Preview: Raw hosts WWE Payback tonight

Don’t miss the next Raw pay-per-view, WWE Payback 2017, when it emanates from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., tonight, streaming live on WWE Network.

“Miz TV” with special guest Finn Bálor (Payback Kickoff)

Since returning from the cataphoric injury that forced the first-ever Universal Champion to surrender his title just 24 hours
after winning it, Finn Bálor has been seizing victories on every front. He teamed with one-time foe Seth Rollins to overcome Kevin
Owens & Samoa Joe, he defeated Curt Hawkins and Jinder Mahal in singles action and most recently emerged on the winning side
of a Six-Man Tag Team Match along with Seth Rollins and Big Cass.
On the flip side, since coming to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-up, it’s safe to say that The Miz has not been having a very
good time, whether it be experiencing the unhinged aggression of The Lunatic Fringe Dean Ambrose or suffering Sister Abigail from
his surprise tag team partner Bray Wyatt in this week’s Raw main event.
However, if The Miz has taught us anything, it’s that he is at his most dangerous when he is feeling disrespected, and perhaps
nowhere is this truer than on “The Most Must-See Talk Show in WWE History.” Then again, with Bálor on such a role as of late,
does the A-Lister really want to cross him? If he pushes the Irish Superstar too far, Payback Kickoff may just witness a
“Must-See” Coup de Grâce.

Enzo & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (Kickoff Match)

Before WWE Payback gets underway this Sunday, two of sports-entertainment’s most exhilarating combinations will go head-to-head
as Enzo & Big Cass seek both retribution and momentum inside Raw’s highly competitive tag team division against Luke Gallows &
Karl Anderson as part of the Payback Kickoff.
Though there has never been much love lost between the two explosive tandems, the spark for their Kickoff showdown came two
weeks ago. With The New Day on their way to SmackDown LIVE as part of the Superstar Shake-up and the up-and-coming Revival
suddenly sidelined due to Dash Wilder’s injury, Gallows & Anderson overcame Enzo & Cass in a heated tag team encounter on Raw.
One week later, Gallows & Anderson added insult to injury by attacking Enzo, leaving him unable to compete just before they
were about to go to battle in a Six-Man Tag Team Match.
Can Enzo and Cass unleash payback on a couple of haters this Sunday? Or, will their destructive adversaries plow through them
en route to a future Raw Tag Team Title opportunity.

Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe

Seth Rollins defeated Triple H, but unfinished business looms on the horizon.
The Architect will go one-on-one with Triple H’s handpicked enforcer, Samoa Joe, at WWE Payback, just months after the
two-time NXT Champion injured Rollins’ knee and nearly put him on the shelf for his second consecutive WrestleMania.
While Rollins seemed to believe that his defeat of The Game at The Ultimate Thrill Ride would lead to an emancipation of sorts,
Joe quickly re-emerged to assert himself. The Samoan Submission Machine both battled Rollins in a tag team match the night
after WrestleMania and attacked the former WWE Champion after Raw General Manager Kurt Angle revealed he would not be trading
The Architect to SmackDown LIVE despite the wishes of Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon.
The news was then broken before the April 17 edition of Raw that Angle had sanctioned a one-on-one match between the two Superstars
at WWE Payback. While Rollins has proven he can survive against long odds before, whether he can survive this one as his knee
still recovers remains to be seen. Tune into WWE Payback ths Sunday, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network at 8 ET/5 PT,
to see who prevails

United States Champion Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

Payback is defined as “an act of retaliation” — how fitting for this United States Championship WrestleMania rematch
between former best friends Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens, who claimed the star-spangled title from Jericho at The Ultimate Thrill Ride.
As the story infamously goes now, Jericho and Owens ran roughshod over Raw for months, having one another’s back en route to
Owens becoming a dominant Universal Champion and Jericho keeping a stranglehold on the United States Title. However, KO
flipped the script when he betrayed and brutalized Jericho during their “Festival of Friendship” on Raw. The six-time World
Champion would return and cost Owens his Universal Title at WWE Fastlane, but The Prizefighter has recaptured the last laugh.
Owens overcame his now-bitter foe at WrestleMania 33, taking Jericho’s United States Title following a savage Powerbomb on the
ring apron.
What’s next for these former friends-turned-archrivals? Payback, in every sense of the word. Can Owens put the definitive period
on his conflict with Jericho and retain the United States Championship? Or will the curator of The List retaliate and pry another
title from The Prizefighter’s hands?

Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

At WWE Payback, glory will meet power head-on as Raw Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz go to war with former titleholders
Sheamus & Cesaro.
Arguably, one of the biggest crowd reactions of WrestleMania came when Matt & Jeff Hardy suddenly reemerged on The Grandest
Stage of Them All. However, that reception was trumped soon after, as the extreme brothers reigned supreme in the subsequent
Fatal 4-Way Ladder Match to capture their eighth tag team championship in WWE! Riding that momentum all the way to Raw the
following night, the Hardys successfully defended their newly-claimed gold against former champions Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson.
That same night, however, The Swiss Superman & The Celtic Warrior once against proved themselves to be a formidable threat when
they earned the opportunity to challenge Matt & Jeff by overcoming Enzo & Big Cass in a turbulent No. 1 Contender’s Match.
In their time together, Sheamus & Cesaro have transformed themselves from reluctant partners into an absolutely explosive
tandem. However, do they have what it takes to dethrone the tag team masters of both land and air? Find out at WWE Payback,
streaming live Sunday, April 30 at 8 ET/5 PT, only on the award-winning WWE Network.

Raw Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss

The Wicked Witch of WWE is looking to cast her dominant spell over the entire Raw Women’s division. Fresh off her move
to WWE’s flagship show, Alexa Bliss will attempt to unseat Bayley as Raw Women’s Champion when they clash at WWE Payback.
Bayley returned from WrestleMania’s Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match with her coveted title still firmly around her waist, but
thanks to the Superstar Shake-up, the landscape of the Women’s division immediately transformed around her. Enter Alexa Bliss,
who reigned supreme over Sasha Banks, Mickie James and Nia Jax in an explosive Fatal 4-Way Match in front of her hometown
Columbus crowd to earn the right to face Bayley at Raw’s April 30 pay-per-view.
Everyone’s Favorite Hugger is no stranger to her latest challenger, as the two fierce competitors did battle on WWE NXT. However,
as the current Raw Women’s Champion prepares to reengage the former two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, the WWE Universe is
reminded just how much these Superstars have upped their game since joining the main roster … and we weren’t sure that was
possible. Truly the resulting showdown will be nothing short of incredible.
Is Alexa Bliss destined to assert her dominance over another WWE brand? Or will Bayley show her that things are a lot different
when you’re seeing red? Find out this Sunday at 8 ET/5 PT, streaming live on the award-winning WWE Network

WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville vs. Austin Aries

At WWE Payback, Austin Aries will have another opportunity to expel The King of the Cruiserweights from his throne when he
challenges Neville for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a WrestleMania rematch.
Since his return at Roadblock: End of the Line and winning the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at Royal Rumble, Neville is
undefeated in singles competition. The King of the Cruiserweights has vanquished all challengers and holds true the claim
that without him, the Cruiserweight division would fall into obscurity.
However, one of Neville’s closest calls as titleholder came against Aries at The Ultimate Thrill Ride. Returning from injury
and immediately setting his sights on Neville, A-Double soon earned the opportunity to challenge The King of the Cruiserweights.
An intense battle nearly saw the fall of the king, but Neville resorted to attacking Aries’ surgically repaired orbital socket
to walk off The Grandest Stage of Them All with the Cruiserweight Title still in his possession.
Refusing to accept defeat, Aries overcame Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Mustafa Ali and TJ Perkins in a high-stakes Fatal 4-Way
Match on the first WWE 205 Live after WrestleMania, earning a second chance to dethrone The King of the Cruiserweights.