WWE Payback 2016 Predictions: 5 Bold predictions for the PPV

After the dumpster fire that was WrestleMania 32, WWE’s next PPV, Payback, takes place in Chicago this Sunday. With a lot of fresh new faces being showcased and a feud brewing between Stephanie and Shane, the battle lines have been drawn.

The show will hopefully right the wrongs of WrestleMania, and the main event scene between Roman Reigns and AJ Styles is one of intrigue. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows haven’t been booked in a match, but will they make an appearance?

Of course they will. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will also face each other for the first time in a one-on-one match on the main roster. Bret Hart is also set to appear at Payback in the corner of his niece Natalya. The #1 contenders match for the Tag Team Championship should also be epic. There are loads of other great matches on the show.

With Payback round the corner, in this article I’m making 5 bold predictions for Sunday’s PPV:

5: Dudley Boys interfere to cost Enzo and Cass the #1 contender spot

Enzo and Cass take on The Vaudevillains to determine the #1 Contenders to New Day’s Tag Team Titles (Courtesy WWE)

This prediction is probably the most likely to happen out of all the predictions on this list. With all that has happened since WrestleMania between the Dudley Boys and Enzo & Cass, it is almost certain.

Enzo and Cass are set to take on The Vaudevillians at Payback for the #1 Contenders spot for The New Day’s titles. Enzo and Cass have been on fire since their debut on the Raw after WrestleMania and have consistently received some of the loudest crowd pops. The Dudley’s on the other hand, have been feuding with Enzo and Cass since their debut. They lost to Enzo and Cass earlier in the #1 Contenders Tournament and will be out for revenge.

On a side note, The Vaudevillians debut has been disappointing so far, but them getting mic time recently has definitely helped their cause. Hopefully, they’ll put on a good show here. Oh, and the Whirling Dervish is one of the most underwhelming tag-team finishers in recent years.

4: Triple H makes his on screen return

Vince McMahon is set to decide who gets to run Raw (Courtesy WWE)

Stephanie McMahon announced this week on Raw that Vince McMahon would finally decide who runs Raw at Payback, Shane or The Authority.

Shane has inexplicably been in charge of Raw since Wrestlemania even though he lost to The Undertaker, touting social media response as the reason. Shane definitely is really popular with fans and his short run in-charge of Raw is a breath of fresh air. Who wasn’t tired of 20-minute Authority promos at the beginning of every episode of Raw?

Rumors have been circulating that the Shane vs Authority feud will carry on until SummerSlam, and with that being said I’m predicting that Vince decides to award Shane control of Raw. I’m also predicting that Triple H comes out during this segment and takes out Shane McMahon, thus beginning the Shane vs Authority feud. Triple H has been off WWE television since losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 32.

3: Sami gets KO’d

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn : Destined to fight forever (Courtesy WWE)

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are real life best friends and on-screen bitter rivals. Their friendship started 14 years ago and their storied rivalry on the independent scene helped them both get hired by WWE. Their WWE feud started at NXT Takeover: Revolution at the end of 2014 when Owens turned on Zayn following his NXT Championship victory over Neville. Following this, Owens defeated Zayn and kayfabe injured him at NXT Takeover: Rival.

Since then, their feud has crossed over into the main roster with Zayn eliminating Owens from the Royal Rumble. Their feud is one for the ages and in Owens’ words, they’re destined to do this forever. With that being said, I see Owens and Zayn tearing the house down this Sunday with Owens getting the win. Owens is one of the top heels in the WWE in right now and a victory over Zayn would cement his spot near the top of the card.

2: Its Natalya’s time (with a little help from the Hitman)

Natalya will look to make Charlotte tap out to the Sharpshooter at WWE Payback (Courtesy WWE)

Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart will appear in his niece Natalya’s corner this Sunday. Ric Flair has been helping his daughter Charlotte retain the championship through interference and distractions for most of her championship defense including at WrestleMania 32 and also on two occasions against Natalya, at WWE Roadblock and on Raw two weeks ago.

Last week Natalya announced that her uncle Bret would appear at her corner this Sunday to counter Ric Flair’s shenanigans. Although Charlotte retaining this Sunday would be the most obvious outcome, I have a feeling WWE will capitalize on Bret being there to hand Natalya a short championship run, which might even be as short as ending the next night on Raw with Charlotte defeating her in a rematch.

1: Finn Balor debuts to cost AJ Styles

The AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns feud reeks of intrigue (Courtesy WWE)

This prediction is definitely out there. However, let me make my case.

Roman Reigns will definitely win this Sunday. This is already his third championship reign and this one needs to be long, no matter how popular he is. Anderson and Gallows have been attacking him and The Usos over the last few weeks, to help AJ Styles.

AJ however has repeatedly reprimanded them and has said that he doesn’t need their help. With Anderson and Gallows definitely playing some part in the main event on Sunday, surely they can’t help AJ Styles and have that end with AJ still winning? So what do Anderson and Gallows do?

Over in NXT, Finn Balor just lost his NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at a live event. The situation reeks of intrigue with all these pieces moving independently, yet remaining bound together.

Now with the background in place, let me explain my prediction for Sunday. AJ and Roman will have an absolute slugfest. Then Anderson and Gallows show up after a ref bump and take out Reigns. Styles however has none of it and asks them to leave or throws them out of the ring.

Then the lights go out for a second and Balor is in the ring. Balor then takes out AJ Styles and Roman Reigns retains his title. He doesn’t do this to help Roman, he just wants to cost AJ the title as revenge (AJ took over as leader of the Bullet Club in Japan when Balor left New Japan for NXT). This would lead to a Balor Club versus AJ Styles feud for the foreseeable future.

ALTERNATIVELY: If Balor doesn’t show up, I’m predicting that WWE swerves us all with Anderson and Gallows costing AJ Styles to join Reigns with them forming a faction.