Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler: Winner and Reaction from WWE Payback 2016

Baron Corbin received a rude welcome to the main roster Sunday night, as he was defeated by Dolph Ziggler at Payback in his first pay-per-view singles match

Both WWE writer Mike Killam and B/R's Chris Mueller provided their initial takes on the match

After a dominant run in NXT, the Lone Wolf made his WWE debut in surprising fashion at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, as he won the third annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

Corbin was an unannounced entrant, but he made his presence felt in a big way by last eliminating Kane to secure the prestigious trophy bearing Andre the Giant's larger-than-life likeness.

The former NFL offensive lineman didn't stop there, though, as he destroyed Ziggler outside the ring on the night after WrestleMania. While he made it clear he meant business, he also got the attention of a fiery and motivated Showoff.

Corbin and Ziggler traded attacks in the weeks leading up to Payback, and while the 31-year-old rookie got the upper hand on most occasions, Ziggler managed to gain some momentum on the go-home episode of Raw by jumping Corbin and sending him scurrying.

Despite Ziggler's never-say-die attitude, he entered Payback as a substantial underdog because of the notion that WWE has big plans for Corbin.

While Corbin is still coming into his own from a character-development, mic-work and in-ring perspective, he has the unique look and size WWE tends to covet.

Ziggler has enjoyed his fair share of success with two world title reigns and four runs with the Intercontinental Championship, but it can be argued the WWE never allowed the 35-year-old veteran to reach his full potential since he doesn't possess ideal size.

That notion was put to the test at Payback, and the creative team somewhat surprisingly booked Ziggler to win in spite of Corbin seemingly being precisely the type of Superstar Vince McMahon likes to push up the card.

Ziggler has long been a team player in WWE with regard to putting others over, but the fact he defeated one of the company's top homegrown projects suggests that there may be big plans in place for him moving forward.

Conversely, Corbin's status is now somewhat in question. It seemed likely that he would run roughshod over WWE's roster after getting called up with an eye toward making him a top heel because of the lack of quality villains on the roster currently.

WWE still has an opportunity to elevate Corbin to that level if it so chooses depending upon how he is booked moving forward, but the primary takeaway from Payback may be the idea that Ziggler could finally start gaining traction as something more than a midcard enhancement act.