WWE Payback 2023 delivered a number of fun matches and massive moments throughout the night. From the match of the night being in the middle of the show and not the main event, the placement isn’t the best. The Main event and the steel cage being top matches as well. LA Knight got the victory! Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso got the Waller Rub with Jey Uso moving to RAW. I think the crowd was hot for the majority of the show, but there were a few matches where the crowd was not too great. There were a lot of things done to get you excited especially for the upcoming Raw since the matches were primarily Raw matches. Payback delivered as a show that wasn’t going to be a top show of the year, but was very solid and an enjoyable watch from start till finish.
WWE Payback 2023 is about settling grudges within the WWE Ring, hosted by John Cena! Finn Balor and Damian Priest face the tag team championship Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a street fight. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus collide in a Steel Cage. Austin Theory wants to prove Rey Mysterio’s upset was a fluke for the United States championship. The Miz wants to ruin the rise of the Megastar LA Knight. Rhea Ripley defends the women’s world championship against Raquel Rodriguez. And Shinsuke Nakamura looks to ruin the serenading soiree of Seth Rollins!
MUST WATCH Becky Lynch Vs Trish Stratus – Steel Cage Match:
Fundamentals: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Storytelling: 0.75
Psychology: 0.75
Innovation: 1
When I can say sit here and say that the concerns and criticisms regarding the rivalry going too long, and losing the juice are valid. Becky and Trish truly showed up and delivered one of the greatest steel cage matches of the modern era. From the crowd being hot from start to finish and Stratus bumping like her life depended on it. There was a lot of really good stuff from the Lita and Victoria tributes, to Trish letting hanging upside down by her feet. This match was electric and the blow off was great. Only “complaint” is overall the stipulation, A Steel Cage is meant to keep wrestlers inside and escaping the cage is such an odd storytelling element.
Results: Becky Lynch by Pinfall via Avalanche Man Handle Slam.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.50 Stars
After Becky Lynch’s music faded away, Trish was helped up by Zoey. Trish tried to tell Zoey to just leave the ring. Zoey shut the cage door before fighting back, this resulted in Trish being hit with the Z360. Stark also removed her Thank You Trish shirt.
AMAZING John Cena Promo:
John Cena came out, and mentioned his list of things he’s done but never hosted an event like this. Cena goes on about wanting to be the special guest referee in the match he is most excited for. LA Knight Vs The Miz. The Miz comes out and criticizes Cena’s attire and hosting etiquette before John asks him for advice. John and Miz get into a “No” and “YEAH!” battle before Cena points and lets LA come out.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.00 Stars
GREAT LA Knight Vs The Miz – Special Guest Referee John Cena:
Fundamentals: 0.75
Atmosphere: 1
Storytelling: 0.75
Psychology: 0.50
Innovation: 0.75
I gotta say this match had a very hot crowd, every punch and face smash had that YEAH with them. The match was fine, we had a special guest referee, and the story of it was told nicely. There were innovative spots within the match. It was overall a solid match and gave multiple teases surrounding LA Knight and John Cena.
Results: LA Knight by Pinfall via Blunt Force Trauma
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
GOOD Rey Mysterio Vs Austin Theory – United States Championship Match:
Fundamentals: 0.75
Atmosphere: 0.50
Storytelling: 0.50
Psychology: 0.75
Innovation: 0.75
Not a lot of juice in this match. It was fine and had fun moves and sequences. I thought it was enjoyable for what it was but nothing much happened. I enjoyed the call back to the shock win, and Rey got another shock win. Nothing tremendous out of this match, but nothing too average. They both have good enough chemistry. Nice moment for the LWO to celebrate a win after two losses on Smackdown.
Results: Rey Mysterio by Pinfall via Victory Roll (A Town Down) Counter
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
PERFECT Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest Vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens – Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight, Undisputed Tag Team Championship Match:
Fundamentals: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Storytelling: 1
Psychology: 1
Innovation: 1
Where to start? Well if this wasn’t a perfect atmosphere that Pittsburgh gave us, I don’t know what is. This was WWE’s unofficial tribute to Terry Funk and I loved a lot of the spots being done. WWE gave us a match that was organized chaos but also told an awesome story within the violence. From spots that made sense regarding the Pittsburgh involvement in the stipulation. To great moments. There was not a dull moment in this match and it was easily the match of the night. Judgment Day finally got a big moment with the tag team championships. And the visual with all of the gold was great.
Results: Finn Balor By Pinfall via Dominik Hitting Sami with the Briefcase.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 5.00 Stars
AMAZING Grayson Waller Effect With Cody Rhodes:
Grayson Waller gets to announce Cody Rhodes as he comes out saying Pittsburgh and Cody can’t finish stories. Shutting down the “what do you want to talk about”. Cody putting over Waller as wanting to be on his show. With Cody doing a good job directing the “conversation” towards Smackdown. Cody Rhodes pushing for Jey Uso to be out of the environment of smackdown adds a layer to the Cody story. And BOY that was a pop for Main Event Jey Uso. I very much loved the visual that happened at Summerslam and it was better tonight. The crowd waving their hands up and down with Jey is a great sight. I enjoyed Grayson pushing Jey’s buttons before being superkicked. The segment was fun and a good break after the street fight.
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
GREAT Rhea Ripley Vs Raquel Rodriguez – Women’s World Championship Match:
Fundamentals: 0.75
Atmosphere: 0.75
Storytelling: 0.50
Psychology: 0.75
Innovation: 0.75
Rating aside, my least favorite match of the night. This match just didn’t have the aura they did in NXT. The build up was a lot of Raquel is injured and wants revenge. I’m glad we didn’t get the Rhea Ripley just dominates. But there just isn’t juice in Raquel as a threat to Rhea. The match was fine for what it was, Dominik helping Rhea is fine. There was good stuff with Rhea targeting Raquel’s knee as well. But it just didn’t get to that next level.
Results: Rhea Ripley by Pinfall via Riptide
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
AMAZING Seth Rollins Vs Shinsuke Nakamura – World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Fundamentals: 1
Atmosphere: 0.75
Storytelling: 0.75
Psychology: 1
Innovation: 0.75
By far, Shinsuke’s best match since Sami Zayn in Dallas. Shinsuke looked great and there was really good psychology but the crowd was kinda odd. We had a split crowd, not fully split but there were more cheers for Shinsuke than expected. Not a bad thing but with the build to the match giving Shinsuke the edge, there wasn’t the heat to support it. There were solid sequences and I enjoyed the landslide being used. I feel there is room to improve for a rematch if that is the direction.
Results: Seth Rollins by PInfall via Curb Stomp
Coby Galenzoski WR Star Rating – 4.25 Stars
Overall…
WWE Payback 2023 delivered a number of fun matches and massive moments throughout the night. From the match of the night being in the middle of the show and not the main event, the placement isn’t the best. The Main event and the steel cage being top matches as well. LA Knight got the victory! Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso got the Waller Rub with Jey Uso moving to RAW. I think the crowd was hot for the majority of the show, but there were a few matches where the crowd was not too great. There were a lot of things done to get you excited especially for the upcoming Raw since the matches were primarily Raw matches. Payback delivered as a show that wasn’t going to be a top show of the year, but was very solid and an enjoyable watch from start till finish.
Matches: 0.75/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere…: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 1/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 1/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 4.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE – September 2 2023
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
