World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Seth "Freakin" Rollins will look to defend his title and get retribution when he battles
Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Payback.
Moments after a Six-Man Tag Team Match victory by the combination of Rollins, Nakamura and Sami Zayn against The Judgment Day on Raw, The King of Strong Style suddenly delivered a surprise Kinshasa to The Visionary.
In the wake of speculation as to why he committed this nefarious act, Nakamura made clear that he wanted the World Heavyweight Title. The two Superstars came face-to-face and agreed to battle for the championship gold. As they were shaking hands to cement the contest, Nakamura whispered something in the World Heavyweight Champion's ear that visibly affected Rollins, before delivering another earth-shattering Kinshasa that rocked the titleholder.
Prior to their confrontation, both Superstars shared a profound respect for each other. Now, however, the situation has clearly changed and will only serve to intensify the highly anticipated showdown.
Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez
At WWE Payback,
Raquel Rodriguez will seek to not only dethrone Rhea Ripley as the Women’s World Champion, but to enact retribution of her own.
“The Nightmare” Rhea Ripley has taken the Raw Women’s division by storm, maiming any opponent that has stood in her way. Former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez stepped up to The Judgment Day member, but both wound up spending time on the injury shelf.
After Ripley took out Morgan a few weeks ago in horrific fashion, Rodriguez had to bide her time to get back at The Nightmare.. After multiple sneak attacks on the champion, Rodriguez was finally cleared on the August 21 episode of Raw, where she announced that she would be facing Ripley at WWE Payback.
Ripley and Rodriguez battled furiously whilst both were in NXT, with the two trading victories. Rodriguez was able to outlast Ripley in a brutal Last Woman Standing Match at NXT New Year’s Evil 2021.
Both have grown as competitors since then, with Ripley becoming an almost unstoppable force.
Becky Lynch battles Trish Stratus in a Steel Cage Match
Becky Lynch will have
Trish Stratus all to herself when The Man comes around to take on the WWE Hall of Famer in a Steel Cage showdown at WWE Payback.
Following a controversial loss to Trish Stratus at WWE Night of Champions, Lynch went on a warpath for vindication. After a series of brawls and a victory over Zoey Stark, The Man eventually earned a highly anticipated rematch against her bitter adversary on Raw. Despite having Trish Status' protégé barred from ringside for the contest, the meddlesome Superstar still interfered with a vicious sneak attack on Big Time Becks.
As a result of the continued interference, WWE Official Adam Pearce decided Lynch will take on Trish Status inside the unforgiving Steel Cage where all issues can finally be settled one-on-one.
