By Tarron Coalson

WWE had their PAYBACK pay per view Sunday night in Chicago in front of an announced crowd of 13,250 in what was billed as the first Pay Per Vier of a New Era! If this is the new era, the WWE brand is in really good shape as I thought this was one of their best Pay Per View’s in recent memory, even despite some “in ring” issues which you’ll read about below!

I turned on the PPV just in time to catch Kalisto beating Ryback again..in the pre-show…don’t really get why they haven’t put Ryback over on Kalisto yet, but it was a decent match, even though Ryback was in it.

Starting on the PPV was The New Day coming out to announce the #1 contenders match between Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Vaude Villains. The match started out with Enzo & Big Cass tagging in & out & controlling the in ring action. Then, the Vaude Villains gained the upper hand & one of the Vaude Villains went to throw Enzo out of the ring. That’s when things got scary….

Enzo, who looked at if he was trying to slide out, hit the ropes awkwardly, snapping his head & neck on the ropes & Enzo layed motionless outside the ring. To any trained observer, this was not a “work” & trust me when I tell you snapping your head/neck on the ring ropes is one of the most dangerous things facing wrestlers in the ring. After the referee checked on Enzo, the match was immediately halted & WWE camera’s cut to the announce table in a scene that brought up memories for anyone who remembered the Owen Hart tragedy. Medics came in & stretcherd Enzo out & WWE said they would try to update later on Enzo’s condition. They reported later in the show that Enzo was taken to the hospital & suffered a concussion but was able to move his extremities & talk. All other tests were negative at the time of this write up.

Next up was Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn & as someone who has been in the next match following a match that had a skull fracture, an injury like Enzo’s changed the energy in the arena. The match started slowly, as did the crowd, still reeling from the Enzo injury.

What followed was an absolute (and I rarely say this) 5 star match between Zayn & Owens. These guys hit each other with everything…two Blue Thunder Bombs, a KO frog splash to rival Eddie Guerrero’s finest, two cannonball’s by Owens, a Top Rope DDT attempt into a backbreaker, a runnning DDT through the middle rope on the floor with back & forth counters all match. The only stunning result was that after a Pop Up Power Bomb, Owens scored a clean victory over his rival Zayn.

After the match, Owens slapped Zayn & threw him out of ring & summoned announcer Byron Sexton to the ring to interview him where Owens announced that now that he’s done with Zayn he can refocus on “his” Intercontinental Championship after the Miz/Cesaro match with Sexton informing Owens, is next.

Owens decided that he’s going to stay & do color commentary on the Miz/Cesaro match, bloody nose & all, while teasing some major heat with Sexton.

Next up is the Miz with Marise vs. Cesaro for the Intercontinental title. Cesaro controls the match early with power moves & continues to dominate until Marise interferes, allowing the Miz to attack Cesaro’s injured shoulder. Miz hits the Skull Crushing finale & Cesaro kicks out. Cesaro reverses the match & takes the Miz for a ride in the “Swing” for at least twenty rotations. Cesaro hooks Miz in an STF style submission manuever, but out of nowhere, Sami Zayn attacks Kevin Owens & they go out it again.

They fight up to the ring apron which distracts the referee as the Miz is tapping out & Cesaro breaks his hold & knocks them both to the floor which allow Miz to score the victory with a schoolboy roll up (& a hand full of tights!). Cesaro hits the Neutralizer on the Miz after the match & then Owens superkicks Cesaro & hits Zayn with another Pop Up Power Bomb to leave them all laying as Miz runs off & Owens stands in the ring holding the Intercontinental Title….it’s Kevin Owens night for sure!!

Following this is Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose & this match turns into the Popcorn match of the card. It’s not that it was that bad a match, it’s just that in comparison to the rest of the show, the match was moving in slow motion. Jericho suffered a cut on the bridge of the nose on the same ropes where Enzo got hurt, so I’d stay away from that area of the ring! Theyr’e trying to sell Ambrose as Extreme & I’m not sure that ‘s the best idea for him. This match also showed that Ambrose doesn’t have the “wrestling chops” to go with Jericho. Say what you will about Jericho, & I’ve always thought that he’s a much better heel, but Jericho trained with Stu Hart & is a legend in Japan & Ambrose isn’t to that level yet. Ambrose does get the victory with Dirty Deeds but it’s hard to see these two going much further with each other & it just doesn’t seem to be a good fit for either one.

It’s time for the WWE Women’s Championship as Charlotte with the Nature Boy Ric Flair takes on Natalya with WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart joining her at ringside. Bret gets a big pop from the Chicago crowd in his first appearance after surgery for prostrate cancer & you could tell it’s taken a toll on him. And in a interesting twist of fate, this columnist noticed at the beginning of the match that it was being refereed by “Lil Naitch” Charles Robinson, which turned out to be prophetic!!

Sadly & as I’ve commented on recently, it’s just not fair booking the old “Divas” against the new talent in WWE. Even Natalya, who comes from the Hart family is just not in the class of the new talent like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch & others & while I understand the name recognition value of booking Flair’s vs. Hart’s, the match itself was all Charlotte high spots. A beautiful moonsault, a figure four reversal & more. The end came in a parody of the “Bret screwed Bret” Montreal screw job as Charlotte hooked Natalya in her move, the Sharp Shooter , with referee Robinson immediately calling for the bell even though Natalya never submitted. Ric Flair enters the ring & Bret catches him & both Hart’s capture both Flair’s in Sharp Shooters with both tapping for all they’re worth to the crowd’s delight, but Charlotte retains the title.

Next up is Vince McMahon who comes out to announce his decision on who will run Monday Night RAW, Shane McMahon or Stephanie McMahon & the crowd starts several chants, the loudest being the ever present Chicago chant..C.M. Punk, which really would have been a nice booking angle!!

But, in a move that had been widely speculated with most people thinking that one would run RAW & the other would run SMACKDOWN, Vince announces that Shane & Stephanie will run Raw jointly & make it work or they can tear themselves apart & they need to “Figure it out!”.

In the main event of the evening, it’s A.J. Styles vs. Roman Reigns in a true battle of power vs. speed, brute force against high flying wrestling skill. The match starts out with each wrestler being cautious. Reigns using power catching AJ with two powerbombs early & AJ attacking Roman’s hamstrings with kicks.

AJ catches Roman in the calf crusher submission hold that Reigns escapes by getting to the ropes & rolling out of the ring. What followed was ten minutes of total brillance which shows why WWE (& their creative team) is the top dog in wrestling today.

AJ procceds to springboard on the top rope to the floor & catch reigns with the Phenominal Forearm crashing them both through the announcer table. As both men lay out, the referee starts the count & AJ gets up & tried to drag Reigns into the ring. Seeing that he can’t get into the ring, AJ rolls in the ring as the referee counts ten & your winner is AJ STYLES BY COUNTOUT……or so we thought.

Shane McMahon’s music starts playing & Shane comes out to announce that WWE’s New Era will not start with a countout PPV victory & announces that this is a No Countouts Match & orders the match be restarted.

The match goes back & forth with great efforts by both competitors, but the crowd is clearly behind AJ. AJ attempts a 450 off a top rope springboard & land on Reigns knees. Reigns lands a vicious clothesline. AJ goes to the top ropes & dives off, only to be nailed by an obvious low blow by Reigns. The referee signals for the bell & your winner is AJ STYLES BY DQ…..or so we thought!

Cue, Stephanie McMahon’s music & she comes out & says Shane forgot something. This New Era will not start with a main event DQ & orders the match restarted as it’s now a no countout, no DQ match!

Reigns catches AJ with a Superman punch as AJ is trying the Phenominal Forearm & AJ kicks out at 2 ¾! Reigns lands a second Superman punch & sets up for the spear when AJ is pulled out of the ring by Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & they attack Reigns & leave him laying! AJ hits the Phenominal Forearm & Reigns gets his foot on the rope at 2 ¾!

Meanwhile, the Uso’s run down to attack Gallows & Anderson. AJ hits Reigns with a spring board 450 & Reigns kicks out. Reigns ducks another Phenominal Forearm attempt & hits AJ with the Spear for the victory!

It’s a really good match by both competitors! One of Reigns best matches ever & of course, AJ was, well…phenominal. It’ll be interesting to see if they’ll let AJ go over in the future as they immediately announce a AJ/Reigns rematch at the Extreme Rules PPV on May 22nd.

If this the New Era, sign me up!! Hopefully, Monday Night RAW will bring some more surprises for everyone. A really solid, good Pay Per View by WWE!

Listen to Katie Vick is Alive! Alive! Hosted by Britt Whitmire and Bryant Williams today on SCM Radio as they discuss the Payback PPV and fallout!