The 2023 Payback is the upcoming seventh Payback professional wrestling Premium Live Event (PLE) and it will be held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. Don't miss all the action of WWE Payback this Sunday, Sept. 3 from 01:00 CAT, live on DStv Channel 128
Seth "Freakin" Rollins battles Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Heavyweight Title
Seth "Freakin" Rollins will look to defend his title and get retribution when he battles Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Payback.
Moments after a Six-Man Tag Team Match victory by the combination of Rollins, Nakamura and Sami Zayn against The Judgment Day on Raw, The King of Strong Style suddenly delivered a surprise Kinshasa to The Visionary.
In the wake of speculation as to why he committed this nefarious act, Nakamura made clear that he wanted the World Heavyweight Title. The two Superstars came face-to-face and agreed to battle for the championship gold. As they were shaking hands to cement the contest, Nakamura whispered something in the World Heavyweight Champion's ear that visibly affected Rollins, before delivering another earth-shattering Kinshasa that rocked the titleholder.
Prior to their confrontation, both Superstars shared a profound respect for each other. Now, however, the situation has clearly changed and will only serve to intensify the highly anticipated showdown.
Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez
At WWE Payback, Raquel Rodriguez will seek to not only dethrone Rhea Ripley as the Women’s World Champion but to enact retribution of her own.
“The Nightmare” Rhea Ripley has taken the Raw Women’s division by storm, maiming any opponent that has stood in her way. Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez stepped up to The Judgment Day member, but both wound up spending time on the injury shelf.
After Ripley took out Morgan a few weeks ago in horrific fashion, Rodriguez had to bide her time to get back at The Nightmare... After multiple sneak attacks on the champion, Rodriguez was finally cleared on the August 21 episode of Raw, where she announced that she would be facing Ripley at WWE Payback.
Ripley and Rodriguez battled furiously whilst both were in NXT, with the two trading victories. Rodriguez was able to outlast Ripley in a brutal Last Woman Standing Match at NXT New Year’s Evil 2021.
Both have grown as competitors since then, with Ripley becoming an almost unstoppable force.
Will Rodriguez be able to usurp The Nightmare as the Women’s World Champion?
Becky Lynch battles Trish Stratus in a Steel Cage Match
Becky Lynch will have Trish Stratus all to herself when The Man comes around to take on the WWE Hall of Famer in a Steel Cage showdown at WWE Payback.
Following a controversial loss to Trish Stratus at WWE Night of Champions, Lynch went on a warpath for vindication. After a series of brawls and a victory over Zoey Stark, The Man eventually earned a highly anticipated rematch against her bitter adversary on Raw. Despite having Trish Status' protégé barred from ringside for the contest, the meddlesome Superstar still interfered with a vicious sneak attack on Big Time Becks.
As a result of the continued interference, WWE Official Adam Pearce decided Lynch would take on Trish Status inside the unforgiving Steel Cage where all issues can finally be settled one-on-one.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Judgment Day (Steel City Street Fight)
The path to WWE Payback for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn has been a turbulent one, due to the ruthlessness of The Judgment Day.
The two teams have been warring with each other for months, with KO and Zayn defending their titles successfully against Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio on the July 17 episode of Raw.
Things turned for the worse shortly after that, however, as The Judgment Day took Owens out of action for nearly a month with a brutal attack.
With Owens out of action, Zayn looked to other allies such as “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins, trading wins and losses with the treacherous group. When KO returned on the Aug. 21 episode of Raw, the team reunited with a single goal in mind: eradicate The Judgment Day.
At WWE Payback, Owens and Zayn will get their chance at retribution as they face Finn Bálor and Priest in a Steel City Street Fight.
With all forms of barbarity legal, who will come out with the grand prize of the Undisputed Tag Team Titles?
Cody Rhodes to appear on “The Grayson Waller Effect” at WWE Payback
“The Grayson Waller Effect” is coming to WWE Payback as "The Aussie Icon” will welcome “The American” Nightmare Cody Rhodes to his hit talk show.
Rhodes will be Grayson Waller’s guest after multiple grueling battles with Brock Lesnar that culminated in a triumph at SummerSlam, but he’s still embroiled in a bitter rivalry with The Judgment Day.
Waller, meanwhile, has quickly made a name for himself since arriving on SmackDown during his interactions with WWE legends like John Cena, United States Champion Rey Mysterio, and even a match against “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge inside Madison Square Garden.
Catch these two high-profile Superstars on a special edition of “The Grayson Waller Effect” at WWE Payback.
Can The Miz stop high-flying LA Knight
The rise of LA Knight cannot be stopped.
Since winning the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam, Knight has been riding high. Knight’s skyrocketing popularity, however, has irked one of WWE’s most tenured Superstars, The Miz.
The Awesome One was irate with Knight’s ascendance, confronting the megastar on Raw after Knight took up Miz’s photoshoot time.
Despite The Miz explaining his disdain for Knight, The A-Lister was left looking up at the lights following a BFT from his adversary.
The animosity continued with cheap shots and interferences during each other's matches. On SmackDown, Knight had an opportunity to become the No. 1 Contender to the United States Championship, but his chance was squandered after The A-Lister got involved to cause Knight to lose to Austin Theory.
The following Raw, The Miz thought he had an easy victory against Akira Tozawa, but Knight played mind games with The A-Lister. With Knight at ringside, The Miz was thrown off his game, and he lost to Tozawa via a roll-up in a moment that stunned and humiliated The Awesome One.
In a battle between two of WWE’s biggest loudmouths, who will leave WWE Payback with the most bark?
United States Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory
At WWE Payback, Austin Theory will look to reclaim the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio.
The LWO's Santos Escobar was originally scheduled to challenge Theory for his then-U.S. Title on the Aug. 11 edition of SmackDown. After the titleholder took out Escobar prior to the match, however, WWE Official Adam Pearce made sure the WWE Universe in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, would still receive their promised title showdown when he subbed in Mysterio.
Always one to rise to the challenge, The Legendary Luchador dialed up the 619 and captured the red, white and blue title for the third time in his storied career.
An irate Theory wasted little time getting back in the running for the gold, overcoming LA Knight the following week to become the No. 1 Contender to the United States Championship with a little help from The Miz.
Now that their title rematch is set, can Austin overcome The Master of the 619 to take back the title that he claims is still his?
Source: WWE