Post by untit1ed on May 18, 2024 9:03:34 GMT 1
Payback 2023
Date: September 2nd, 2023
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Card
Pre Show
No Holds Barred Match
Asuka vs Shotzi Blackheart
(In June, Asuka and Shotzi Blackheart begin feuding with each other after Shotzi scores an upset win over Asuka, which infuriates Asuka, who mists Shotzi after the match. The 2 eventually have a rematch a few weeks later, this time with it being a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Asuka wins, and then after the match, cuts Shotzi’s hair with scissors. This then leads to Shozti (now sporting a new look with spiky hair) playing mind games with Asuka for the next few months, until a No Holds Barred Match is made for Payback between The Empress of Tomorrow and The Ballsy Badass. Shotzi says when Asuka held her down and cut her hair, she thought that maybe cutting her hair would intimidate her, scare her, Asuka thought she had control over hair, but she is not in the slightest bit scared, she is not someone you can control, maybe she might be a little weird, but she is in control, not that clown makeup wearing monster, and that’s what’s so great about being a little strange, she loves it, she holds the power, some people fear change, but she invites it, and she’s gonna show Asuka just how chaotic she really is at Payback. Asuka says that Shotzi can claim that she isn’t scared and can’t be controlled all she wants, Shotzi is a weak, fragile minded individual who she already broken, Shotzi is a lamb being lead to her slaughter at Payback. Shotzi manages to get the win after a Ball Pit through a table.)
Main Card
WWE Intercontinental Championship - if Gunther is counted out or disqualified, he will lose the title
GUNTHER (C) vs Chad Gable
(After dispatching of Drew McIntyre at Summerslam, Gunther moves on to his next challenger, former Intercontinental Champion and leader of The Alpha Academy (who has since added Maxxine Dupri to their ranks), Chad Gable. The feud starts on the Raw after Summerslam when Gunther and Gable have a confrontation backstage, with Gunther dismissing Gable as “lesser competition”. Gable takes offense to this and challenges Gunther to an IC title match. Gunther refuses, but says that he will give Gable a match against him, and if Gable can last 5 minutes with Der Ring General, he can have his title shot. Gable manages to defy the odds and win that match against Gunther, lasting all 5 minutes against The Leader of Imperium to secure himself a shot at the IC title. Gable and Gunther have their IC title match the following week, where Gable once again defeats Gunther, but by count-out, so the title doesn’t change hands. Because of this, Adam Pearce grants Chad Gable 1 more match against Gunther for the IC title, this time at Payback, and because of the count-out finish to their last match, Gunther will have no Champions Advantage, so if Gunther is counted out or disqualified, he will lose the title. Gunther says that Chad Gable may be the first man to defeat Der Ring General in singles competition on the main roster, by count-out, in a Championship match, he may have gained victory, but in reality, he has won nothing, because he is still standing as the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, but Chad Gable has achieved one thing, and that is pissing him off! Now Chad Gable has his attention, now Chad Gable has his focus, and if Chad Gable is in his way, then he will make an example of him like has everyone else who has stood in his way. Gable says Gunther is actually making some good points, in his 7 months on the main roster, no one has managed to defeat him, until he did, he handed Gunther his first loss, and he needed only 10 seconds to do it, and now, the title is once again on the line, and even though he can do it in 10 seconds again thanks to no Champions Advantage, he can also do it in 1, 2, 3, because Master Gable is going to go 3-0 against Gunther and become a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, Ah Thank You! This is the exact same 5 star classic that happened on the 09/04/2023 episode of Raw, capped off with Gunther winning after a German Suplex from a Sleeper, followed up with a Powerbomb, and then a Lariat, with Gable’s kids crying in the front row after seeing their Father lose.)
Singles Match - John Cena is the special guest referee
LA Knight vs The Miz
(Following both men being the final 2 of The Slim Jim Battle Royal, LA Knight and The Miz begin an interbrand feud with each other after LA Knight has a backstage photoshoot at Raw, which infuriates The Miz who has to wait to do his photoshoot. Miz voices his frustration later on that episode of Raw in a promo, saying is he missing something? Is something going over his head? What happened to showing industry leaders respect, he comes here to Raw, his show, to find a guy from Smackdown, the guy who stole his Slim Jim Battle Royal win at Summerslam, a guy that the WWE universe all of a sudden has a hard-on for, in LA Knight, taking priority over him, a veteran, a locker room leader, and when he first came to WWE a very long time ago, he was taught respect, when you come into that locker room, you introduce yourself and shake the hands of the superstars who have paved the way to allow you to step into this ring, but LA Knight not only screwed him out of winning the battle royal at Summerslam, and he didn’t even shake his hand, he is sick and tired of the lack of respect from the so-called crop of new talent that we have right now in WWE. Miz then interrupted by The Million Dollar Megastar, LA Knight (who his now a babyface, embracing the constant cheers that he receives), who says he thought he and Miz had a great introduction when he eliminated Miz to win the Slim Jim Battle Royal at Summerslam, but if that didn’t work for Miz, allow him to introduce himself, with everybody saying LA Knight, YEAH! LA Knight then offers a handshake, but Miz says no, LA Knight doesn’t deserve to shake his hand, does LA Knight think that he hasn’t seen superstars like him come into WWE and try to ride his coattails, because the way he sees it, is like this, you take away The Miz and what you take away, his success, his fame, his money, his hot wife, and all the charisma, and what do you get? LA Knight, because LA Knight is a flash in the pan, LA Knight is a flavor of the month, now don’t get him wrong, all these people love LA Knight right now, and they’ll probably love him for the next 5 months and buy his t-shirts because they think LA Knight is it, but you know what he thinks? LA Knight is nothing more than an Attitude Era fanboy cosplaying in his ring. LA Knight responds, saying he doesn’t have a problem with The Miz, but trust him when he says Miz doesn’t wanna make this personal. Miz claps back, saying personal? If LA Knight wants to talk personal, he takes his career very personal, he’s taken it personal for over 20 years when he first got here and people said he’d be fired within 3 months, he took it personal when he was kicked out of the locker room, he still takes it personal to this day even though he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase in the main event of Wrestlemania and won the WWE Championship, he is a 2-time Grand Slam Champion, he has made himself indestructible to anyone in that locker room, anything they give him out here, for 20 years, what have you done for the past 20 years? LA Knight responds, saying personal it is, what has he been doing for the past 20 years? Great question, for the past 20 years, he’s been making himself a dangerous man, what does that mean? He’ll tell ya what that means, he’s been clawing, scratching, doing everything he’s needed to do on the outside looking in whilst this place bet on all the wrong horses, Miz being one of them, meanwhile this thoroughbred is on the outside running a parallel path, all be it a little more rocky, just waiting for the right opening, and here you are with a 20 year head start, and you wanna know why you got that 20 year head start, he got that 20 year head start because he’s safe, that means they knew when The Miz came here they could smack him around, kick him out of the locker room, and what did he do? He took it, whilst the line on him has been they’ve never been ready to take the chance on him yet, you know why? Because he’s a dangerous man, because they wouldn’t have been able to smack him around and kick him out of the locker room, because he is not a man to be messed with, that’s the difference between me and you, but with all that said, Miz still won every single title he could here, and he did it many times over, and good on him, he hasn’t been there yet, but here he is on the climb and The Miz’s career is in the toilet, but, he’ll tell Miz this, now that The Miz wants to make this personal, he’ll turn him into a stepping stone, and he’s not talking about the ones down there, he’s talking about himself walking over The Miz and headed straight to the main event. Miz angrily responds, saying that he is no stepping stone, and if LA Knight want to talk about the main event, guess what, he is the main event, and LA Knight is not on his level. LA Knight responds, saying that’s a really interesting theory that I’m not on your level, because he’s looking at you dead in your eyes right now, and if you think I’m not on your level, prove him wrong, because he isn’t going anywhere. Miz tries to attack Knight, before getting laid out with a BFT. Over the next few weeks, Miz plays mind games on LA Knight by invading Smackdown and costing him a US title match against Samoa Joe, and even mocking LA Knight by cosplaying as him on an episode of Raw, leading to a match between the 2 at Payback. LA Knight says Miz had to pull out his old cosplay dress-up trick, he did it to The Rock first, then John Cena, and now LA Knight, YEAH! And you know what all 3 of them have in common other than the fact Miz can’t fill out any of their clothes, all 3 of those guys are people The Miz wants to be, but he can’t, Miz may say it’s easy to be LA Knight, let’s go ahead and explore that, he brought himself out of a sewer to stand in this ring, he’s lived in the roach-infested apartments, he’s walked the street after missing the bus trying to get to work, he’s worked every dirty job he could, he’s slept in his car, he’s cashed his checks at the payday loan place, he’s done it all and Miz wants to say it’s easy when he wouldn’t last a day in his boots, but here’s the thing, Miz says that he isn’t on his level, Miz is right, because Miz got to come in from his glory of having done MTV Reality Shows, ride the elevator up, whilst he came from down there and now stands up here, so Miz is right, he isn’t on his level because he’s above and beyond The Miz’s level, and he’ll prove that at Payback, Yeah! Miz says that LA Knight wants to talk about Reality TV, how they’re different? See LA Knight has failed where he has succeeded, a lot of people don’t know this, but LA Knight was on a Reality Show, they don’t know it cause he was the first one eliminated, he was on a show called The Hero, which was hosted by none other than The Rock, and LA Knight couldn’t even be the hero, whilst himself? Star of The Real World, 2-time winner of MTV’s The Challenge, all before he got here, and it didn’t take him 20 years, it only took him 3, and in that time, he’s gotten movies like The Marine, TV shows such as Miz & Mrs, he succeeds because he’s a star, and he’ll show that at Payback when he crushes LA Knight’s hopes and dreams. Also in the lead up to Payback, John Cena returns to WWE (because of the writers strike), and is announced as the guest host of Payback, with Cena making himself the guest referee for The Miz vs LA Knight match. LA Knight wins after a BFT.)
WWE United States Championship
Samoa Joe (C) vs Rey Mysterio w/Santos Escobar
(After defeating Santos Escobar at Summerslam, Samoa Joe continues his feud with the LWO, this time moving on to the LWO’s leader and his former one time ally, Rey Mysterio, who after another victory over Santos Escobar by Joe on Smackdown, challenges Joe to a match for the US title, saying 1 year ago, Samoa Joe was one of the guys he could trust most, Joe had his back when his own son Dominik wouldn’t, he chose Joe and neglected his son and that he regrets that, because over these past few months, Joe has become an unrecognisable monster who doesn’t know when enough is enough, assaulting Santos, Joaquin, Raul, and himself after matches, threatening Elektra Lopez, with all that he’s done to the LWO, someone has to put Joe in his place, and that’s gonna be him, because not only is he gonna put Samoa Joe in his place come Payback, but he will become a 3-time United States Champion at Payback. Joe says that 1 year ago, he got caught in the crossfire between Rey and his son, but looking back on it, Dominik was right, Rey really is a deadbeat Father, not only did he fail as a Father but now he is failing as a leader, leading this band of losers who don’t know how to get the job, and all of his pupil's failures are gonna rub off on him come Payback, because he will be going night night. The closing moments of the match see’s Joe lock in the Coquina Clutch on Rey, but Rey rolls out into a pin that Joe kicks out of. Joe then attempts a Uranage, which is countered by Rey into a Frankensteiner, which allows Rey to set Joe up for the 619, followed up with a Frog Splash for the win to become a 3-time United States Champoin, tying him with Rusev for the most reigns. Rey leaves just has his LWO amigos make their entrance for the next match, celebrating with all their gold.)
Smackdown Tag Team Championships
The LWO (C) w/Elektra Lopez vs The Street Profits w/Swerve Strickland
(On the Smackdown after Summerslam, there is a tag team match between The Brawling Brutes and The Good Brothers, but that match ends in a no contest when 2 hooded men storm the ring and attack both teams. Both men take off their hoods to reveal their identities as Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins, The Street Profits, who are joined on stage by Swerve Strickland, revealing that Swerve was talking to The Street Profits on the phone after his loss to Logan Paul at Summerslam, which forms a new trio between Swerve, Montez, and Angelo, and establishing the 3 as heels. Over the following weeks, The Profits pick up wins over Hit Row, The Good Brothers, and The Brawling Brutes, before calling the LWO for a Smackdown Tag Title Match at Payback, saying they spent month lost with no direction, but they’ve found that direction under Swerve, and they want to waste 0 time adding gold to their ranks, so the LWO is officially on notice. The LWO accept The Profits’ challenge, saying they used to have a lot of respect for The Street Profits, but after their attitude change, that respect has gone out the window, they need to be taught some humility. The Street Profits get the win after a Frog Splash from Montez Ford onto Raul Mendoza, capturing the Smackdown Tag Team Championships.)
Women’s World Championship
Bayley (C) vs Charlotte Flair
(After she retained her Women’s World Championship, Bayley continues her feud with her former friend Charlotte Flair. Charlotte challenged Bayley to a rematch at Payback, saying that she was never pinned back at Summerslam, she was seconds away from making Bianca Belair tap out and becoming a 4-time Women’s World Champion at Summerslam, but that little pipsqueak Bayley just had to pull the rug out from under her, so she wants a rematch, this time, one on one, where Bayley isn’t gonna be able to pull a fast one and retreat with her title, because she’ll get Bayley 1-on-1 and make her bow down to the queen as she becomes a 4-time Women’s World Champion. Bayley accepts Charlotte’s challenge for Payback, saying that she’s been waiting to get her hands on Charlotte 1-on-1 ever since Charlotte stabbed her in the back at Money in the Bank, and it’s befitting is gets to happen at Payback, because she gets to get her payback on Charlotte. Bayley manages to win a hard-fought contest to retain her Women’s World Championship after 2 Rose Plants. Later on in the show in a backstage interview, Charlotte challenges Bayley to 1 more match, in 6 days time on Smackdown, but in a Last Woman Standing Match. Bayley later accepts and the 2 settle their feud in a Last Woman Standing Match on the 09/08/2023 episode of Smackdown, which Bayley wins.)
Street Fight for the Raw Tag Team Championships
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (C) vs The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) w/Joe Gacy
(After failing to win the Raw Tag Team Championships back from Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Summerslam, The Judgment Day still chase after KO & Sami, challenging them to 1 more Raw Tag Title Match at Payback, with the 2 Canadians accepting, saying they have beaten Judgment Day over and over again, but this time, they wanna do it all over the arena, they want The Judgment Day… in a Street Fight! Joe Gacy accepts the stipulation on behalf of Judgment Day, saying it doesn’t matter where the fight ends up, one way or another, those tag titles are going to end up back into the The Judgment Day. However, in the leadup to the match, Finn Balor has a revelation. Balor says that this duo of Priest and Gacy, it’s just not working, every time they’ve gone up against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, they’ve lost, so he’s gonna change things up, he’s gonna do what any good leader would do, because Joe Gacy, he’s already got enough gold, so at Payback, it’s not gonna be Joe Gacy tagging with Damian Priest, at Payback, Damian Priest is gonna be tagging… with The Prince! He’s gonna be the one to bring those Raw Tag Team titles back to The Judgment Day. Also in the leadup, recent NXT Callup Jordan Devlin begins trying to join The Judgment Day. Finn Balor wants to bring him in, given their history together, but Priest, Gacy, and Rhea all don’t approve. During the match, Joe Gacy tries to interfere, but KO & Sami fight him off. In the closing moments, Sami Zayn has Finn Balor lined up for a Helluva Kick, only for Sami to be struck in the head by Jordan Devlin with one of the Raw Tag Team Championships. Balor then climbs to the top rope to hit the Coup De Grace on Sami for the win to bring the Raw Tag Team Championships back to The Judgment Day.)
WWE Women’s Championship - The Judgment Day is banned from ringside
Rhea Ripley (C) vs Raquel Rodriguez
(After interference by Joe Gacy allowed Rhea Ripley to retain against her at Summerslam, Raquel Rodriguez begins pursuing a rematch against Rhea Ripley. Raquel is eventually granted this rematch by Rhea after she costs Rhea in her and Joe Gacy’s Mixed Tag Match at Heatwave against Tyler Bate & Lyra Valkyria. Adam Pearce goes a step further and to give Raquel a fighting chance, bans not just Joe Gacy, but all members of The Judgment Day from ringside. Raquel says Rhea was bailed out by Joe Gacy at Summerslam, but now she’s all alone come Payback, no one from Judgment Day can save her from the beating that she has in store for her at Payback, where she will be taking that WWE Women’s Championship from Rhea. Rhea says sure, Raquel might have been her greatest challenge yet at Summerslam, Raquel may have pushed her to her limit, but she’s already proven before that she doesn’t help to defeat Raquel Rodriguez, and she’ll topple her all on her on once again. Near the end of the match, Raquel is on the outside of the ring and the ref is distracted by Rhea, when Raquel is attacked by none other than Piper Niven (not Nia Jax). Niven clotheslilnes Raquel and gives her a powerbomb off the apron. Rhea then hits a Riptide on Raquel for the win, but is attacked by Piper Niven, who gives Rhea a Loch Ness Slam, before Powerbombing Rhea through the announce table, hoisting up Rhea’s WWE Women’s Championship.)
Note
(As for Nia Jax’s return, that does not happen, yet. I actually have enjoyed Nia’s 2nd run in the company and she’s won me over, but she doesn’t return yet because she doesn’t fit in with what I have planned up until Wrestlemania XL. Her return will happen sometime after Wrestlemania XL.)
World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes (C) vs Dijak w/Karrion Kross & Scarlett
(Sometime after Night of Champions, Dijak & Karrion Kross, both frustrated about their recent shortcoming, form a tag team known as The Final Testament. This tag team not only builds back up success and momentum for both not just as a tag team, but as singles competitors, as on the Smackdown after Summerslam, Dijak wins a #1 contenders battle royal to become the #1 contender to Cody Rhodes’ World Heavyweight Championship. Dijak says that for the past number of months, Cody Rhodes has been obsessed with Brock Lesnar, he saw what Cody did to Brock at Summerslam, but he’s been so focused on Brock the past number of months, he knows it’s gonna be difficult for Cody to have to turn his attention back to other superstars on the roster, and he is gonna capitalise on that, because Cody Rhodes may call himself The American Nightmare, but he will become Cody Rhodes’ living nightmare at Payback when he takes that World Heavyweight Championship and ends Cody’s reign at just 1 month. Cody says that he is not in the slightest bit underestimating Dijak, Dijak and Kross can knock him down all they want, but every time, he’s gotten back up, because that’s what his story is, the guy who gets knocked down, and always gets backup, and what’s Dijak’s story, 6’7, 10-year pro who has finally gotten himself a potential once in a lifetime World Title shot, within a whisper of immortality, but he’s walk behind, he walks behind Karrion Kross, and he even walks behind Scarlett, he thinks he’s the star when he’s the 3rd wheel, and he wants to talk about how he can’t move on from Brock Lesnar when he slayed The Beast at Summerslam to take back his World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam, he’s resumed his path at World Heavyweight Champion, and his path goes straight through Dijak at Payback. Dijak comes close to beating Cody, getting some near falls on him, but ultimately, The American Nightmare prevails in the end, putting Dijak away with a Cross Rhodes to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.)
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
Austin Theory (C) w/Grayson Waller vs Keith Lee vs Dominik Mysterio w/Zelina Vega
(On the Raw after Summerslam, new WWE Champion Austin Theory gloats about cashing in his Money in the Bank Briefcase to become WWE Champion and his new tag team, A-Town Down under with former rival turned ally, NXT Champion Grayson Waller. Theory says that at one point in time, he and Grayson couldn’t stand each other, but since then, he realised that Grayson Waller was right, and there is no one better than Waller that he wants to take to the top with him, because this is no longer just The Era of The Now, but The Era of A-Town Down Under. Dominik Mysterio interrupts Austin Theory, saying the only reason Austin Theory was able to cash in his Money in the Bank Briefcase and become WWE Champion, is because he softened up Keith Lee when he gave Keith the beating of a lifetime at Summerslam, and if he didn’t do that, or he wasn’t robbed of the WWE Championship, than all Austin Theory would’ve remembered for doing at Summerslam this year, was getting eliminated in a pre show battle royal. Keith Lee interrupts, saying despite him giving Mr. Mysterio the ass whooping that he deserved at Summerslam, he still wants to try and take credit for other people’s work, and as for Mr. Theory, you may have gotten 1 over on him at Summerslam, but they both know what would happen if they faced off 1 on 1, and Theory didn’t have the surprise factor of The Money in the Bank briefcase. This leads to a brawl between Lee, Mysterio, and A-Town Down Under, which causes Adam Pearce to make a #1 contenders match between Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio in a Summerslam rematch. That match ends in a no contest thanks to interference from A-Town Down Under, which results in Adam Pearce making a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Payback, as Austin Theory will defend against both Dominik Mysterio, and Keith Lee. Theory says that Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio can beef with each other all they want, but they’ve seen to forgotten who the WWE Champion is, they’ve seen to have forgotten who x-factor in this is, just like how he and Grayson Waller were the x-factor for their match at Summerslam when Waller layed Keith Lee and he ran down and cashed in his Money in the Bank Briefcase, and just like at Summerslam, he’ll be leaving Payback as your WWE Champion when he makes Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio go A-Town, Down! The closing moments of the match see’s Keith Lee hit a Big Bang Catastrophe on Dominik Mysterio, only for Austin Theory to swoop in and hit a Rolling Dropkick on Keith Lee before pinning Dominik Mysterio, retaining his WWE Championship.)
TV Title Changes
09/04/2023 - The Raw Tag Team Championships are renamed back to the WWE Tag Team Championships, Finn Balor & Damian Priest are presented with new titles
09/08/2023 - The Smackdown Tag Team Championships are renamed back to the World Tag Team Championships, Angelo Dawkins & Montez ford are presented with new titles
09/08/2023 - Toni Storm defeats Bayley to win the Women’s World Championship (Money in the Bank Cash-in after Bayley’s Last Woman Standing Match against Charlotte Flair)
09/12/2023 - Becky Lynch defeats Cora Jade to win the NXT Women’s Championship
Date: September 2nd, 2023
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Card
Pre Show
No Holds Barred Match
Asuka vs Shotzi Blackheart
(In June, Asuka and Shotzi Blackheart begin feuding with each other after Shotzi scores an upset win over Asuka, which infuriates Asuka, who mists Shotzi after the match. The 2 eventually have a rematch a few weeks later, this time with it being a Money in the Bank qualifying match. Asuka wins, and then after the match, cuts Shotzi’s hair with scissors. This then leads to Shozti (now sporting a new look with spiky hair) playing mind games with Asuka for the next few months, until a No Holds Barred Match is made for Payback between The Empress of Tomorrow and The Ballsy Badass. Shotzi says when Asuka held her down and cut her hair, she thought that maybe cutting her hair would intimidate her, scare her, Asuka thought she had control over hair, but she is not in the slightest bit scared, she is not someone you can control, maybe she might be a little weird, but she is in control, not that clown makeup wearing monster, and that’s what’s so great about being a little strange, she loves it, she holds the power, some people fear change, but she invites it, and she’s gonna show Asuka just how chaotic she really is at Payback. Asuka says that Shotzi can claim that she isn’t scared and can’t be controlled all she wants, Shotzi is a weak, fragile minded individual who she already broken, Shotzi is a lamb being lead to her slaughter at Payback. Shotzi manages to get the win after a Ball Pit through a table.)
Main Card
WWE Intercontinental Championship - if Gunther is counted out or disqualified, he will lose the title
GUNTHER (C) vs Chad Gable
(After dispatching of Drew McIntyre at Summerslam, Gunther moves on to his next challenger, former Intercontinental Champion and leader of The Alpha Academy (who has since added Maxxine Dupri to their ranks), Chad Gable. The feud starts on the Raw after Summerslam when Gunther and Gable have a confrontation backstage, with Gunther dismissing Gable as “lesser competition”. Gable takes offense to this and challenges Gunther to an IC title match. Gunther refuses, but says that he will give Gable a match against him, and if Gable can last 5 minutes with Der Ring General, he can have his title shot. Gable manages to defy the odds and win that match against Gunther, lasting all 5 minutes against The Leader of Imperium to secure himself a shot at the IC title. Gable and Gunther have their IC title match the following week, where Gable once again defeats Gunther, but by count-out, so the title doesn’t change hands. Because of this, Adam Pearce grants Chad Gable 1 more match against Gunther for the IC title, this time at Payback, and because of the count-out finish to their last match, Gunther will have no Champions Advantage, so if Gunther is counted out or disqualified, he will lose the title. Gunther says that Chad Gable may be the first man to defeat Der Ring General in singles competition on the main roster, by count-out, in a Championship match, he may have gained victory, but in reality, he has won nothing, because he is still standing as the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, but Chad Gable has achieved one thing, and that is pissing him off! Now Chad Gable has his attention, now Chad Gable has his focus, and if Chad Gable is in his way, then he will make an example of him like has everyone else who has stood in his way. Gable says Gunther is actually making some good points, in his 7 months on the main roster, no one has managed to defeat him, until he did, he handed Gunther his first loss, and he needed only 10 seconds to do it, and now, the title is once again on the line, and even though he can do it in 10 seconds again thanks to no Champions Advantage, he can also do it in 1, 2, 3, because Master Gable is going to go 3-0 against Gunther and become a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, Ah Thank You! This is the exact same 5 star classic that happened on the 09/04/2023 episode of Raw, capped off with Gunther winning after a German Suplex from a Sleeper, followed up with a Powerbomb, and then a Lariat, with Gable’s kids crying in the front row after seeing their Father lose.)
Singles Match - John Cena is the special guest referee
LA Knight vs The Miz
(Following both men being the final 2 of The Slim Jim Battle Royal, LA Knight and The Miz begin an interbrand feud with each other after LA Knight has a backstage photoshoot at Raw, which infuriates The Miz who has to wait to do his photoshoot. Miz voices his frustration later on that episode of Raw in a promo, saying is he missing something? Is something going over his head? What happened to showing industry leaders respect, he comes here to Raw, his show, to find a guy from Smackdown, the guy who stole his Slim Jim Battle Royal win at Summerslam, a guy that the WWE universe all of a sudden has a hard-on for, in LA Knight, taking priority over him, a veteran, a locker room leader, and when he first came to WWE a very long time ago, he was taught respect, when you come into that locker room, you introduce yourself and shake the hands of the superstars who have paved the way to allow you to step into this ring, but LA Knight not only screwed him out of winning the battle royal at Summerslam, and he didn’t even shake his hand, he is sick and tired of the lack of respect from the so-called crop of new talent that we have right now in WWE. Miz then interrupted by The Million Dollar Megastar, LA Knight (who his now a babyface, embracing the constant cheers that he receives), who says he thought he and Miz had a great introduction when he eliminated Miz to win the Slim Jim Battle Royal at Summerslam, but if that didn’t work for Miz, allow him to introduce himself, with everybody saying LA Knight, YEAH! LA Knight then offers a handshake, but Miz says no, LA Knight doesn’t deserve to shake his hand, does LA Knight think that he hasn’t seen superstars like him come into WWE and try to ride his coattails, because the way he sees it, is like this, you take away The Miz and what you take away, his success, his fame, his money, his hot wife, and all the charisma, and what do you get? LA Knight, because LA Knight is a flash in the pan, LA Knight is a flavor of the month, now don’t get him wrong, all these people love LA Knight right now, and they’ll probably love him for the next 5 months and buy his t-shirts because they think LA Knight is it, but you know what he thinks? LA Knight is nothing more than an Attitude Era fanboy cosplaying in his ring. LA Knight responds, saying he doesn’t have a problem with The Miz, but trust him when he says Miz doesn’t wanna make this personal. Miz claps back, saying personal? If LA Knight wants to talk personal, he takes his career very personal, he’s taken it personal for over 20 years when he first got here and people said he’d be fired within 3 months, he took it personal when he was kicked out of the locker room, he still takes it personal to this day even though he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase in the main event of Wrestlemania and won the WWE Championship, he is a 2-time Grand Slam Champion, he has made himself indestructible to anyone in that locker room, anything they give him out here, for 20 years, what have you done for the past 20 years? LA Knight responds, saying personal it is, what has he been doing for the past 20 years? Great question, for the past 20 years, he’s been making himself a dangerous man, what does that mean? He’ll tell ya what that means, he’s been clawing, scratching, doing everything he’s needed to do on the outside looking in whilst this place bet on all the wrong horses, Miz being one of them, meanwhile this thoroughbred is on the outside running a parallel path, all be it a little more rocky, just waiting for the right opening, and here you are with a 20 year head start, and you wanna know why you got that 20 year head start, he got that 20 year head start because he’s safe, that means they knew when The Miz came here they could smack him around, kick him out of the locker room, and what did he do? He took it, whilst the line on him has been they’ve never been ready to take the chance on him yet, you know why? Because he’s a dangerous man, because they wouldn’t have been able to smack him around and kick him out of the locker room, because he is not a man to be messed with, that’s the difference between me and you, but with all that said, Miz still won every single title he could here, and he did it many times over, and good on him, he hasn’t been there yet, but here he is on the climb and The Miz’s career is in the toilet, but, he’ll tell Miz this, now that The Miz wants to make this personal, he’ll turn him into a stepping stone, and he’s not talking about the ones down there, he’s talking about himself walking over The Miz and headed straight to the main event. Miz angrily responds, saying that he is no stepping stone, and if LA Knight want to talk about the main event, guess what, he is the main event, and LA Knight is not on his level. LA Knight responds, saying that’s a really interesting theory that I’m not on your level, because he’s looking at you dead in your eyes right now, and if you think I’m not on your level, prove him wrong, because he isn’t going anywhere. Miz tries to attack Knight, before getting laid out with a BFT. Over the next few weeks, Miz plays mind games on LA Knight by invading Smackdown and costing him a US title match against Samoa Joe, and even mocking LA Knight by cosplaying as him on an episode of Raw, leading to a match between the 2 at Payback. LA Knight says Miz had to pull out his old cosplay dress-up trick, he did it to The Rock first, then John Cena, and now LA Knight, YEAH! And you know what all 3 of them have in common other than the fact Miz can’t fill out any of their clothes, all 3 of those guys are people The Miz wants to be, but he can’t, Miz may say it’s easy to be LA Knight, let’s go ahead and explore that, he brought himself out of a sewer to stand in this ring, he’s lived in the roach-infested apartments, he’s walked the street after missing the bus trying to get to work, he’s worked every dirty job he could, he’s slept in his car, he’s cashed his checks at the payday loan place, he’s done it all and Miz wants to say it’s easy when he wouldn’t last a day in his boots, but here’s the thing, Miz says that he isn’t on his level, Miz is right, because Miz got to come in from his glory of having done MTV Reality Shows, ride the elevator up, whilst he came from down there and now stands up here, so Miz is right, he isn’t on his level because he’s above and beyond The Miz’s level, and he’ll prove that at Payback, Yeah! Miz says that LA Knight wants to talk about Reality TV, how they’re different? See LA Knight has failed where he has succeeded, a lot of people don’t know this, but LA Knight was on a Reality Show, they don’t know it cause he was the first one eliminated, he was on a show called The Hero, which was hosted by none other than The Rock, and LA Knight couldn’t even be the hero, whilst himself? Star of The Real World, 2-time winner of MTV’s The Challenge, all before he got here, and it didn’t take him 20 years, it only took him 3, and in that time, he’s gotten movies like The Marine, TV shows such as Miz & Mrs, he succeeds because he’s a star, and he’ll show that at Payback when he crushes LA Knight’s hopes and dreams. Also in the lead up to Payback, John Cena returns to WWE (because of the writers strike), and is announced as the guest host of Payback, with Cena making himself the guest referee for The Miz vs LA Knight match. LA Knight wins after a BFT.)
WWE United States Championship
Samoa Joe (C) vs Rey Mysterio w/Santos Escobar
(After defeating Santos Escobar at Summerslam, Samoa Joe continues his feud with the LWO, this time moving on to the LWO’s leader and his former one time ally, Rey Mysterio, who after another victory over Santos Escobar by Joe on Smackdown, challenges Joe to a match for the US title, saying 1 year ago, Samoa Joe was one of the guys he could trust most, Joe had his back when his own son Dominik wouldn’t, he chose Joe and neglected his son and that he regrets that, because over these past few months, Joe has become an unrecognisable monster who doesn’t know when enough is enough, assaulting Santos, Joaquin, Raul, and himself after matches, threatening Elektra Lopez, with all that he’s done to the LWO, someone has to put Joe in his place, and that’s gonna be him, because not only is he gonna put Samoa Joe in his place come Payback, but he will become a 3-time United States Champion at Payback. Joe says that 1 year ago, he got caught in the crossfire between Rey and his son, but looking back on it, Dominik was right, Rey really is a deadbeat Father, not only did he fail as a Father but now he is failing as a leader, leading this band of losers who don’t know how to get the job, and all of his pupil's failures are gonna rub off on him come Payback, because he will be going night night. The closing moments of the match see’s Joe lock in the Coquina Clutch on Rey, but Rey rolls out into a pin that Joe kicks out of. Joe then attempts a Uranage, which is countered by Rey into a Frankensteiner, which allows Rey to set Joe up for the 619, followed up with a Frog Splash for the win to become a 3-time United States Champoin, tying him with Rusev for the most reigns. Rey leaves just has his LWO amigos make their entrance for the next match, celebrating with all their gold.)
Smackdown Tag Team Championships
The LWO (C) w/Elektra Lopez vs The Street Profits w/Swerve Strickland
(On the Smackdown after Summerslam, there is a tag team match between The Brawling Brutes and The Good Brothers, but that match ends in a no contest when 2 hooded men storm the ring and attack both teams. Both men take off their hoods to reveal their identities as Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins, The Street Profits, who are joined on stage by Swerve Strickland, revealing that Swerve was talking to The Street Profits on the phone after his loss to Logan Paul at Summerslam, which forms a new trio between Swerve, Montez, and Angelo, and establishing the 3 as heels. Over the following weeks, The Profits pick up wins over Hit Row, The Good Brothers, and The Brawling Brutes, before calling the LWO for a Smackdown Tag Title Match at Payback, saying they spent month lost with no direction, but they’ve found that direction under Swerve, and they want to waste 0 time adding gold to their ranks, so the LWO is officially on notice. The LWO accept The Profits’ challenge, saying they used to have a lot of respect for The Street Profits, but after their attitude change, that respect has gone out the window, they need to be taught some humility. The Street Profits get the win after a Frog Splash from Montez Ford onto Raul Mendoza, capturing the Smackdown Tag Team Championships.)
Women’s World Championship
Bayley (C) vs Charlotte Flair
(After she retained her Women’s World Championship, Bayley continues her feud with her former friend Charlotte Flair. Charlotte challenged Bayley to a rematch at Payback, saying that she was never pinned back at Summerslam, she was seconds away from making Bianca Belair tap out and becoming a 4-time Women’s World Champion at Summerslam, but that little pipsqueak Bayley just had to pull the rug out from under her, so she wants a rematch, this time, one on one, where Bayley isn’t gonna be able to pull a fast one and retreat with her title, because she’ll get Bayley 1-on-1 and make her bow down to the queen as she becomes a 4-time Women’s World Champion. Bayley accepts Charlotte’s challenge for Payback, saying that she’s been waiting to get her hands on Charlotte 1-on-1 ever since Charlotte stabbed her in the back at Money in the Bank, and it’s befitting is gets to happen at Payback, because she gets to get her payback on Charlotte. Bayley manages to win a hard-fought contest to retain her Women’s World Championship after 2 Rose Plants. Later on in the show in a backstage interview, Charlotte challenges Bayley to 1 more match, in 6 days time on Smackdown, but in a Last Woman Standing Match. Bayley later accepts and the 2 settle their feud in a Last Woman Standing Match on the 09/08/2023 episode of Smackdown, which Bayley wins.)
Street Fight for the Raw Tag Team Championships
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (C) vs The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) w/Joe Gacy
(After failing to win the Raw Tag Team Championships back from Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Summerslam, The Judgment Day still chase after KO & Sami, challenging them to 1 more Raw Tag Title Match at Payback, with the 2 Canadians accepting, saying they have beaten Judgment Day over and over again, but this time, they wanna do it all over the arena, they want The Judgment Day… in a Street Fight! Joe Gacy accepts the stipulation on behalf of Judgment Day, saying it doesn’t matter where the fight ends up, one way or another, those tag titles are going to end up back into the The Judgment Day. However, in the leadup to the match, Finn Balor has a revelation. Balor says that this duo of Priest and Gacy, it’s just not working, every time they’ve gone up against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, they’ve lost, so he’s gonna change things up, he’s gonna do what any good leader would do, because Joe Gacy, he’s already got enough gold, so at Payback, it’s not gonna be Joe Gacy tagging with Damian Priest, at Payback, Damian Priest is gonna be tagging… with The Prince! He’s gonna be the one to bring those Raw Tag Team titles back to The Judgment Day. Also in the leadup, recent NXT Callup Jordan Devlin begins trying to join The Judgment Day. Finn Balor wants to bring him in, given their history together, but Priest, Gacy, and Rhea all don’t approve. During the match, Joe Gacy tries to interfere, but KO & Sami fight him off. In the closing moments, Sami Zayn has Finn Balor lined up for a Helluva Kick, only for Sami to be struck in the head by Jordan Devlin with one of the Raw Tag Team Championships. Balor then climbs to the top rope to hit the Coup De Grace on Sami for the win to bring the Raw Tag Team Championships back to The Judgment Day.)
WWE Women’s Championship - The Judgment Day is banned from ringside
Rhea Ripley (C) vs Raquel Rodriguez
(After interference by Joe Gacy allowed Rhea Ripley to retain against her at Summerslam, Raquel Rodriguez begins pursuing a rematch against Rhea Ripley. Raquel is eventually granted this rematch by Rhea after she costs Rhea in her and Joe Gacy’s Mixed Tag Match at Heatwave against Tyler Bate & Lyra Valkyria. Adam Pearce goes a step further and to give Raquel a fighting chance, bans not just Joe Gacy, but all members of The Judgment Day from ringside. Raquel says Rhea was bailed out by Joe Gacy at Summerslam, but now she’s all alone come Payback, no one from Judgment Day can save her from the beating that she has in store for her at Payback, where she will be taking that WWE Women’s Championship from Rhea. Rhea says sure, Raquel might have been her greatest challenge yet at Summerslam, Raquel may have pushed her to her limit, but she’s already proven before that she doesn’t help to defeat Raquel Rodriguez, and she’ll topple her all on her on once again. Near the end of the match, Raquel is on the outside of the ring and the ref is distracted by Rhea, when Raquel is attacked by none other than Piper Niven (not Nia Jax). Niven clotheslilnes Raquel and gives her a powerbomb off the apron. Rhea then hits a Riptide on Raquel for the win, but is attacked by Piper Niven, who gives Rhea a Loch Ness Slam, before Powerbombing Rhea through the announce table, hoisting up Rhea’s WWE Women’s Championship.)
Note
(As for Nia Jax’s return, that does not happen, yet. I actually have enjoyed Nia’s 2nd run in the company and she’s won me over, but she doesn’t return yet because she doesn’t fit in with what I have planned up until Wrestlemania XL. Her return will happen sometime after Wrestlemania XL.)
World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes (C) vs Dijak w/Karrion Kross & Scarlett
(Sometime after Night of Champions, Dijak & Karrion Kross, both frustrated about their recent shortcoming, form a tag team known as The Final Testament. This tag team not only builds back up success and momentum for both not just as a tag team, but as singles competitors, as on the Smackdown after Summerslam, Dijak wins a #1 contenders battle royal to become the #1 contender to Cody Rhodes’ World Heavyweight Championship. Dijak says that for the past number of months, Cody Rhodes has been obsessed with Brock Lesnar, he saw what Cody did to Brock at Summerslam, but he’s been so focused on Brock the past number of months, he knows it’s gonna be difficult for Cody to have to turn his attention back to other superstars on the roster, and he is gonna capitalise on that, because Cody Rhodes may call himself The American Nightmare, but he will become Cody Rhodes’ living nightmare at Payback when he takes that World Heavyweight Championship and ends Cody’s reign at just 1 month. Cody says that he is not in the slightest bit underestimating Dijak, Dijak and Kross can knock him down all they want, but every time, he’s gotten back up, because that’s what his story is, the guy who gets knocked down, and always gets backup, and what’s Dijak’s story, 6’7, 10-year pro who has finally gotten himself a potential once in a lifetime World Title shot, within a whisper of immortality, but he’s walk behind, he walks behind Karrion Kross, and he even walks behind Scarlett, he thinks he’s the star when he’s the 3rd wheel, and he wants to talk about how he can’t move on from Brock Lesnar when he slayed The Beast at Summerslam to take back his World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam, he’s resumed his path at World Heavyweight Champion, and his path goes straight through Dijak at Payback. Dijak comes close to beating Cody, getting some near falls on him, but ultimately, The American Nightmare prevails in the end, putting Dijak away with a Cross Rhodes to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.)
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
Austin Theory (C) w/Grayson Waller vs Keith Lee vs Dominik Mysterio w/Zelina Vega
(On the Raw after Summerslam, new WWE Champion Austin Theory gloats about cashing in his Money in the Bank Briefcase to become WWE Champion and his new tag team, A-Town Down under with former rival turned ally, NXT Champion Grayson Waller. Theory says that at one point in time, he and Grayson couldn’t stand each other, but since then, he realised that Grayson Waller was right, and there is no one better than Waller that he wants to take to the top with him, because this is no longer just The Era of The Now, but The Era of A-Town Down Under. Dominik Mysterio interrupts Austin Theory, saying the only reason Austin Theory was able to cash in his Money in the Bank Briefcase and become WWE Champion, is because he softened up Keith Lee when he gave Keith the beating of a lifetime at Summerslam, and if he didn’t do that, or he wasn’t robbed of the WWE Championship, than all Austin Theory would’ve remembered for doing at Summerslam this year, was getting eliminated in a pre show battle royal. Keith Lee interrupts, saying despite him giving Mr. Mysterio the ass whooping that he deserved at Summerslam, he still wants to try and take credit for other people’s work, and as for Mr. Theory, you may have gotten 1 over on him at Summerslam, but they both know what would happen if they faced off 1 on 1, and Theory didn’t have the surprise factor of The Money in the Bank briefcase. This leads to a brawl between Lee, Mysterio, and A-Town Down Under, which causes Adam Pearce to make a #1 contenders match between Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio in a Summerslam rematch. That match ends in a no contest thanks to interference from A-Town Down Under, which results in Adam Pearce making a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Payback, as Austin Theory will defend against both Dominik Mysterio, and Keith Lee. Theory says that Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio can beef with each other all they want, but they’ve seen to forgotten who the WWE Champion is, they’ve seen to have forgotten who x-factor in this is, just like how he and Grayson Waller were the x-factor for their match at Summerslam when Waller layed Keith Lee and he ran down and cashed in his Money in the Bank Briefcase, and just like at Summerslam, he’ll be leaving Payback as your WWE Champion when he makes Keith Lee and Dominik Mysterio go A-Town, Down! The closing moments of the match see’s Keith Lee hit a Big Bang Catastrophe on Dominik Mysterio, only for Austin Theory to swoop in and hit a Rolling Dropkick on Keith Lee before pinning Dominik Mysterio, retaining his WWE Championship.)
TV Title Changes
09/04/2023 - The Raw Tag Team Championships are renamed back to the WWE Tag Team Championships, Finn Balor & Damian Priest are presented with new titles
09/08/2023 - The Smackdown Tag Team Championships are renamed back to the World Tag Team Championships, Angelo Dawkins & Montez ford are presented with new titles
09/08/2023 - Toni Storm defeats Bayley to win the Women’s World Championship (Money in the Bank Cash-in after Bayley’s Last Woman Standing Match against Charlotte Flair)
09/12/2023 - Becky Lynch defeats Cora Jade to win the NXT Women’s Championship
