WWE Payback Predictions: The Shield vs. Evolution in a No Holds Barred Elimination Match
By Mike Smith
For possibly the final time, Evolution will compete in a match. Evolution will be taking on The Shield in a No Holds Barred Elimination Match at WWE Payback.
In March, The Shield started to turn on The Authority. At WrestleMania XXX, they took out three of The Authority’s cronies, Kane and The New Age Outlaws, with ease.
The night after WrestleMania, they took out Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista and Kane, to save Daniel Bryan from unjustly losing his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
The next week is where it all changed, however. Triple H tried to rally Orton and Batista against The Shield, but they said they were Hunter’s problem. Until a few moments later when The Shield took out Orton and Batista. At the end of that Raw, the three men came out as Evolution for the first time in almost a decade, and they stood tall over The Shield.
The Shield and Evolution have been in WWE’s best feud since that night, a feud that included a Shield victory over Evolution at Extreme Rules. Now at Payback, with No Holds Barred, and Elimination Rules, we will find out who the strongest team really is.
Let’s get to the predictions:
Stephen’s Take: I’ve enjoyed this small feud, but ultimately believe The Shield should win, and I would probably have Roman Reigns as the winner in the elimination match over Triple H to put them on a program later down the road. You could even have Triple H beat Reigns and that sets up the program as well. But to me, Evolution should be done and over with. No new members. No big wins. Just end that already. I personally want The Shield to be going their separate ways as well because I think each guy can do something on their own.
Stephen’s Prediction: Roman Reigns of The Shield
Marcus’ Take: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H has been a rumor for SummerSlam for a few months and the way this feud has gone so far between the two factions, I see no reason why that isn’t still on the agenda. If The Shield is going to break-up (remember when everyone was so sure they would break-up before WrestleMania?), there really is no time like the present.
There are no factions for them to take on besides 3MB at this point, if they were to win the match the question would become, where do they go now? I won’t hate it if they do stay together because I think it’s cool when groups like that stay around for awhile. In this day and age however, it doesn’t happen anymore. The elimination style of the match makes it intriguing. The order of the eliminations will be interesting to follow. I see the end of the match showing Orton and HHH vs. Roman Reigns in the ring.
It is time for Evolution to go over on The Shield and set those three in motion to have great singles careers. Expect to see one or more of these men in the Money in the Bank ladder match next month as well.
Marcus’ Prediction: Evolution defeats the Shield and Roman Reigns gets pinned by HHH. (the internet HHH haters think Reigns in buried and my face goes into my palm)
Mike’s Take: I just don’t think it’s the right time to end The Shield. That time has come and gone, and it will come again, but not right now.
I believe that this match will end with Roman Reigns and Triple H as the last two men, and Reigns spearing Triple H for the win. I think The Shield will make their claim to be the best faction in WWE today, and one of the best of all time.
I think The Shield will stay together for a while then, helping each others’ singles careers take off, maybe with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins also getting involved in the tag team division. Eventually, egos will get in the way and that will be their demise, but the most important thing to remember is that it won’t end tonight.
Mike’s Prediction: Roman Reigns is the sole survivor of this match
That’s it for our WWE Payback predictions, you can find them all here. Stay tuned to Daily DDT for all our coverage of tonight’s PPV. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.