WWE Hell in a Cell 2016

WWE Hell in a Cell 2016

Boston, Massachusetts - October 2016

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Kevin Owens is the reigning WWE Universal Champion while Roman Reigns holds the United States Championship. The New Day are still your WWE World Tag Team Champions, TJ Perkins is the WWE Cruiserweight Champion, and Sasha Banks holds the RAW Womens' Championship.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton

Hell in a Cell 2016 kicked off with the first of three cell matches - Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for Reigns' United States Championship match. Relatively slow-paced and full of weapons, Rusev and Reigns delivered a pretty good hardcore match - but a Hell in a Cell? Not really. As would be the problem for the two cell matches that followed, the lack of blood put on a ceiling on the drama and I'm just not really a fan of matches built around steel steps spots. Rusev busted out a kendo stick at one point, striking Reigns right across his chest protector in one of the more silly sequences. There was at least one great sequence of wrestling leading up to a Superman Punch and Rusev's chain-assisted Accolade made for a great visual, but this match was less interesting than the pull-apart brawl they had at SummerSlam. (3/5)

Bayley took on Dana Brooke next. This match was ripped to shreds by many, but I didn't find it too distasteful. Dana Brooke is a face tattoo away from being Luna Vachon. Very deliberate, highly choreographed work. Clean finishes are a good thing and this one didn't overstay its welcome, but that's about the best that can be said about it. (1.5/5)

Commercials galore.

Jericho is backstage with Mick Foley and Stephanie for a filler segment.

The action continues with Enzo and Cass taking on Gallows and Anderson. The more abstract and weird that Enzo gets with his pre-match schtick, the more I appreciate him. Speaking of Enzo, his offense looked noticeably better here than in recent months and it should be fun to see him tangle with the similar-sized members of the New Day (as you'd have to believe that feud is coming sooner than later considering they're the only two tag teams on RAW that are remotely over). Gallows and Anderson may have been "big in Japan," but in America, they are irrelevant and dull. Another ho-hum match that was thankfully kept short and ended clean. (1.5/5)

We're back in the Cell for the WWE Universal Championship match - Kevin Owens defending against Seth Rollins. You know a show isn't very good when you don't get your first great spot of the night until 90 minutes in and you've already had a Hell in a Cell match. Stiff, action-packed, with good character work, but a lack of selling took me out of the first half, particularly one sequence where both Owens and Rollins were landing great-looking superkicks but treating them like Duane Gill chest chops. Rollins hit an impressive suplex on the apron before we got some much-needed shenanigans in the form of a fire extinguisher and the arrival of Owens' best friend, Chris Jericho. I really enjoyed Y2J's involvement, his presence taking this Hell in a Cell match somewhere relatively fresh. Despite being at a 2-on-1 disadvantage, Rollins connected with an incredible powerbomb on Owens through two tables leading to an Eddie homage frogsplash and a big near fall. I didn't particularly like the finisher kickout that followed, but the vicious chairshots that Rollins suffered definitely worked. A very good match that probably could've been considered great if it had been slowed down and significant moves were treated as significant. Instead, the "go-go-go" of this match worked against it as almost nothing these two did registered as effective. (3.5/5)

Brian Kendrick challenged TJ Perkins for his Cruiserweight Championship next. The crowd could not have cared less about this and, while I'm an admitted Kendrick mark, I was equally bored by this one. Where are Perkins' signature moves? His Detonation Kick is sweet, but aside from that, I'm not sold on him being a fresh and exciting performer. Even on the main roster, we've seen better high-flying out of Kalisto and Neville. Kendrick hit a nifty belly-to-back into a cradle at one point too. Dull start to the match leading to a finish that was too derivative to fool anyone in the crowd. (1/5)

The New Day defended their WWE World Tag Team Championships against Sheamus and Cesaro in the next contest. Considering the amount of experience in the ring, I was surprised how sloppy this one started, Cesaro and Woods not grooving as well together as one might've expected.  A decent enough schmoz finish wrapped up a match that was definitely better than the first tag bout of the night but nothing worth seeking out. The New Day need new challenges that are booked as credible threats to them and, while Sheamus and Cesaro are better-than-average workers, they weren't positioned as potential usurpers nearly well enough for this match to have any real suspense. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Charlotte challenging Sasha Banks for her WWE Womens' Championship in Banks' hometown of Boston. Both women got lavish entrances after an excellent video package really set the tone for this history-making showdown. While every other cell match began with the cage already on the floor, Charlotte and Banks got into the ring when it was still hanging overhead, essentially telegraphing how this fight would begin. Banks took a huge powerbomb through an announcer's table and the match, which had not yet begun, was seemingly cancelled on the spot. While it was obvious the match wouldn't end this way, credit must be given to Banks and Charlotte - lesser actors would've bungled the story, but Banks' tears seemed real and Charlotte's grating, obnoxious celebrating made it impossible not to want to see her get her ass kicked. Once the match started back up, the two women proceeded to put on the match of the night and one of the best matches of the year. Nothing that the men had done in their cell matches seemed original, while this one featured a variety of fresh spots, partially because Banks and Charlotte have the speed and agility of cruiserweights and, as far as I can recall, we've never seen two out-and-out cruisers in a cell match. Hence, we saw monkey flips into the cage wall, huge crossbodies, and double knees that were delivered with more intensity than anything the men did. Unlike Rusev and Reigns, whose use of weapons seemed perfunctory, Charlotte utilized chairs and tables to target Banks' injured back, at one point sending her through a chair with a spinning sidewalk slam. In return, Sasha had her best babyface performance yet - trying her best to outwrestle Charlotte throughout but not being afraid to get violent (the double knees in the corner onto a chair was a particularly kickass moment). As the match winded down, the drama increased, Flair eventually ramming Banks' head into the corner of the steps in a rapid motion that looked like it should've opened her up hardway. What appeared to be a botched table spot on the outside eventually sequenced into Charlotte locking in the Figure 8, but Sasha would not quit, bashing the hell out of Flair with a chair. This led to a riveting and emotional forearm-trading stretch in which Charlotte's demands of "Respect Me!" seemed like they came from deep inside her soul, her character's true motivation beyond just holding the WWE Womens' Championship finally coming to light. Sasha tried valiantly to hoist Charlotte up for a powerbomb through a table, but ultimately fell short, the toll of the match making it impossible for her to seal the deal. The actual finish was abrupt and underwhelming, an unfortunately anti-climactic ending to a match that delivered some tremendous violence, remarkable character work out of both performers, and an emotional weight that neither of the previous cell matches even bothered to attempt. A stronger ending would've thrust this even higher on my rating scale, but expect to see this one on my Year End's list. (4/5)


With only one match worth seeking out, Hell in a Cell 2016 (and its 2.43-out-of-5 Kwang score) was a below-average show that no one will ever want to revisit. While the main event was a must-see affair, Rusev/Reigns and Owens/Rollins were the kind of instantly forgettable matches that have thoroughly deflated the entire concept of the Hell in a Cell as a gimmick match. Now, its been many a year since what was once the most violent stipulation match in the WWE lost its defining quality, but one can still criticize the WWE for shoehorning this event (and its guarantee of not just one cell match, but multiple cell matches) into its yearly schedule instead of actually letting the need for a cell organically rear its head in a storyline.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuever