WWE Payback 2016 is coming up this weekend, and with every pay-per-view, I like to go through the roster and point out some of the superstars who currently aren’t advertised to wrestle on the event or make any kind of scheduled appearance that is being promoted in advance.
Keep in mind that just because someone appears on this list, it doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed not to show up in some capacity, nor does it mean everyone not on the list will, either. There’s also plenty of people who won’t appear, but it isn’t shocking in the slightest bit because of their current status as injured, suspended, or irrelevance.
Who are those names that do warrant some discussion, though? Let’s take a look.
The League of Nations / The Wyatt Family / The New Day
A few weeks ago, it seemed like a lock that one of the top two main events of Payback would be a six-man tag team match featuring The League of Nations against a freshly babyface Wyatt Family. Once Bray Wyatt went down with an injury, though, everything ceased to exist. WWE has not tried to limp this program on by forcing a two-on-two match with people sitting off on the sidelines, which is a good idea. Considering the situation, would you really want to see Erick Rowan and Braun Strowman carry all the weight of a match like this? I doubt it.
While The Wyatt Family are out of commission, The League of Nations aren’t, but there just wasn’t enough time to set up another batch of people for them to face without merely repeating their matches with The New Day, although this is definitely a possibility. After all, The New Day are currently without contenders to their tag titles, so WWE may feel the itch to toss this onto the card to give them something to do. Then again, it might be a better idea to let that trio just come out to cut a promo and join the commentary table for the tournament finals, rather than force them to wrestle a repeat.
Apollo Crews
While most of the new recruits to the main roster from the NXT brand have gone straight to the top, Apollo Crews has been sitting off on the sidelines for some reason. There’s no reason to worry, as it’s clear WWE has big plans for him in general by moving him up so quickly to begin with, despite how he’s not currently involved in a feud.
Until Crews is given an opponent to sink his teeth into (figuratively), it makes sense that other people would take priority over him when planning out a pay-per-view card. To a portion of the audience, he’s still a brand new guy, and without a veteran to carry some of that load or a hot feud to create an investment, the best thing for Crews is to just be a random guy to toss onto the pre-show to get the crowd pumped up or to have him sit back and wait until bigger plans come his way.
The Dudley Boyz
Currently, The Dudley Boyz are not scheduled for a match, but I do think they’ll be making an appearance on the event. Their role seems pretty straightforward as they’re being set up to screw Enzo and Cass out of their #1 contender’s match, allowing The Vaudevillains to be victorious.
The Usos / Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows
The Usos were attacked by Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, which set up their match on Monday Night Raw. Having another match between these two teams almost seems like a foregone conclusion, but it may not be that simple. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are going to have some kind of presence in the main event match for sure, and The Usos could end up making an appearance to help balance out that equation.
Zack Ryder
Poor Zack Ryder wasn’t a resource that many felt would be tapped come WrestleMania, but surprisingly fell into a spot where he not only competed in an important match, but left the arena as the new Intercontinental champion…only to drop it the very next night to The Miz. Since then, he’s been heavily de-pushed and he’s not a factor into Payback whatsoever, as Cesaro came in to steal any thunder a rematch would have had. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I can say that I feel sorry for the guy.
Miscellaneous
Is anyone surprised that Fandango isn’t booked? Of course not. Some other people who are big enough names that possibly could have gotten spots in some fashion, though, despite not being people that we can talk too much about, are The Social Outcasts (now down a member with Adam Rose’s suspension), Titus O’Neil (who has served his suspension and could be brought back whenever), Stardust (massively underutilized as of late), and the two monsters Kane and Big Show. All of these seem like cases where WWE just doesn’t have anything cooked up in the writer’s room for them and with them not exactly being the most necessary selling points, all parties involved are probably okay to sit this one out.
Who do you think should have been booked on the card out of the people who are absent from the lineup? Is there anybody in particular that you feel is a real shame who will be missed? Let us know in the comments below!
