WWE Payback results: Roman Reigns retains title; Enzo Amore injured during match
WWE held its “Payback” event Sunday in Rosemont, Ill., with the main event of WWE heavyweight champion Roman Reigns taking on challenger A.J. Styles. The results:
Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin dominated the match before losing when Ziggler pinned him with a schoolboy.
Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. championship
Sloppy match that ended when Kalisto pinned Ryback after hitting the Salida del Sol, so Kalisto retains the title.
Enzo and Cass vs. The Vaudevillains
Scary situation happened when Enzo Amore was thrown out of the ring by Simon Gotch. Amore’s head snapped back after hitting the middle rope, then the back of his head hit the ring apron. Amore was knocked unconscious and wasn’t moving. Gotch, not realizing what had happened, tried to pick him up, but the ref stopped him and stopped the match. Medical personnel tended to Amore and took him out on a stretcher. He regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion, which is good news considering it looked like he had broken his neck.
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Owens won with the pop-up power bomb. Really good match. Afterward, Owens said he wanted his Intercontinental title back and that he was staying at ringside for the next match.
The Miz vs. Cesaro for the Intercontinental championship
Zayn came down to ringside during the match and attacked Owens. While Cesaro was distracted, Miz schoolboyed him for the victory to retain the title. This sets up a four-way match for the title at the next WWE special event, “Extreme Rules.”
Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose won clean with the Dirty Deeds.
Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) for the women’s championship
For some reason, WWE decided to trot out the tired old 1997 Survivor Series finish. Charlotte put Natalya in the sharpshooter and ref Charles Robinson called for the bell even though Natalya didn’t tap out. He then ran off while Bret Hart put Ric Flair in sharpshooter and Natalya put Charlotte in a sharpshooter. Natalya was doing a great job of selling the knee most of the way, refusing to submit to the figure four. Sort of surprised Hart would agree to this type of finish.
At this point, Vince McMahon came to the ring to announce who would run “Monday Night Raw,” his daughter Stephanie or his son Shane. He decided they would both run it, in an unbelievably bad finish to a monthlong storyline. Perhaps they aren’t done with the story yet, but this was a big letdown.
Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles for the WWE Title
The fans hated Reigns, even though he is supposed to be a good guy. Styles locked in the calf crusher and then hit Reigns with the springboard forearm to knock him out of the ring. Reigns was counted out, but Shane McMahon came out and restarted the match under “no countout” rules. A couple of minutes later, Styles came off the top rope but got caught with a low blow, causing the ref to disqualify Reigns. Stephanie McMahon then came out and restarted the match under “no disqualifcation” rules. A few minutes later, Reigns knocked Styles out with a Superman punch, and Anderson and Gallows ran out, pulled Styles from the ring and laid out Reigns. Both men recovered and Reigns eventually hit the spear for the pin to retain the title.
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