Last year’s Hell In A Cell was… kind of a mess not going to lie. The card this year has some potentially awesome matches, and the cell tends to bring some great matches. I’ll be writing this as the matches happen so let’s see how Hell In A Cell turns out!
The New Day (Champs) vs. Rusev Day – Smackdown Tag Team Championships
I’m so grateful that WWE didn’t go through with splitting up Rusev Day (for now) because it gave us this great tag match! It’s an absolute crime that these two teams were put on the pre-show. They’re some of the most popular wrestlers on the roster! Unsurprisingly these two teams put on a great match. The highlight for me was whenever Aiden English tried to put Kofi in the Accolade (Rusev’s signature) and Rusev matchka kicked Big E. New Day ended up winning but honestly both teams were great so I can’t complain too much. When’s Rusev gonna win gold though?!? The New Day retains via pinfall 8.5/10.
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton – Hell In A Cell Match
How has Jeff Hardy not fought in a Hell In A Cell Match before!? It’s right up his alley! This was an excellent choice for the starting match Randy was dastardly attacking Jeff with chairs, ladders (the inverted one was delightful) and even a screwdriver!!! I haven’t been able to watch any of the times Randy messed with Jeff’s gauges in his ears so the screwdriver tonight was unbearable. From the beginning of the match I was on edge, Jeff kept staring at the top of the cell acting(?) nervous for what was to come. You knew he was going to do SOMETHING insane, and man did he! He (of course) managed to climb to the top of the cell, swung like a gymnast and then fell face first into what was supposed to be Randy Orton. Instead he got a face full of table. This match was bloody, crazy, and dare I say… HELLacious? Great start to the show. Randy Orton wins via pinfall 9/10.
Charlotte (Champ) vs. Becky Lynch – Smackdown Women’s Championship
This feud has been great since Summerslam, the “friends told enemies” storyline never grows old they’ve always been great. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, Tomasso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano, and now Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch! Becky put in some excellent moves in this match and Charlotte Flair was her usual phenomenal self. Even though Becky was the “heel” of the match it’s clear that she’s the one everybody wanted to see come on top. There were plenty of great moments, but the ending was the highlight. Becky focused on Charlotte’s left arm, but she quickly retaliated. Just when you thought Charlotte was going to win Becky ended up flipping Charlotte and pinning her for the win! To make it even better, Becky refused to shake Charlotte’s hand at the end. Becky Lynch wins the Smackdown Women’s Championship via pinfall 8.75/10.
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre (Champs) – RAW Tag Team Championships
I love all four of these guys so I was excited for this match. Dean Ambrose has looked great since returning from injury and I’m so glad that Dolph Ziggler has gotten some big matches it’s felt like forever since he has. Rollins and Ziggler have such a versatile move set it has been so fun to watch them feud all summer long. Ambrose and McIntyre were both great as the “lunatic/psycho” of their respective teams I wouldn’t mind seeing them feud someday. There were so many near falls and spots this was another great match it’s not often we get three great fights in a row. The ending of this one was wild, Rollins was about to finish Ziggler off when McIntyre showed up out of nowhere and hit Rollins with a Claymore kick. Ziggler flopped to the ground and somehow ended up on top of Rollins essentially pinning him. If there was one complaint I had about this match it’s that it was pretty obvious Ziggler and McIntyre would win. They wouldn’t give both the tag and intercontinental titles to Rollins. Ziggler and McIntyre retain via pinfall 9/10.
AJ Styles (Champ) vs. Samoa Joe – WWE World Heavyweight Championship
I feel like this match was placed incorrectly. Number one, it’s the WWE World Heavyweight Championship it deserves to be one of the last fights. Second, we just had a crazy fight and it clearly wore the crowd out they were practically crickets here. AJ is undeniably phenomenal as he says and while Samoa Joe is an excellent heel, his style is a little too slow sometimes. There are parts of this match that dragged on which took away from the truly great parts! The end of the match was dumb though. Samoa Joe grabbed onto AJ Styles with the coquina clutch submission then Styles rolled him over and won via pinfall. Joe though got up thinking he won when in reality the ref ruled AJ the victor. Then OF COURSE, the replay showed that AJ Styles tapped before the ref counted to three. I’m A-OK with the feud continuing but I think it’s stupid that this match ended that way. AJ Styles wins via pinfall 7.25/10.
Brie Bella & Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz & Maryse
This was pretty boring. Maryse kept avoiding fights with Brie so it was mostly just Miz vs. Daniel Bryan. There wasn’t anything overly flashy or fancy about the fight either it was just all completely average. There was a moment where Brie and Daniel did simultaneous Yes Kicks to Miz and Maryse which was a nice moment but the biggest surprise came at the end. It seemed almost guaranteed that Daniel Bryan and Brie were going to win, but in a turn of events MARYSE ends up pinning Brie Bella for the win! I guess making Miz and Maryse lose to Cena and Nikki at Wrestlemania meant they got to win this time. The Miz and Maryse win via pinfall 6.5/10.
Ronda Rousey (Champ) vs. Alexa Bliss – RAW Women’s Championship
Next to Tomasso Ciampa, Alexa Bliss is probably my favorite heel in WWE she is absolutely diabolical. The entire match she went after Ronda’s ribs and talked smack the entire time. Both are just incredible athletes and while I’m ecstatic to see Ronda Rousey on WWE, I’m starting to worry that she’s getting a little stale. She is a hell of a fighter, but I feel like all her matches go the same exact way. She just ends up destroying everyone else it’s almost boring to see her matches. You just know that she’s going to end up winning in the end. I’m not sure what the future holds for Rousey, but I hope her matches stop being so one sided soon. Rousey retains via submission 7.25/10.
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman – Hell In A Cell Match for the Universal Championship
Braun and Roman had a pretty decent match inside Hell In A Cell. Both hit each other with multiple weapons, Braun turned stairs into a weapon and there were plenty of tables getting smashed. The best parts of this match though happened outside the cell! Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre came out to help Braun, but Roman’s SHIELD brothers Rollins and Ambrose quickly intervened. The four ended up on top of the cell with kendo sticks unleashing hell on each other. Ziggler and Dolph ended up climbing down and throwing each other onto announce tables. Then, I thought the match was going to continue between Roman and Braun but then the last thing I thought would ever happen… happened.
Brock Lesnar’s music hit.
BROCK LESNAR!? WHAT? He and Paul Heyman came in, maced Mick Foley who was the guest referee and literally kicked in the Hell In A Cell gate. He then smashed broken tables on both Strowman and Roman. He eventually left, but man was it insane! I thought he was going to UFC and was done with WWE stuff (for now). Who knows what’s happening next! The only blemish on this was the fact that the referee just called the match a draw at the end and didn’t let anyone finish. I understand storywise, but the last fight of the PPV should never end without a winner of some kind! The match ended in a draw 8.75/10.
Final Thoughts
This was way better than I thought it would be. The lineup of matches wasn’t the most impressive but damn were the fights good for the most part! The first three matches were the absolute best of the night, but there were some great moments for the rest of the night. For the first time in ages I’m excited to see what happens with the Universal Title so that’s definitely a win! Final Score: 8.25/10
The Magical World of Dids 