First match announced for WWE Payback

John Cena and Ryback will face off in an Ambulance Match at Payback

In June, WWE will present a brand-new pay-per-view event titled WWE Payback. This event replaces No Way Out, which was a cage match-themed event. Although no specific theme has been described for this show, it seems like it will focus on rematches from Extreme Rules and upcoming episodes of RAW and Smackdown. The event will take place on June 16 from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL, and the main event has already been announced.

In case you didn’t watch Extreme Rules, Ryback faced John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match with Cena’s WWE Championship on the line. In this kind of match, one wrestler needs to beat his opponent so badly that he can’t answer a standing 10-count. Well, in this case, Cena and Ryback beat each other down so much that neither men were able to make it back to their feet by 10, resulting in a no-contest, which meant that although there was no winner, and Cena retained his title by default. On RAW last night, Ryback demanded a rematch and made the stipulation that the match would be an Ambulance Match, bringing an ambulance out next to the stage to emphasize his point. Later in the night, Ryback destroyed Zack Ryder in a one-on-one match, then threw him into the ambulance and had it drive away to really hammer the point home.

While the rematch itself makes sense, and the stipulation makes sense when you take into account Cena’s legitimate Achilles tendon injury, this is not the best way to go at all.

In case you’ve never seen an Ambulance Match, let me explain how it works. It’s basically a No Holds Barred Match (anything goes), but instead of the winner being declared by pinfall or submission, you have to put your opponent in the back of the ambulance and shut the doors. WWE has done this match numerous times over the years, with the last one occurring at last year’s Elimination Chamber event when John Cena faced Kane, emerging victorious.

Despite the “no rules” concept of the match, these matches are usually dreadfully boring. Again, look to Cena/Kane as an example. Half the match gets spent near the ambulance with the wrestlers trying to throw each other in, with lots of punches, kicks and little else being thrown. WWE has tried this match several times, as did WCW before them. Thus far, not one match has been received very positively to the best of my recollection. While I appreciate WWE trying something a little different than what they normally do, an Ambulance Match would not be my first choice, or even in my top 10. Maybe these two could surprise us with a good outing, but I have little faith, and I blame the gimmick itself, not the competitors.