Now that we are just less than a week away from the fourth edition of the WWE Payback PPV, let us take some time for retrospection. A lot has happened in the company over the past one year and let us try to look at how Payback 2016 is different from Payback 2015 for some superstars and how they have progressed over the course of this one year.
There were many new faces on the roster and for many of them this is their first match at the Payback event. But there are these 5 guys that have taken part in the PPV earlier and are currently active on the roster. As part of this slideshow, let us have a look at 5 WWE superstars and how different their journey is from Payback 2015 to Payback 2016:
Bray Wyatt
The 'Eater of the Worlds', Bray Wyatt competed at Payback 2015 in a singles match against Ryback. You talk about a guy who has tons of talent but still didn't get the required push in the WWE and I would not hesitate to shout Bray Wyatt's name.
Wyatt has been an excellent speaker and a talented wrestler but he never got a great storyline except one or two then and now. Imagine a guy like Bray taking on Ryback in a traditional singles match with nothing on the line on a WWE PPV? That itself talks about burying the talent.
In the last one year, Bray hasn't achieved anything phenomenal. Braun Strowman being added to the Wyatt family is the only thing worth mentioning, if that. This time, he is not even on the match card due to a recent injury he suffered this month. It's high time WWE creative does some good for Bray.
Sheamus
The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus took on Dolph Ziggler at Payback 2015 and this match followed their "Kiss My Arse" match at Extreme Rules in April 2015. Sheamus started working as a heel around this time last year and today he was of little effect on the roster.
Sheamus was now a part of the boring faction, League of Nations alongside Rusev and Alberto Del Rio. Sheamus has an impressive record at this event. In 2013 he won against Damien Sandow, in 2014 he successfully defended his US title against Cesaro and in 2015 he beat Dolph Ziggler to keep his record unblemished at the PPV.
This time around, he was not even on the pre-show of the PPV and that was disappointing. Sheamus was a very effective World Champion during his prime but I never understand why he turned heel, had that crappy mohawk and more importantly why did he team up with Rusev, Barrett and Del Rio??!!
Cesaro
The Swiss Superman, Cesaro teamed up Tyson Kidd and competed against the New Day in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the tag titles at Payback 2015. Cesaro and Kidd lost the match back then but this time Cesaro looks better than ever as he made his return after WrestleMania 32 and is scheduled to face The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship.
Cesaro was away for a few months due to injury and his return was thunderous. Many expect Cesaro to leave the arena as the IC Champ and if that happens, that would be great for the company. There are many potential opponents Cesaro can face in the coming days and it is important how he will be booked for the future.
Dean Ambrose
At Payback 2015, Dean Ambrose competed against Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Randy Orton in a Fatal-4-way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Rollins successfully defended his title but Ambrose was impressive throughout the match.
Ambrose came up short but he was part of a few championship matches back then. Dean has accrued a huge fan base over the past one year and he also provided the WWE Universe some very good matches against Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
This time, Dean will take on Chris Jericho in a non-title singles match to prove his mettle and prove to the world that Ambrose is better than Jericho on any given day.
Roman Reigns
A lot has happened in the life of Roman Reigns in the past one year and this time around the Samoan Superman is set to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles.
Reigns has lost a lot of momentum due to poor storylines and despite all that, the company wanted to put Reigns over and laid the gold on his shoulder. Now that he was engaged with Styles, many laud this as a good move as the creative team now has the flexibility to quickly switch gears between various alternatives that were available. Reigns walking out of the event as the champion is highly likely but the way this ends and goes forward is something worth watching.
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