Kevin’s WWE Hell in a Cell Review

WWE Hell in a Cell
September 16th, 2018 | AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas | Attendance: 15,216

Pressed for time again due to school and work, so this may be a shorter review than usual.

Kickoff Match – WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The New Day [c] w/ Xavier Woods vs. Rusev Day w/ Lana
I love when we get good Kickoff matches. The Kickoff show isn’t really a demotion and guys like New Day always show why. They consistently have bangers, regardless of where they are on the card. This was another in that long line of efforts from the champions. I usually prefer when Woods wrestles, though that wasn’t an issue here. Big E and Rusev matched up well as the powerhouses, while Aiden surprised me by taking to the skies to even the playing field with Kofi. As many expected, this came down to communication issues between Aiden and Rusev. They did get me to bite on several near falls. It’s a testament to how good these teams are. Aiden fell to Trouble in Paradise at 8:50 as Rusev was held back. A good way to start the show. [***¼]

Hell in a Cell: Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Let’s address the obvious elephant in the room. Or should I say the Clifford in the room? The new cell is red. It’s not great and is very distracting. Thankfully, Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy did everything they could to make you forget about it. Orton’s had his working boots on and seemed way more interested in life since turning heel again. He played the sadistic bastard at a level we haven’t really seen from before. Like, 2009 punt crazy, IED Orton would be squeamish. While tables, ladders, and chairs (OH MY) were used, this got taken up a notch when Orton grabbed a screwdriver from ringside. He proceeded to put it through Hardy’s gauges and twist it, looking like he was on the verge of ripping Jeff’s ear off. It was sick. Orton also had some nasty gashes on his back and leg. Jeff made the mistake of trying to do too much. He hung from the top of the cell and swung himself to gain momentum. He let go for a splash through a table, but Orton moved. The ref called for a medic, while Orton covered and shouted at him to count. He did and Orton won at 24:52. Way better than I expected. Orton played the vicious role in a way we haven’t seen from him and Jeff took a beating like a champ. There were barbaric spots and you could point to this when people say you can’t have a violent match in a PG world. [****]

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Charlotte [c] vs. Becky Lynch
WWE has a bad case of not knowing how to book babyfaces. Charlotte doesn’t feel like a face (and she’s always been bad at the role) and the fans were behind Becky here. I saw some people get mad that this wasn’t booked like a fight at the start. While it is a personal rivalry, this was about Becky proving that she was better than Charlotte. She had counters ready for things like the Figure Four at every turn. It felt like Charlotte was prepared to throw her best stuff at her former friend, only for Becky to be ready for it all. Becky did her homework and from a character standpoint, it felt like she knew this was the most important match of her career. What kept this match from reaching the next level was a handful of sloppy moments. Something didn’t click for them tonight. It happens. The finish didn’t come off cleanly, either, but Becky pulled Charlotte into a pinning combination to win the title at 13:52. The match felt like a struggle in a very good way. With cleaner exchanges, it would rank higher. [***½]

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre [c] vs. Dean Ambrose and WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins
I know I’ve seen people complain about the Raw tag team scene because teams like Revival and Authors of Pain are underutilized. I get that. But, it’s hard to get upset with tag matches like this. Dean and Seth were stellar in these situations last year and picked up right where they left off. Dolph and Drew played their roles perfectly, cutting off the hot tag several times. Good tag team wrestling is all about deprivation and we got a lot of it here. Once the hot tag came, the match got kicked into the next gear, which was ridiculous. Tons of great exchanges in front of a molten hot crowd. I bit on the finish several times. When it finally came, I wasn’t ready. Dolph was about to eat the superplex/falcon arrow combo, only for Seth to get hit with the Claymore. Dolph covered and retained at 22:57. A fantastic tag match and the best of the weekend of wrestling, edging out Ishii/Omega. Great action, tense drama, and a hot crowd. [****¼]

WWE Championship: AJ Styles [c] vs. Samoa Joe
I was surprised this didn’t get the cell treatment. It’s a bitter feud with serious personal stuff going on. I thought their SummerSlam match was good, but felt it underwhelmed. People disagreed hard with me. This time around, they still didn’t quite reach the level I know they’re capable of, but it was an improvement. AJ came out firing, like you’d expect a guy to do when his family has been brought into play. Of course, no matter how mad he is, there’s no way he can match Joe in a fight. Joe beat the hell out of him. It forced AJ to fight from behind, which is when he’s at his best (it’s why he was able to get something good out of Jinder last year). He rallied and it set up a great closing stretch. Joe countered the Phenomenal Forearm into the Coquina Clutch. AJ rolled over into a pin and got the three at 19:06. BUT WAIT! Replays showed AJ tapped just before the count of three. The referee didn’t see this until later, so the decision stood. With a better finish, this would’ve cracked four stars. I get that they have another match set up, but this has been a huge issue with AJ programs. Whether it’s Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, or Joe, he gets super long rivalries that give us underwhelming matches and are riddled with non-finishes. Yet, put him in a different situation (Jinder, Rusev, etc.) and he produces something great. [***¾]

Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan vs. Maryse and The Miz
Last month, Miz and Bryan had one of my favorite matches of the year. It told a fantastic story. Here, they added their wives to the mix. I saw some of the women’s wrestling fans on Twitter losing their minds that these women were on the show, while Sasha, Bayley, etc. weren’t. Sigh. This is great storytelling. It continues Miz/Bryan without giving us another singles match yet. Miz and Maryse played their roles perfectly. Maryse avoided Brie at all costs, while Miz seemed more confident to battle Bryan after winning. When Brie and Maryse got in, things did dip in quality. That’s fair as neither have wrestled much lately and Maryse was never great. She ran in slow motion and all her spots looked sloppy. Especially the ending, which saw her do a terrible rollup to steal it at 12:58. Good fun. Even the Brie/Maryse stuff was kept short enough and had a strong enough reaction from the crowd to make it work. [***]

WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Ronda Rousey [c] w/ Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss w/ Alicia Fox and Mickie James
A match between these two shouldn’t last long. At SummerSlam, Ronda wrecked Alexa in a completely dominant performance. The storyline leading up to this saw Ronda with bad ribs. That and the interference from Bliss’ buddies made for a more playing field. It gave us an opposite to their SummerSlam match, which I appreciated. Each time Ronda got going, either her ribs came into play or Alexa had help ready. She came in with a plan. Her character work continues to be awesome and that’s why she’s in the position she’s in, people. Ronda eventually got going, fired up, and won with the armbar in 12:02. I liked how this gave us a different taste of Ronda. Like her match with Nia Jax, this showcased the selling side of the game, which she’s learned well. It still did feel a bit long, though. [***]

WWE Universal Championship Hell in a Cell: Roman Reigns [c] vs. Braun Strowman
Mick Foley was the guest referee. These two had some seriously strong matches last year, but this was their first encounter inside the cell. They brought the physicality that made those matches work to this one. It was a war, but in a much different way from the Orton/Hardy cell. Braun just abused Roman. It reminded me of Brock/Roman at WM 31, but on a lesser scale. Of course, Roman survived it all, though I did bite on a powerslam near fall. They went the route of the wacky overbooking when McIntyre, Ziggler, Rollins, and Ambrose showed up. It was an Attitude Era style main event, though I’ve never liked a bunch of interference in a cage style match. It defeats the purpose. To end things on a sour note, Brock Lesnar returned and beat up everyone for a lame ass no contest finish around 24:15. This was on its way to being something very good, but the big stuff in the end didn’t work for me. Plus, I have no interest in Brock anymore. [**¾]

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

One of, if not, the best main roster PPV of the year. Everything worked. The worst match was legitimately the main event to me and that still got a solid **¾ rating. The crowd was great throughout, everyone had their working boots on, and for a lengthy show, it mostly flies by. A blast.