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WWE Payback 2017: Match-by-match predictions for the show

WWE Payback is supposed to be a Raw-exclusive pay-per-view, but since WWE shoehorned in its Superstar Shakeup two weeks after WrestleMania, it made this weekend's event a Raw show with a sprinkling of Smackdown Live talent.

Because of this, WWE has felt like it has been in some sort of holding pattern with a couple of Payback's marquee matches.

Once Payback is over and done with, I expect things to settle down and for a sense of normalcy to return to both Raw and Smackdown Live.

Until then, we have Payback, which is a Raw exclusive pay-per-view with Smackdown Live's WWE and United States champions competing on it.

Raw's Intercontinental title is not being defended on the show, but Smackdown's United States title is. Are you confused yet? Hopefully you won't be after Sunday night.

Despite all of the madness, I have some predictions for the card, which will emanate from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.:

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

I know everyone, myself included, has been head over heels with Strowman and his recent exploits, but I fully expect his avalanche of momentum to come to a screeching halt Sunday night.

Because of the way Strowman has been built up over the last nine months, fans want to see him assume a permanent role at the top of the card.

That may happen, but it will not happen at the expense of Reigns. If anything, Strowman was giving so much steam so that someone like Reigns could knock him down.

I hate to break it to you all that way, but that is the way it is in WWE. WWE chooses one guy it wants to feature and creates obstacles in the form of other wrestlers for the featured wrestler to knock down and overcome.

It is a formula WWE has used and abused for decades. It has proven to be effective in some instances, and highly ineffective in others.

For the purposes of adding to Reigns' lore, I expect his impending triumph victory over Strowman to be effective. If you're looking for WWE to put anyone else in the promotion on equal footing with Reigns, this match may not be for you.

Prediction: Reigns def. Strowman

House of Horrors match – Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

As of this writing, the fans have no idea what a House of Horrors match is. I don't think that is going to change by Sunday night.

I would like to think WWE knows what it wants to do with this match, but that may still be up in the air as well.

What we do know is that Orton's WWE championship will not be on the line. This match should have been Wyatt's automatic rematch for the title, but with him being moved over to Raw, I guess that is out of the window.

Plus, Jinder Mahal literally stole Orton's WWE title on Smackdown Live this week. Since Mahal is on Smackdown Live he won't be in the building for a Raw event, so the title will not be there.

Well, that is unless Mahal interferes and cost Orton the match. That is if Mahal can even interfere in a House of Horrors match. There may be demons guarding the house while Orton and Wyatt are fighting inside of it for all we know.

Since the WWE championship is on the line and Wyatt could use a big win, I'm going with Wyatt to pick up the duke here.

Prediction: Wyatt def. Orton

WWE United States championship – Kevin Owens (c) vs. Chris Jericho

I think it is pretty obvious that Owens will defeat Jericho and retain his title, which is the right decision.

However, this may be Jericho's last appearance on WWE television for a while, as he is gearing up to go back on tour with his band, Fozzy.

If Sunday night is indeed Jericho's temporary exit from WWE, I wanted to take the time to applaud Jericho for the fabulous work he has put in over the last year.

One could make the case that Jericho's most recent run with WWE was the best he's ever had during his long and storied career. It was that good.

He went from a babyface that no one really cared about to a heel that entertained the masses with Owens and used that to transition back into a babyface that the fans care for again.

That is not easy to do after the fans have seen someone for more than 20 years, but Jericho somehow managed to keep himself relevant in an era that is much different from the one he rose up the ranks in.

With all of that said, Owens wins.

Prediction: Owens RETAINS the United States championship

WWE Raw Women's championship – Bayley (c) vs. Alexa Bliss

This is one of two matches I honestly struggled with predicting.

If I were booking the card, I would keep the title on Bayley so that she can eventually transition into a feud with Sasha Banks, which is something WWE has to do at some point, right?

I guess WWE could do it without the title on the line, but I think the raised stakes of a title being on the line makes the feud potentially the best in WWE.

At the same time, I could see WWE going with Bliss here to make her the first woman to win the women's title on both brands. Both brands have a babyface champion, and it is usually a more compelling story when the babyface is in the position to chase after the title rather than hold it.

At the end of the day, I'm going with the safe bet in Bayley.

Prediction: Bayley RETAINS the Raw Women's championship

Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe

Another match I struggled with was this one.

Joe has been kept strong ever since he debuted on the main roster after the Royal Rumble, but Rollins is coming off a big win at WrestleMania over Triple H and seems to have finally found his footing as a babyface.

While I could see either man winning, I am going to go with Joe here. I think WWE continues to keep him strong and it gives Rollins a reason to seek revenge moving forward.

Prediction: Joe def. Rollins

WWE Raw Tag Team championship – The Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Sheamus & Cesaro

In a perfect world, Matt and Jeff Hardy lose their titles thanks to some dastardly deed from Sheamus and Cesaro, which forces Matt Hardy to spiral back into his broken condition.

However, the world is not perfect and I believe the Hardy Boyz will retain. With that said, I do believe there will be some interesting follow-up to the ending of the Matt Hardy-Sheamus match from Raw this past week.

As of Monday, both teams were being respectful to each other. I expect the amount of respect to dwindle Sunday night.

Prediction: The Hardy Boyz retain the Raw Tag Team titles

WWE Cruiserweight championship – Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries

Their match at WrestleMania was pretty good, but I think Neville and Aries will be given more time to work with at Payback and it will make for an even better match this time around.

As far as a winner, I think it is Aries' time to finally topple the King of the Cruiserweights.

Prediction: Aries WINS the Cruiserweight championship

Kickoff match – Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows

I honestly don't care so I'm going with the bad guys.

Prediction: Anderson & Gallows def. Amore & Cass

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters. Check it out here HERE.