WWE Payback review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries

What we learned: I think we learned here that Neville isn’t Charlotte. Wait, what? Yes, that was actually Neville’s first singles loss on a pay-per-view, even if it was by disqualification. The ending left a bit to be desired but the eleven minutes leading up to it was good. These two have great chemistry with one another and I’m very pleased that they made it to the main show this time around. They got stuck on the Kickoff Show at WrestleMania 33, which I still think was a mistake, but Neville and Aries delivered a strong contest at Payback and did a great job at keeping the momentum going after the strong opener from Owens and Jericho.

The crowd tends to fall off during the cruiserweight matches — still not quite sure why — but that didn’t happen on Sunday night. They stayed hot, and while I could have done without a few of the rest holds, this was still one of the top matches of the night.

What’s next: This obviously isn’t over. With the cruiserweights still not getting as much attention as they should, this is one of the best programs going right now and it’s probably wise not to put a stop to it just yet. I don’t know if they’ll take it all the way to Extreme Rules, which is the next pay-per-view for the flagship, but I’d be jacked to see these two go at it in that type of match. I’m obviously not holding out hope that they’d give these two the main event on a Monday night, which is actually the way I’d go with it to give the division some legitimacy.

Either way, I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to see these two go at it again.