Another title match was added to WWE Payback, taking place this Saturday. Tonight on WWE Raw, it was announced that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will be defending the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against Finn Balor and Damien Priest of The Judgment Day this weekend. With the announcement, tonight’s Raw opened up with Zayn facing Priest in singles action. The match came to a close with Priest on top due to the help of JD McDonagh, Balor’s ally who has been trying to win over the rest of the group for the last several weeks. Owens then came to Zayn’s aid to chase the villains off.
The match this Saturday will be the first televised defense for Zayn and Owens since the July 17 edition of Raw, where they defeated Priest and Dominik Mysterio. The duo have held the titles since WWE WrestleMania 39 earlier this year, where they defeated The Usos to end their record-breaking reign. After a lengthy feud against Jimmy and Jey Uso, as well as the other members of The Bloodline, Zayn and Owens have moved on to another extended feud with The Judgment Day, which may or may not come to a close at Payback.
Once Zayn and Owens are through with Judgment Day, assuming they still hold the titles, there are a number of possible challengers waiting in the wings. Though it seemed Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have been working their way up the division, tonight’s Raw saw the duo lose to The Viking Raiders – primarily due to the involvement of Drew McIntyre. This could set up Erik and Ivar as the next challengers for the champs.
Along with the tag titles bout, Payback is set to feature Becky Lynch taking on Trish Stratus inside a steel cage, Shinsuke Nakamura challenging Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, and Rhea Ripley defending the Women’s World Championship against Raquel Rodriguez. The show will take place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.