A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: August 18th 2014
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 12.99
Blu-ray £ 13.99
(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)
Format Reviewed:
DVD
(Also Available on Blu-ray)
What It’s About:
Better
late than never, this is the 2014 Payback pay-per view event from the All-State
Arena in Chicago, Illinois on June 1st 2014, featuring The Shield vs Evolution
in a No Holds Barred Elimination Match, John Cena vs Bray Wyatt in a Last Man
Standing Match plus much, much more.
Strengths:
As
always, we begin with the match of the night which was always going to be The
Shield vs Evolution in the No Holds Barred Elimination Match. For those who
marvelled at their Extreme Rules encounter will be thrilled by this bout which
tops what the six men did in the post-WrestleMania season. Beginning at a
canter, there’s so much to watch the cameramen and director has a hard time
keeping track of it all whilst the six men, in pairs, take turns competing in
the ring area so there’s always something for the hard cam to focus on. The
bout degenerates into a normal six man tag which is packed with counters,
reversals and crisp action right until the prolonged finale which sees Evolution
take control and The Shield forced to fight from behind. Seth Rollins and Dean
Ambrose are debilitated by the faction whilst Roman Reigns takes a hell of
beating but shows an incredible amount of guts by refusing to stay down. This
is the kind of stuff which stars are made of. Seth Rollins’ dive from the titan
tron is amazing as is the packed final few moments where The Shield take apart
Evolution and eliminate them one by one. It was brave for WWE too book the trio
to go over in a clean sweep and comprehensively. That Roman Reigns pins Triple
H to win the bout is a huge indicator of where the company see him going in the
not so distant future.
Sheamus
vs Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship is a thrilling opener which
has all the makings of a WrestleMania highlight should WWE have possessed the
foresight to book the pair in a bigger role than they currently portray on
television. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the bout I will state that
Cesaro’s current losses, including here to Sheamus are completely unacceptable
and not the star making vehicle which he so desperately needs. Do you realise
that Sheamus has now lost at Payback, Money in the Bank, Battleground and
SummerSlam which is four events in a row not to mention the demeaning losses
he’s suffered on Raw to Jack Swagger which have only served to bring down the
image WWE should be building for him. If WWE don’t turn him around quickly,
he’s going to be beyond saving. Onto the match itself which is just superb in
every way. Packed with gripping counters, excellent reversals and the odd near
fall which isn’t half bad either, it begins with a rousing reception for Paul
Heyman who is allowed to mention hometown hero C.M Punk who gets a massive
chant before a thoroughly excellent promo comes to a close. Cesaro is the star
of this bout as far as the fans are concerned and cements that love with some
brilliant offence which includes a sublime uppercut reversal of a Sheamus
diving shoulderblock, a dead-weight suplex and a divine double-underhook
suplex. The moment of the match occurs when Sheamus reverses a neutralizer into
a white noise and if there’s one gripe with the bout, it’s that Sheamus
recovers from a Cesaro swing far too quickly and hardly sells the move at all
before rolling up his challenger for the victory.
Rusev
vs Big E. may be short but it’s quite brilliant in its execution. Surpassing
all expectations, both men put in a hell of a shift in this thoroughly
entertaining romp. For maybe the first time since breaking away from Dolph
Ziggler, Big E. looked thoroughly impressive and should have be able continue
this kind of form into 2015 then maybe WWE will grant him a push to the top of
the card. His look certainly grants him passage if he works hard enough.
Langston ‘s spear on Rusev from ring to outside is just outstanding and to his
credit, Rusev doesn’t take it squeamishly like everyone else seems to, he
simply lets go and takes a wicked bump backwards. On the subject of Rusev, he’s
fast, crisp and polished in the best and toughest match of his main roster career
so far though I suspect John Cena will be the man to break his Accolade
finisher before we reach 2015. I’ve been watching Lana for months now and it’s
only just struck me what a desirable belle she is. Her accent is brilliant
considering she’s really American and with those looks; she could a hell of a
long way.
Bad
News Barrett vs Rob Van Dam isn’t anything special for the longest of times but
is very watchable and begins with a great promo by Barrett about “someone
needing to put old yella down”. When he finally does return, he’s going to be
even bigger than he is here. The perfect comeback for him would be to oppose
someone massive who is on a big streak, that way WWE could have that person
come out and brag there is no one who can beat him before challenging someone
to come out. Then, after not being seen for months fans would go crazy when
Barrett’s voice came over the system from backstage with the line “I’m afraid
I’ve got some bad news!” He could then wander out and tell the person, “You’re
no longer facing those inferior stars son. You’re facing Bad News Barrett!” As
for the match here, it’s by the numbers for the most part but Barrett is by far
the better of the pair, keeping the action watchable with his irresistible
charm, whilst the final bull hammer elbow is a welcome release. Rob Van Dam
looks overtly old here and even uncertain about himself when balancing on the
top rope.
Daniel
Bryan and Brie Bella confronting Stephanie McMahon is a very good segment which
ran the risk of slowing down the show to a drag, but in fact runs smoothly with
great performances from all three and they includes the beautiful Brie Bella.
You can’t escape the fact though that Stephanie is the star of this show. She’s
just outstanding as the condescending heel and her lines are from the top draw,
including “One day, you might conceive some weird, bearded babies” and “These
people want you to quit, just like C.M Punk did”. That is a brilliant line.
Daniel Bryan once again recognises our contribution to his success in the video
package which sets up this segment by stating that should he hand over the
titles, then he’s negating all the hard work both he and his fans worked for.
Brie’s slap on Stephanie is also very well handled, though it would have been
the perfectly ending for her had she never returned. Jerry Lawler and JBL
provide the laughs prior to the segment when Lawler spouts the line “Happy
wife, happy life. I don’t think Daniel Bryan has any choice” before JBL steals
the moment with the line “Right, he can always find another wife” that is just
brilliant.
John
Cena vs Bray Wyatt’s Last Man Standing Match is a tour de force compared to
what the pair had limited themselves to at WrestleMania and Extreme Rules and
it’s a fair statement to say that this is bout which should have been present
on WrestleMania night, maybe everything that followed could have been
overlooked if the pair had pulled out something this gripping. Before we get
into the match itself, I will say that John Cena’s selling is utterly
deplorable once again and until he fixes this aspect of his game then he will
continue to receive criticism from your Wrestling God. WWE shoot themselves in
the foot with the opening video package which has John Cena stating that “Payback
isn’t about winning, but the last man standing” which poses the question of why
John Cena had to keep winning in this rivalry. Nevertheless, both men excel
here beginning with Bray Wyatt’s crowd control before the bout even begins
which he handles like a pro. JBL at last shuts Jerry Lawler up from bad mouthing
The Wyatt Family with the line “Whether you like him or not, this movement is
rolling”. Lawler has no comeback to that. Once the bout kicks off it builds
tensions superbly and even though this match is Cena’s speciality and there’s
no chance of him losing, moments occur when you believe Cena will go down this
time. Bray dancing with the walking merchandise machine is very amusing despite
the unrealistic comeback which follows whilst John Cena nails the flying leg
drop from the top rope to perfection. A wonderful distraction which serves as an
aside comes in the form of Luke Harper, who keeps touching his nose like a
smack addict, and Eric Rowan’s scrap with The Usos at ringside which concludes
with a stunning top rope suplex by Harper on one of the Usos to the outside and
through a table. It’s just outstanding. John Cena’s vicious side is another
teaser of what could be accomplished should he turn heel in the near future.
There’s an incredible sight as he hoists the ring steps above his head and
hurls them at Bray Wyatt in the aisle. The force of the steps connecting with
Bray’s face is amazing. Thanks to the counters, the reversals and some
excellent stuff, this bout excels at its intended target though for the finale
which sees John Cena AA Bray from a lighting rig through a stunt box and push
another on top to prevent escape, I would have liked to see Bray at least
attempt escape by maybe sticking his arm through the space as if to signal he’s
trying to get out whilst John Cena and The Usos struggled to hold the trap in
place. Otherwise, this is brilliant.
Paige
vs Alicia Fox is an intense battle from beginning to end which showcases Paige’s
tougher and more evil side which we are now seeing from the British beauty. The
aggression shown by Paige is impressive and when combined with the counters,
reversals and hard hitting offence on display this is Paige’s best Championship
defence since she dethroned A.J the night after WrestleMania. That’s not to say
that the match is all Paige though as Alicia Fox gets a good showing as to what
she’s capable of if allowed to shine. Paige takes a wicked pasting in the form
of hard hits and some wicked manoeuvres from Fox but comes back strong. It’s a
shame the bout went on after the brilliant Last Man Standing Match because fans
were resting for the big finale and this deserved more reaction than it got in
the end. The PTO submission hold is very well done and it’s miraculous how much
Paige has come on since April.
Weaknesses:
Cody
Rhodes and Goldust vs Rybaxel is the worst, actual match on the card. Ryback
and Curtis Axel look terrible here and the latter appears as if he’s been so
run down by his treatment at the hands of the company that he can no longer
muster any will to do something outstanding. Ryback on the other hand still has
a chance to make it if he ups his game and takes a face turn in 2015. His size
will make sure that he’s pushed well by the company. As for the opposition,
Goldust is the standout star in the greatest phase of his career to date whilst
Cody Rhodes is lifeless for the most part and though throws a few good moves at
his foes, and botched a moonsault which could have injured both Ryback and
Curtis Axel. He desperately needed that gimmick change. Like this bout, he was
going nowhere.
Kofi
Kingston vs Bo Dallas never begins and serves as a platform for Kane to wheel
out his destructive character. As Kane disrupts the bout before the bell rings,
the referee maddeningly rings the bell as Kane strikes Kingston. Shouldn’t that
have been a disqualification for Dallas and victory for Kingston? After a
tombstone, Kane leaves and Dallas gives his speech. It’s a wasted opportunity.
The
Payback Panel are wholly ineffectual and though I won’t go into detail about
their mad ramblings, all I will say is that Alex ‘I seem to have put on ten
pounds’ Riley is the luckiest man in the wrestling industry. After all of the
cuts that have been rife in the company, he’s somehow survived. I guess the old
adage of ‘out of sight, out of mind; proved to be true.
As
for the extras:
‘Nikki
Bella Weighs in On Daniel Bryan’s Decision’ is a thirty second bore, in which
the Bella twin says what any of us watching could have pointed out. She’s
plain, boring and looks like an automaton as she tells us that she has no idea
what Daniel and Brie will do later on in the show. You don’t say. Its
ridiculous little extras like this that bring down a release. Leave it out and
put something different on for us to watch. Because this is a pathetic attempt
to fill out space on the release.
Hornswoggle
vs El Torito in a Mask vs Hair Match on the Payback Kick-Off is mostly by the
numbers and nothing we haven’t seen in their superior Extreme Rules Kick-Off
Match which was much more entertaining than this. The bout does get a ‘This is
Awesome’ chant from the capacity crowd but that is mostly for the excellent
interactions between 3MB and Los Matadores where the teams dive from the ring
onto each other, thought I will concede the hurricanrana from Torito to Slater
into the gathered crowd is mightily impressive. The rest is pedestrian and the
pair repeat a match ending Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho first did in 2009 when
Hornswoggle rips the mask from El Torito who has another underneath and defeats
the dwarf to warrant a head shave which goes on and on.
‘Renee
Young Interviews Sheamus’ is yet another meaningless interview which barely
lasts long enough for Sheamus to say or do anything meaningful. His heel turn
could have begun here but instead he’s given a half arsed script to repeat
which could have been recorded from a television programme. That’s how
meaningless it is.
DVD and Blu-ray Special
Features:
Payback Kick-Off Match
Hair vs Mask Match
Hornswoggle
vs El Torito
Payback Kick-Off
‘Nikki
Bella Weighs in on Daniel Bryan’s Decision’
Payback After Show
‘Renee
Young Interviews Sheamus’
Blu-ray Exclusive
Extras:
Raw –May 5th 2014
WWE United States
Championship Match
20
Man Battle Royal
Smackdown – May 9th
2014
John
Cena and The Usos vs The Wyatt Family
Raw – May 12th 2014
The
Shield Challenge Evolution to Clash at Payback
Bray
Wyatt Promises to be the Last Man Standing
Paige
vs Alicia Fox
Raw – May 26th 2014
Bray
Wyatt Sends a Message to the Cenation
The
Authority Asks Daniel Bryan to Hand Over His Championship
The
Shield vs Evolution Contract Signing
Conclusion:
Despite
every extra on the release being an inferior inclusion, the majority of matches
featured are well above standard and where it matters, the company excel with
its main feuds. Even though Payback is classed as a ‘B’ pay-per view, WWE did
better with their booking here than they managed at WrestleMania when it should
have all come together. John Cena vs Bray Wyatt is outstanding considering the
limitation both men were working under in their previous efforts, whilst The
Shield vs Evolution steals the show all around. That isn’t all though, Paige vs
Alicia Fox, Big E. vs Rusev and Cesaro vs Sheamus compliment the main
attractions perfectly to bring about a near perfect pay-per view event.
After
Payback 2014, WWE leave themselves an impossible task of improving on the booking
and the quality in the ring of their shows. Whilst they have just about managed
it with some events and failed on other occasions, Payback cements the belief
that WWE’s pay-per view output is the best it’s been for quite a few years. And
for that reason, we have no cause to complain.
Rating:
A
Next Time on Review
Corner: WWE OMG Vol 2! The Top 50 Incidents in
WCW History DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards
and upwards...
