WWE Hell in the Cell 2016 Review 10/30/2016

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my Hell in a Cell review. Hell in the Cell was last night and an unforgettable night it was indeed. It was the event that featured the first ever Hell in the Cell match with female competitors as Sasha Banks and Charlotte settled their rivalry for now inside the devils structure. If this event will be remembered for anything, it will be for that. However, the rest of the card featured a lot of other memorable moments as well. All of Raw’s titles were up for grabs and three were defended inside the Cell. This was Raw’s second exclusive PPV of the New Era brand extension. Although this PPV was dubbed to have a triple main event, it was the first time that the women headlined a PPV as the last match of the night.
I was 7-1 for my predictions, getting everything right besides the main event. As per usual I didn’t watch most of the kick off as I was coming home from work, but my prediction of who won the kick off match was right and is included in my prediction score. Lets get to my review.

WWE Hell in a Cell comes to us from the TD  Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

– The show opened a video package and we’re welcomed to the show by Byron Saxton, Michael Cole and Corey Graves. The Cell starts to lower as we’re kicking off the show with a Cell match. Lana comes out, looking absolutely gorgeous, to introduce her husband Rusev.

Hell in a Cell
United States Championship
Roman Reigns (C) def. Rusev
in 24:35s via pinfall
The night kicks off with Roman Reigns defending his United States Championship against Rusev. I actually predicted that this match would be the one cell match we had the lowest of expectations for but would impress us the most. Honestly, I think that was the case. The chemistry between Rusev and Reigns has gotten stronger and they know how to sell for each other. The match started off slow but when it picked up, it picked up. Soon enough weapons and what not became involved in the match. Every PPV I hope that Roman Reigns is going to surprise us all with a new attire or gear but he never does. It’s not that I don’t like the Shield gear or just want Roman to change, but when you have spots like Rusev repeatedly smacking Reigns with a kendo stick in the chest and he’s wearing a padded chest protector, its hard to believe that the shots to the chest are even effecting Reigns. There were some near falls and the match did look like it could go either way at some points. Personally, I know it’s a huge “no-no” in this era, but out of the three cell matches, this would have been the one where I let blood play a part in the match. I mean if Reigns busted Rusev open early and then Reigns getting busted open once Rusev brought out the chain, it really would have added to this match. The other two cell matches could have gotten by without blood, but I think it really would have worked here. Imagine the image of Reigns in that accolade on the steps where Rusev was using the chain and they were both dawning the crimson mask. Imagine that? It would have been perfect for the blow off of this feud and added to the story of this match. Reigns retains his title after a spear. The match ended up better than I expected.
Rating  – ***3/4

Bayley def. Dana Brooke
in 06:30 via pinfall
Bayley may not be one of my favourites, but I respect the hell out of her and I do think she’s really talented. I mean Sasha Banks vs. Bayley from NXT Brooklyn is one of my favourite matches of all time. I think Bayley is still finding her place on the main roster and is missing that level of comfort she had on NXT with her character on the main roster. As for Dana Brooke, she does nothing for me and just isn’t that great. In her defence, I think she was called up to the main roster way to early. I mean correct me if I’m wrong but she didn’t spend as much time down at NXT as the Four Horsewomen, Carmella or Alexa Bliss. I think she needed to spend more time down there to figure shit out. I think they had plans with her being with Emma and when Emma got hurt put her with Charlotte, but she just wasn’t ready. I’ll admit she’s improved but she just messes up so many little things. The way Dana sells and executes moves just looks bad. Hell, I clearly remember when the referee was counting to 5 to make her release a hold because Bayley made it to the ropes, Dana yelled that she has until the referee counts to 5 to release the hold. Thats false, she has to break the hold before 5. The match suffered from being lethargic early and the poor selling down the stretch. Dana mainly worked on the arm and it’s not that Bayley had to completely stop using the arm, but the focus from Dana was on the arm and it felt as if Bayley just ran through some signature stuff and barely favoured the arm to reflect that. It wasn’t bad, just fine. I mean it served its purpose to have Bayley and Dana doing something while Charlotte and Sasha finish their rivalry. Hayley picked up the victory with the Bayley to Belly. Overall, it wasn’t anything impressive, it was just a decent showing of both women.
Rating – **1/4

– Stephanie and Foley talk backstage and hype Survivor Series while bragging about Raw. I don’t know why, but every Foley/Stephanie backstage segment comes off cringeworthy to me. Thankfully, Jericho appeared to save the segment. Jericho arrived and spoke about Survivor Series and teased putting Foley on the list again. Jericho wants to be on the Survivor Series team, and says Owens should also be on the team.

Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Enzo & Big Cass
in 06:45 via pinfall
I’m a fan of both teams so I would have been happy with this match going either way. Personally, I think Gallows and Anderson should be the tag team champions right now and defending against Cesaro and Sheamus or even against Enzo and Cass. The only bias I had going into the match was that Enzo and Cass are over regardless and didn’t need this win but The Club desperately needed this victory to regain any momentum they can because they lost all of it during their feud with The New Day. The match followed the typical tag team match formula. Enzo being the one to gain the heat by taking a beat down and Cass being the one who received the hot tag. The crowd seemed behind Enzo and Cass from singing a long to their pre match promo to the hot tag. Due to the poor booking of The Club, the fans just didn’t seem to care about them. Anderson and Gallows end up picking up the victory following a Magic Killer. The match was good but nothing special. The right team won as The Club needed the victory more than Enzo and Cass.
Rating – **1/4

Hell in a Cell
WWE Universal Championship
Kevin Owens (C) def. Seth Rollins
in 23:15 by pinball
This match might have been poorly built up. The last couple of Raw’s leading to this match has been more about Chris Jericho, the List of Jericho and Jericho’s friendship with Kevin Owens. than it has been about the Universal Title or even Seth Rollins. Due to that it was almost guaranteed that Jericho would have some sort of involvement in this match. I personally really enjoyed this match and although it was earlier on the card, most definitely could have gone on last if it wasn’t for the historic first ever women’s Hell in a Cell match. Owens and Rollins are my top two favourite stars of New Era stars and they know each other very well. Although, I don’t think babyface Rollins is as over with the crowd as they expected him to be by now. I love the trash talking from Owens and Rollins during the match. They made good use of the cell as well. I got excited when Owens pulled out the second table, I had a feeling it was leading to an awesome table spot which we ended up getting when Rollins power bombed Owens through both tables. That was definitely the highlight of the night for me at that point of the show. I knew right away when the referee got taken out with the fire extinguisher and another referee was sent down that this was an opening for Jericho to make his appearance, which he surely did. While the interference takes way from the point of the cell, it didn’t take away from the match because the crowd was into it. Most of the time I would complain about a great match being tarnished by inference but in this case it added to match since the rivalry has basically been about Jericho since Triple H has been nowhere to be found for weeks. They created some great near falls off of it and Rollins still looked strong because he was able to fight off both men for a bit and it took both of them to defeat him. It also had a level of intensity that nothing else on the card had so far, which made it stand out even more. I loved how even after winning the match, Jericho came back to hit Rollins with the codebreaker. It may have not been the most memorable Cell match for its brutality but it sure as hell had its moments like the table power bomb and great exchanges between all three guys. Also, I understand the purpose of the kinesiology tape but I feel like in wrestling it’s just like taping a target on yourself similar to how wearing a wrap around your ribs would make it a target.
Rating – ****

Cruiserweight Championship
Brian Kendrick def. TJ Perkins (C)
in 10:35 via submission
I was rooting for Kendrick and I marked out when he finally won. This was their best match yet against each other if you ask me. There were some flaws like the botched tape spot but other than that this was their best match yet. There were some near falls and at times it looked like Perkins had the win but just like Hugh Glass from the Revenant, Brian Kendrick found a way to overcome the odds. Kendrick faked an injury after attempting sliced bread and Perkins showed concern like a good babyface. I bet if he was a heel he wouldn’t have fallen for that trick but babyface’s usually think every person has got good in them. I mean TJ Perkins knew how desperate and jealous Kendrick is, yet he still put on his stupid face and fell for it. The only issue was all of were able to tell it was trick and nobody else was falling for Kendricks plan, besides Perkins. I originally thought they were going to build the Cruiserweight Division around Perkins since he was the first champion of the returning division. I thought Perkins would be he champion that made the title feel important, but after weeks of bad acting and showing that he’s an avid gamer, I was protesting that an established Kendrick get his championship reign during his second run. The Cruiserweight Division has talented stars but hasn’t left that big on impact since debuting on the main roster, I hope they only go up from here. The biggest struggle here was that they had to follow Rollins vs Owens in the Cell which had the crowd pretty worn out, but the match wasn’t that bad. The Cruiserweights seem to have better matches on the Network events compared to on Raw.
Rating – ***

– Cesaro and Sheamus played nice backstage following their win on Raw. This led to polite insults, and Sheamus telling Cesaro to follow his lead. This led to a disagreement and arguments over rental cars and paying road tolls.

– New Day arrived and ran down Sheamus and were disappointed that they did not tear each other apart. Then some more of their usual shtick.

Tag Team Champions
Cesaro & Sheamus def. The New Day (C)
in 11:15 via DQ
I don’t have much to say about this match. It was a good match, similar to their Raw match. I mean everyone involved is very talented. They played the Sheamus and Cesaro dynamic well, with both guys still having their difference of opinion, but also showing that they wanted to be champions. It really felt as if the crowd was into this and that the title change would have played well. However,  WWE is all about history and breaking numbers on title reigns, so I don’t think the titles are going to change hands until The New Day break Demolitions record. This was there to help extend the New Day’s title reign and to set up a rematch somewhere down the road, after Survivor Series. I really enjoyed the match, the booking not so much. Francesca 2 got destroyed but just like the rest of the New Day’s shtick, it was nothing too important to their overall gimmick, similar to them holding the tag team titles. If they were to lose either thing, it doesn’t kill how over they are with the fans. The sad part about this is that we’re going to have Sheamus and Cesaro continue this strange bedfellow tag team partnership, where they try to get a long, because the Raw writers have nothing better for them to do.
Ratings – **3/4

Hell in a Cell
WWE Womens Championship
Charlotte def. Sasha Banks (C)
in 22:25 via pinfall
It was all there. The big match feeling. The stigma that history was about to be made. The atmosphere felt like something special was about to happen. Two of the most popular and talented women of the New Era were going to face each other in a Hell in a Cell. A match that two women have never competed in and in the main event of a PPV, another historic statistic. Charlotte came out with all the pomp and circumstance, being carried to the ring like a Queen. Sasha Banks rolling out like a Boss in an escalade in front of a ruckus hometown crowd.  There was drama, excitement, intrigue and then when it ended, it was confusing and controversial.
Now before I get to the end of the match, lets talk about a few things that I liked and disliked about this match. First off, I loved that the two brawled in the crowd and outside the cell before the match even began. This entire match from the very beginning was a showcase that the Womens Division really has evolved and can be taken as seriously as the men. The way they climbed up the side of the cage,  teasing that they could climb all the way to the top. The power bomb to Sasha onto the Spanish announce table. It started right off the bat that this wasn’t going to be like any women’s wrestling match that we’ve seen before. Although they had me fooled briefly with it, I wasn’t a fan of them paying homage to Foley with the whole Sasha getting taken out on a stretcher unable to compete sequence. It also didn’t help that one of the production cables was stuck in Sasha’s neck brace and instead of gracefully trying to take it out, one of the trained “EMT’s” was basically yanking at it aggressively. Of course, right before Charlotte was rewarded the title do to forfeit, Sasha Banks refused to be taken out and came back to fight. I understand the drama and purpose of this sequence. I understand paying homage to Foley and having the crowd believe that Sasha wrestled this match hurt but the entire segment seemed to drag. I watched the match twice and both times it felt like it took forever for the idiots to even get Sasha on the stretcher. I don’t know but it didn’t feel that long at King of the Ring 1998. Moving forward, the match was great. It was mind-blowing to see the women involve the cell in creative ways and actually use weapons to hurt each other. The entire spot where Sasha did the three amigos and the frog splash was special and broke out an “Eddie” chant.
There were a few chair spots, such as the double knees to Charlotte with he chair set up between the ropes below her, a side slam to Sasha’s bad back onto the chair by Charlotte and Sasha using the chair to fight her way out of a figure eight. The table spots didn’t work out as they planned. Charlotte  laid Banks on the table that was placed on the outside and went up top, but Banks fought off the table and attacked Charlotte on the top turnbuckle. Sasha kicked Charlotte on the top turnbuckle regaining control. I believe Charlotte was meant to fall on the table but not break it, so Banks could hit a diving double knee onto her but in reality their was a pause because when Charlotte fell onto the table it collapsed. They then moved the table to the other corner and set it at an angle, Banks then grabbed Charlotte and went for a power bomb, but her back gave out on her and she fell. Charlotte flung her onto the table and Banks bounced off of it. Charlotte tossed Banks again into the table and she bounced off. Charlotte then hit natural selection and regained the title. I think Sasha was just too small to crash through the table and the match ending with Natural Selection fell flat.
On top of it all, Sasha losing in general after just recently winning the title and defending it in front of her hometown crowd came off confusing. I mean this is the second time Sasha has beaten Charlotte for the title on Raw and then when defending it in front of her hometown crowds against Charlotte as the baby face she loses it. It’s not a bad thing for Charlotte but it makes Sasha look weak and her reigns seem meaningless. Sasha will be known as a two-time women’s champion regardless but for now it didn’t help her. Charlotte continues to look dominant and I am not against that. Charlotte deserves all the praise she gets and she’s one of my favourites but I don’t get why they keep cutting Sasha’s reigns short. Also, nobody wants to see the hot potato being played with the Women’s Championship. The cell match should be the blow off of this rivalry for now but I can only imagine Sasha returns for a rematch soon. In the end, the match had the right level of brutality and effort put in for the match to compete equally against the mens cell matches but the finish was underwhelming.
In conclusion though, no matter how we felt about the finish, the match achieved its main goal which was being a historic milestone for women’s wrestling. That’s what it was all about. The purpose, not the end result. Not one thing about this match prevented it from being able to do what it was intended to do. Not the table spots that didn’t go as planned, and most certainly not the result. It wasn’t about who won or who lost. Both of these women won, in my opinion. Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks will always be the two names that will be talked about when people discuss the first ever female Hell in a Cell match and the first ever womens match to main event a PPV. They did exactly what they set out to do. Would it be nice to see Sasha Banks have a decent reign? Yes. Should the championship keep bouncing around like a hot potato? No. It eliminates the ability to build up any kind of prestige. It hurts more than it helps. I get it. Still, I loved the match. I loved when they paid homage to Mick Foley at the very beginning of the match with that stretcher spot although it seemed told drag. I loved the creative use of the environment. I loved the involvement of  weapons. I loved that there this level of brutality between two women that we rarely get to see. I loved their overall effort. We can all agree that the build up of the match felt forced and should have felt more personal, instead of being built around making history, because that can be accomplished without it being portrayed as the reason behind the match happening, but it still didn’t take anything away from what these two did. In the end they made history and ten or twenty years from now, that’s what is going to be remembered.
Rating – ****

Final Thoughts
I thought Hell in a Cell was really good show and way better than Clash of Champions. They did a good job of making each Cell match feel different and special. I just went on a rant about the women making history, and that is honestly one of the reasons this event will go down in history as very significant. The show had its flaws. For example the finishes of the Cruiserweight title, tag title and main event matches could have been better which would have taken this show from being really good to being unbelievable. I do recommend that anyone who hasn’t watch this show, to make some time to watch it because it really is worth it. I watched all the cell matches twice and although they can’t compare to cell matches Pre PG Era, they were all fun to watch. The rest of the card may be an afterthought besides Kendrick winning the Cruiserweight Title but the cell matches are worth a watch. Also, you can’t take away from what the Women achieved on this show. They proved they could hang in the main event spot, and that alone makes this show worthy to watch or re watch for any hardcore wrestling fans.
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.