WWE Payback 2023 Preview: Full Card, Match Predictions & More
WWE Payback 2023 is coming up this Saturday night. Before the event takes place, let’s run down everything you need to know about the upcoming pay-per-view.
Who is scheduled for the card? How interesting does the show seem? What’s going to happen with all the matches?
Here is a full preview of WWE Payback 2023.
PPV EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET (kickoff), 8 p.m. ET (main show)
Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
MATCH CARD, PREDICTIONS & HEAT INDEX ANTICIPATION LEVELS
(as currently advertised; card is always subject to change)
Temperature Scale = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Heat Index is my assessment of how interesting the segment is, including how excited I am for the match and how intriguing the feud has been. The hotter, the better. Scorching translates to not being able to wait to see it, while Freezing means I couldn’t possibly care less and think it will be awful.
SINGLES MATCH FOR WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Seth Rollins wins.
Thoughts: Will the match be good? I’m sure so. Will it be Match of the Year great? I doubt it. More importantly, though, has this been built up well and does it have any semblance of doubt for the outcome? That’s where I have to put this as Temperate. They rushed this and it reeks of B-level pay-per-view placeholder feud. Sorry, Nakamura. No chance you win the title. You’re just being fed to Rollins because he needs something to do and this is yet another event without Roman Reigns.
SINGLES MATCH FOR WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Rhea Ripley wins.
Thoughts: If this were a bigger event like WrestleMania, I would have some intrigue in the possible title change. Here, at Payback, I don’t think there’s a chance Raquel wins the belt. After waiting so many weeks to pull the trigger on this, my level of interest has waned. This wasn’t even built up too well to begin with as they were stumbling around the women’s tag titles. The match won’t be all that amazing and the outcome is obvious.
STEEL CAGE MATCH:
Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus
Heat Index = Chilly
Prediction: Becky Lynch wins.
Thoughts: This was milked way too long. With each passing week, I cared less and less about this feud. It’s lost so much steam that we’re over a month away from me just wishing they wouldn’t bother doing the match at all, rather than hoping for the finale to follow through. I don’t think it will, by the way. I’m expecting this to be a slog to get through. At least let’s have Lita interfere to offset when Zoey Stark inevitably does, as that always happens in cage matches.
SINGLES MATCH FOR UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Austin Theory
Heat Index = Chilly
Prediction: Rey Mysterio wins.
Thoughts: Continuing the trend of lateral moves where nothing changes, rendering this kind of a pointless segment overall, Rey Mysterio isn’t going to drop the title right back to Austin Theory. I don’t know why WWE bothered to give Mysterio the belt to begin with, but I assume it’s because they have someone else in mind they want to beat him (like a heel turned Santos Escobar or Grayson Waller), rather than to just switch it back to Theory. This will be a run-of-the-mill match with Rey retaining and I can’t be too hyped about that after we’ve already seen it recently. It’s just a lesser rerun.
GRAYSON WALLER EFFECT:
With guest Cody Rhodes
Heat Index = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Thoughts: I hate it when WWE books promo segments for pay-per-views. Even though I’m fond of Cody Rhodes and Grayson Waller, this feels like such a waste. In particular, that’s because these two have nothing going on with each other right now whatsoever. It’s quite literally just being thrown together with no build. But MAYBE there’s an actual plan to do something interesting here and that’s what WWE is hoping will be the big takeaway from people, rather than this being something that could’ve easily happened on SmackDown or Raw.
SINGLES MATCH:
LA Knight vs. The Miz
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: LA Knight wins.
Thoughts: Ignore how the brand split shouldn’t allow this to happen. For an undercard match, I’m down for it. They’ve had some good promos ahead of time, including The Miz’s impersonation this week. Both are similar characters, so it makes sense to pair them off and see how they clash. Giving a win to Knight here isn’t the same as him winning a title or anything, but it’s another step forward in the right direction for his push.
UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP STEEL CITY STREET FIGHT MATCH:
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (c) vs. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor)
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens win.
Thoughts: This would be Hot if it wasn’t something we’ve seen over and over again for months. Having it be a street fight upgrades an otherwise bland repeat. Now that it is No Disqualification, there’s a chance Judgment Day win the titles. I’m about 50/50 on the prediction. Personally, I’d rather Balor win it with JD McDonagh than with Priest if that ends up happening, but I could also see this being the final straw that finally breaks Priest off from the group. Either way, I’m more interested in this outcome than most of the rest of the card, so that’s something.
OVERALL PPV:
How excited am I for the event as a whole?
Heat Index = Temperate
Thoughts: This is such a flatlined event. In no way does it give me the impression WWE really cares about it. It’s more like they’re filling in an obligation and tossed some “good enough” options out there. Lack of effort leads to a lack of thrill. I can’t get hyped about an event that looks like it won’t be memorable and that nothing at all will happen on the show.
What do you think is going to happen at WWE Payback? Which matches are you most excited to see? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
You can keep up with all your wrestling news right here on eWrestlingNews.com. Or, you can follow us over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.