Currently there are three matches officially announced for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st in Chicago, Illinois. Those matches are The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination match, John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match and Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
Other matches likely for WWE Payback include The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan for the WWE Tag-Team Championships, Paige vs. Alicia Fox for the WWE Divas Championship, Sheamus vs. Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship, Adam Rose vs. Jack Swagger, Rusev vs. Big E. and Summer Rae vs. Layla with Fandango as special guest referee.
As far as the No Holds Barred Elimination main event, a possible scenario being considered is one that would see Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins eliminated early, leaving Roman Reigns to make a huge comeback on all three Evolution members by himself.
The match will be Batista’s final match in WWE for several months, and based on plans for the future, could be one of Triple H’s last for a while as well.
Following Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW in London, England, here is your updated lineup for the WWE Payback pay-per-view, which takes place on Sunday, June 1st. It should be noted that not all of these matches have been officially announced yet, although are all planned for the PPV.
No Holds Barred Elimination Match
– The Shield vs. Evolution
Last Man Standing Match
– Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
WWE Intercontinental Championship
– Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
WWE United States Championship
– Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
Challenge and TNA Entertainment have joined forces for a historic announcement – teaming up to deliver TNA’s first ever wrestling programming specifically designed for a family audience.
An all-new version of TNA Xplosion will air weekly on Challenge from Saturday May 31 at 9am. The show has been reformatted with families in mind and to purposely differentiate itself from TNA’s flagship post-watershed programme IMPACT WRESTLING.
Xplosion – which is hosted by Jeremy Borash and features a mix of new matches, classic bouts and the hilarious ‘Spin Cycle’ panel debates – will also continue to be shown in its current late night timeslot of 11pm on Wednesday evenings. TNA IMPACT WRESTLING is broadcast every Sunday at 9pm.
Challenge can be viewed across the UK and Ireland on Sky (145), Freeview (46), Virgin Media (139) and Freesat (145).
TNA President Dixie Carter said: “Xplosion moving to Saturday morning on Challenge is a strategic and natural evolution of TNA programming, as our product resonates with fans of all ages.
“Families with young children are always strongly represented during TNA’s annual MAXIMUM IMPACT Tour. I am confident with the new format and time slot of Xplosion we will continue to attract new fans, particularly kids.
“Ask any TNA Superstar and they will tell you, there is no greater feeling than seeing the eyes of a child light up when he sees his favourite wrestler in action.
“Through TNA’s flagship IMPACT WRESTLING programme and the all-new Xplosion, combined with innovative and engaging content delivered daily through our digital and social channels, there are more ways than ever to engage fans with the TNA brand.”
Stephen Ladlow, Director of Challenge, commented: “As the exclusive home of TNA in the UK and Ireland, it’s great to be able to bring TNA to a whole new audience with our new family friendly show.
“We know that the TNA UK Tour attracts fans of all ages, so it seems fitting that Challenge can now cater for them whether young or old with this new Saturday morning Xplosion show.”
Jeremy Borash added: “TNA’s awesome fans across the UK and Ireland can expect Xplosion to showcase their favourite TNA Superstars each week, with an emphasis on two of the most popular types of matches, X-Division and the Knockouts.
“With exciting competition in the ring and the popular ‘Spin Cycle’ panel, the new Xplosion will be must-see Saturday morning TV!”
TNA also have a special Family Package for all those wanting to attend the MAXIMUM IMPACT 7 Tour, which comes to Glasgow, Manchester and London in January 2015. Anyone buying four tickets together (maximum of two adults) can enjoy a 20 per cent discount on the standard ticket price.
Full details on the TNA UK Tour – including dates, venues, roster and ticket prices – can be found by visiting www.impactwrestling.com/uktour
The latest edition of Michael Cole’s sit-down interview series, which again features Triple H, has been added to the official YouTube channel of WWE.
In the latest installment, the WWE COO discusses the WWE World Heavyweight Championship situation with Daniel Bryan needing surgery, Kane’s recent attacks and the upcoming definitive confrontation between The Shield and Evolution at the WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st.
Hunter said “it remains to be seen” if The Authority swill vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but we’ll have a “definitive answer” on RAW, after Bryan’s neck surgery. He then knocked Bryan for not being an “A-Plus Player” and questioned if these are “the kind of rigors that a little B-Plus Player like Daniel Bryan can withstand.”
The Yes! Movement received the worst possible news this week on Raw, as their unlikely hero announced that he will require neck surgery this Thursday and will be out of action for an indefinite amount of time.
Early reports indicate that Bryan has a broken neck and will be out for at least one to two months, with his possible returning coming at SummerSlam. This is terrible news for Bryan, who after a long journey finally captured the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
It appears that he also will not be appearing on television in any capacity for at least a few weeks, as the attack later in the show by Kane was likely a way to write Bryan off of television while he recovers from surgery at home. This leads one to wonder about the future of the WWE Championship, and also if Bryan can maintain momentum while missing at least a month of time.
After finally overcoming the Authority at WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan will miss significant time due to injury.
As of now, it is being reported that Bryan will not be stripped of the title. This could of course change at any moment, especially if the product becomes stale during his absence. If Bryan ends up missing the maximum amount of time, that seems like a very long time to go with essentially no champion.
In my opinion, if it is determined that Bryan will miss any more than one month, the Authority should strip him of the title. This could serve a few purposes. First, it would keep momentum strong by having the Authority still trying to hold Bryan down, especially with Stephanie McMahon being the storyline reason Bryan was injured in the first place after unleashing the demon Kane.
Second, it could allow for someone else to receive a push in Bryan’s absence. Imagine if a tournament were held for the WWE Championship similar to the one just held for an Intercontinental Title match. It could allow for a fresh face to hold the championship for a while and create interesting television over the next few weeks by having qualifying matches on Raw, with the championship match being held at Money in the Bank.
– Triple H announced on Monday’s RAW that The Shield will face Evolution at the upcoming Payback pay-per-view. This is a rematch from Extreme Rules, which saw The Shield standing victorious.
WWE Payback takes place on Sunday, June 1st from Chicago, Illinois.
– It was also announced on RAW that United States Champion Sheamus will face Cesaro on Tuesday night’s episode of Main Event on the WWE Network.
– The WWE DVD on Paul Heyman, “Ladies And Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman,” which is scheduled for an August 5th release, is scheduled to be built around Heyman as the guy who managed the guy who broke Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Among the people who filmed interviews for the DVD are Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Joey Styles, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Jim Ross, Bill Apter and Stephanie McMahon.
– The Greatest Factions DVD that WWE is producing is set to be built around D-Generation X and the Four Horsemen as the key factions. The DVD will also cover the New World Order, The Nexus, The Shield, The Wyatt Family, Evolution, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Nation Of Domination, The Straight Edge Society and The Heenan Family.
– It’s being said that the “WeeLC” match at Extreme Rules was a backstage sellout. Many of the WWE Superstars were apparently glued to the monitors watching the match as it took place.
– The following is the latest “RAW Slam of the Week” video, which features Evolution:
As previously reported, there has been discussion about adding another member to the Evolution faction in WWE. The key Superstar being considered for a future spot in the group is WWE United States Champion Sheamus. As noted, Sheamus is likely turning heel in the future, so he would fit into the group seamlessly based on story lines.
It’s being said that if WWE were to add Sheamus to Evolution, that it would be done when Batista does eventually take his hiatus to do movie promotional work.
As of right now, WWE is pushing the following four retired wrestlers, in order, the most: Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Steve Austin and Ultimate Warrior. Warrior was higher on the priority list a few weeks ago, but that was due to the fact that he tragically passed away.
For the month of April, more people purchased Warrior merchandise on the internet than anyone else in the company, including John Cena.
The latest internet merchandise numbers, in order, were Cena, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Wyatt Family, The Shield, Evolution and Hulk Hogan.
The latest arena merchandise numbers, in order, were Cena, Bryan, Randy Orton, Warrior, Rob Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, The Wyatt Family, Batista and Sin Cara.
It’s worth noting that Cena was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the top sellers at the arenas, with the second highest person on the list (Daniel Bryan) not even coming close to his sales figures.
As previously reported, there were a number of late changes made to the script for this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW. Originally, one of the main events was going to be Daniel Bryan vs. Batista, and as late as Sunday night, that was still the plan.
There was said to be a number of different ideas for angles that the company wanted to do with The Wyatt Family and The Shield on RAW, but ultimately they went with the version we saw on Monday night.
Additionally, one of the original ideas was to go with a Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns singles match for the main event of the show, however they decided instead to go with a six-man tag-team match between both factions.
There was also a plan to have Evolution as guest timekeepers, but as noted, they felt that the finish, with Evolution interfering and attacking The Shield, would be too obvious if Evolution was sitting at ringside during the match.
Sources indicate that Daniel Bryan will in fact be defending the WWE World Heavyweight championship against Kane in a Buried Alive Match.
Bryan is expected to retain, because Kane is taking time off from WWE soon until he returns to promote the new WWE Studios film See No Evil 2. The movie does not have an official release date yet, but is expected to be released around October.
Evolution vs. The Shield is also going to happen, but it might not be a 6-man tag match. As of this week’s RAW, WWE has also been talking about a series of 3 singles matches featuring members of the rival factions.
– John Cena’s feud with. Bray Wyatt feud is expected to continue for some time, past the June 1st WWE Payback pay-per-view.
– Another independent wrestler that was part of Adam Rose’s entourage on RAW was “Portugal’s Perfect Athlete” Shanna, who was previously a TNA Gutcheck contestant.
– As noted earlier, a version of the RAW script that was changed on Monday afternoon featured Daniel Bryan wrestling Batista instead of Kane. Another version had Batista wrestling Roman Reigns, with Reigns getting the victory. WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Evolution would be guest timekeepers during the Wyatt Family vs. The Shield main event, however that idea was nixed as well.
– After Monday’s RAW from Albany went off the air, Evolution got on the microphone and talked more trash about The Shield.
John Cena then came out to a very mixed reaction. Cena mocked the crowd for not being loud enough during the show, which got a lot of heat. He talked about how great getting a mixed reaction was. The scheduled dark match main event between John Cena and Bray Wyatt then took place.
John Cena defeated Bray Wyatt by disqualification after the Wyatt Family interfered. Cena eventually made a comeback and hit the Wyatts with a series of Attitude Adjustments and celebrated to end the show.
– The following are this week’s RAW Fallout videos:
Adam Rose Comments On His RAW Debut:
“Dolph Ziggler, Santino, Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston and Rybaxel comment on losing the United States Championship Battle Royal”
As previously reported, WWE has been considering a “Buried Alive” match between Daniel Bryan and Kane as the main event of the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view on June 1st. As noted, they even set the stage for such a match by having Kane sit-up after the match last night at Extreme Rules.
According to one source, it looks like the Bryan-Kane match is on, as it looks like Batista will be sticking around for Payback, but will not be working with Bryan in the main event as WWE originally hoped.
The other expected main event at Payback is a rematch between The Shield and Evolution.
According to one source, the television main event for tonight’s post-Extreme Rules edition of WWE RAW will be The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield, with Evolution as the guest timekeepers.
Already announced, as previously reported, is a 20-man battle royal for the WWE United States Championship.
As previously reported, the original plan was for Batista to take some time off from WWE after tonight’s Extreme Rules show, as he was not scheduled on any upcoming WWE events past the pay-per-view. Apparently, those plans have changed.
The latest word going around backstage at Extreme Rules tonight is that Batista has agreed to stick around through the next pay-per-view, which is WWE Payback. Originally the plan was for Batista to work a program with Daniel Bryan, one that would culminate with the two competing for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Payback, however there’s talk now that the program between Evolution and The Shield — which Batista is a key part of — may continue past tonight’s show.
Batista is scheduled for tonight’s post-Extreme Rules edition of WWE RAW, which emanates from Albany, New York. According to reports, hours before The Shield vs. Evolution match last night, nothing had been settled as far as plans for Batista going forward.
As previously reported, the original plan was for a Batista vs. Daniel Bryan main event at the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view, however Batista turned that idea down. Apparently Vince McMahon and other WWE officials were less than pleased with Batista changing their plans for the show, however McMahon is still looking to talk Batista into doing the program with Bryan before taking his hiatus.
On paper, last night’s card seemed like nothing to write home about. After all, Daniel Bryan was defending his title against a superstar who peaked a decade ago, Bray Wyatt and John Cena were meeting in a rematch from WrestleMania, and other than Evolution vs. the Shield, the rest of the matches seemed like they could turn out to be throwaway contests. The event was basically the furthest thing from a throwaway, however, as it was a well-executed pay-per-view that was filled with worthwhile matches.
The Hounds of Justice stole the show during the match of the night.
Evolution vs. the Shield was the clear highlight of the night, as expected. Each superstar involved in the match put on an excellent show, but the star of the match was without a doubt Seth Rollins. While Triple H, Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose were battling in the crowd, Rollins dove from the top of the entranceway to take out his Evolution foes, allowing for Roman Reigns to handle Batista in the ring and secure a Shield victory. The match was perfectly executed and is an immediate match of the year contender.
The main event between Daniel Bryan and Kane greatly exceeded expectations. This one seemed like it could be forgettable, as the outcome was never really in doubt and Kane is not exactly a main event superstar anymore. However, both superstars performed well together and the backstage spots were something that resembled contests from the Attitude Era.
In the end, the match even involved a flaming table, although the crew botched this spot a bit by running in with the extinguishers before Kane was even on fire, but hey, what can you do? Overall, it was a great culmination to the night and certainly much better than I was anticipating.
According to one source, the original plan was for Evolution to defeat The Shield at tonight’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Those plans reportedly changed when news came down that Batista was going to be taking time off after tonight’s show.
However, with the latest reports indicating that “The Animal” may be sticking around through WWE’s upcoming Payback pay-per-view, it’s possible that the original plan of an Evolution victory could be back in effect.
As of last word, the plan was to keep the Evolution vs. Shield program going after tonight’s show, which would mean it’s likely that the heels are going over.
– John Cena is advertised to appear on Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, which emanates from Buffalo, New York. Daniel Bryan, however, is not scheduled to appear on the post-Extreme Rules edition of SmackDown.
– The following are the updated online betting odds for this Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. Odds are courtesy of BetFair.com. The favorites are listed in bold.
There has been some speculation that WWE Hall Of Famer “Nature Boy” Ric Flair may be appearing at Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, likely to continue the angle from Monday’s RAW between The Shield and Evolution.
Flair is scheduled to appear at a Frank & Son Collectibles show in California on Saturday, and according to his itinerary, will then be flying straight back to his home in Atlanta, with no scheduled stop in New Jersey for Extreme Rules on Sunday.
WWE could always schedule Flair at the last minute but as of last word, he is not officially scheduled to appear at the event.
The following are the betting odds for Sunday’s WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view according to PaddyPower.com.
Alexander Rusev is the biggest favorite on the entire card as of right now, as he comes in at -1800 for his handicap match against R-Truth and Xavier Woods. In this case, you would have to bet $1,800 on Rusev to earn $100 profit on the bet. On the flip-side of the coin, Truth and Woods, who come in at +650, would earn you $650 profit if you placed a $100 bet.
It should also be noted that these odds are indicative of much until the actual “smart money” comes in on the show, which is generally hours before the event starts on the day of the show.