Enzo Amore and Big Cass will fight Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson at WWE ‘Payback.’ (WWE.com)
Payback, the latest WWE pay-per-view, will air tonight. There are currently eight matches scheduled to take place on Sunday evening, but at least one match always airs as part of the pre-show and not during the actual pay-per-view. So which match is taking place on the pre-show this year?
According to WWE.com, the match between Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson will take place on the Payback pre-show.
That’s the only match that’s airing before the pay-per-view starts, but in addition to that, the kickoff show will also feature a Miz TV segment in which The Miz interviews Finn Balor. Neither Finn Balor nor The Miz has a match at Payback.
The Payback pre-show begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, one hour before the pay-per-view itself. In addition to the match and the Miz TV segment, the kickoff show will also feature some discussion among the Raw commentators, with this discussion typically being lead by Renee Young.
This match between Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson is not for any championship; instead, the Raw Tag Team Championship match takes place during the show itself, and it will feature The Hardy Boyz defending their title against Cesaro and Sheamus.
The Miz TV segment with Finn Balor should be particularly interesting because Balor has not had a chance to cut a promo since he returned to the WWE earlier this month. What are his goals now that he is back? At what point will he set his sights on the Universal Championship, the title that he never lost but simply had to vacate due to an injury?
Seven matches are scheduled for the actual Payback show. Those matches are:
- Neville vs. Austin Aries
- Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho
- The Hardy Boyz vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
- Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
- Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe
- Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss
- Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
Viewers never know what the order of the matches will be heading into a pay-per-view, but it’s safe to assume that the main event will likely be the match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. That’s the match on this card that has had the biggest build, and Roman Reigns just recently performed in the main event of WrestleMania 33.
The Raw Tag Team Championship match also typically comes towards the beginning of the show, and so we should probably expect the Tag Team Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship match somewhere in the first hour, and the Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt and the Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman matches in the final hour.
WWE Payback airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the WWE Network.