wrestling / Columns

411’s WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 Preview

October 30, 2016 | Posted by Sean Garmer
Image Credit: WWE

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The Staff

Kevin Pantoja, Wrestling Zone Reviewer

Mike Hammerlock, Wrestling Zone 8-Ball

Chad Perry, Wrestling Zone Reviewer

Mitch Nickelson, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Rob Stewart, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Dino Zee, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Sean Garmer, Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcast, WWE Roundtable Organizer, Games Top 5 Organizer

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Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara, Lince Dorado vs.
Pre-Show Kickoff 6-Man Tag Match

Kevin Pantoja: Honestly, who cares about this result? I like some of the guys involved (mainly Cedric Alexander and Sin Cara), but the cruiserweight division has been handled rather poorly on Raw. This is basically going to be six guys in a match for the sake of having a match. It’s hard to predict because nobody is gaining any real momentum. However, I’m going with the Alexander/Cara/Dorado trio. From what we know, Nese and Gulak do not have official contracts. Plus, I think Alexander is a great choice for the next contender for the title. Maybe the division will pick up when Jack Gallagher and Gran Metalik show up.

Winner: Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara & Lince Dorado

Mike Hammerlock: I like all of these guys and I’m happy they’re getting exposure, but the cruiserweights aren’t fitting inside the Raw/WWE structure. We aren’t getting the boundary-pushing matches we saw in the CWC. One theory: big crowds suck. Same theory applies in music. If you see a band in an arena, too much of the crowd is there just to hear the hits. See a band in a club and you’re there with fans who know every word to every song. The former can provide you with a spectacle, the latter can be transcendent. Anyway, hopefully we get an enjoyable spotfest here.\

Winner: Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara & Lince Dorado

Chad Perry: Well here is a very random kickoff show match. It puzzles me that as of the time I am writing this that this match & Bayley/Brooke was added but nt Braun/Zayn. I like all six of these guys and expect that this should be a very fun way to get the show started. The division has been seriously lacking of any story though and for a casual WWE fan I imagine this is what it felt like to be a fan in the late 90s when WWE brought in random luchadors. Sin Cara is the only one established here, so his team wins.

Winner: Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara & Lince Dorado

Mitch Nickelson: There’s a lot of talent here and this should be a great way to get the crowd fired up. I’m picking the babyface team for the win because that makes sense to get the Boston excited early. Cedric Alexander is the rising star out of this bunch, so he should score the pinfall.

Winner: Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara, & Lince Dorado

Rob Stewart:This is pretty much just throw together to get more of these guys on the card so WWE can act like the Cruiserweight Division matters despite the fact that there is only one storyline in the entire division at present. It’s a pretty terrible way to handle the division, but at least they are on the show (Sami Zayn says “Hi”). It’s amazing how quickly the main roster has expended the good will of the CWC. I’ll go with the babyface team here since Davari is the least noteworthy name in the lineup, but this is essentially a coin flip.

Winner: Cedric, Lince, and Sin Cara

Dino Zee: Welcome to Nitro, folks! I’m Tony Schiavonne, and we have a huge six man luchador… oh, sorry about that. Man, what a great throwback match we’re getting here. Nothing on the line, just six guys who are going to go out there and dazzle the fans. Cedric Alexander has been an incredible surprise, since I never thought he was anything super special while watching him in Ring of Honor. But man, did he get serious once he got the WWE call. Good for him. I’ve also dug Lince Dorado, Tony Nese, and Drew Gulak, so this match is expected to be fantastic. Could use some more Metalik, but I know he’s finishing up in CMLL for the time being.

Winners: Cedric Alexander, Sin Cara, and Lince Dorado

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Bayley vs. Dana Brooke
Singles Match

Kevin Pantoja: I pray that the WWE figures out something of relevance for Bayley to do once this Sasha/Charlotte feud is over. I assume that she’ll be part of the giant women’s tag at Survivor Series, but after that, hopefully she becomes important. It’s a shame that she’s being wasted in a shitty feud with Dana Brooke. Speaking of Dana, she’s gotten progressively worse since the Emma injury. Bayley’s going to be fun here and Dana will try, but I’m not expecting anything really good here. Bayley needs to win here.

Winner: Bayley

Mike Hammerlock: Got to admit, the WWE knows how to build a match. Nothing more compelling than fake arm wrestling. That’ll hook the kids for sure. Bayley’s another case of HHH handing Vince McMahon a red hot talent only to have things go sideways. Doesn’t help that she’s trying to carry Brooke through a match. For the fans that haven’t seen Bailey’s stellar work in NXT, the WWE isn’t showcasing her ring strengths. Theoretically she should win here, but I get the gnawing feeling she might get saddled with a lovable loser angle.

Winner: Dana Brooke

Chad Perry: Terrible. This match being on the show is terrible. The only way this match will be redeeming is if Bayley goes in and squashes Brooke in under a minute. Two weeks ago on Raw these two faced in a botch-tastic match. This past week they were in the worst segment on Raw with arm wrestling. This being on the card over Strowman vs Zayn is annoying as it is a complete waste of Bayley.

Winner: Bayley

Mitch Nickelson: I’m not sure which direction Emmalina (did I spell it right?) will go when she returns to the ring, but a reunion with Dana Brooke would make me happy. They were a fun duo in NXT. Emmalina could help out her buddy and screw over Bayley here. This also gives Bayley more to feud with over the next few months if she doesn’t get re-inserted into a title feud.

Winner: Dana Brooke

Rob Stewart:This is the return spot for Emmalina, right? I’m not sure what other purpose this match serves, honestly. Their arm wrestling affair on this week’s Raw was abhorrent, so I’m hopeful that they have some kind of end game in mind. Bayley’s just spinning her wheels in a rut, and putting her in a program with Nia Jax when the two just recently had a rivalry in NXT is pointless. But they called her up, so she needs SOMETHING to do. The most reasonable expectation is a program with the returning Emma. So the latter likely comes out here to attack Bayley either for a DQ or to help her old toadie get the victory. WWE hasn’t seemed particularly interested in protecting Bayley at all for the moment, so most likely, it will be the latter.

Winner: Dana Brooke, via Emmalina interference

Dino Zee: This is my favorite feud in WWE. I haven’t felt the Bayley magic like so many others, and that kinda bums me out. I just have trouble taking the character seriously, since she seems to be a middle schoooler picking fights with adults. Still, that doesn’t mean that I don’t see her popularity, or that I’m going to pretend she just sucks. She’s perfectly fine, connects with the crowd, and has had some really good matches along the way. I’m sure it’ll click with me eventually, and if not, I’m sure Bayley won’t lose any sleep.And then there’s Dana Brooke, the one who doesn’t do much of anything but help out Charlotte every so often. Tough call.

Winner: Bayley

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Enzo & Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Tag Match

Kevin Pantoja: I really like the New Day, but there is zero reason why Gallows and Anderson didn’t take the titles over the past few months. Both teams were at fault, as well as creative, for how bad the feud was and I think that a win for the former Club would have been for the best. Then they could have transitioned into this rivalry over the titles. Anyway, this isn’t for the belts and doesn’t really sound interesting. On one hand, Enzo and Cass could use the win, but I think Gallows and Anderson need it a bit more.

Winner: Anderson and Gallows

Mike Hammerlock: I hope Anderson and Gallows are making a lot of money, because they lose about as often as the Ascension. Can’t believe we’re inching up on the end of the year and the WWE still hasn’t run a Bullet Clubesque angle with these two guys. Meanwhile Enzo & Cass have charisma on their side (Enzo’s got enough for two). I’m guessing this one goes to the team that’s selling shirts.

Winner: Enzo & Cass

Chad Perry: I picture that this will be a perfectly serviceable tag match. Normally I would say they open the show to get the crowd going, but WWE will likely want to spread the three cell matches out with one of those being the opener. Anderson & Gallows have become glorified jobbers thanks to some serious poor booking on WWE’s end. Between constant loses to New Day and their horrible “humor” I see little hope in their futures. Enzo & Cass are still incredibly over and seem likely to stop The New Day at Roadblock. Give them the win here and then they move onto Survivor Series.

Winner: Enzo & Cass

Mitch Nickelson: It’s probably a long shot to pick Anderson & Gallows considering their poor booking in WWE but can’t they get the win just this one time? Enzo & Cass could use this victory as well to springboard themselves in the title picture but until Demolition’s record gets broken, nobody’s taking those straps. The Club needs this one more.

Winner: Anderson & Gallows

Rob Stewart:It’s so weird to think of how little The Club has accomplished since entering WWE. I’m not of the mind that every respectable talent that had a good showing somewhere else on the globe should come into WWE and be made out to be a world beater, but man… Anderson and Gallows haven’t won anything. They were cannon fodder against Roman Reigns and John Cena in their matches against AJ Styles, and they lost a potty humor based feud with New Day. That’s the extent of their run so far, and they’ve been around several months at this point. Of these two teams, Enzo and Cass clearly have the forward momentum and the brighter future, so you have to assume they go over in this one. Anderson and Gallows just got out of a tag title angle, so there’s no sense in their moving back upward.

Winner: Enzo Amore and Big Cass

Dino Zee: Anderson and Gallows’ “Furnas and LaFon Memorial Tour” continues, as they drop down the card to take on the “sports entertainment team” of Enzo and Cass. There’s just something WWE really hates about signing a good tag team from Japan that happens to be comprised of North Americans. Luckily, I love Enzo and Cass, so I can’t get too angry over the sacrificing of the former Bullet Club members. I mean, hell, maybe I’m dead wrong here, and this match will be a savage beating by the serious team onto the joke team. I doubt it, but you never know.

Winners: Enzo & Cass

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(Champion) T. J. Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Kevin Pantoja: More from the poorly booked cruiserweight division. At the very least, the segment of Brian Kendrick asking TJ Perkins to throw the match for him on Raw gave this some intrigue. For the most part the feud has been “grizzled old man” vs. “young guy who makes too many video game references.” Oh, and they used to know each other. It’s all been so weirdly handled. They’ve wrestled twice so far and neither time has lit the world on fire. I’m thinking this will be their best outing together, but still not crack the great level. I love Perkins, but I think Kendrick takes it here. The story of the well known veteran keeping the title away against the younger guys of the division could be fun.

Winner: The Brian Kendrick

Mike Hammerlock: This feud never needed the window dressing. You’ve got a champion looking to build hsi legacy and a challenger looking to reclaim his inside a division looking to prove itself. Just have great matches. That’s literally all you have to do. And we know these two can do it. We’ve seen them do it in the recent past. Hopefully they figure that out before Sunday.

Winner: TJ Perkins

Chad Perry: As I mentioned earlier, this division has done little to garner any interest from me. I like both of these guys just fine, but their match last month did little for me. I would not be at all surprised to see Kendrick fade off TV if he was to lose here. Kendrick was brought in to be a face that some fans knew, or had a way of knowing via the Network. However, they have a large roster of young talent (plus Sin Cara) that want this spot. I will be hoping to see Perkins win in a decisive fashion and then move onto a fellow young talent like Cedric Alexander.

Winner: TJ Perkins

Mitch Nickelson: I’m really 50/50 on this one. If TJ was slightly more endearing to the crowd then it would make the most sense for Kendrick to be simply a veteran for him to beat on the front end of his Cruiserweight Title reign right. However, Perkins and his forced video game dialogue just doesn’t work. He’s great in the ring and his entrance is fun but it’s hard to peg him as a real star. Kendrick feels like the more suited guy to hold that title right now, until WWE lets someone like Cedric Alexander get his shot.

Winner: Brian Kendrick

Rob Stewart:This should be the culmination of Raw’s Cruiserweight Division’s first (and, so far, only) angle, whereupon Perkins establishes himself as a deserving champion against the devious machinations of a hungry old pro. They’ve instilled some doubt in the result here by having Kendrick lose cleanly to Rich Swann due in some part to Perkins’ ringside presence on the go-home edition of Raw, but Perkins’ retaining here is the only sensible result at this point.

Winner: TJ Perkins

Dino Zee: Here’s a match that I think will be incredible. Much has been said about Brian Kendrick. He’s a veteran, he’s a former interim Smackdown World Champion, and he could very well be on his last go around. He’s desperate for one more taste of glory, and he’s willing to do anything to get it.

However, he’s taking on a guy who – in case you didn’t know – has wrestled for nearly 20 years. TJP has been there, done that, and even bought the shirt. While Kendrick doesn’t see a wily vet when he looks at Perkins, the fact is, TJ is just that. With all the tricks these guys know, someone’s going to have to take advantage of the slightest error to walk away with the belt. Part of me would love to see Kendrick get that moment. Another part of me thinks that Perkins holds this belt for a while longer yet.

Winner: And STILL WWE Cruiserweight Champion… TJ Perkins!!

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(Champions) New Day vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
RAW Tag Team Championship

Kevin Pantoja: The Best of Seven nonsense between Sheamus and Cesaro ended in dumb fashion, though I do like them as a team. The match on Raw was absolutely stupid to do but it was good. I sense this one will be even better and could potentially steal the show. That being said, I can’t see Sheamus and Cesaro taking the titles, at least not yet. The WWE love their odd couple teams, so Sheamus and Cesaro could vault ahead of Enzo and Cass or the Club for a title run. I think it won’t happen here though since the New Day are more than likely to at least hold it until they break Demolition’s record. After that, all bets are off. For now, I’m sticking with the champs.

Winner: The New Day

Mike Hammerlock: Love both of these teams. We’ve got New Day’s harmony against Cesaro & Sheamus’ disunity. In recent months I figured New Day would drop the belts and I’m assuming they eventually will to this team, but Cesaro and Sheamus have yet to have that buddy movie moment where they get on the same page. Plus, they won on Monday, which means a loss on Sunday is probably the plan.

Winner: New Day

Chad Perry: Winning here would almost guarantee The New Day to take Demolition’s record as there would not be another PPV title defense until Roadblock in December. Cesaro & Sheamus being made into a team seemed like a harmless joke among many on Twitter after last month’s no contest, but that joke has become reality (very similar to the 2016 election). Cesaro & Sheamus are not a bad team, but I don’t care to see them team up, or Sheamus in general really. The match between these four on Raw was a good one, and I would expect this one to top that.

Winner: The New Day

Mitch Nickelson: Cesaro & Sheamus could have some fun as the Raw Tag Team Champions. I really want Cesaro & Sheamus to win, but they won’t. Well, they won’t win the titles but I’ll also throw in that they don’t even get a DQ win. New Day are marching closer and closer to that Demolition record regardless if the Raw tag division is at a standstill or not. The whole point of this Cesaro/Sheamus team is for yet another singles match, right? Let’s just get on to that and get it over with.

Winner: New Day

Rob Stewart:This might be one of only two or MAYBE three matches on this whole card that I am looking forward to, and I expect this to be the match of the night. When New Day was just coming into their own as heels, they had a delicious feud with Cesaro and Tyson Kidd that sent them off to the races and resulted in a small handful of positively fantastic matches. We’re missing Kidd here, but we’re returning the other 80% of the men involved in those matches, and I am excited. “Unlikely Tag Team Partners” is an angle that I almost always get behind no matter how many times we’ve seen it–it’s hardly brand new at this point in wrestling history–because if the angle is given to two guys dedicated to it and with a track record of solid chemistry, it can result in a lot of fun. I have high hopes for Cesaro and Sheamus to send this go ’round out of the park. I would venture to say they don’t ascertain the championship here, but they also don’t lose clean, thereby earning another title shot where the two have an opportunity to get even more on the same page. I’d rather see their partnership develop organically like that than just have them stay together because they won the belts on the shot they stumbled ass-backwards into.

Winner: Cesaro and Sheamus (by disqualification; New Day retains the titles)

Dino Zee: Another match where I’m going 100% mark here. Demolition rules. All hail Demolition. May the record stand forever.

I love The New Day – I really do. But, I’m absolutely rooting for them to lose so that we can maintain the prestige of the greatest WWF/E tag team of all time. In fact, that’s the only reason for making my pick that I have. Viva Demolition.

Winners: And NEW Raw Tag Team Champions… Cesaro and Sheamus!!

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(Champion) Roman Reigns vs. Rusev
WWE United States Championship Hell in a Cell Match

Kevin Pantoja: Leave to the Raw creative team and the continued mishandling of the Roman Reigns character to make a Rusev feud dull. Rusev has been one of the best things about the company for a long time now but he is suffering from the same fate as his feud with John Cena. He comes out looking like a chump time after time. At least then Rusev felt like a heel with his anti-America stuff and how he treated Lana. Honestly though, he’s come off like the babyface in this program. Reigns has been a jerk for no reason, while Rusev defends the honor of his wife. Why should I cheer Roman again? Add in their lackluster matches thus far and this feud has been a total bust. Reigns and Wyatt killed in the Cell last year, so hopefully these two can deliver this time. Reigns wins because, duh.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Mike Hammerlock: Man, do I not care. I have no doubt Reigns is going to win here. He’s as protected as anybody in the WWE at this point. What baffles me is his character is a complete dick. If you simply go by his actions in this feud, he’s the heel. It’s not even subtle. No idea what the WWE is trying to accomplish with this guy, but, like I said, I’m past caring.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Chad Perry: The second this match was made official I said that it would be the main event. Over the last week or so there has been a lot of talk as to what actually will be in the main event spot. Rumor has it WWE is concerned the fans will leave early if they don’t put the right match in the spot, and this is certainly not the right match. Their match last month was not great, but it was fine. However, I did not need to see a rematch inside the cell this month. Rusev is fantastic on the mic and I really enjoy his character, while Roman is Roman. I don’t hate the guy, but I do love to hate him. There is no way Roman drops the belt here, I am just hoping Roman can duplicate the quality of his HIAC match against Bray Wyatt from last year.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Mitch Nickelson: This should be a fun match between a couple of powerhouses. If any of the Hell in a Cell matches have blood, this one feels like the most suited for it. Roman will retain and the positive of having a guy who WWE books like a superman most of the time is that the secondary U.S. Championship gets treated with some real value again.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Rob Stewart:WWE hates the idea that their cards can be boiled down to one noteworthy match and a bunch of supporting filler that leads up to it, so here is 33% of the Hell In Cell “Main Event” (which… I mean… one EVENT can’t be made up of three entirely separate and distinct parts [matches] of one greater whole [the live special card], so… I don’t know. I’m thinking too hard about this. Sure, WWE. Three main events. Whatever you want). Honestly, I was over this feud before their match at Clash of Champions. I’m just run down on it at this point. I’m just not feeling the chemistry between these two at all. If there is a god, this will be the end of it and Reigns can move onto a new challenger this week on Raw.

Winner: Roman Reigns

Dino Zee: Look, I think this match is a pretty obvious one. One guy has been World Champion three times, and then was brought down the card a bit where he immediately won the US Title. The other guy is Rusev. I happen to think that Rusev is the best guy on the roster at this moment in time, and I’ve (stupidly?) pencilled him in for a Universal Title run in 2017. So, I’m just going to be a big dumb mark for this match, and I’m going to say that Rusev wins, with some skullduggery and chicanery along the way. Maybe some tomfoolery, too.

Winner: And NEW United States Champion… Rusev!!

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(Champion) Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
WWE Universal Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: Again, leave it to the Raw creative team to fumble a Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins feud. Like, this isn’t hard. These are two studs in the ring, who can deliver on the microphone and have almost no holes in their skill sets. Instead of something awesome, we’ve gotten way too much focus on Stephanie McMahon, an overbooked mess of a match at Clash of Champions and a feud where the most interesting person by far has been Chris Jericho. I believe that Owens and Rollins can clearly do better but the way Raw has gone in recent months doesn’t give me much hope at all. Triple H shows up to help Owens retain.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Mike Hammerlock: They should have an amazing match in them. We haven’t seen it yet, but it’s got to be in their wheelhouse. It’s a bit emblematic of this feud that they’re heading into HIAC and we’re still waiting for it to kick into a higher gear. They’re two of my favorites, but this program has been missing that “it’ factor. To be fair, all of Raw is missing an “it” factor. In this case it might be because we’re expecting HHH to reappear. We know it’s coming. Maybe it will happen here, but until it does we’re all waiting for Paul.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Chad Perry: This feud has been strange. I feel as though I should be in love with it, as I have followed and enjoyed both guys for so long. However, it has largely just been a feud that has floated along TV without peaking my interest. In reality Chris Jericho has been my favorite part of the feud and he is not even in the match. The rumored original triple threat between Owns, Jericho and Balor would have been quite the match. It will be interesting to see if Jericho has any part of the match. Personally I would like to see Jericho accompany Owens to the ring for support outside of the cell. I would not be hugely surprised to see Rollins take the title here but I am going to go with what I want to see, and that is Owens retaining.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Mitch Nickelson: The most interesting guy in this feud, Chris Jericho, is sadly not in this match. Thankfully, he is almost certain to get involved but the marquee looks like something important is missing without his name in the mix. I don’t want to see KO’s title reign come to an end and don’t see a title switch happening. If there’s any big Hell in a Cell bumps, I think it’ll happen in this match.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Rob Stewart:How unfortunate that the most entertaining and most over aspect of this rivalry has been Chris Jericho going on about his List. It has been solid work, though, and good on Y2J to get an old colloquialism like that so hot. That said, it has sadly just left the feud between Raw’s top heel and top babyface feeling secondary in its wake. I can’t imagine the match these two put on won’t be terrific–they’re both outstanding workers and they’re being given a rather dependable match gimmick with which to work–but there doesn’t seem to be all that much drama over the end result. Rollins has fallen short of the Universal title at the last two Raw-eligible live specials (Clash and Summerslam), so his chances here don’t seem particularly promising. And his future lies in an angle with HHH while Owens’ seems to include a confrontation over the title with his best friend. So either by way of Jericho or by way of Hunter, Owens should retain so they can advance their respective storyarcs from here.

Winner: Kevin Owens

Dino Zee: While Owens has been, to a slight extent, forgotten/overshadowed in this feud by Rollins, Stephanie, and even Chris Jericho, I fully expect this match to be incredible. Both have proven to be able to deliver a great match, and I don’t expect that to end here. What I do expect, sadly, is quite a bit of shenanigans, leaving Rollins just short of becoming a World Champion again.

Winner: And STILL Universal Heavyweight Champion… Kevin Owens!!

(Champion) Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair
RAW Women’s Championship Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: Ah, the “women in the cell for the sake of saying this is history” match. Look, I’m an admitted big Sasha Banks fan and Charlotte can flat out go from bell to bell. They’re going to be motivated to justify the main event slot or, if they don’t go on last, be motivated to show that they should have. I expect a great match featuring two women willing to nearly kill themselves and each other. The feud doesn’t fell HIAC or main event worthy, but nothing on Raw really does. They were worried about an injured Sasha at SummerSlam, but now that she’s cleared, her retaining shouldn’t be an issue. She has to win the feud and breathe new life into the division since Charlotte as champion is beyond stale. Sasha for the win.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Mike Hammerlock: I’ve been hoping to see women in a cell ever since I first sawChained Heat. Sorry, couldn’t avoid the joke. Really hope they get to close the night. We’ve never seen anything like it. That alone makes it main event material. Plus, Sasha’s title win on Raw and the three-way match at Clash of Champions are the best things Raw has done of late. They’ve earned the slot. Time to raise the bar a little more and, perhaps, save this show if the preliminaries aren’t up to snuff.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Chad Perry: It makes so much sense to say that Sasha retains here, but not much of Sasha’s booking has made a lot of sense this year. Cole has been sure to hype a lot since last month’s encounter that Charlotte has never lost a PPV/Special title match. Unlike the booking on the SmackDown ladies division, we don’t see all of the ladies on a regular basis on Raw. One lady we have not seen on Raw in about a month now is Nia Jax. I think this has been done to make us forget about her a little bit, only to have her go Kane 1997 and cost Sasha the match. I know the fans in Boston will hate it, and if it were to take place as the opener like I believe it will then it could affect the rest of the show. This would set up Sasha vs Nia and allow Bayley to move onto Charlotte. I really hope to be wrong here but I would think one title would change hands on the night and this seems the most likely.

Winner: Charlotte

Mitch Nickelson: It doesn’t look like it will, but this match really should go on last.. The Boston crowd is going to go nuts for Sasha, especially if she’s retaining. I think she will defeat Charlotte here so there’s no better moment to close out the show with then her standing victorious with the Women’s Championship. With the crowd support and what I expect are massive chips on their shoulders to prove that they can go in this environment, this very well could be one of the best matches of the year.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Rob Stewart:The single biggest storyline heading into Hell In A Cell isn’t focused on any particular match stipulation, title chase, or angle, but on whether or not these two ladies will be put in the main event final match slot of the card. To their credit, WWE has created a wonderful smokescreen around the issue between cryptic tweets from GM Mick Foley and rumors that Vince hates the idea of the women closing the show. I, personally, feel like they have to get it at this point; to even hint at the proposition is rather unfair if they aren’t going to actually follow through on it. Now, is Banks/Charlotte an immensely compelling feud that deserves to be the close-out on a live special? It’s debatable. But is there any angle on this card one could point to and definitively say it’s substantially more noteworthy? I don’t believe so. So yeah, if only for the headlines and historical aspect, give Sasha and Charlotte the captain’s chair here and let them take us home. Aside from that drama, the tale to be told here is… can Charlotte ever lose at a live special? Her record thus far is unimpeachable. And while her reign felt tedious at times, what better way to get someone over than to have her be the one to end Charlotte’s reign of live special terror? Banks should be that woman.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Dino Zee: Well, the ladies get their big chance here, and many are pulling for them to succeed. I’m one of those mean, crusty old jerks that fears that, due to the current environment of WWE, that this match is going to tank, and tank hard. It might be a perfectly acceptable match, and it might even be better than I imagine. Still, I don’t see these chicks bleeding all over the place, nor do I see them taking any super insane bumps. Quite frankly, I don’t see the need for this match to be in the Cell. That is not to say that I’m rooting against them or want Sasha and Charlotte to fail. I just think that the current handcuffs WWE has put on all the talent has made Hell in a Cell matches tedious at best, and I don’t see these two being able to rise above it. That said, I do expect both of them to go out and prove everything I just said to be 100% wrong. Whether they succeed in that goal or not is almost irrelevant to me; they’re going to do what they can, and they both know the stakes here, especially if they’re given the main event slot. At this point, I think Sasha needs the win much more than Charlotte. After the quick switches around SummerSlam, Banks needs to prove, at least for the time being, that she’s Charlotte’s superior, and can move on to a new feud.. I think “The Boss” comes out with the win here.

Winner: And STILL Raw Women’s Champion… Sasha Banks!!

Overall Thoughts & PPV Interest Level (from 1 being the worst to 5 being the best)

Kevin Pantoja: My interest level for this PPV is a 2: Man, I just can’t get excited for Raw Pay-Per-Views. Both Backlash and No Mercy felt like bigger deals and had way more interesting cards than Clash of Champion or Hell in a Cell. The cell matches should be pretty good, as should the Tag Team Title match, but it all just feels so blah. That’s what poor writing and booking for weeks on end will do to a card.

Mike Hammerlock: My interest level for this PPV is a 2: There’s a bunch of matches here that have potential – the tag title match, the cruiserweight title match, the WWE Universal title match, the women’s title match – yet you could be forgiven for skipping the show and then watching the highlight matches after the fact. Raw’s misfired often enough of late that it’s hard to have faith they’ll deliver here. Yet it does raise an interesting Sunday night viewing question: what’s more frustrating, waiting for the WWE to deliver a great action card or waiting for Westworld to stop being impenetrably mysterious?

Chad Perry: 3.25: The show is happening less than 3 hours away from me and this show doesn’t have my interest enough to travel and see it live. The only match on the card that I would expect to be under *** is Bayley/Brooke, while everything else looks as though it could be good-excellent. When it appeared as though the ladies were going to main event I had a stronger level of interest in attending to witness history. However, now they simply have a 1 in 3 chance of main eventing and I do not see them doing so unless they were to announce ahead of time. The show could easily be one of the best PPVs this year, but by the time we get to our third cell match of the night we could also likely be feeling burned out.

Mitch Nickelson: My interest level for this PPV is a 4: My interest level is a little above average and I think having 3 weeks off since the last big show is a big contributor to that. I like lots of wrestling but it’s hard to view these Sunday shows as special as they used to be when they happen so often anymore. I’m optimistic about all 3 HIAC matches, even if there’s a high risk of stipulation overload.

Rob Stewart: My interest level for this PPV is a 2: I am high on New Day vs Sheasaro, and I’m curious as to whether WWE will pull the trigger on letting the women main event the card (in match spot and not just in name only). Aside from that, this card really feels like Clash Of Champions Redux. Rusev vs Reigns. Owens vs Rollins. Perkins vs Kendrick. It feels like we just rode this ride. Not much here feels shiny and new. And I just can not believe that in a split brand era, Sami Zayn can’t make his way onto a live special. The guy has done little other than put on stellar match after stellar match this year.

Dino Zee: My interest level for this PPV is a 5: It’s Hell in a Cell. We might think the match itself has been “killed,” or that this show will just be a usual PG trudge through mediocrity, but there’s always the chance that something goes off in a huge way once you’re locked in that cell. I will always believe in the mystique.

Sean Garmer: My interest level for this PPV is a 4: Having three Hell in a Cell matches on one show could be a blessing or a curse. I’m totally onboard for Sasha and Charlotte and Owens and Rollins. I don’t care about many of the other matches on this card. I hope Perkins and Kendrick get some time to deliver and that Bayley wins.

Well, that is all for this Roundtable everyone. Don’t forget to leave us your thoughts and predictions below in the comments and we will see you again next month for the co-branded WWE Survivor Series 2016.

Remember to join 411 for our LIVE PPV coverage, starting at 7:00pm ET Sunday night.

If you’d like to listen to Sean Garmer and his co-hosts do a WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 Preview, they also discuss the latest on the TNA vs. Billy Corgan, Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo possibly going to WWE, and discuss what’s going on in NXT, Lucha Underground Season 3, TNA Impact Wrestling and more. You can click the Sound Cloud play button or listen to the show on I-Tunes, Stitcher, Tune-In Radio, Youtube, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Just search Wrestling 2 the MAX and you should find it pretty easily.