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

WWE Raw Women’s Championship Match

Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss

What we learned: We learned once again that you just don’t win in your hometown. And we learned that WWE must really like Alexa Bliss — and why shouldn’t they?

Bayley came out to a thunderous ovation in San Jose but Bliss silenced them after becoming the first woman to win both the RAW and Smackdown women’s titles, something I’m sure most people, including myself, thought would have been reserved for Charlotte. Alexa still isn’t on Charlotte’s level as a wrestler, but she’s getting better and better each and every week and I thought she and Bayley put on a nice show on Sunday night, even with a few sloppy spots that didn’t really affect anything. Bliss is great at bringing her character into the ring and her mocking of Bayley as she beat her down was superb.

Bayley also looked better in the ring than she has. I’ve been critical of her over the past few months but she impressed me here, and for once looked like the woman we saw in NXT. The finish told a nice story with the post and all and Bliss took advantage like the perfect heel would.

What’s next: This was another nice surprise. I think we’ve all been so wrapped up in the Sasha Banks heel turn that we’re all expecting that we didn’t really give Bliss a shot here, even with the hometown curse in play. It’s always encouraging to get something unexpected and Bliss now running the show, even if it might be for just a short time, in the women’s division brings something different to Monday nights, and if she’s as entertaining as she was as the champ on Tuesday nights, we’re all in for a treat.