Payback 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 173 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 26 2013

Despite a familiar line-up and the feelings of relative staleness due to the end of WrestleMania Season, Payback 2013 is surprisingly a great show to watch, and therefore the DVD should provide you with plenty of entertainment.

Here's why: after a very well-received opener for the Intercontinental Title, pitting Bad News Barrett against The Miz and Curtis Axel (replacing Fandango), we get the best Divas Title match since the days of Trish Stratus and Lita as AJ Lee and Kaitlyn put on one hell of a battle. Dean Ambrose vs. Kane admittedly has that filler feeling to it, but the same cannot be said about Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio, which is a World Title with a difference, namely the incredibly stiff offence (based around Ziggler's real-life concussion issues) and a double turn, which is well-executed.

CM Punk returns from a two-month absence to put on a thriller with Chris Jericho, and while the set-up of Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton vs. The Shield feels strange, it is nevertheless a lot of fun to see. The Three Stages Of Hell bout between John Cena and Ryback is a decent main event, even if it is actually one of the weaker matches on the card, albeit due to the high standard of several matches which came before it. The pre-show match between Sheamus and Damien Sandow is also worth watching.

So, don't let anyone tell you that WWE is only interesting on PPV in the run-up to WrestleMania, because Payback 2013 proves evidence to the contrary, and therefore becomes a DVD that is pretty highly recommended.

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

Payback 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 186 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 18 2014

Payback 2014 compensates for the lack of a World Title match, due to the injuries suffered by WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, with a memorable double main event and some gems further down the card.

The opener, between Sheamus and Cesaro, is a hard-hitting battle, with the highlight perhaps coming pre-match from Paul Heyman as he shuts down the "CM Punk!" chants within the Chicago crowd. RybAxel vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust at least serves a purpose, although most expected that to be a Cody heel turn as opposed to his eventual transformation into Stardust. Rusev vs. Big E is better than expected with the two big men putting on a very good, if brief, brawl; conversely, Kofi Kingston is demolished by Kane before his impromptu match with Bo Dallas ever gets started.

Bad News Barrett vs. Rob Van Dam is watchable but nothing spectacular; however, the Last Man Standing battle between John Cena and Bray Wyatt is packed with big spots, some involving interfering parties The Usos and other Wyatt Family members Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, making this one of the better matches of the year in WWE. In between those two matches comes a segment involving Stephanie McMahon, Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella, which ultimately ends in McMahon getting slapped by Brie (sorry to spoil it, but it's better than wasting nearly 15 minutes watching it again). Paige vs. Alicia Fox is a step-up from Paige's previous PPV clash with Tamina Snuka, and the show ends with a strong, at times violent, No Holds Barred war between The Shield and Evolution (check out Batista's blue gear, which led to #Bluetista trending on Twitter), which puts the Hound Of Justice over in great fashion. Who could have expected the faction to disintegrate just 24 hours later?

Considering that this event had the potential to be insignificant, it ends up being a pretty good show, and makes for a fun wrestling DVD (which includes the Hair vs. Mask pre-showe bout between Hornswoggle and El Torito, and also includes the new WWE logo on the box art). If nothing else, you can check out The Shield's swansong, as well as a memorable brawl between Cena and Wyatt.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

Payback 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 192 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: June 27 2016

As annoying as WWE's repeated statements of it being "A New Era" were and are, there's no doubt that the WWE product has improved since WrestleMania 32. The first post-Mania PPV event, Payback 2016, is a fine example with several really good matches, all of which make for a very enjoyable wrestling DVD.

It starts on a sour note, admittedly, with Enzo Amore suffering a frightening concussion that results in the tag match between Enzo/Big Cass and The Vaudevillains being abandoned (fortunately, Amore ultimately needed a few weeks to recover; judging by the impact, Enzo could have been a lot worse off). The always-rowdy Chicago crowd was clearly shook up, as were the announcers. Thankfully, things get back on track in a big way with a great Kevin Owens-Sami Zayn battle, and KO sticks around to provide some amusing commentary on another strong match between Cesaro and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose is an other worthy match but, on this night, the preceding matches (as well as one later on in the show) overshadow the efforts of Jericho and Ambrose.

Charlotte vs. Natalya, with Ric Flair and Bret Hart at ringside, starts well and evokes memories of their sterling NXT effort in 2014 when both of their legendary fathers were also in their respective corners, but it ends on an abrupt screw-job finish which doesn't go down well at all. Although it's not obvious here, the fact that referee Charles Robinson - a longtime Flair associate - was ultimately not punished on-screen for this blatant robbery of Natalya's title hopes is ridiculous. A long segment involving Vince, Shane and Stephanie McMahon keeps the crowd interested but ends on a low note when Vince eventually decides that both will run Raw and SmackDown, thus making the entire angle pointless. We head in a positive direction again with the main event as Roman Reigns and AJ Styles put on a very good headline bout, and although the two pretend non-finishes were frustrating at the time, they played a key role in the match, and we still get a proper finish in the end, which is the main thing.

There are actually two matches included as DVD extras here from the Kick-Off Show. The first, Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin, takes the strange path of having new monster Corbin lose in his first major singles match on the main roster. Much better is Kalisto vs. Ryback for the United States Championship, which is one of the best matches that both men have ever had in WWE (this was actually Ryback's last WWE match, and he definitely went out in style). Of note here are Ryback hilariously wearing a weight-lifting belt that says "The Pre-Show Stopper", mocking the booking of his character by WWE, and the near-miss which sees Ryback save Kalisto from landing on his head from a dive off the top rope to the floor.

Payback 2016 is the best WWE PPV so far this year; although it's far from flawless, there are plenty of enjoyable matches on display here, and they generally spell a bright future in the so-called "New Era" of WWE. Therefore, this is one of the easier PPV DVDs to recommend from WWE.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

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