Ranking All 7 WWE Raw PPVs Since the Brand Split
By Jay Sichler
wwe.com
2. Payback
Coming off one of the better WrestleMania’s WWE has had over the last number of years, many feared Payback would be a weak show due to Mania hangover. However, the RAW brand provided fans with an excellent card from top to bottom.
The card started off with a WrestleMania rematch where the former best friends of Owens and Jericho battled over the United States Championship. Owens who had been drafted to Smackdown Live a few weeks earlier was scheduled for this match before he was drafted.
If Jericho won the match he would join Owens on the blue roster. In what was considered a shocking twist Jericho won the match and ended up going to Smackdown Live with Kevin Owens. The card would also feature The Hardys battling Sheamus and Cesaro.
This tag match got very physical and hard hitting with Jeff Hardy even losing a tooth during the match. The Hardy’s would pick up the win but Sheamus and Cesaro would get the last laugh as they would attack The Hardy’s after the match.
Payback would also have a historical moment as Alexa Bliss would become the first women to win both the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championships. Bliss would beat Bayley in her hometown of San Jose, proving that she is indeed the goddess of WWE.
The event would also hold one of the most talked about matches in recent memory in the House of Horrors match featuring Randy Orton against Bray Wyatt. Some loved it and some hated it but the match nonetheless got a response.
The match would see the two battle in a haunted house and then return eventually back to the arena. Thanks to help from Jinder Mahal, Wyatt was able to defeat Randy Orton ending their long feud.
The event would also see Seth Rollins get revenge on Samoa Joe, who had injured Rollins in February almost costing Rollins the chance to compete at WrestleMania for the second year in a row.
The main event would see Braun Strowman cement himself as a main eventer when he was able to defeat Roman Reigns. Payback gave fans a great event and started RAW on the right foot entering the new year in WWE.