Five Biggest Talking Points Following WWE Payback 2017

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World! I hope you are all well and good and have had a great weekend and of course are having a relaxed bank holiday! Last week I was once again away from my blog after coming down with the worse flu! I snap-chatted over the week complaining about how sick I was (I hate nothing more than being unwell). I spent most of the week tucked up in bed sleeping, eating bad blood, being sick and relaxing and trust em I needed it. I also spent the later parts of the week opening up about something very important and serious, my sexual assault story. I don't want to stay on this topic for long at all because thats not what this blog is about but what I do want to say is thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read that post and for all the kind messages and support. It honestly really does mean a lot. I do want to raise awareness and get my story out there so I will be linking the post bellow, please do share and get the conversation going. I really do hope I can make some good come out of one of the worse experiences of my life. Anyway, back to Wrestling, and last night we saw the first pay per view since Wrestlemania as the RAW exclusive Payback PPV took place in San Jose, California and what a night it was. With two title changes and several standout matches I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed the show. I was impressed with the quality of matches and I found myself really enjoying the overall show. In today's blog post I'm going to be running you though five of the biggest talking points/ take aways from last nights show! I am going to be working on pre posting this weeks so there may be a couple of days I don't upload, I really do want to focus on uploading fresh and unique content for you! As always any recent blog posts will be linked bellow and you can let me know what you thought of last nights show by leaving a comment bellow or by dropping me a tweet over at @TezangiVictoria.

A New United States Champion is Crowned 

The feud between Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens has been one of the best told stories and gripping rivalries in recent years in regards to the WWE. The pair undoubtedly share fantastic chemistry and over the past twelve months or so have developed a brilliant on screen relationship that has captivated fans and left the entire WWE universe emotionally invested in their work. Their break up is still something a part of my heart is trying to recover from. The twp superstars however were separated earlier on in the month following the superstar shakeup which would see Kevin Owens move over to Smackdown LIVE where he would look to start a new chapter in his career. Pushing himself as the new face of American following his Wrestlemania victory against Jericho to become the new United States Champion. On his first night over on Smackdown ,LIVE Owens grabbed the attention of SD Live originals Baron Corbin and AJ Styles along with new comer and long term rival, Sami Zayn, all three men looking to get their hands on the title Owens held on his shoulder. However, there was one man not completely finished with Kevin just yet, that man of course being Chris Jericho. While both men were now on separate brands their bad blood continued and the pair were set to collide one more time but with the announcement being made that the Payback Pay per view Owens will defend his title against his former best friend and that if Jericho was to walk away with the win he would join the Smackdown LIVE roster, all eyes remained firmly on this story and this up and coming match. The two kick started the show last night in what was without a shadow of a doubt one of the best matches of the night. I think it's safe to say we were all expecting something strong from these two but I was most certainly surprised at just how much I did enjoy this match. Jericho was massively over with the LIVE crowd in San Jose, their story was told throughout the match with both men bringing great character as per usual. We witnessed back and fourth action between them and those closing moments really did leave me on the edge of my seat. Now, the end result was a huge surprise. With most fans being fully aware of Jericho soon departing with the WWE to go on tour with his band (who will be playing at Download festival in the Summer) we were all pretty much (well I sure did anyway) believe that this was the most predictable match of the night with Owens sure to retain. However, in a shocking twist those final moments had everyone up on their feet as Jericho was able to force the self proclaimed face of America to tap out insuring a new champion would be crowned and Jericho would walk out a two time US Champion and the latest edition to Smackdown LIVE. This was such a huge surprise and something none of us saw coming and while I'm glad to see Jericho make his way to Smackdown LIVE it's inevitable that he will be dropping that title very soon ahead of his departure. What his win does do is keep him on that high a little longer and also insure that Smackdown LIVE is his new home when he does make his comeback. An unexpected twist but a shock that really did make this opening match even stronger and more entertaining.

Cesaro & Sheamus Finally Crack 

I have recently  been spending a lot of time talking about the growth of the tag team division particularly on Monday night RAW. The return of the Hardy Boyz and the debut of the Revival has given the division the push it needed and that touch of fire that has allowed the fans to finally be given a reason or two to be interested in the work provided. There is now plenty to look forward to and several teams that have the attention of the WWE Universe. Now, Smackdown LIVE does have a lot of catching up to do, I continue to talk of how weak their division is over on the blue brand but right now lets focus on what we saw last night and boy did the tag teams bring it last night. Over on the kick off show Enzo and Cass picked up a much needed victory over Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (I do still believe that Enzo and Cass should have moved to Smackdown LIVE but I'm going to save that conversation for another post). Over on the main show Matt and Jeff Hardy defended their RAW Tag team championships against Cesaro and Sheamus. Now, I was actually was looking forward to this match. The singles matches we had seen during the build up left me wanting to see more from the four superstars and it set up a story to go off during Payback not to mention the chemistry it created. Those singles matches allowed us as fans to see what these guys could pull off in the ring together and I was massively impressed and left expecting the best in their tag team title match and to  be fair thats exactly what we got. It was a slow start and it took me personally some time to get into the action but they really did pick up the speed and do a fantastic job in getting the audience and everyone at home invested in the action. We got some great wrestling with several well done and entertaining spots and moments. What I also loved more than anything was seeing how well every single superstar was used. All four men had a purpose and and got their time to shine and take the spotlight. As expected, the Hardys did retain however the action was far from over and after suffering yet another loss at the hands of Matt and Jeff enough was enough for Cesaro and Sheamus who finally lost it, blind siding their opponents moments after shaking their hands and exiting the ring. I was most certainly expecting a heel turn at some point last night but I really did love the timing and how it was done. I cannot complain. It was convincing, the story was told well and I understood why Cesaro and Sheamus did what they did. I can see a couple more tag team title matches coming their way and the story will be interesting to say the least but more so I'm excited to hear some heel work between the two on the mic in the coming week including tomorrow's show.

Alexa Bliss Makes History

It is no secret that I am a huge Alexa Bliss mark. I bloody love the women and I have done from day dot. She's one of the first superstars I ever spoke about here on my blog and seeing how far she has come has been so amazing. While I have always seen her potential and known for sure that she will go on to fantastic things I never would have predicted what she has succeeded and the time scale in which she has done so. Arriving on the main roster in the summer of last year during the WWE Brand exertions Bliss was moved up from NXT Developmental to Smackdown LIVE with the pressure firmly on her back. Looking to prove herself and make and impact she wasted no time in doing both and very quickly had the whole world talking about her. She very quickly had all eyes on her and within a matter of months since her debut she was crowned the second Smackdown LIVE Women's champion and would go on to become the firs two time Smackdown LIVE women's champion. Making such a big impact on the blue brand a couple of weeks back during the superstar shake up she was one of two women to make the move over to Monday night RAW and after receiving the biggest reaction of the night it was clear huge things were coming her way. We all know how massively over and popular Alexa is and it's also very very clear how high the WWE are on her. Her push has been amazing and the company haven't wasted any time with her what so ever! On her first night she made it clear she was coming after the RAW women's title and the following week walked out of a fatal four way against Sasha Banks, Mickie James, and Nia Jax to become the new number one contender. And so that brings us to last night were Alexa Bliss stood toe to toe against the home town girl Bayley for the RAW women's championship. Now, I actually really really liked this match. The lack of chemistry was certainly very clear. If you take a look at past matches these two have  been apart of against other superstars you can see the difference in chemistry however, these two have competed in the ring before including an amazing NXT Women's championship match around a year ago and they did again manage to deliver another entertaining and well put together match. I was invested in the action, I enjoyed the wrestling and felt myself understanding a story developing more and more. This was also one of the best performances we have seen from Bliss. She was far more clean and put together than we have seen her in the past. This match was a perfect example of how Alexa is forever improving. Every time she steps in that ring she shows improvements whether it be her wrestling skills and ability, her mic work or her character development. Personally I was backing Bliss the entire time and so when those closing moments saw her pick up the pin fall win I quite literally jumped up off my seat at home. I did see a couple of people complain about how she won (by DDT) but it tied in well. We saw her send Bayley head first into the ring post and to go from that straight into the DDT directly attacking her head it made sense and worked. The win does now mean that Alexa one again makes the history books as the first women to win both the RAW and Smackdown LIVE Womens championship, something I honestly felt would go to Charlotte. Alexa really has worked her butt off and deserved that win last night and I cannot wait to see what her reign will look like.

House of Horrors match... Hit or Miss?

Over the past couple of weeks there has been only one match that we have all been talking about and speculating about. With their feud set to come to a dramatic end Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton were set to face off in the first ever (and probably only ever) house of Horrors match. No one actually knew what this match was going to consist of or even look like and fans had been speculating for weeks. Several different ideas came to mind and while I was expecting the worse I honestly did want to believe this could be good and the mystery did mean that I was actually indeed every excited for this match, in fact it was most probably the one I was most looking forward to last night. Now, I was expecting to be sitting here today complaining left right and center about this house of horrors match but to be honest I kinda liked it... well up until they got to the arena. The house of horrors match itself was okay. A little lazy but far better than I expected and it could have been a lot worse. This felt like the most personal and intense feud of the night and the match itself like the most intense and personal match of the night. The videography was impressive and something I really liked, the lighting and general effects were very good and I liked how it was done, filmed and the fight scenes were well done. I mentioned last night that it did feel as though I was watching a budge wrestling themed horror movie. What I didn't like however was what we saw once they got into the arena. They simply didn't have enough time. They had around five minuets and it wasn't enough. They could have gone more intense and more extreme in the arena and so I was disappointed there but what I hated even more was the ending. Look, I understand, Jinder Mahal is getting the push of all pushes at the moment and interference made sense to some degree but I'm a simple girl (you heard it here first) all I wanted was for Bray to get a nice  big win all on his own. I was surprised Rowan didn't make some kind of appearance but the ending overall ruined the whole effect for me. Again, I was entertained by the first half the match and I do believe that was a success and I of course was over the moon that Bray got the win  but it was most certainly a disappointing ending and overall match but I will at least say it was far far better than I expected and I understand why every move was made and done the way it was done.

Braun Strowman Picks up a Huge Victory

I know, I know, I know, I sound like a broken record but boy do I love Braun Strowman. For the past nine months he has been one of the biggest talking points in the WE and his a man I most certainly have not stopped talking about as you all of course are fully aware of. Every tweet, blog post and event snapchat at this point is used to talk about Braun but its more than safe to say that this is a man that deserves the attention and the time. He has simply been one of the main reasons I personally have been tuning into Monday night RAW every week. Week in and week out he continues to not only steal the show but prove that he deserves to be pushed and more importantly deserves to be

WWE Universal champion. While I of course remain big fans of the likes of Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, and Finn Balor its simple, right now, Braun Strowman is the only man that deserves to  be champion. I have expressed my frustrations in regards to Brock being champ and while it will be some time before the titles change hands there is only one person who I want to see with that jam belt on their shoulder. Over the past month in particular Strowman has been the man e have all been talking about and only really for good reasons. His beat downs have been unlike no other and some of the best we have seen in years.His mic work has improved and his character development is forever growing and also getting stronger. During last nights pay per view he was set to go one on one with Roman Reigns following that massive beat down we saw several weeks back. I won't lie, I was really really excited for this match. The  build up was great and I genuinely was not a hundred percent sure on what the end result would look like. I will admit I was worried. I strongly believed this match could have ended badly and I was convinced that Reigns would get the win. Now, let me make this clear, I'm a growing Roman Reigns fan. I'm learning to accept him and his work and he has impressed me massively over the past twelve months. However, he didn't need this win. Right now it's about Strowman and setting him up for Brock Lesnar and there was no need for him to get the win last night  but of course I highly doubted them actually giving Braun a clean in over Reigns however... that is exactly what they did. It did come as a surprise to me personally but  was honestly over the moon! The match itself was highly entertaining and it did feel main event worthy. The ending again was done so well and I honestly cannot fault it. The attack on Roman after the match was a great touch and the WWE really did do a fantastic job in making Strowman look like a fucking beast! This was a huge win for Braun but the loss will also work in Reigns' favor I really do believe that!

I was honestly surprised at just how much I enjoyed the Payback pay per view. I liked pretty much every single match, nothing felt throw away or less important and I felt as though the booking remained strong and unpredictable with a couple of surprises in there that really made this pay per view so strong. An overall good night for the RAW roster and it has made me very interested in the follow up and the feuds and stories coming. As always you can let me know what you thought by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

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