2023 WWE Payback matches
World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Nakamura turned on Rollins after the two teamed together in a six-man tag match, Rollins responded by offering Nakamura a shot at the belt “any time.” Nakamura also whispered into Rollins’ ear, visibly shaking the champion. Nakamura would later reveal that he told Rollins he knew that his back was failing and that he is living with pain every day and now Nakamura will end him.
Women’s World Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez: Ripley and Rodriguez had engaged in a series of brawls before Ripley injured Rodriguez’s knee. Ripley also attacked Rodriguez’s tag partner and friend Liv Morgan before injuring Rodriguez again. For weeks, Rodriguez was not medically cleared to get back in the ring. Finally, Rodriguez was cleared, attacking Ripley before announcing that she had secured a match with the champion at Payback.
Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch (Steel Cage Match): The rivalry between Stratus and Lynch has been ongoing for months. Their last two matches did not go as planned, with interference from Zoey Stark ending one match and a wild brawl — again featuring interference from Stark in a match where she was banned from ringside — ending in a countout. To try and make sure the two women can end things without any outside interference, Adam Pearce booked a cage match for Payback. Of course, matches designed to “prevent outside interference” almost always result in outside interference.
United States Championship — Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Austin Theory: Theory earned a rematch against Mysterio after defeating LA Knight with help from The Miz in a No. 1 contender’s match on SmackDown. Mysterio defeated Theory to capture the U.S. title on an earlier episode of SmackDown. Mysterio had subbed in for his injured LWO teammate Santos Escobar after the latter was sidelined by Theory on the evening of their scheduled match.
The Miz vs. LA Knight: Miz and Knight have exchanged words on across various WWE programming. Miz cost Knight a U.S. title shot on SmackDown. Knight returned fire by appearing on Raw and aiding Akira Tozawa in an upset victory against Miz. SmackDown commentators confirmed the match for Payback during the Bray Wyatt and Terry Funk tribute show.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor): Zayn and Owens have had plenty of issues with Judgment Day, as has Cody Rhodes who is on the show to appear as a guest on The Waller Report. But the real story here is the internal strife among Judgment Day members, specifically Priest and Balor. Balor has been pushing to bring his friend JD McDonaugh into the fold after multiple attempts from Priest to help Balor beat Seth Rollins backfired. Priest wants to focus on the team but has grown increasingly irritated as Balor seems jealous of Priest holding the Money in the Bank briefcase.
