Views From The Turnbuckle: Payback Preview And Predictions; Will AJ Styles Become Champion?

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Traditionally the first PPV following WrestleMania is a place to build off of the developments of the big event. The names of the event, Backlash and this year Payback, have given off the connotation that whatever took place at WrestleMania is/was far from finished. However, this year Payback feels like a completely different event. Mainly because WWE relies so heavily on part-time wrestlers to flesh out WrestleMania, many of the wrestlers in key positions at Payback at small roles at WrestleMania. AJ Styles, the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, wrestled the second match on the main show against Chris Jericho (and lost). Men like The Undertaker, Triple H, Shane McMahon and Brock Lesnar, all of whom were considered headliners at WrestleMania, are not scheduled to appear at Payback. Instead, the card is going to be rounded out by different performers, men like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Enzo and Cass and Styles are going to get pushed into the spotlight. Because of that reason, a lot of fans believe that Payback is actually more interesting on paper than the parade of stars from the past that ended up being WrestleMania 32.The top match on the card will be Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles for Reigns’ world championship. Reigns’ run as champion since WrestleMania has gone about as well as expected; a majority of the fans loudly boo anything he does while WWE remains steadfast in their belief that he is going to be the major face of the company. There is very little doubt that from an audience perspective Styles is the more appreciated star, and WWE has done a solid job presenting both men as tweeners; with Reigns showing a disregard for the fans opinions and Styles rumored to be involved with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. The arrival of Anderson and Gallows onto the main roster and their mixed affiliation with AJ Styles has the potential to be one of the best storylines WWE has had in recent history. It is a very simple concept; Anderson and Gallows are confirmed friends with AJ Styles; but they seem to have their own personal agenda and it is unclear if Styles is going to go along with their nefarious ways. We will likely find out one way or another at Payback depending on Anderson and Gallows’ role in the main event. Finn Balor, who is also rumored to be a part of WWE’s version of Bullet Club, dropped the NXT title at a house show last week, which adds to the possibility of Balor also arriving on Sunday and introducing himself into the main event. The complications of Styles and the rest of his potential cronies have added in an extra dimension of suspense into the main event. Reigns winning the title at WrestleMania seemed to signal the beginning a long title reign for him and whoever his opponent at the next PPV was going to be stood little chance of winning the title. However, with Anderson and Gallows (and potentially Balor) set to join forces with Styles, it seems at least somewhat conceivable that Styles could leave …

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