Rumored Match Card for 2015 WWE Payback PPV

Speculation on WWE Payback Match Card, Confirmed Title Matches; Could Ongoing Baltimore Riots Pose an Issue?

April 28, 2015

Featured below is speculation on the match card for the upcoming WWE Payback pay-per-view, which will be broadcast live from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore on May 17th.

Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback has been all but confirmed for the PPV, following the return of Wyatt and attack on this week’s Monday Night Raw.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus is another that’s basically on the books for Payback. Ziggler and Sheamus both cost each other their King of the Ring matches this week, and got into a post-match brawl where Sheamus was busted wide open, requiring multiple stitches. It’s likely some sort of stipulation (other than “kiss me arse”) will be attached to their anticipated rematch.
We are expecting part two of the Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper rivalry. Ambrose won their first match at Extreme Rules this weekend, and while their program did not continue on RAW and Harper did lose clean in his tournament match with Neville, neither have any clear trajectory at this point. A rematch is the safest prediction, although it’s possible Harper could go after Neville.
There will be a WWE Tag Team Championship match on the PPV card, but at this point who steps up to challenge for the titles is unknown. You have to assume Tyson Kidd and Cesaro are at the front of the line, having lost the belts at Extreme Rules, but they have a rematch in place for this week’s Smackdown, so we may get a clearer picture of where that program goes after Thursday.
Naomi still looks like the viable contender to Nikki Bella and the Divas Championship. They have also been building something between Naomi and Brie Bella, so some kind of triple threat situation, Brie being banned from ringside, or possibly even a non-title singles match between Naomi and Brie are all possibilities.
As for possible undercard matches, Fandango and Adam Rose could fill a spot on the card or on the Kickoff show. It’s likely we’ll see Damien Sandow represented in some way.

One thing that WWE might want to look out for is the city of Baltimore itself, which has obviously been the subject of intense riots and nonstop media coverage over the last few days. While some believe the looting and violence is winding down, and will continue to do so over the next two weeks, anything can happen. There is currently a 10 p.m. citywide curfew in place, but it’s only expected to last through the week.

WWE ran into a similar situation when Survivor Series was live in St. Louis last November, just 24 hours prior to the grand jury deciding not to indict the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson. The pay-per-view went off without a hitch, and no major negative incidents were reported.