A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: August 26th 2013
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:
WWE’s
first Payback pay-per view event from the Allstate Arena in Rosemount, Illinois
on June 16th 2013. Featuring the culmination of the John Cena vs Ryback feud in
a Three Stages of Hell Match; the return of C.M Punk and Dolph Ziggler and The
Shield making their first WWE Tag Team and United States Championship defences,
plus much more.
Strengths:
Beginning
with the best match on the card, this month’s match of the night comes as a
little surprise. On merit, Kaitlyn vs A.J Lee for the WWE Divas Championship is
the best Divas match in many years. From beginning to end it has more attitude
than most of the male’s matches on the card and is a standout achievement for
WWE and both of the women involved. From the feisty beginning in which Kaitlyn
hurls A.J over the announcers table which gives us a different indication of
how much better this is going to be compared to previous Divas matches, to
A.J’s perfectly psychotic performance, both women shine at Payback. Every move
is solid and the crowd are fully immersed in the action thanks to a more than
average storyline giving this meaning for once. A.J’s wrap around sleeper hold
is honed to perfection and even though the size difference is visible and
Kaitlyn looks like she could snap A.J in half, the psychotic diva holds her
own. Kaitlyn shows off her power with a wonderful reversal of a crucifix pin
into a standing gut drop. Continuing the reversals, A.J turns the tide of a
swinging sidewalk slam into the ‘Black Widow’ submission hold which looks like
something of someone beyond her years. Every near fall the pair trade gets the
crowd hot and rightly so as you believe that either woman could win the match.
At last, Kaitlyn convinces with her acting and her tears seem genuine, making
you really feel for her, whilst the chants of ‘You tapped out’ by the fans to
Kaitlyn are disrespectful after the show she’s just contributed to. Overall
this match is almost flawless and the best since Trish Stratus vs Lita at
Unforgiven 2006. Maybe there is hope for the WWE Divas Division after all.
Wade
Barrett vs Curtis Axel vs The Miz in a triple threat match for the WWE
Intercontinental Championship couldn’t have been written better had WWE tried.
Whilst trying to convince us that this is Curtis Axel’s destiny, winning the
Intercontinental Championship his father, Mr. Perfect, had held so triumphantly
years before on fathers day, it comes as a shame that the commentators couldn’t
keep up the hype. Instead of really pushing Axel, WWE seemed to want to inform
us that Axel was only in the match because Fandango had been injured on
Smackdown and not because he’s a good wrestler. Axel gets a good reception on
his entrance and the match begins fast which gets the fans excited for an
encounter in which they never dip. Wade Barrett looks convincing as the
defending champion, had he put this much effort into all his matches then he
may be higher up the card by now, levelling Miz and Axel with several big moves
stating his authority. Whilst Miz is in serious danger of being known as a main
roster enhancement talent, he does have some stand out moments in this match,
most notably taking on Axel and Barrett on his own and for the most part coming
out smelling of roses. Miz portrays someone who has heart and someone who
should be at a much higher level. Curtis Axel is dominant but slow. When its
just Axel and Miz in the ring the action screeches to a halt, though Axel’s
offence looks timed and thought out. He needs to speed up his ring work unless
he wants to be seen as Michael McGillicutty with a new attitude. The trio
exchange an excellent series of moves which leads into the ‘Winds of Change’
for Barrett and when Axel uses his father’s ‘Perfect Plex’ to score a brilliant
near fall it nearly brings the house down. After the ‘Perfect Plex’ spot, the
match flies. Every near fall is tense and The Miz’s reversal of ‘Wings of
Change’ into the Figure Four Leg Lock couldn’t have gone smoother. The ending
in which Axel pins Barrett whilst he’s in the Figure Four is a great ending and
one which preserves The Miz’s image as he was so close to taking the gold. The
commentators bleat on about Axel being Henning’s son and don’t let him bask in
the spotlight on his merit but that is a minor gripe. It’s quite eerie how much
Axel looks like his father.
Dolph
Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship is an
expertly handled mach in the way it turns Alberto Del Rio heel and Dolph
Ziggler face. Reminiscent of Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin at
WrestleMania 13, WWE have every right to be proud of themselves here. Returning
from a concussion which put him out of action for 5 weeks, Dolph Ziggler gets a
thunderous reception which sets the tone of the match in which most of the
audience are on his side. This is because he’s the first wrestler in quite a
few years to come from the bottom to the top. WWE need to take note of the
reaction here. Del Rio’s heel turn is a slow burner as he works over Dolph
Ziggler’s head in moments which are uncomfortable to watch seeing as Ziggler’s
concussion was real and not fabricated. As the work on the head gets more and
more vicious the fans begin to turn on Del Rio for his brutality and cheer
Ziggler, who puts up a hell of a fight. Dolph sells the head like Shawn Michaels
in his prime and whilst a lot of the action is slow and calculated, again
focussed on Ziggler’s head, it is kept intriguing by Del Rio’s heel turn and
Ziggler’s determination to never give up. Undoubtedly, Dolph Ziggler is the
star of this match with his never say die attitude which you don’t expect from
a heel and he comes across as the valiant champion. The match has its quick
succession of reversals in which Ziggler botches a fame-asser. Gladly it
doesn’t ruin the match as the botched move looks like a result of Ziggler’s
injury. Dolph Ziggler make his star on this night. The harsh kick to Ziggler’s
head to end the match in what is a valiant and gritty ending, seals Del Rio’s
heel turn though he does get a huge ovation when he pins Ziggler, who gets a
well earned ovation from the crowd and rampant chants of his name. WWE has to
send Del Rio back out for post match promo to get his heel character over with those
who didn’t get it first time around.
C.M
Punk vs Chris Jericho rings the warning bells as the match begins slowly and
uninvolved as flashbacks of WrestleMania 28 flood back. Thankfully though,
after all of the rest holds and plodding both men set fire to the match. C.M
Punk is the hometown hero and returns to WWE after a three month absence and
looks better than ever. An interesting note just to begin on though. In the pre
match highlight video, Chris Jericho states that C.M Punk cannot call himself
‘Best in the World’ because he disappeared from WWE for three months. However
Jericho then goes on to proclaim himself ‘Best in the World’ but never mentions
that he disappears from WWE for numerous months every year, so by his logic, he
can’t call himself that either. To the match: Punk is sloppy in places, which
is unusual for someone of his calibre, but he gets back on track eventually with
a stylish reverse running swinging neck breaker. Jericho’s reverse bulldog into
a Lionsault shows shades of the old Chris Jericho. Punk pulls a move out of the
original hat with a standing Anaconda Vice and when he gets Jericho down to the
mat, Y2J’s right hand has a mind of its own. Towards the end of the encounter
the pair pulls out every counter in their arsenal in order for the match to
flourish and the close fall on a GTS is tense. Jericho countering a flying
clothesline into a Codebreaker looks stunning and only fuels the fans to jeer
him in favour of their home city hero. At ringside, Paul Heyman is as excellent
as always and looks about one breakdown away from a stroke which adds to the
tension of the match. Overall, it stars worryingly but turns into something
memorable.
Surprisingly,
the Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE Championship pitting John Cena vs
Ryback is an entertaining affair. Yes it has its low points, this is John Cena,
what else did you expect, but for once its watchable stuff. The video package
before hand shows WWE’s ineptitude at writing a decent promo for a character
like Ryback, when Ryback states that John Cena didn’t walk away from their dull
Extreme Rules match. Yes, you guessed it. As the promo is playing WWE show
footage of John Cena walking away from the ambulance like nothing is wrong.
Cena provides a chuckle, when on his entrance with the jeers reigning down on
him he turns to the camera and states ‘I love this town’ with a dead pan
expression which screamed sarcasm. Because of C.M Punk, Illinois will never
like John Cena. Stage One – Lumberjack Match is a watchable and strangely
enjoyable affair. Ryback gets the best of the showing in the ten minute stage
with a sublime running Powerbomb and a reverse sit down Powerbomb which Cena
neglects to sell. A lot of the action is predictably slow which brings out the
‘RVD’ chants, but the pair manage to turn that frown upside down with a Ryback
press slam into the lumberjacks, and a John Cena dive into the brawling
lumberjacks in which he looks comical – in a good way. Ryback’s reversal of the
STF into Shell Shocked is impressive to conclude Stage One. Stage Two – Tables
Match is just as good as the first stage even though Cena goes through the same
old routine and no sells step shots to the head. Ryback and Cena swap some
really good reversals which end in a dodgy looking spear by Ryback who also
shows initiative by flipping an awaiting table when in the Attitude Adjustment.
A fluid Attitude Adjustment through the table ends the second stage which is
watchable and not totally horrible. Stage Three – Ambulance Match begins with a
mighty Powerbomb through the announcers table by Ryback as he manhandles Cena.
The Powerbomb gets a ‘One more time’ chant from the fans. This time around Cena
sells really well for Ryback and is limp and suffering most of his way up the
aisle as they approach the ambulance. Cena’s selling of exhaustion is also handled
well. Ryback take the door off the ambulance in a decent move as is the
backdrop onto the windshield which signals the time for both men to climb the
vehicle for the planned finale. The finale in question is an Attitude
Adjustment through the top of the ambulance for the Cena victory. It’s filmed
well and so you can’t see the trap door in the ambulance roof, until WWE show
you an overhead replay when the trap door is overtly visible. It’s not a
perfect match but it is a watchable one and a somewhat entertaining one.
The
Wyatt Family vignette is unsettling and reminds you of something from a really
disturbing horror film. It’s a very well put together piece and from the
evidence so far, The Wyatt Family have a bright future in WWE.
The
Rob Van Dam ‘returns’ video package brings one of the biggest reactions of the
night. It’s no surprise as RVD is remembered with nothing but fondness by WWE
fans.
Weaknesses:
The
Shield has a distinctly unimpressive night beginning with Dean Ambrose vs Kane
for the WWE United States Championship. This match was never going to be match
of the night but it should have been better than it turned out. Ambrose and
Kane contest a dull affair with no talking points at all. In one months time
this match will be forgotten and rightly so. Predictably there are a lot of
rest holds which kill the mood completely and Kane goes through his routine
with haunting uncertainty as if he’s simply going through the motions. Dean
Ambrose cannot carry Kane and therefore WWE should not have expected him to.
The whole night for The Shield would have been much better had they been put in
a six man tag team match against Team Hell No and Randy Orton with all three
championships on the line. The count out ending is both cheap and a release as
this match is a chore to sit through. If the feud with the Wyatt Family doesn’t
reinvigorate Kane then his time is done.
Seth
Rollins and Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan for the WWE Tag Team
Championships is another blow for The Shield. Even though they emerge
victorious, this match isn’t much to shout about either as it boasts nothing of
note to entice anyone in. Orton’s draping DDT is as popular as ever and Daniel
Bryan once again shows some impressive athleticism including a suicide dive
which was always going to hit Orton, but Reigns and Rollins do nothing to
advance their image look lazy. For long periods, the action plods which hinders
the match and Randy Orton nearly breaks Seth Rollins’ neck in a moment of
carelessness on a suplex into the corner. Bryan nails Rollins with a great
double under hook suplex from the top rope but that’s the only notable
happening in this disappointing affair. The finale is hectic and does add a
moment of suspense but ultimately, it should have been ten times better.
The
DVD special features are ultimately worthless. ‘C.M Punk and Paul Heyman
discuss Payback’ is a thirty eight second segment which lays the foundations of
the Punk and Heyman split but seeing as this release comes after SummerSlam
when the Heyman and Punk split has already happened, it’s pointless. The pair
don’t discuss the event just exchange scowls. Heyman is frighteningly reserved
here as is the power of his character. ‘The History of The Shield, Randy Orton
and Team Hell No’ does a good job of recapping the feud but its nothing we
haven’t seen before and adds nothing new.
DVD and Blu-ray Special
Features:
Payback – June 16th
2013
C.M
Punk and Paul Heyman discuss Payback
The
History of The Shield, Team Hell No and Randy Orton
Blu-ray Exclusive
Extras:
Raw – June 10th 2013
Triple
H vs Curtis Axel
Randy
Orton vs Roman Reigns
Daniel
Bryan vs Seth Rollins
John
Cena and Ryback face to face
Smackdown – June 14th
2013
Daniel
Bryan distances himself from Kane
Team
Hell No and Rand Orton vs The Shield
Conclusion:
Payback
2013 is a very good pay-per view which could have been excellent has The Shield
been on form. The WWE Divas Championship Match is a must see and the triple
threat match for the Intercontinental Championship is value for money. The WWE
Championship Match for once is entertaining and adds to the quality of the
event on a whole. The rest of the matches are of high quality and C.M Punk’s
return gives the event a special feel which Dolph Ziggler proved his worth in a
main event calibre match.
The
extras are less than satisfactory on the DVD release and there is no Pre-show
match between Sheamus and Damien Sandow which WWE should have included. Had the
company cut the included extras and added the Pre-show match it may have made
up for the disappointing Shield matches.
Overall,
Payback 2013 is the second worthwhile pay-per view event WWE have produced in a
row in 2013 and well worth the price of admission.
Rating: B
Next Time on Review
Corner: The Best of WWE at Madison Square
Garden DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards and upwards...
Onwards and upwards...
