Major WWE match will not happen at Payback because of Triple H - Reports
The latest reports suggest that Chief Content Officer Triple H was responsible for not booking a major WWE title match at the upcoming PLE, Payback 2023.
On September 2, the Payback Premium Live Event will emanate from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania. So far, the company has announced that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will put their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship on the line against The Judgment Day (Damian Priest & Finn Balor) in a Steel City Street Fight.
In addition, Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura has been booked for the World Heavyweight Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women's World Championship, and Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory for the United States Championship.
Among all the major title bouts in the Payback 2023 matchcard, WWE did not book Gunther vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship. Instead, on this week's RAW, the company announced that next week on the red brand, the Alpha Academy member will get a shot at the Imperium leader's IC Title.
The Ring General and Gable's feud is considered to be a hot one because the latter is focused on dethroning the champion ahead of his becoming the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time.
As per reports from BWE (via Wrestle Features), Gunther vs. Chad Gable is not on the WWE Payback card because Triple H does not want Premium Live Events to be "overbooked."
WWE veteran believes John Cena should confront Triple H for a major reason
Former writer Vince Russo shared that The Leader of Cenation must confront The Game only to question him about the point of losing to youngsters.
The fact above was visible during WrestleMania 39 when Cena put over Austin Theory for the United States Championship. The same was witnessed in 2021 when the multi-time world champion lost a Universal Title bout to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.
While speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Russo stated John Cena should ask the Hall of Famer how losing to the upcoming talents serves WWE's purpose.
"If I'm John Cena, with all due respect, I'm going to Triple H, and I'm saying to Triple H, 'Boss, you made the comment that there's never ever gonna be a John Cena again. And nobody's ever gonna be bigger than the brand WWE. Then what is the point of me putting anybody over?'" Russo said.
Check out the video below:
The 46-year-old legend will appear on Friday Night SmackDown throughout September and October. John Cena will also head to India for the Superstar Spectacle show on September 8 in Hyderabad.
The 16-time World Champion will wrestle for the first time ever in India, teaming up with Seth Rollins to take on The Imperium's Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
Did you think Triple H made the right decision not to book the IC Title match at Payback 2023? Sound off in the comments section below.