Dave Meltzer’s WWE Payback 2023 Star Ratings
Dave Meltzer has given his analysis and critiques for the WWE Payback Premium Live Event.
The star ratings have been published in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The ratings for each of the matches are as follows:
- Becky Lynch defeated Trish Stratus in a steel cage match – ****
- LA Knight defeated The Miz with John Cena acting as the special guest referee – **1/4
- Rey Mysterio defeated Austin Theory to retain the United States Championship – ***1/4
- Finn Balor and Damian Priest defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to become the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions – ****1/4
- Rhea Ripley defeated Raquel Rodriguez to retain the Women’s World Championship – *3/4
- Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the World Heavyweight Championship – ***1/2
Dave Meltzer Reviews What Happened At WWE Payback
Despite being presented as a B show by the company, the event itself was still very newsworthy. The biggest story coming out of the event was that new Tag Team Champions were crowned. Taking advantage of the Street Fight stipulation, Finn Balor and Damian Priest would receive backup from Rhea Ripley, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh to defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The night ended with all 4 members of The Judgment Day holding championships.
John Cena would be seen throughout the night as the 16-time World Champion provided guest host duties for the evening. Wanting to be more involved in the show, Cena would make himself the special guest referee in the match between LA Knight and The Miz. After the bell, Cena would raise Knight’s hand to signify his endorsement of The Megastar.