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Although it's still technically a free live streaming pre-show, WWE will no longer be calling it as much. Instead, all future pre-show matches will still run as they did before but the name of the pre-show will now be "Kickoff to" whatever pay-per-view (PPV) is occurring on that particular evening.
In this instance, it will be Sheamus taking on Damien Sandow in the Kickoff to Payback this coming Sun., June 16, 2013, at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
WWE.com has it:
This Sunday, June 16, The Celtic Warrior battles "The Duke of Decency" in a collision of medieval nicknames worthy of "Game of Thrones." Tune in to the free Kickoff to Payback when it streams live at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT to see heated rivals Sheamus and Damien Sandow settle their differences inside the squared circle!
...
Will WWE's "Intellectual Savior" usher in a new age of enlightenment at Chicago's Allstate Arena and confirm that the brain is indeed mightier than brawn? Or will Sheamus prove to the overconfident, haughty Sandow that the problem with having such a big head is that it makes an easy target for a Brogue Kick? Find out when the Kickoff to Payback streams live on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, Samsung SMART TVs, Google+, Pinterest, Pheed and Xbox 360 this Sunday, June 16, at 7:30 ET/4:30 PT!
This is quite the fall for Sheamus, who was getting pushed to the moon not long ago and widely considered the man the powers that be at WWE wanted to succeed John Cena as the face of the company. He's steadily been dropping down the card all the way into this feud with Sandow, who hasn't been much more than a jobber for some time now, on a free pre-show to a "B" show PPV.
Wow.
Here's the updated Payback match card and line-up:
- John Cena vs. Ryback (3 Stages of Hell for the WWE championship)
- CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
- Wade Barrett vs. The Miz vs. Fandango (Intercontinental championship)
- Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow