RATING LEVELS:
Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible
Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety
Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings
High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches
DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch
Going into tonight's opening contest, I was fully expecting to see a bit of a swerve - but nothing like the one we got. John Cena arrived first, laying down the gauntlet of his United States Championship Open Challenge. Zeb Colter then rode out and introduced Cena's challenger - the one and only Alberto Del Rio, returning after many a moon wrestling mostly south of the border. The commentators put ADR over big time, bringing up his huge 2011 Royal Rumble victory and subsequent title win over Cena later that summer. The in-ring action wasn't too bad, but it wasn't too incredible either, with neither guy busting out anything incredibly special. What hurt things more than the somewhat middle-of-the-road sequences was the fact that much of the match was built around Del Rio attacking Cena's hamstring, which makes for a bit of a disconnect when El Patron's finisher is an arm submission. Despite it being a bit anti-climactic, I did like the "out-of-nowhere" ending - it establishes Del Rio's kick-to-the-head as a legit game-ender and started off the night on the right foot by not laboriously going through finisher after finisher. Still, compared to the battles Cena has fought throughout the course of this year, this was not up to par. (2.5/5)
WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 - October 2015
Los Angeles, California
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Seth Rollins was the recognized WWE World Champion, John Cena was the United States Champion, Kevin Owens was the Intercontinental Championship, and Charlotte was the Divas Champion. The reigning Tag Team Champions were The New Day.
COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, JBL, and Jerry "The King" Lawler
The Cell was lowered and Hell was delivered in the next match, Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns. The crowd seemed fairly apprehensive about getting behind Roman here, but as the match wore on, he earned their respect, taking the first major bump of the match by getting chokeslammed through a table onto the arena floor. Not to be outdone, Wyatt got powerbombed through a table in the ring and, in the match's final big spot, took a spear into the corner, through a table on the outside. I liked Wyatt's character work here too - especially when he started hanging weapons off the cell, which made for a great visual and really meshed with his character being not dissimilar the creepy sadists that "Hotch" and his crew hunts down on Criminal Minds. What didn't I enjoy? Like their match at Battleground, this match ebbed and flowed a bit too much for me, featuring lengthy gaps of non-action breaking up select moments when the intensity and carnage shined. I do think this match was an improvement, though, as we didn't have to watch Wyatt and Reigns fill up that empty time with their WWE2K16 taunts. Quality false finishes at the tail end, but I don't see myself dying to rewatch this one anytime soon. (3/5)
The WWE Tag Team Championships were on the line next with The New Day (sans Xavier Woods) defending the straps against The Dudley Boys. To me, this match sadly symbolizes the end of the WWE's "fixed" tag team division - doubly sad because The New Day might be the best team to come from the division's rebirth in 2013/2014. Unfortunately, injuries led to the demise of The Usos, Cesaro/Kidd, and Rowan & Harper. The Prime Time Players and "The Dust Brothers" had their moments too and who could forget The Miz and Mizdow? Unfortunately, in their place, we have The Dudley Boys and....no one else worth mentioning. While this match wasn't "bad" (if you want to see bad tag team action, check out Harlem Heat's work in 95'-96' WCW), it definitely pales in comparison to what the aforementioned teams were doing at the birth of the Network Era. There were some noticeable hiccups here and the finish was about as convoluted as they come. Plus, without Xavier around, the live crowd seemed a tad less engaged with the act than usual (unsurprisingly). Here's hoping this match is the final straw of this feud. I have no idea what the Dudleys do next and, no matter how many people tell me how great Bubba Ray was in TNA, I don't particular care to see him get that big singles run over any number of younger, fresher talents. Here's hoping the WWE bring up one of the better teams from NXT sooner than later. (2/5)
Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte for Charlotte's Divas Championship was next, a continuation of their long-simmering feud. I enjoyed their last match a good deal as it really showcased Nikki Bella, but this one was even better, possibly because it was a bit more even. There were several excellent sequences, including a vicious Alabama Slam into the apron, a Bronco Buster-to-the-lower-back in the corner, and some vicious forearms and slaps - and that was just Nikki's offense! Charlotte shined in her remarkable reversals, many of which showed incredible agility. Whoever laid out this match did a terrific job, too, as they really built suspense in the last minutes after a rapid succession of innovative and fresh maneuevers. People nitpicking the way Nikki grabbed the ropes when she had Charlotte's figure four reversed are forgetting that there is more than one way to peel an orange and that not every figure four reversal needs to utilize the tired trope that Charlotte's old man used twenty years ago. What doesn't make sense about Nikki wanting to break the hold after working on Charlotte's lower back for most of the match? Without a doubt, the best match of the night up to this point. (3.5/5)
The WWE World Championship was on the line in the 5th contest, a spot that one typically doesn't see World Championship matches. Champion Seth Rollins spent the first few minutes of the match getting destroyed by the demon Kane, bumping big time for the monster. I really enjoyed Kane's Extreme Rules match with Daniel Bryan from 2014, but that one had the benefit of a heavy, borderline cartoonish use of weapons and machinery. This was a straight-up "Attitude Era style" wrestling match with a table not getting introduced until considerably late in the game (and for a questionable, imperfectly-executed spot). Having such a technically-proficient, but not necessarily "brutal" match didn't make a ton of sense to me, but that's not to say this one didn't have its moments (Rollins' frogsplash and the "Eddie" chant that followed being a particularly cool one). (3/5)
The ho-hum continued with the next content, a fairly cold Kevin Owens vs. Ryback match for Owens' Intercontinental Championship. While I liked their match at last month's Night of Champions show more than most, this one was noticeably less exciting, burdened with positioning on a card that did it few favors. While I wouldn't qualify this one as a complete dud, the lack of crowd engagement really kept it from leaving much of an impression aside from a few impressive feats of strength from both competitors. (2/5)
Main event time - The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell. This match delivered everything one could have wanted: stiff shots left and right, weaponry, visits to Suplex City, and more blood than the WWE Universe has seen in at least a couple years. Unlike Wyatt/Reigns, Taker and Lesnar went full throttle from the very start to the bitter end. Unlike every other match on the show, the crowd really cared too, split fairly evenly between Lesnar supporters and "Creatures of the Night" as they were once called. Whether it was a blade job or not, Lesnar's head was split wide open and the involvement of the medics from then on added extra realism to the contest. The not-always-pretty (arguably sloppy and dangerous) use of a steel chair and some stiff ground-and-pound work out of Lesnar (when escaping Taker's triangle choke) nudged this one even closer to "old school Roman coliseum" level of bloodsport. The final third was spectacular, in no small part due to the originality of Lesnar literally ripping the ring open to try to drive the Deadman to hell once and for all and the match culminating in a circle-closing nod to the finale of Battleground. Of the three bouts these two have had over the past two years, this might have been the best one. (4/5)
I'm going to be a bit kind here and not take away any points for the post-match shenanigans. Had we not already seen the Phenom vanquish the New Face of Fear 7 months ago, it would have been an amazing capper to the show…but we did see Taker/Wyatt and it wasn't so good that I was demanding a second helping. To make matters worse, with JBL heaping tons and tons of praise and respect onto the Undertaker throughout the match, the fact that he didn't step up to help out the man who he literally called "The Greatest Of All Time," was noticeable. I am not the least bit excited about where this storyline is going. Hopefully, the WWE has learned that hot-shorting programs out of desperation, like they did with Undertaker and Wyatt last spring, exhausts the audience on what would otherwise be an intriguing rivalry.
With an overall rating of 2.86-out-of-5, Hell in a Cell was exactly what most fans predicted it would be - a show that didn't underperform, but certainly didn't overperform either. I found the pacing of the show to be better than most of the Network Events, with Creative wisely bookending the show with its two hottest, most over matches (Cena's US Open and Brock/Taker). I liked that Wyatt/Reigns were given plenty of time, but wish they would've done more with it. New Day/Dudleys and Ryback/Owens were absolute filler, proof that these feuds have run their course and that everyone involved needs a new dance partner. Charlotte/Nikki was easily my second favorite match on the card and I'm proud that, many, many months after I jumped on the Nikki Bella Bandwagon, more and more critics and fans are beginning to recognize that saying Nikki Bella has "improved" is not good enough - she's gone from averaging an F to averaging a B and I'm not sure any female wrestler since Trish Stratus has seen that much growth while simultaneously positioned as the cornerstone of the division. If the Creative team had been smart enough to firmly establish her as a heel and the agents had worked harder with her to cement that heel persona in-ring, she would be even more over - but considering that Nikki Bella spent most of the year in character limbo, playing a "tweener," we'll never really know what her ceiling was. All in all, not a bad wrestling show, but one that doesn't leave me thrilled about what's coming down the pike. The faster we move to the Royal Rumble, the better.
FINAL RATING - Watch It…With Remote in Hand
The ho-hum continued with the next content, a fairly cold Kevin Owens vs. Ryback match for Owens' Intercontinental Championship. While I liked their match at last month's Night of Champions show more than most, this one was noticeably less exciting, burdened with positioning on a card that did it few favors. While I wouldn't qualify this one as a complete dud, the lack of crowd engagement really kept it from leaving much of an impression aside from a few impressive feats of strength from both competitors. (2/5)
Main event time - The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell. This match delivered everything one could have wanted: stiff shots left and right, weaponry, visits to Suplex City, and more blood than the WWE Universe has seen in at least a couple years. Unlike Wyatt/Reigns, Taker and Lesnar went full throttle from the very start to the bitter end. Unlike every other match on the show, the crowd really cared too, split fairly evenly between Lesnar supporters and "Creatures of the Night" as they were once called. Whether it was a blade job or not, Lesnar's head was split wide open and the involvement of the medics from then on added extra realism to the contest. The not-always-pretty (arguably sloppy and dangerous) use of a steel chair and some stiff ground-and-pound work out of Lesnar (when escaping Taker's triangle choke) nudged this one even closer to "old school Roman coliseum" level of bloodsport. The final third was spectacular, in no small part due to the originality of Lesnar literally ripping the ring open to try to drive the Deadman to hell once and for all and the match culminating in a circle-closing nod to the finale of Battleground. Of the three bouts these two have had over the past two years, this might have been the best one. (4/5)
I'm going to be a bit kind here and not take away any points for the post-match shenanigans. Had we not already seen the Phenom vanquish the New Face of Fear 7 months ago, it would have been an amazing capper to the show…but we did see Taker/Wyatt and it wasn't so good that I was demanding a second helping. To make matters worse, with JBL heaping tons and tons of praise and respect onto the Undertaker throughout the match, the fact that he didn't step up to help out the man who he literally called "The Greatest Of All Time," was noticeable. I am not the least bit excited about where this storyline is going. Hopefully, the WWE has learned that hot-shorting programs out of desperation, like they did with Undertaker and Wyatt last spring, exhausts the audience on what would otherwise be an intriguing rivalry.
With an overall rating of 2.86-out-of-5, Hell in a Cell was exactly what most fans predicted it would be - a show that didn't underperform, but certainly didn't overperform either. I found the pacing of the show to be better than most of the Network Events, with Creative wisely bookending the show with its two hottest, most over matches (Cena's US Open and Brock/Taker). I liked that Wyatt/Reigns were given plenty of time, but wish they would've done more with it. New Day/Dudleys and Ryback/Owens were absolute filler, proof that these feuds have run their course and that everyone involved needs a new dance partner. Charlotte/Nikki was easily my second favorite match on the card and I'm proud that, many, many months after I jumped on the Nikki Bella Bandwagon, more and more critics and fans are beginning to recognize that saying Nikki Bella has "improved" is not good enough - she's gone from averaging an F to averaging a B and I'm not sure any female wrestler since Trish Stratus has seen that much growth while simultaneously positioned as the cornerstone of the division. If the Creative team had been smart enough to firmly establish her as a heel and the agents had worked harder with her to cement that heel persona in-ring, she would be even more over - but considering that Nikki Bella spent most of the year in character limbo, playing a "tweener," we'll never really know what her ceiling was. All in all, not a bad wrestling show, but one that doesn't leave me thrilled about what's coming down the pike. The faster we move to the Royal Rumble, the better.
FINAL RATING - Watch It…With Remote in Hand
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