WWE Payback 2023 – September 2, 2023 – Recap
By Michael Weaver, Jr. [E-Mail | Facebook | Instagram | Website | X]
WWE Payback 2023
September 2, 2023
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PPG Paints Arena
The WWE’s “Then. Now. Forever. Together.” signature airs.
A video package about WWE Payback 2023 airs.
The opening video for WWE Payback 2023 airs.
Inside the PPG Paints Arena, Michael Cole welcomes us to WWE Payback! He informs us that the WWE Universe has sold out the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the attendance being 14,584. The hashtag for WWE Payback is #WWEPayback.
UP NEXT: Steel Cage Match – “The Man” Becky Lynch VERSUS WWE Hall of Famer: Trish Stratus!
The steel cage begins to lower down to the ring.
A video package showing the history between “The Man” Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer: Trish Stratus airs.
MATCH #1: STEEL CAGE MATCH – “THE MAN” BECKY LYNCH VERSUS WWE HALL OF FAMER: TRISH STRATUS
It’s now time for the first match at WWE Payback! This match is scheduled for one fall and it’s a STEEL CAGE MATCH! To win this match, you must be the first competitor to exit the cage via the door or climbing over the cage with both feet touching the floor or by pinfall or submission. Making her way to the ring first – “THE MAN” BECKY LYNCH! Once Lynch has entered the steel cage, it’s time for the entrance and introduction of her opponent. Making her way to the squared circle – WWE HALL OF FAMER: TRISH STRATUS! The WWE camera shows NXT Women’s Champion: Tiffany Stratton sitting in the audience. Cole reminds us that Stratton will be defending the NXT Women’s Championship this Tuesday against Kiana James on NXT. The bell rings to officially begin this Steel Cage Match between “The Man” Becky Lynch against WWE Hall of Famer: Trish Stratus. Cole reminds us that this is the first Steel Cage Match for Trish; which is amazing to me considering her career began in 2000 and officially ended in 2006 and she competed in nearly every match type there was for the female competitors. During the match, as Lynch is attempting to exit the cage by climbing over the cage wall, she sees that Trish is crawling towards the cage door to exit the cage. Lynch quickly returns to the ring and grabs Trish’s legs and as Stratus grabs the bar of cage, her protege Zoey Stark appears out of nowhere and grabs her arms. Lynch and Stark play tug-of-war with the WWE Hall of Famer only for “The Man” to win the game. Then Lynch walks over to Stark who slams the cage door in the head of Becky. Trish rolls Becky but Becky kicks out. Trish attempts a Chick Kick but misses and Lynch nails Trish with the Man Handle Slam and before the referee can make a three count, Zoey enters the cage and stops the pin attempt. Zoey begins to drag Trish by the leg to the door but stops when she sees Becky standing there. Becky then slams the door shut. Becky and Zoey begin to punch each other as Trish crawls over to the corner before Zoey takes Becky down to the mat with a clothesline. Zoey then tells Trish to exit the cage by climbing over it. When she turns around, Zoey is taken to the mat by Lynch with a Man Handle Slam. Lynch quickly climbs top turnbuckle and grabs Trish’s foot so that she can pull the hall of famer back inside the cage. The match ends when Becky slams Trish’s face into the fence of the cage before delivering the Man Handle Slam from the top rope before pinning Stratus to get the victory.
THE WINNER: “THE MAN” BECKY LYNCH…via pinfall
After the match, Becky exits the cage walks over to a fan and autographs his poster before returning to the backstage area.
A replay of the Steel Cage Match between “The Man” Becky Lynch versus WWE Hall of Famer: Trish Stratus from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
Inside the ring, Zoey sits over Trish and attempts to pull her mentor to her feet. Trish pulls her arm away from Zoey and stands up on her own. Zoey sticks her hand out to Trish but Trish just stands there. I can’t tell what Zoey is saying to Trish but a heated conversation indeed begins to take place. Trish begins to walk towards the door but Zoey stands in front of her and Trish slaps her. Zoey turns around and looks at Trish, who again tries to walk towards the door but Zoey stops her again from leaving. Now I can hear Trish yelling “GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!” to Zoey as she points at the door. Zoey walks over to the door but instead of exiting the cage, she pulls the door shut. She walks back over to Trish and asks, “You want me to get out?! After all I’ve done for you?!” Trish begins to reply to Zoey but I can’t hear what she is saying. I can see her poking Zoey’s chest with her finger, which apparently Stark doesn’t appreciate because she grabs Stratus and delivers the Z-360 before pulling the “THANK YOU TRISH” t-shirt off and throwing it on the WWE Hall of Famer’s prone body before walking out of the cage and returning to the backstage area.
A commercial advertising WWEShop.com airs. Tonight’s exclusive deal is, save up to 35% off sitewide. Exclusions apply. See website for details.
A commercial advertising upcoming WWE Live Events airs. Here are the new dates and locations:
November 4, 2023 – Rochester, NY
November 5, 2023 – Springfield, MA
November 10, 2023 – Columbus, OH
November 11, 2023 – Johnson City, TN
November 12, 2023 – Roanoke, VA
November 13, 2023 – Washington, D.C.
November 17, 2023 – Evansville, IN
November 18, 2023 – Canton, OH
November 18, 2023 – Tupelo, MS
November 19, 2023 – Saginaw, MI
November 19, 2023 – Jonesboro, AR
November 26, 2023 – Peoria, IL
November 27, 2023 – Nashville, TN
December 1, 2023 – Brooklyn, NY
December 2, 2023 – Bangor, ME
December 2, 2023 – Allentown, PA
December 3, 2023 – Portland, ME
December 3, 2023 – Newark, DE
December 4, 2023 – Albany, NY
December 8, 2023 – Providence, RI
December 9, 2023 – Utica, NY
December 11, 2023 – Cleveland, OH
December 15, 2023 – Green Bay, WI
December 16, 2023 – Moline, IL
December 17, 2023 – Rochester, MN
December 18, 2023 – Des Moines, IA
Tickets for these 26 brand new WWE Live Events are available one week from Friday. For more information, visit WWE.com!
TONIGHT: World Heavyweight Championship Match – Seth”Freakin”Rollins (World Heavyweight Champion) VERSUS “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura!
Making his way to the squared circle is the WWE PAYBACK 2023 HOST: JOHN CENA! I don’t know if you will find this interesting but I find it interesting that WWE SmackDown Ring Announcer: Mike Rome introduces Cena as “The Greatest of All-Time!” I mean, no other WWE Superstar, past or present, has EVER been introduced by a ring announcer as “The Greatest of All-Time!”. Not “The Game” Triple H. Not The Rock. Not “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Not “The HeartBreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. I find it really interesting. Is Cena the greatest of all time? I’m not sure I would agree with that. Anyway, back inside the ring, Cena welcomes us to Payback and calls the Steel Cage Match awesome. He says during his 20 year career he’s been a lot of things: the first match, the last match, the champ, the challenger, a guest, a fan, a doctor, a Prototype, but he’s never been a host. He says that he found out his job as the host is to make tonight special. He doesn’t think there’s any other way to make tonight special than to be a Special Guest Referee for a match he’s been paying attention to for a while. He says that match is the match between LA Knight against The Miz. Before Cena can continue, he’s interrupted by the theme song of The Miz. Making his way to the squared circle is “THE A-LISTER” THE MIZ! A graphic appears on the screen informing us that trending #1 in the US on X is #WWEPayback. The Miz says he would expect pandering to the audience from LA Knight but he wouldn’t expect it from John Cena. He says they call Cena the greatest of all time but if he has to be honest, Cena sucks as a host. Cena says this is his first time as a host and The Miz has a lot of experience as a host and asks if he has any advice for him. The Miz’s first piece of advice is for Cena not to insert himself into The Miz’s match. Cena says that was his one idea and asks if Miz has any other advice. The Miz says when they call Cena up to ask him to be a merman in a Barbie movie, Cena says no. The Miz, WWE Universe and Cena laugh as Cena says The Miz still has it. Cena continues and tells Miz that he doesn’t like him but he has a lot of respect for him. He wants to make Payback special and asks Miz for help. The Miz agrees that he’s had a lot of experience as a host and tells Cena that he has to be a lot more involved. He states that when he was the host of WrestleMania, he wasn’t involved in one match, he was involved in two matches. Cena remembers that and asks if he has anything else. Miz asks what is Cena wearing and before Cena can reply, Miz says that he wore a $10,000 suit when he was hosting. He says Cena still dresses like a Teletubby and he’s almost 50 years old. Cena says he gets the point, so he needs to be more involved and dress for the role before asking if Miz has any other advice. He tells Cena he has to be quick on his feet and take charge. Cena says he has to be more involved (Before The Miz says, “Yes!”), he has to dress the part (Before The Miz says, “Yes!”), and he has to take charge (Before The Miz says “Yes!”); Cena asks “Like making myself the Special Guest Referee for your match?!” and The Miz yells “NO!” After yelling at the WWE Universe because they were chanting “YES!”, The Miz tells Cena that John doesn’t even have a referee shirt. Cena points at someone at ringside who hands him a folded referee shirt before he tells Miz that he has a referee shirt, one of the perks of being the host so he IS the special guest referee for The Miz’s shirt. The Miz and Cena go through a small vocal battle of Miz yelling “NO!” before Cena yells “YEAH!” before Cena points towards the entrance.
MATCH #2: SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE: JOHN CENA – “THE MEGASTAR” LA KNIGHT VERSUS “THE A-LISTER” THE MIZ
It’s now time for the second match of WWE Payback 2023! This is a singles match scheduled for one fall with SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE: THE HOST OF WWE PAYBACK 2023 – JOHN CENA. Already in the squared circle is the special guest referee and the first participant of this match – “THE A-LISTER” THE MIZ. And now making his way to the squared circle – “THE MEGASTAR” LA KNIGHT! Cole informs us that earlier today Cena granted another wish for Make-A-Wish which brings his total to over 650 wishes – which is the most ever granted for Make-A-Wish. The bell rings to officially begin this one-on-one match with Special Guest Referee: The Host of WWE Payback 2023 – John Cena between “The Megastar” LA Knight versus “The A-Lister” The Miz. At one point in the match, The Miz has Knight in the corner kicking him and Cena begins to count The Miz but Miz doesn’t stop before the five count so Cena grabs Miz around his stomach and pulls him out of the corner and when Miz gets in the special guest referee’s face, Cena tells him he has a five count to get out of the corner. A few minutes later, Knight has Miz in the corner and is kicking “The A-Lister” but doesn’t stop before Cena counts to five so Cena does the same thing to Knight that he did moments before to Miz and grabs Knight around the waist and pulls him out of the corner. Knight immediately does the same thing and doesn’t stop by Cena’s count of five so Cena grabs him again and pulls him out of the corner. For a few
moments, Knight gets in Cena’s face and talks trash to the guest referee before Miz takes “The Megastar” down. Later in the match, Miz rolls Knight up for a pin but Cena sees Miz grab the middle rope and refuses to count. This match ends when Knight nails Miz with the BFT (Blunt Force Trauma) before pinning him.
THE WINNER: “THE MEGASTAR” LA KNIGHT…via pinfall
A replay of the match with Special Guest Referee: John Cena between “The Megastar” LA Knight versus “The A-Lister” The Miz from moments ago at WWE Payback airs.
As “The Megastar” LA Knight makes his way to the backstage entrance, John Cena is standing there. Cena removes the referee shirt and the two come face-to-face. Knight asks Cena if they’re going to “…do it now?” and Cena holds out his hand for Knight to shake it. Cena tells Knight it’s a show of respect before Knight says that Cena almost cost him the match but now he wants to shake hands. Cena tells Knight he won the match clean and Cena respects him. Knight does indeed shake Cena’s hand before Cena raises Knight’s arm in victory. Cena tells Knight, “Your moment” before returning to the backstage area.
Images of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are shown as Michael Cole reminds us that the PPG Paints Arena is sold out with 14,584 members of the WWE Universe attending tonight’s WWE Payback!
Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are shown sitting in the audience.
At the WWE Payback 2023 Announce Table, Michael Cole and Corey Graves talk about the upcoming match.
UP NEXT: WWE United States Championship Match – Rey Mysterio (WWE United States Champion) VERSUS Austin Theory!
A video package showing the history between WWE United States Champion: Rey Mysterio and Austin Theory airs.
MATCH #3: WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – REY MYSTERIO (WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPION) VERSUS AUSTIN THEORY
It’s now time for our next match and it’s a singles match, scheduled for one fall and it’s for the WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP! Making his way to the squared circle first is the challenger – AUSTIN THEORY! It’s now time for the entrance and introduction of his opponent. Cole informs us that this WWE United States Championship Match is sponsored by Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Making his way to the squared circle – WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPION: REY MYSTERIO! Mysterio enters the PPG Paints Arena with the other members of the LWO but then continues to the ring on his own as the LWO returns to the backstage area. The bell rings to officially begin the WWE United States Championship Match between Rey Mysterio (WWE United States Champion) versus Austin Theory. During the match, Theory attempts to rip Mysterio’s mask off but is unsuccessful. The final moments of this match see Mysterio nail Theory with the 619 but Theory raises his knees when Mysterio attempts to hit the challenger with a splash. The challenger pushes the WWE U.S. Champion onto his shoulders to deliver A-Town Down but Mysterio rolls through and pins Theory to win the match and retain the WWE United States Championship.
THE WINNER: AND SSSSSTTTTTIIIIILLLLLLLLLL WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPION – REY MYSTERIO…via pinfall
After the match, Mysterio rolls out of the ring and the other members of the Latino World Order join him at ringside to celebrate his victory.
A replay of the WWE United States Championship Match between Rey Mysterio (WWE United States Champion) versus Austin Theory from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
Backstage, WWE Announcer: Cathy Kelley congratulates WWE United States Champion: Rey Mysterio on retaining the WWE United States Championship. She also congratulates her guest, “The Man” Becky Lynch. She asks Becky what’s next for her now that the feud with WWE Hall of Famer: Trish Stratus seems to have ended for good. Before Becky can answer, the NXT Women’s Champion: Tiffany Stratton enters the interview scene and says that she wants to clear the air because she feels they got off on the wrong foot. She states that when she stated she was going to be the greatest NXT Women’s Champion – better than “The Queen” Charlotte Flair, “The Role Model” Bayley, “The Empress of Tomorrow” Asuka and “The Man” Becky Lynch – she totally forgot that Lynch was never NXT Women’s Champion! She wanted to come face-to-face and apologize to Becky for calling her a NXT Women’s Champion when she never was one. Becky says she appreciates Stratton for “…crawling out of your Mattel box to come to Payback…” but asks shouldn’t she be focusing on her NXT Women’s Championship Match on Tuesday. She tells Tiffany that she might see her soon.
UP NEXT: Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship – Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) VERSUS The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor & “Señor Money in the Bank” Damian Priest)!
A video package showing the history in the Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship between Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) against The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor & “Señor Money in the Bank” Damian Priest) airs.
MATCH #4: PITTSBURGH STEEL CITY STREET FIGHT FOR THE UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – KEVIN OWENS & SAMI ZAYN (UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS) VERSUS THE JUDGMENT DAY (FINN BÁLOR & “SEÑOR MONEY IN THE BANK” DAMIAN PRIEST)
It’s now time for the PITTSBURGH STEEL CITY STREET FIGHT FOR THE UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP! This Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight is scheduled for one fall and there are no count-outs, no disqualifications and you can only win via pinfall or by submission. Making their way to the squared circle first are the – UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: KEVIN OWENS & SAMI ZAYN! While the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions make their way to the squared circle, Michael Cole tells us that the Detroit Lions face the Kansas City Chiefs this Thursday at 7 P.M. Eastern on NBC and Peacock. It’s now time for the entrance and introduction of the challengers. Making their way to the squared circle are the challengers – THE JUDGMENT DAY’S FINN BÁLOR & “SEÑOR MONEY IN THE BANK” DAMIAN PRIEST! A graphic appears to inform us that trending #1 in the US on X is #WWEPayback. The bell rings to officially begin this Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship between Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) against The Judgment Day’s Finn Bálor & “Señor Money in the Bank” Damian Priest). During the match while the two teams are brawling in the crowd, fellow Judgment Day member and NXT North American Champion: “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio come out to the crowd and help Bálor and Priest get the advantage. After a few moments after being thrown behind a barricade, Owens and Zayn reappear wearing Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys. The Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight continue and at one point the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions force the NXT North American Champion back to the backstage area as the fight continues. Several minutes later, as the fight has traveled to the WWE Payback 2023 Kickoff set, “Dirty” Dominik returns and helps the challengers get the advantage. At one point, Kevin Owens puts his focus on the North American Champion and place the champion’s body on a table. He then goes into the crowd and jumps off the security railing and nails Mysterio with a Swanton and breaks the table. Later in the match, Owens nails Priest with the Stunner before Zayn delivers the Helluva Kick. He covers Damian but before the referee can count to three, JD McDonagh, the friend of Finn Bálor, interferes and pulls Sami out of the ring. JD sends Sami into the ring steps before Owens delivers the Pop-Up Powerbomb on JD at the announce table but the table doesn’t break! If JD doesn’t suffer an injury with that spot, I don’t know how it happened because it was an ugly spot! Moments later the Women’s World Champion: “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley spears Owens through the time keeper’s barricade. To steal a line from WWE Hall of Famer: Jim Ross: it looks like a car accident! There are bodies EVERYWHERE! This match ends when Zayn nails Balor with the Helluva Kick and then covers him for the pin but Mysterio nails Zayn with the Money in the Bank Briefcase to stop the pin attempt. Bálor automatically covers Zayn and wins the match and the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship for himself and Priest!
THE WINNERS: AND NNNNNEEEEEWWWWW UNDISPUTED WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS – THE JUDGMENT DAY’S FINN BÁLOR & “SEÑOR MONEY IN THE BANK” DAMIAN PRIEST…via pinfall
A replay of the Pittsburgh Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship between Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) against The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor & “Señor Money in the Bank” Damian Priest) from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
After the match, The Judgment Day stands at the entrance of the arena as pyrotechnic goes off. They celebrate their victory and talk about having all the gold and that they run the WWE.
Michael Cole reminds us that September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. He asks the WWE Universe to “Team Up To Take Down Cancer” and to visit www.ConnorTheCrusher.org. The hashtag for this is #TagInForACure.
A commercial advertising Connor Cure’s and The V Foundation’s September 2023 Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month campaign airs. For more information, visit V.org/ConnorsCureUniverse. The hashtag for this is #TagInForACure.
Members of the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh are shown in the audience.
A commercial the NFL Legacy Title Belts available at www.WWEShop.com airs.
A commercial advertising NXT No Mercy 2023, a premium live event, on Saturday, September 30, 2023 in Bakersfield, California airs.
It’s now time for THE GRAYSON WALLER EFFECT! Introducing your host – “THE DYNAMITE FROM DOWN UNDER” GRAYSON WALLER! Waller welcomes the WWE Universe to The Grayson Waller Effect and says that this might be the biggest episode ever. He says it’s fitting that it’s taking place at Payback because his guest and Pittsburgh have so much in common. He says he has seen the reading levels in Pittsburgh and neither his guest or the Pittsburgh residents can finish a story! It’s now time for the entrance of his guest. Making his way to the set of The Grayson Waller Effect – “THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE” CODY RHODES! Once Cody sits down at the set with Grayson, he begins his usual “So Pittsburgh…” but Grayson interrupts him and says they’re not doing that tonight because no one cares what Pittsburgh wants to talk about. He says he wants to talk about Cody’s big announcement. He’s heard the rumors. He said this has been a roller coaster of a year for Cody. There’s been so many ups and so many downs for Cody. He appreciates Cody begging to be on his show. He knows Cody needs the Grayson Waller rub and thinks tonight could be the beginning of something huge for Cody. Cody says he knows Grayson is probably familiar with shows like The Flower Shop, The Barber Shop, Piper’s Pit, Flair For The Gold, and MizTV. Cody asks if Waller is going to say some mean things, Cody takes his tie off, they fight, they knock over the “Hooters” trees and Cody hits The Cross Rhodes on Waller? He asks Grayson if he thinks that’s what the WWE Universe wants to see? Grayson says he’s a professional and he’s not going to fight in front of the beautiful trees. Cody says he asked Grayson to be on The Grayson Waller Effect and thanks Grayson for “the rub” but I’m pretty sure he is being sarcastic. LOL! Cody wants to give Grayson a huge scoop. He asks Grayson if he watches Monday Night Raw, NXT and SmackDown? Cody says he saw a big wrong happen a few weeks ago and he felt it needed to be righted. He used any political stroke he had and he hopes this isn’t a decision he won’t regret. He then introduces the newest member of the WWE Raw roster – “MAIN EVENT” JEY USO! Making his way to the ring – “MAIN EVENT” JEY USO! When Uso arrives at ringside, Cody is standing there and they stare at each other before Cody leaves to return to the backstage area. Grayson sarcastically says, “Welcome back” and says he’s been gone for two weeks. He says this is a huge scoop and he wishes he had some questions prepared. He then asks Jey how does he feel about being the newest member of the Raw roster? Before Jey can answer, Grayson says he’s been a twin his whole life, surrounded by The Bloodline, and he’s been successful in a tag team but as a singles star, he’s achieved absolutely nothing. Grayson asks if he thinks he’s going to be a huge star on Mondays just because Cody came out and said some nice things? Grayson begins to say “If anyone is in need of the Grayson Waller “rub”…but Jey superkicks Grayson. As Jey celebrates his actions, the WWE camera shows Cody Rhodes standing at the entrance watching Uso.
A replay of Jey Uso superkicking Grayson Waller from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
UP NEXT: Women’s World Championship Match – “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Champion) VERSUS Raquel Rodriguez!
A video package showing the history between Women’s World Champion: “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez airs.
MATCH #5: WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – “THE ERADICATOR” RHEA RIPLEY (WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION) VERSUS RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ
It’s time for our next one-on-one match and it’s scheduled for one fall and it’s for the WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! Making her way to the squared circle first is the challenger – RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ! It’s now time for the entrance of her opponent. Making her way to the squared circle – WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION: “THE ERADICATOR” RHEA RIPLEY! Cole states that the last time these two women wrestled, it was in NXT a few years ago in a Last Woman Standing Match and it ended up being Ripley’s last match in NXT. WWE Raw Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin introduces both individuals. A graphic appears informing us that trending #1 in the US on X is #WWEPAYBACK. The bell rings to officially begin this Women’s World Championship Match between Women’s World Champion: “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley against Raquel Rodriguez. The hashtag for this match is #WomensTitle. Cole tells us that the Women’s World Champion said that in honor of this match, her ring gear would be in honor of WWE Hall of Famer: “The Ninth Wonder of the World” Chyna. During the match, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio comes to ringside and grabs the hands of Ripley to help pull her outside the ring but Rodriguez pulls both of them inside the ring and then nails Mysterio with a powerslam. This match ends when Ripley nails Rodriguez with The Rip Tide to win the match and retain the Women’s World Championship.
THE WINNER: AND SSSSSTTTTTIIIIILLLLLLLLLL WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION – “THE ERADICATOR” RHEA RIPLEY…via pinfall
A replay of the Women’s World Championship Match between “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Champion) against Raquel Rodriguez from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
Backstage, The Host of WWE Payback 2023: John Cena says that he realizes as the host he has the authority to give himself jobs that he’s never had before. So now he’s a backstage interviewer and introduces his guests the NEW Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions: The Judgment Day’s Finn Bálor & “Señor Money in the Bank” Damian Priest. Cena says there have been some rumors that there are dissension between the two of them and asks if they have some thoughts. Damian says they’re family and they fight but when they’re on the same page nobody can beat The Judgment Day. He says that they’re now the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, he’s “Señor Money in the Bank”, Rhea Ripley is the Women’s World Champion and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio is the NXT North American Champion. He adds The Judgment Day will always rise. Finn says for them to go party with Rhea and “Dirty” Dom.
Images of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are shown as Michael Cole tells us that our main event for the World Heavyweight Championship is still to come.
A commercial advertising WWE Fastlane 2023, taking place on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana at 8:00 P.M. Eastern/5:00 P.M. Pacific, airs.
A commercial advertising WWE Angle, premiering tonight on Peacock, airs.
THIS MONDAY ON WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match – “The Ring General” Gunther (WWE Intercontinental Champion) [with: Imperium] VERSUS Chad Gable [with: Alpha Academy]!
Corey Graves informs us that the official theme song for WWE Payback 2023 is “Too Good At Raising Hell” by The Struts.
UP NEXT: World Heavyweight Championship Match – Seth”Freakin”Rollins (World Heavyweight Champion) VERSUS “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura!
A video package showing the history between World Heavyweight Champion: Seth”Freakin”Rollins and “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura airs.
MAIN EVENT: WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – SETH”FREAKIN”ROLLINS (WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION) VERSUS “THE KING OF STRONG STYLE” SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
It’s now time for the MAIN EVENT of WWE Payback 2023! The following match is a singles match, scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! Making his way to the squared circle first is the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: SETH”FREAKIN”ROLLINS! It’s now time for the entrance of his opponent and the challenger. Making his way to the squared circle next is the challenger – “THE KING OF STRONG STYLE” SHINSUKE NAKAMURA! The WWE camera shows WWE Hall of Famer: The Great Muta sitting in the audience. Once both competitors are in the ring, WWE Raw Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin makes the introductions for both men. A graphic appears showing that trending #1 in the US on X is #WWEPAYBACK. The bell rings to officially begin this World Heavyweight Championship Match between Seth”Freakin”Rollins (World Heavyweight Champion) against “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura. The hashtag for this match is #WorldTitle. This match ends when Rollins nails Nakamura with The Stomp before pinning him to retain the World Heavyweight Championship and win the match.
THE WINNER: AND SSSSSTTTTTIIIIILLLLLLLLLL WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION – SETH”FREAKIN”ROLLINS…via pinfall
A replay of the World Heavyweight Championship Match between Seth”Freakin”Rollins (World Heavyweight Champion) against “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura from moments ago at WWE Payback 2023 airs.
As World Heavyweight Champion: Seth”Freakin”Rollins recovers from his hard fought victory, a graphic appears advertising the documentary about WWE Hall of Famer: “The Only Olympian Gold Medalist in WWE History” Kurt Angle – WWE Angle – premiering next on Peacock.
WWE Payback 2023 comes to a conclusion with a video package showing highlights from tonight’s premium live event.
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