Here’s our final thoughts on Raw’s WWE Payback 2017!
Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Reactions: Meh. That’s the only feeling that came to mind after this match concluded. It’s akin to the usual match you catch between these two teams on your usual installment of Raw. You can totally bypass this one. We’re happy to see Enzo and Cass get a win though, so at least there’s that. Bet you money that this one will take place again on Raw with a special stipulation sooner rather than later.
Rating: 1 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Reactions: Man, Neville is such a sneaky bastard! This is another WrestleMania 33 rematch that wasn’t as strong as its predecessor, but it was still a pleasure to watch unfold. Aries and Neville are incapable of having a bad match against each other. Once again, we watched two quality Cruiserweights put on a match that’s much longer than the entirely too short ones that occur on Raw. Aries comeback sequence is always fun to watch and Neville’s heel shtick is still a good time to watch unfold. That Sunset Powerbomb to Neville from the top rope that followed right into the Last Chancery was a cool spot. Aries looked like he had the win on hand, but Neville chose to disrespect the ref to keep his title intact. The ending sucked, but the match up until that point was still decent enough.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
Reactions: This is the match we were supposed to get at Fastlane, but it was cut due to Rollins’ knee injury. Rollins conquered the very same boss that hired Samoa Joe to injure his knee and set his sights right back on his much bigger foe. After watching the entirety of this match, we’re open to seeing them go to war all over again. Rollins and Joe meshed well together here in a match that was all about Joe targeting Rollins’ surgically repaired knee. We witnessed both men pull off slick Suicide Dives, as well as most of the impressive moves that make up their signature moveset. Joe was his usual brutal self as he used his own body and several submission holds to break down Rollins’ knee even more. Rollins played the role of the adrenaline filled but still injured savior perfectly. He pulled off several big moves on Joe, but the story of his half healthy knee played a part in how he still proceeded. This back and forth match was cool, but it was more of a preview of something even more epic for the future. We still liked what we saw, but the fluke ending makes us think we’re in for something even better from these two.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: What we got here was another passable matchup. Nothing entirely special about the action presented here, but it still had its moments. Sheamus’ Celtic Cross from the top rope was pretty cool, plus Jeff bumped around like a pinball (which never gets old). Both teams looked good throughout and did enough to get the crowd to come alive. The final moments of this match moved at an incredibly fast pace and led right into Jeff bringing this bout to a close with a Swanton Bomb. This was okay. What happened after the match though is what has us looking forward to what’s next. Sheamus and Cesaro took out their frustration over their loss on Matt and Jeff just moments after shaking their hands. Now we have a clearly defined heel duo in this feud.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars