{"id":6777,"date":"2016-05-02T13:58:19","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T18:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/?p=6777"},"modified":"2016-05-02T13:58:19","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T18:58:19","slug":"pruetts-pause-wwe-payback-2016-a-new-era-begins-with-the-same-tired-playbook-run-ins-galore-a-montreal-finish-and-dueling-mcmahons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2016\/05\/02\/pruetts-pause-wwe-payback-2016-a-new-era-begins-with-the-same-tired-playbook-run-ins-galore-a-montreal-finish-and-dueling-mcmahons\/","title":{"rendered":"Pruett&#8217;s Pause: WWE Payback 2016 &#8211; A New Era begins with the same tired playbook: Run-in\u2019s galore, a Montreal finish, and dueling McMahons!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"prowr-3115413932\" class=\"prowr-apple-podcast-button-link prowr-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/pro-wrestling-boom-podcast\/id1365989370\" aria-label=\"SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/advanced_ads\/2019\/07\/Logo2019_ApplePodcasts_320wide.png?fit=320%2C78&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"SUBSCRIBE IN APPLE PODCASTS\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/advanced_ads\/2019\/07\/Logo2019_ApplePodcasts_320wide.png?w=320&ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/advanced_ads\/2019\/07\/Logo2019_ApplePodcasts_320wide.png?resize=300%2C73&ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" width=\"320\" height=\"78\"   \/><\/a><\/div><p><b><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6134 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/04\/wwepayback1.jpg?resize=299%2C168\" alt=\"wwepayback1\" width=\"299\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/04\/wwepayback1.jpg?w=299&amp;ssl=1 299w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestling.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2016\/04\/wwepayback1.jpg?resize=139%2C78&amp;ssl=1 139w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/>By Will Pruett<\/b><\/p>\n<p>WWE loves being able to brand moments in time. They always have. Whether it\u2019s the \u201cRock and Wrestling Connection\u201d, The Attitude Era, The Ruthless Aggression Era, or The New Generation, WWE has always come up with a catchy title and a weird slogan for whatever they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s part of their job. It\u2019s part of making an international product people want to see. I have no issues with branding.<\/p>\n<p>WWE has branded the current moment in time a \u201cNew Era\u201d. Well, they\u2019re actually calling it \u201cThe New Era\u201d. It was all over the advertising for this show, the pre-show video package with Shane McMahon reciting one of those weird pre-NXT Takeover Triple H promos, and all over the show itself. JBL couldn\u2019t wait to scream \u201cnew era\u201d into his microphone. While I don\u2019t begrudge the branding in any way, this show made it clear that this is only branding. WWE is not entering a new era, they\u2019re still doing the exact same things.<\/p>\n<p>The most glaring example of this was the WWE Women\u2019s Championship match. Charlotte and Natalya should have been the focus of this entire match, but even as Natalya was being introduced the camera was fixed on a clearly uncomfortable Bret Hart. The match itself was poor (but this can happen in any era). The finish of the match was downright terrible. Charles Robinson called for the bell to end the match in a tribute to Montreal. I praised WWE\u2019s treatment of the women as superstars at WrestleMania and I have to deride them for this. They didn\u2019t just make Natalya and Charlotte\u2019s match play second fiddle to their male relatives who didn\u2019t get along in 1992, they used the match to reference another match from 1997.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of storytelling is the antithesis of creating stars. Charlotte gained nothing from this. Natalya gained nothing from this. It was a horrible followup to all of the good WWE did for the women at WrestleMania. (Also, where was the second or third women\u2019s match on this show, proving we\u2019re in \u201cThe golden era of Women\u2019s Wrestling\u201d?)<\/p>\n<p>The new era continued to resemble tired eras as Vince McMahon chose between Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon. Even though the outcome is interesting, with Shane and Stephanie attempting to get along, the thought process behind it shows how nothing in WWE has changed. They still believe people would rather see McMahon\u2019s argue about who is in charge than wrestlers wrestling for championships that matter. Even though WWE\u2019s faithful fanbase has, for years, told them the opposite, WWE continues to deliver authority figure drama. This segment could have happened anytime in the last 20 years and fit in. This is anything but new.<\/p>\n<p>A.J. Styles challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship was the first main event of the new era and it resembled something out of 1998. Styles and Reigns had a very good match built around various endings and restarts (first the countout, then the disqualification). There was chaos as Gallows and Anderson and, later, The Usos interfered. A whole lot happened here building to an Extreme Rules rematch in three weeks. The match had a little too much going on, but the chaos was fun for an evening.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to look at this show and see if anything in WWE has actually changed. There may be new stars, but the storytelling remains disappointing at best. WWE needs to usher in a new era with new stories, not rehashing the same 20 year old silliness. Only then can we actually see \u201ca new era\u201d begin.<\/p>\n<p><i>And now for some random thoughts:<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; I was very frightened when Enzo Amore was knocked out mid-match. I\u2019m happy to see he is already on the road to recovery and was released from the hospital last night. I\u2019ve called him the best product NXT has produced and I mean it. Enzo is filled with talent. I hope he is able to fully recover from the concussion and, in time, is able to step back into the ring.<\/p><div id=\"prowr-2909861685\" class=\"prowr-content-4 prowr-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: prowrestling_incontent_2 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"prowrestling_incontent_2\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"prowrestling_incontent_2\", slotId: \"prowrestling_incontent_2\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#8211; I rarely write about the pre-show, but having Baron Corbin lose to Dolph Ziggler is a very dumb thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Also, Kalisto vs. Ryback was fantastic. Ryback imitating C.M. Punk for the Chicago crowd delighted me (as Punk\u2019s narrative about Ryback was quite incorrect and too many people have believed it for too long). Ryback going on to have one of the matches of the night against Kalisto after \u201cYou can\u2019t wrestle\u201d chants rained down on him was glorious. Heck, Ryback even proceeded to save Kalisto\u2019s life by catching him perfectly on a dangerous and ill-advised dive. All hail The Big Guy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Kalisto doing a series of open challenges for the United States Championship would still work. If WWE is committed to him, it\u2019s a great way to make him a trademark star.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Why did Simon Gotch grab Enzo on the floor after the frightening moment where Enzo was knocked out? This was super scary and, if Enzo would have had a major neck injury (and it looked like he might of), could have been life-threatening. WWE\u2019s referees and doctors need to be quicker to hold talent back after moments like this.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens had a very tough challenge in front of them. They were forced to wrestle after seeing what happened to Enzo and they had to win the crowd back. They were up to the task. Owens and Zayn delivered a great open chapter of their WWE feud. It was exciting, but not too exciting. It was intense, but left both with many places to go. Sami showed heart, but he didn\u2019t have enough. This is the story fans have been waiting for with Owens and Zayn.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Kevin Owens was a classic bully after his match with Sami Zayn and was very entertaining on commentary for the Intercontinental Championship match.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Miz\u2019s post-WrestleMania revitalization has been wonderful. Marries adds a ton to his act and his promos have been delightful. In his match with Cesaro, Miz played his role perfectly. I know some folks are upset about Miz being Intercontinental Champion when Cesaro, Owens, and Zayn exist around the title, but it makes sense. I\u2019d be upset if Miz weren\u2019t doing some of the best work of his career. Lucky for all of us, Miz has actually been awesome.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Cesaro vs. Miz was a sample of the chaos we would see in the main event. It worked. Cesaro losing to a cheating Miz after getting the visual victory is a fine way to continue all of these programs into Extreme Rules.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; One more thing on Miz as Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn really shouldn\u2019t be fighting for a title yet. The deeply personal program with Kevin Owens is enough.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Apollo Crews and Stephanie McMahon are best friends. The same goes for Sasha Banks and Shane McMahon.<\/p><div id=\"prowr-3913184985\" class=\"prowr-content-5 prowr-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: prowrestling_incontent_3 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"prowrestling_incontent_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"prowrestling_incontent_3\", slotId: \"prowrestling_incontent_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&#8211; Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose almost put me to sleep. It was long and felt kind of pointless. Dean has been uninspiring for almost a year. Jericho hasn\u2019t caught on with me for most of this recent comeback. Somehow, I\u2019m tired of both men. They\u2019ve done nothing to make me care.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Charlotte and Natalya was a bad match before the bad finish. They\u2019ve had some really good matches together. This was the worst match they\u2019ve had. Hopefully it was an off night for both and the (likely) rematch at Extreme Rules will be good.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Imagine a wrestling show built around feuding wrestlers and not feuding authority figures\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Roman Reigns may have had his best in-ring performance since WrestleMania 31 against A.J. Styles. When Roman is in the ring with a world-class wrestler like Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, or A.J. Styles, he looks amazing. When Roman is forced to carry a guy like Big Show, he doesn\u2019t. There\u2019s a lesson here. Roman holds up his end of major matches like this. Hopefully this momentum carries through in three weeks, as I want to see more Reigns vs. Styles.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It\u2019d be great (and an opportunity to make stars) if WWE named their shows for the wrestlers in the main events and not for the stupid concepts they come up with. \u201cWWE: Reigns vs. Styles II\u201d is a for more exciting, dynamic, and star-making title than \u201cWWE Extreme Rules\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The mystery continues with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. I don\u2019t mind WWE dragging it out at the moment, but I hope they\u2019re going somewhere good with everything soon. Fans are excited about this. WWE shouldn\u2019t waste that.<\/p>\n<p>WWE Payback (again, what a stupid name) was an interesting show. While it had some great moments, it also featured way too much of the counter-productive storytelling WWE has used for years. It\u2019s time to change this. I can give the show a B-, declare it watchable, and still say WWE is going about almost all of their storytelling in the wrong way.<\/p>\n<p><i>Got thoughts on this show or my review of it? If they aren&#8217;t super annoying thoughts (and please don\u2019t ignore this and post super annoying thoughts), hit me up with them! Check <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/itswilltime\"><i>the Twitter @itswilltime<\/i><\/a><i>, leave a comment,\u00a0or email me at itswilltime@gmail.com.<\/i><\/p>\n<div id=\"prowr-3154629124\" class=\"prowr-after-content prowr-entity-placement\"><a class=\"spreaker-player\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/show\/pwboom\" data-resource=\"show_id=3275525\" data-theme=\"light\" data-playlist=\"show\" data-width=\"100%\" data-height=\"340px\">Listen to \"Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast\" on Spreaker.<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/widgets.js\"><\/script><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Will Pruett WWE loves&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,27,76],"tags":[97,490,109,54,38,565,271,56,101,628],"class_list":["post-6777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mustreadarticles","category-viewpoints","category-willpruett","tag-aj-styles","tag-enzo-amore","tag-kevin-owens","tag-roman-reigns","tag-sami-zayn","tag-shane-mcmahon","tag-stephanie-mcmahon","tag-vince-mcmahon","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-payback"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pruett&#039;s Pause: WWE Payback 2016 - A New Era begins with the same tired playbook: Run-in\u2019s galore, a Montreal finish, and dueling McMahons! 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