WWE Payback 2017: 5 Must-See Matches from PPV’s History
By Charles Daye
1. The Shield vs Evolution (2014)
The Shield vs Evolution from Payback 2014, is the most must-see match in Payback’s young history. The Shield defeated Evolution at Extreme Rules so a rematch was set for Payback, a no-holds-barred six-man elimination tag match.
Simply put, this match is great. It starts off with both teams brawling all over the place. The Game clashed with the Architect, the Animal was fighting the Big Dog and the Lunatic Fringe was taking on the Viper, just to kick things off.
Eventually, the referee got both teams under control and for a short time, there actually is a six-man tag team match that takes place. Then all hell breaks loose again. Evolution would gain the upper hand using their strength in numbers to beat down the Shield one by one.
At one point, Evolution beats down Reigns (the only Shield member left in the ring), rips off his vest, they drape him over the steel steps (which are now in the middle of the ring) and proceed to Singapore cane him. Roman would attempt to fight back, eventually fighting to the top of the entrance way.
Ambrose would attempt to fight off Evolution but the three beat him down just to hold him up so Orton could deliver his signature elevated-DDT on the concrete. Just when it couldn’t look any worse for the Shield, Seth Freakin’ Rollins appeared on the titantron. Not on the video, physically on the titantron and then jumped off the freakin’ titantron to take out Evolution.
The Shield would go on to win in historic fashion, sweeping Evolution. The combination of Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista that dominated Raw in the mid-2000s. The era of Evolution included the King of Kings’ infamous and often criticized “reign of terror” and those future hall-of-famers got swept!
However, this match is a lot more than that and deserves to be enjoyed more than once. This was the final match for the Shield as a unit before the stable’s implosion. (This is also Dave Batista’s last match in WWE, full Bootista complete with “Blue-tista” attire).
A classic match between two of the most dominating forces in WWE history.