In the lead-up to his main event match with Shinsuke Nakamura at Payback, Seth Rollins told Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick on After The Bell that getting into the ring with the former NXT World Champion was a “dream match” of his, as he was a huge fan of the “King of Strong Style” dating back to his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

While fans may not have felt the same, as few expected a title change in this match, let alone felt incredibly compelled by the matchup, it's hard to argue with the results, Rollins and Nakamura worked their hardest to bring a NJPW-esque performance to the middle of the PPG Paints Arena in a 25-minute war of attrition main event.

Beginning the match with some posturing topped off with Nakamura's signature “Come on!” declaration, Rollins had to fight tooth and nail with each passing moment to avoid taking damage to his already injured back, but time after time, he was unable to accomplish his goal, taking hit after hit after hit from his foe who seemingly targeted the tattoo down his spine with every strike.

Though Rollins rallied back from a series of blows from Nakamura, things looked incredibly dicey when, after hurting himself with a Hurricanrana attempt that landed him awkwardly on his own back, the duo brawled back and forth until Nakamura nailed Rollins with a landslide off the second rope and then followed it up with a perfectly placed Kinshasa that would have lead to a pin had one been attempted. After taking kick after kick after kick, Rollins jolted back to life, hitting a Pedigree and then a Stomp for a 1-2-3 that shocked the audience as much as it shocked Nakamura himself.

Could WWE have built this finish up a bit better to get fans to pop at the same level as for the return of Jey Uso? Sure, but in the end, Rollins was given his “dream match,” and the hard-hitting style was a nice contrast to the rest of the Payback show.