WWE Hell in a Cell Review 09/16/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my review for Hell in a Cell. I was 5-4 with my predictions for the show which is not my best. This card was smaller than most of the cards we’ve had this year since WWE made the PPV’s co-branded again. However, the smaller card worked better as each match had more time and felt important. This was similar to a NXT cards even though NXT cards are usually five matches. This does mean that a lot of popular superstars were left off the card which is unfortunate but watching this PPV five years from now you won’t be thinking of it the same way you are in the present. I was driving home Sunday from California back to British Columbia, so I wasn’t able to watch the event live. Hence why the review is late because I watched it once I got home. I didn’t watch the kickoff so I won’t be speaking on that match. Smackdown Live provided matches to this card that were really personal. Raw has been chaotic with Constable Corbin running the asylum and they provided us with matches that are really unpredictable. The WWE also introduced a new red cell for the Hell in the Cell which got a mixed reaction. Lets see how the event went.

Image via WWE.com

This show is coming to us from the AT&T Centre in San Antonio, Texas.

– The show opened up with great hype video

– Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Renee Young are the announcers for the Raw matches and Tom Phillips, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton are the announcers for the Smackdown Live matches. This is Renee Young’s PPV debut as one of the main commentators for the Raw team.

Hell in a Cell
Randy Orton def. Jeff Hardy
in 24:50 by pin fall
They kicked off the night with the two veterans in the new red Hell in a Cell. This match was gruesome and it really felt like these two wanted to hurt each other rather than win. The cell did play a part and helped with the overall story of containing these two within the structure to settle their differences. It was slow early, but they got the crowd invested, and overall, this was a very good opening match. This was really like an extreme rules match inside of the cell. The stuff the that Randal did with the screwdriver and Jeff Hardy’s ear was really hard to watch. The chair shots and whippings with the studded belt left marks on the back of both men. Randy Orton was bleeding from the leg and you could see a part of his flesh dangling. It wasn’t a small bit either but a decent chunk. The match did feel like it went longer than it needed too and the end was unexpected.The prediction going into the match was that Hardy was going to do something stupid to lose the match and that’s exactly what happened. He has done this spot before in TNA I believe but it was the first time for the cell. The difference here was that Hardy missed the spot and took a nasty bump through the table. The referee tried ending the match but Orton forced him to count the three when he pinned him to get the official pin fall victory. This was longer than I expected but a great match for a personal feud with a unique ending. I enjoyed it.

– AJ Styles is interviewed backstage by Kyra Braxton and says he’s

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Becky Lynch def. Charlotte Flair (C)
in 13:50 by pin fall
I was really looking forward to this one because I actually feel invested in this feud. I’m a fan of both women but really wanted Becky Lynch to have her moment at Summerslam last month. The way they had Charlotte find her way into the match and then steal that moment was the perfect angle to have Becky snap. However, Becky snapping did not make her a bad person because the fans are so strongly behind her believing she deserved the moment too because for nearly a year we’ve seen Becky get so close but not succeed. These two have had matches in the past and they’ve always been good. This is the first time though where they’re not friends and its not a match in friendly competition. This match was really good and proved once again that these two work very well with each other.I liked the psychology of the match with Lynch working on the left arm for a lot of it. That strategy weakened Flair throughout the match. I thought Charlotte’s selling was great. Lynch was relentless on offense and while Flair got some shots in. Becky Lynch seems more vicious and aggressive which is something I can really get behind. I didn’t see the title changing so soon since Charlotte just won it last month and I saw these two facing each other again in the next couple of months but it did. The finish showed how close this match was and it was clean thus showing that they didn’t fully want to turn Becky heel by having her cheat to win. The post match face-off played perfectly to the story. Solid stuff.

– The New Day cut a promo backstage celebrating their victory over Rusev Day on the kick off and talk about their upcoming with The Bar at the Super Show-Down in Australia. Kofi Kingston interviewed Xavier and E in his 80s interviewer character. Sir Buttersworth gets pancakes dumped over his head.

Raw Tag Team Championship
Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (C) def. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose
in 24:52 by pin fall
This was the match of the night and potentially one of the best PPV matches of 2018 for the main roster. These four guys are all workhorses with different styles and it just clicked. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre have quickly gelled into a great team with great chemistry. The team of Ambrose and Rollins already has a proven track record of putting on great matches when considering their feud last year with The Bar. Its very rare these days to feel like a tag match is not following a sort of formula or feel new but this felt fresh and there were spots in the match I feel like I had never seen before. It was definitely comparable to NXT Takeover tag team matches. These are four guys that are experienced and have the intention to steal the show on every card they are on. There were near falls and smart tags. Rollins worked the heat for a bit getting beaten down until getting the hot tag but that wasn’t the end of it. The pace of this match was great and the crowd was hot for everything that was happening. The finish was smart and came when people least expected it which made it even more special. I’m glad that Ziggler and McIntyre retained because I’m really enjoying them as a team right now and the Shield boys don’t really need the straps right now. If you love old school tag team wrestling but in the form of a modern day banger, check out this match as soon as possible.

– Mick Foley meets Braun Strowman.

WWE Championship
AJ Styles (C) def. Samoa Joe
in 19:00 by pin-fall
This rivalry has gotten really personal between Joe and Styles since Joe has brought up AJ’s wife and kids. Joe has his eye on the championship and will do whatever it takes to get into Styles head to throw him off his game to give himself the advantage. Instead it seems to be lighting a fire in AJ Styles to get more aggressive and defend his pride.  I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again. These two know each other very well and its evident. They have great chemistry and the match was very back and fourth. There were near falls and it really felt as if these guys were going stiff on each other out of hatred for each other. The finish was perfect to prolong this feud as these two are booked to face each other again at the Super Showdown in Australia. The finish was reminiscent to the finishes of Bret Hart vs Stone Cold at Survivor Series 96 or Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper at Wrestlemania 8 and I’m glad they used it because it hasn’t been used for a longtime. It also added controversy because although Joe’s shoulders were down, Styles did tap which infuriated Joe after the match when he found out Styles got the W when he thought he did. This was a good match with a smart finish. I’m totally okay with Styles retaining here and glad the WWE are strongly behind him as a long reigning champion. I do want to see Joe be the one to dethrone him eventually though.

– Post match, Joe claims Styles tapped out, and Styles fights him off and knocks him to the floor. The alternate angle shows Styles tapping out of the ref’s view, setting up the Super Show-Down rematch.

– The Miz and Maryse were interviewed by Charly Caruso. Miz and Maryse had on the same white, black and silver attire. Miz said that Daniel and Brie have never been more relevant. Miz and Mrs. said that they will turn Brie’s stunt into a PR nightmare. Maryse complained that Brie has hit Miz two times, but she knows that Maryse can. Maryse called Daniel and Brie “irrelevant losers” and they left.

The Miz & Maryse def. Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella
in 13:00 by pin fall
Its the battle of the power couples. The tension between Daniel Bryan and The Miz for the last eight years has been well documented and it was about time their wrestling wives got involved. This is a great chapter in their story that I strongly believe was necessary. The crowd was hot for it and that really elevated the match. The story was there and many casual fans are invested in these four as characters and humans since they are all involved in the reality television world with Total Divas, Total Bellas and Miz and Mrs. Miz and Maryse played the cocky cowards roles perfectly whereas Bryan and Brie came to kick some ass. Bryan and Miz carried most of the match while they kept the interactions between Maryse and Brie minimum. Those two are bit rusty with their in-ring work of course so can’t blame them and I can’t help but be impressed by them even being in there as they both recently just had babies. Maryse literally gave birth like five months ago which is mind-blowing. I really thought the babyfaces were going over even though I questioned it in my last Smackdown Review because they had the last laugh on the go-home show. Miz and Maryse picked up the victory with a finish that was really unexpected. I’m glad it was Brie taking the fall to Maryse though because it would have really been a bummer to see Bryan take the fall again. The cowards snuck away with a win and I know this is far from over.

Raw Women’s Championship
Ronda Rousey (C) w/ Natalya def. Alexa Bliss w/ Mickie James & Alicia Fox
in 12:02 by submission
I went into this with a lot of questions. One of them being if there was a way they would have Ronda drop the title due to interference or a heel turn. Another one being if this match was going to be as short as their match at Summerslam where Ronda made quick work of Alexa Bliss. I was hoping we would get a match this time around that was more competitive and allowed Alexa to get some believable offence. Fortunately, that is exactly what we got. Alexa had the advantage by working on Ronda’s ribs which Alexa attacked and injured on Raw. This made this match a lot longer than their Summerslam match and gave Alexa the opportunity to get in a lot more offence. Rousey is really good at selling even to the point where it looked as if Bliss could potentially pick up the shocking victory. Alexa never really got a near fall or anything though, but I guess that is their way to protect Rousey. Alexa kept trash talking to Ronda which was fun to watch and led to Rousey having enough of it and come back with fury.Rousey continues to do extremely well for her lack of overall experience; her offense, facial expressions, and selling are well beyond where they should be at this time. The finish came with Rousey tapping Alexa out after hulking up near the end. This was a fun match and the end of the Alexa Bliss/Ronda Rousey saga.

– Joe complains to Paige about AJ tapping in their match and runs down the ref. Paige says the decision is final but Joe will get a rematch at Super Show-Down. Joe promises to make things worse around here and at Super Show-Down, there must be a winner as they teased no DQ & no countouts.

Hell in a Cell
WWE Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (C) vs. Braun Strowman
ended in a no contest at 24:10
This is it. Braun Strowman is finally cashing in his money in the bank to be granted this match to face the current Universal Champion Roman Reigns. It made sense to lock these two within a cell since in the past we’ve seen them nearly try to murder each other on live television multiple times and it also prevents anyone getting involved to help either one of them sine they have formed their alliances over the past few weeks. These two have a lot of history which elevates this feud overall. This started off great. It was two guys trying to wreck each other to walk out as champion. These two guys were just mauling each other and brawling to their strengths. There were steel steps, chairs and tables involved. There was a point where Foley counted three and everyone knows it, but it was really two count. It was a small botch and they played it off perfectly. I expected Rollins, Ambrose, Ziggler and McIntyre to get involved but I wasn’t sure how. I really didn’t want to see them get into the cell and I’m glad they didn’t. I enjoyed them brawling on top of the cell as its always great to see guys get to the top and fight up there because it just feels so dangerous. Although, I wasn’t a fan of Strowman and Reigns just laying there dead in the ring for that time the four were battling on top of the cell. The bump Ziggler and Rollins did off the side of the cage was impressive but I feel like its been done a lot in recent history. I was not expecting Brock Lesnar to come out or even appear in the WWE for the rest of 2018 so that was a surprise. Lesnar got a pop and kicked down the cage open to get in. Heyman took out Foley by pepper spraying him in the eyes. Lesnar got in the ring and hit F-5’s on both Strowman and Reigns which lead to another referee coming down to the ring to call off the match as a no contest. This was the first we have ever seen a HIAC match end like this and to be quite honest, I wasn’t a fan of the finish being a no contest. It was a very 2000’s WCW finish but I’m sure it was booked this way in consideration of long term plans and protecting both guys. It was a fun match full of chaos similar to how Raw has been overall this past month. This match will most likely be remembered mainly for Lesnar appearing and the way the match finished.

Final Thoughts
This was an enjoyable PPV top to bottom. It was one of their better shows of this year for sure. It was well paced and never really slowed down. There were a ton of fun moments, angle advancement and a couple of really good matches. If you missed this one it is actually pretty fun to watch and really did a good job of showcasing the current roster and vibe in the WWE right now. There was a lot of violence on this show but also a lot of solid wrestling. If I could recommend one match on this show that you MUST watch it would be the tag team match between Rollins/Ambrose vs. Ziggler/McIyntre. I really enjoyed this show.
Final Rating – 7.5/10

What were your final thoughts on Hell in a Cell? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.