WGW Presents: A Preview to Payback
Tensions have been building, rivalries have been heating up and we are on the verge of crowning a new set of Champions–WELCOME TO WGW PAYBACK! This event will be huge not only because it’s the first Pay-Per-View since the RAW & Smackdown brands split a month ago, but also because EVERY title in WGW is on the line…INCLUDING the World Heavyweight Championship!
The Man. The King of the Mountain. The Top Dog. The World Champion is known by many names around the world, but here he has only one: Lionheart. After winning the inaugural WHC tournament, Kevin Youngblood seemed to be on top of the world–until he came under the crosshairs of Russ Snow and The Management. Snow has all but run roughshod in his domination of the Smackdown roster, and his faction has antagonized the Champ at every turn. Can Youngblood withstand this onslaught and retain his title, or will Russ Snow and The Management capture gold on their quest for total domination?
The finals in the tournament for the Smackdown-exclusive Intercontinental Championship ended with a huge swerve when the two finalists–Bowen and Vertigo–revealed themselves to have formed a new faction known as The Seventh Sanctum. In an even more shocking turn of events, Bowen threw the match and handed the title to Vertigo personally! Not one to entertain shenanigans, GM Duggus Bischoff ordered Vertigo to defend his newly “earned” title at Payback against not one, but TWO of the people he defeated on the road to the finals: Miles Legend and Real Deal Ricky. They both go into this match hoping to get revenge on the enigmatic Vertigo and restore integrity to the vaunted championship, but with the Sanctum lurking in the shadows the odds may never truly be against Vertigo…
After the Draft, RAW General Manager Black Tunney hosted a series of qualifier events for the Pure Title, which makes its home on RAW. “The Prodigy” Joe West bounced back from a devastating loss back in the WHC tournament to earn a spot. “The X-Factor” Ian Jacobs won his way in after a hard fought battle against The Management’s Chris Cunningham. And Landon Kelly snapped a long losing streak with a win against his fierce rival, The Pharaoh. Since then, Pharaoh has seemingly become obsessed with one last rematch against Kelly, and may have literally lost his mind over the past few weeks–until he defeated Cunningham and Jordan Todd in a triple threat to secure the fourth and final spot. At Payback, with the gold hanging high above the ring, will The Pharaoh validate himself with a title reign, or will his blind rage towards Landon Kelly fuel a chaos like none we’ve ever seen?
Bowen & Slade form two thirds of the Seventh Sanctum, and have defeated every other team on Smackdown–sometimes by any means necessary. Meanwhile on RAW, The Management has used intimidation tactics to eliminate their competition–to the point where Buck Nasty & Solomon Striker seem to be the only team left standing. This match should be a great one, as both groups are vying for a gold sweep that could shift the tides of influence immensely going forward.
Jordan Todd, now that he’s out of contention for the Pure title, has turned his attention to someone many people feel is a perennial World Title contender: DCP. JT Money is looking to catapult himself into the upper echelon of WGW superstars, but the Hardcore Icon won’t give up his main event spot so easily…
The last time these two superstars met in the ring, Damien Obsidian was unceremoniously ousted from the WHC tournament in a count-out loss to the brash Hunter Sullivan. After losing to Mike C in the semifinals, Hunter took a leave of absence–only to resurge on Smackdown as a member of The Management! Feeling that the loss set him upon a dark path, The Shadow Ninja looks to right the past injustice committed by The Machine–in a Falls Count Anywhere match! Count-outs won’t be an option tonight…
Finally…ShowTime has challenged anyone who will listen to step in the ring with him for their “15 Minutes Of Fame”–the only problem is, he hasn’t actually…defeated any of them yet. That doesn’t seem to deter the young star, as he’s now extended an open challenge to ANY member of the Smackdown roster–and his challenge has been accepted by none other than Savannah Jack, who is ALWAYS here and ready for a fight.
Also; Luthor King looks to return to his once dominant form (and finally get out of the dog house with his GM)–and that road starts tonight against Bruce “The Axe” Stubbs.
Payback is a perfect name for an event stacked with grudge matches and retribution. Stay tuned to the Official WGW Twitter account @WGW_WGL for up-to-the-minute details on match outcomes and Twitch streams!
