WWE Hell in a Cell took place on Sunday 25th October at the WWE Thunderdome in Orlando, Florida. There are 7 matches on the card, including 3 Hell in a Cell matches; so, let's take a look.
The match on the Kick Off Show was R-Truth defended his 24/7 Championship against Drew Gulak (if you care about that). After Gulak fucks with R-Truth regarding Little Jimmy (which is still a thing after what, 8 years?), R-Truth manages to roll up Gulak to get the win. I struggled to get into this match but thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes.
Winner: R-Truth (N/A)
The first match on the show is Jey Uso challenging Roman Reigns to a I Quit Hell in a Cell Match. Jey gets the upper hand for a little bit but Reigns manages to hit a Spear to get back the advantage. After a while, Jey is practically unconscious but he doesn't quit. This resorts in Reigns using more brutal methods to force the words out of him. After hitting Jey with the steel steps, the referee decides to end the match. However, Reigns stops him from doing so and throws him out of the ring. Various officials and referees come into the cell to try and stop him but it takes Jimmy Uso running in to stop Reigns from hitting Hey with the steel steps. Reigns then puts Jimmy in a Guillotine Choke. Jey eventually recovers and says "I Quit" to save his brother from further injury.
This was an interesting match to watch. The chance to a slow pace at the end was a surprise but it was used effectively to show Reigns being initially remorseful in his actions only to take advantage of the Uso's love for him and each other to get the win. I was worried for a minute that it might be used to start a face turn for Reigns. Thankfully, it was used instead to cement Reigns as the number 1 heel on Smackdown.
Winner: Roman Reigns (1 for 1)
The next match is Jeff Hardy taking on Elias. After a short back and forth affair, Elias goes to the outside and grabs his guitar. However, Hardy grabs it off him and hits him with it, getting disqualified in the process. The match was ok but I thought that the ending didn't quite make sense.
Winner: Elias (2 for 2)
The next match is for possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase as Otis takes on Hollywood Miz. Miz struggles with Otis before he gets some help from John Morrison to get the advantage. Despite a brief comeback by Otis, helped by referee Jessika Carr sending John Morrison to the back; Miz gets some unexpected help when Tucker hits Otis with the briefcase. Miz then pins Otis to get the win. This was quite a fun match and I was quite surprised when Tucker betrayed Otis. I'm a big fan of The Miz so I'm looking forward to him cashing in and becoming a World Champion once again.
Winner: The Miz (3 for 3)
We now get our second Hell in a Cell match as Sasha Banks challenges Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Sasha doesn't fuck around and gets rid of the steel chair that Bayley has been using to injure people while the cell is being lowered. During the match, they use
tables, kendo sticks, a fire extinguisher and steel chairs against each other. In the end, Sasha applies the Bank Statement while Bayley's head is through a chair to get the win by submission. I thought this was a really enjoyable match between them and I can't wait to see how Sasha's reign goes.
Winner: Sasha Banks (4 for 4)
Next is Bobby Lashley taking on Shane Throne Slapjack in an impromptu United States Championship match. After a few minutes, Lashley gets Slapjack to submit to the Hurt Lock to get the win. The rest of Retribution come in to attack Lashley but The Hurt Business arrive to make the save. The match was ok and this is the first time that I've seen any members of Retribution wrestle. I can see why they have received a huge amount of negative criticism. Nothing against the people involved but this could have been an opportunity to do another version of Nexus. Instead, we get whatever this is. I feel that WWE never gave them a chance and they need to retool it or disband the group.
Winner: Bobby Lashley (N/A)
The main event is our third Hell in a Cell match as Randy Orton challenges Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. Orton, I assume inspired by the Hitman games, tries to attack McIntyre during his entrance while disguised as a member of the crew. However, McIntyre is ready for him and they attack on the outside of the cell before McIntyre throws him inside and the match starts. McIntyre goes for the Claymore early on but Orton stops that by using a steel chair. The match goes back and forth before Orton uses bolt cutters to leave the cell and is followed by McIntyre. They then decide to fight at the top of the cell, which turns out to be a bad idea as Orton sends McIntyre from the side of the cell through the announce table. McIntyre somehow recovers and hits a Claymore. However, it was not enough as Orton avoids a second Claymore and hits a RKO to get the win. I thought the match was pretty good but, spoiler alert, McIntyre wins it back a few weeks later. Therefore, I didn't see the point of giving Orton the belt only for him to lose it before Survivor Series.
Winner: Randy Orton (4 for 5)
I quite liked Hell in a Cell. I don't find them as enjoyable as the NXT TakeOvers but they seem to be doing pretty well recently. Let's see how it goes.
