WWE Hell in a Cell 2018 Review

WWE Hell in a Cell 2018 took place on Sunday 16th September at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Summerslam was a mixed bag so will this be any better? Let's take a look.

The match on the Kick Off Show is Aiden English and Rusev challenging The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. Rusev knees Kofi Kingston to death then hits a fall away slam to give his team the advantage. Kofi hits a tornado DDT on Rusev, giving him the chance to tag in Big E. English manages to get Kofi in The Accolade. However, Kofi powers out of it a d hits Trouble in Paradise to get the win. This was a good match between the teams.
Winners: The New Day (1 for 1)

We start the show with a Hell in a Cell match between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy just...because? During the match, they use tables, ladders and chairs to beat the crap out of each other. Orton also decided to continue his attack on Harry's ear lobes with a screwdriver. In the end, Hardy tries to splash Orton through a table by hanging off the top of the cell. Unfortunately, Orton moves out of the way and he crashes through the table. Orton then pins him, despite the referee's protest to get the win. Afterwards, Hardy is taken out by paramedics. The match was ok but it didn't really need the cell. Speaking of the cell, it's been painted red and it looks stupid.
Winner: Randy Orton (2 for 2)

Next is Becky Lynch challenging Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Early on, they both try apply their finishers but they get stopped. Becky gets the advantage after kicking Charlotte off the apron. Becky focuses on the left arm and aftersome back and forth, Cahrlotte gets out of an armbar with a sit out powerbomb. In the end, Becky reverses a spear into a pin to get the win. After Charlotte tries to offer her congratulations but Becky basically goes "fuck you" and leaves. I found this match to be a slight disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the match and it was technically very good. However, Becky didn't act like a vindicative heel until after the match. Hopefully, she can have a decent title reign and further develop her character.
Winner: Becky Lynch (3 for 3)

We now get our 1st RAW match as Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose challenge Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for the RAW Tag Team Championship. A distraction by Ziggler gives the opportunity for McIntyre to club Ambrose in the back of the head. Rollins gets tagged in but Ziggler and McIntyre continue their advantage. Both teams have chances to win it but in the end, Rollins is about to hit Ziggler with a superplex/falcon arrow combo. However, McIntyre hits him with a Claymore Kick and Ziggler flops on top of Rollins to pin him and get the win. This match was amazing and (spoiler alert) the match of the night.
Winners: Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler (4 for 4)

Next is Samoa Joe challenging AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. Styles starts off hot but Joe manages to deal with it and gets the momentum by kicking Styles in mid air. Joe goes for a superplex but Styles bounces his head off the turnbuckle to start a comeback. After the match goes back and forth, Joe applies the Coquina Clutch but Styles rolls through it to pin Joe and get the win. However, the referee doesn't see Styles tapping and Joe is irate. Later on, Joe bitches to Smackdown General Manager Paige about the result and she grants a rematch to take placw at Super Show-Down in Australia. This was a good match but I hated the ending. Styles tapping out while he was pinning someone makes him look like a idiot. He's been wrestling for almost 20 years. I'm sure he can survive a submission move for 3 seconds as the referee's counting. Hopefully, in Australia we can get a clean ending.
Winner: AJ Styles (4 for 5)

We now have a match that should be interesting: Hollywood Miz and Maryse taking on Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. As expected, Miz and Bryan do the vast majority of the match. Bryan does manage to get Miz in the Yes Lock but Maryse breaks it up. Eventually, Brie gets tagged in and beats up Maryse. In the end, Maryse manages to reverse a roll up to get the pin and the win. This match was ok but the women added nothing to the match. Also, I know Maryse is probably on the same level of talent as Alicia Fox but she could have at least have done one offensive move.
Winners: The Miz and Maryse (4 for 6)

The penultimate match is Ronda Rousey defending her RAW Women's Championship against Alexa Bliss. Bliss gets a lot more offense than she did at Summerslam and she focuses on the ribs that she injured earlier in the month. Alicia Fox and Mickie James try to help Bliss out but Natalya evens the odds. Rousey manages to hit a gutwrench powerbomb to get back the momentum. Rousey then goes on to get Bliss to sumbit to the armbar and get the win. This match was pretty goog and I wished they had this match at Summerslam.
Winner: Ronda Rousey (5 for 7)

The main event is Braun Strowman's Money in the Bank cash-in as he challenges Roman Reigns in a Hell in a Cell match for the Universal Championship, with Mick Foley as the Special Guest Referee. The match goes back and forth as they use steel steps, kendo sticks, a steel chair and thge ell itself against each other. Reigns spears Strowman through a table and that is enough to take them out for the next 5-10 minutes as McIntyre and Ziggler attempt to interfere. They get stopped by Rollins and Ambrose and their brawl goes on for ages and they end up on top of the cell. Rollins and Ziggler end up falling through the announce tables from the side of the cell. Then Brock Lesnar and PAul Heyman turn up. Lesnar kicks the door in and Heyman pepper sprays Foley. Lesnar hits Strowman and Reigns with F-5s and another referee runs in and declares the match a no contest.

The match was pretty good but then it degenerated into a clusterfuck. The brawl outisde the cell went on for far too long and having not only a Hell in a Cell match, but your main event end in a no contest is unforgivable in my eyes. I guess it extends the feud but I feel that that was going to happen anyway.
Winner: No Contest (5 for 8)

I thought that Hell in a Cell was another mixed bag. Some of the matches were good but some of them had crappy endings, especially involving the WWE and Universal Championships. I hope we get a better show in Australia.