

Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown.Īt WrestleMania 32, Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. The card consisted of eight matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. However, it switched dates and venues with that year's Extreme Rules. Payback was originally scheduled for May 22, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event was promoted as the first PPV of The New Era for WWE. The 2016 event was the fourth event in the Payback chronology and was held on May 1, 2016, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. The concept of the event was the wrestlers seeking payback against their opponents. Payback was an annual pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event that was established by WWE in 2013. Special criticism was reserved for a re-enactment of the Montreal Screwjob at the end of the WWE Women's Championship match. Critics gave mixed reactions to the event, criticizing WWE for promoting the event as the start of a "new era" while employing several storylines they had been using since the Attitude Era. In the main event, Roman Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The theme of the event was wrestlers seeking payback against their opponents.Įight matches were contested at the event, with two being held on the Kickoff pre-show. The event is considered by WWE to be the first PPV event of The New Era and was the last Payback event to be held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July. It took place on May 1, 2016, at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. The 2016 Payback was the fourth annual Payback professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. Promotional poster featuring The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, and Braun Strowman)
