Owens shook off all the big moves done to him and hit his unique neckbreaker on Zayn, He followed that up quickly with a nice Frog Splash. Zayn continued to hang on, however.
Owens clotheslined Zayn in the corner and then went for two Cannonball Splashes. Owens then for his his finisher, but Zayn got pushed into the air for a dropkick counter. Zayn then landed another suplex on Owens, but Owens got right back up to land a big Lariat on Zayn. The crowd went wild as both men fought to get back to their feet. Once they did, both men landed right hands on each other simultaneously. Zayn almost got a quick roll-up pin, but Owens escaped. Zayn went up top for his his Tornado DDT, but Owens dropped Zayn right on his back into his knee. Both men ended up fighting on the ring apron and struck each other wildly. Owens looked to Powerbomb Zayn, but Zayn flipped him right onto the steel ring bracers.
Zayn then made the crowd come even more unglued after his his his Tornado DDT through the ring post on Owens. Zayn went for his finisher, but Owens cut him off with a Superkick and then won the match with his Pop Up Powerbomb. After the bell rang, Owens slapped Zayn and threw him right out of the ring. He then demanded that Byron Saxton interview him. He crapped all over Zayn and promised to get back his IC Championship. Owens chose to do guest commentary for the upcoming IC Title match.
Find out how to watch a free live stream of WWE Payback 2016 here:
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WWE Payback 2016: The Results & Highlights You Need to Know