Payback 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 176 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 13 2015

Payback 2015 saw the continuation of Seth Rollins' WWE Title reign and the conclusion of the long feud between John Cena and Rusev. Otherwise, it was largely a case of the same old product from WWE, although there are a number of enjoyable matches.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus is superior to their previous meeting at Extreme Rules, despite Ziggler suffering an unplanned - and huge - amount of blood loss at the finish. The New Day vs. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro is another strong match between the two, arguably their best yet under Two Out Of Three Falls rules. Meanwhile, Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback is a bit short, meaning that a few more minutes could have seen the two men put together a memorable effort.

John Cena vs. Rusev is a fun I Quit match; however, Cena has had superior I Quit battles in the past, and although this is arguably the best Cena-Rusev battle to date, there's nothing which you wouldn't have seen before. The Bellas vs. Naomi and Tamina is a Raw-style match, as is King Barrett vs. Neville, partly due to its poor finish. Things improve for the main event, a very good Fatal Four Way match between Rollins, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, the highlight of which is a brief Shield reunion. The bonus match is a short comedy tag bout pitting Macho Mandow and AxelMania (a.k.a. Damien Sandow and Curtis Axel) against The Ascension, and marks the moment when we realised that WWE really had messed up Sandow's career beyond his split with The Miz.

The top two matches are worth watching, and the Tag Team Title match is another thriller. Despite this, the show has that stale feel to it, either because of the familiar line-up or the familiar action on display. So, whilst you'll probably get a kick out of Payback 2015 at various points, it's hardly one of the year's best supershows to own on DVD.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10 - Above Average