In their first pay-per-view title defense since returning at WrestleMania 33, the Hardy Boyz defeated Sheamus and Cesaro on Sunday at Payback to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships.Sheamus attempted to pin Matt but was unaware Jeff executed a blind tag, making Jeff the legal man in the ring. As Sheamus laid across Matt, Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb for the victory.Chad Matthews ofThe Doc Says podcast enjoyed the match:While the Hardy Boyz kept their titles, the win came at a cost for Jeff:Sheamus and Cesaro didn't take the defeat lying down, either, attacking their opponents after the match. WWE provided a brief clip of the beatdown:David Lagana thought the post-match attack added to the overall story between the two teams:Matt and Jeff Hardy shockingly appeared at WrestleMania and were added to what was previously a Triple Threat ladder match between Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Enzo Amore and Big Cass, and Sheamus and Cesaro.The Hardys won the match in spectacular fashion and then successfully defended the Raw Tag Team Championships against Gallows and Anderson the next night on Raw.That set up a match pitting Sheamus and Cesaro against Enzo and Cass for the No. 1 contendership, and the European duo managed to prevail.Despite going up against one of the most accomplished tag teams in professional wrestling history, Sheamus and Cesaro were confident entering Payback, as seen in this video courtesy of WWE's official Twitter account:Although they were initially thrown together reluctantly by former Raw general manager Mick Foley, Sheamus and Cesaro have since found common ground and developed into one of WWE's top tag teams.The Celtic Warrior and Swiss Superman truly arrived when they ended New Day's record-setting Tag Team title reign, but their stay at the top was short-lived due to Gallows and Anderson.Sheamus and Cesaro have remained in the title hunt since losing the Raw Tag Team Championships at Royal Rumble, however, and Sunday represented another opportunity to take them back.As eight-time tag champs in WWE, the Hardy Boyz have faced and defeated many of the greatest teams of all time, including Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz.While Sheamus and Cesaro aren't on that level, they represented a significant challenge since they are both physical specimens who have enjoyed a great deal of success as singles competitors over the years.The Hardy Boyz' teamwork and experience tipped the scales in their favor, though, and allowed them to maintain their position atop Raw's tag team division.Listen toRing Rust Radiofor all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player above (warning: some languageNSFW).
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