1. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the WWE United States Championship - Del Rio returning with Zeb Colter of all people was a big surprise. As Los Angeles has a strong Latino population, his return went over quite well whereas it might've gotten a lukewarm reception somewhere else. The match itself was pretty solid, though much shorter than I was expecting and Cena lost much easier than I was expecting. Del Rio scoring such a clean, decisive win in only about 8 minutes was unexpected; the match wasn't nearly what it could've been, but it was well worked and a good way to start off the show. **3/4
2. Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell match - A highly entertaining, physical bout where both guys really worked hard. The crowd was a bit flat early on in the match, but they were fully invested by the time they started using the weapons. I personally would've preferred Wyatt went over here, but I knew that was just wishful thinking as heels almost never win what's touted as a "final chapter" bout in a feud. I didn't get a sense of Reigns being a future "IT" guy, but the match was well worked, had good physicality and gave fans what they wanted. ***3/4
3. The New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz for the WWE Tag Team Championship - A pretty decent tag team bout, though it never really felt like it hit another gear. For me, the outcome of the match is what ultimately made it as I was glad to see Kofi & Big E retain the titles. The attempt of Kofi to get the Boyz disqualified by pretending that Bubba Ray whacked him with the trombone was a nice touch, when the ref didn't fall for it, I thought that the Boyz were gonna pull off the win. The cheating was kept to a minimum as the end led to Bubba being whacked in the back with the trombone while the ref's back was turned, stunning Bubba just enough for Kofi to hit Trouble in Paradise about the 8.5 minute mark for the win. **1/2
4. Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella for the WWE Divas Championship - I don't know if it's where people are just so hateful towards Nikki Bella or what, but I thought this was a great match for the Divas. Charlotte & Nikki both worked hard to put on a physical outing that told a great story and had a complete lack of interference. The live crowd definitely appreciated the effort and, like me, I think most fans are gratified to see that women's wrestling in WWE has actual, purposeful wrestling matches that're entertaining. I agree that it wasn't on par with some of the classic women's bouts we've seen in NXT, but this was still a really good bout; spew all the hate on Nikki, but it's time for people to admit that the girl's got talent. The bout went to about the 11 minute mark with Charlotte picking up the win due to Nikki tapping out to the Figure Eight. I have no idea what's going on with Paige as the whole thing has the classic telltale signs of Vince changing his mind on what to do every other day. ***1/4
5. Seth Rollins vs. Kane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship - It wasn't a classic bout, but it was a good bout that met the expectations I had. Fans were much more invested in the bout than I expected and Rollins didn't look like a frightened bitch, so I don't know why Vince insisted that he look like one during the build. Seth shined in the ring, but this match was hurt by the fact that nobody really believed that Kane would win and that I don't believe very many people wanted Kane to win. Regardless, Rollins scored the clean win about the 15 minute mark with the Pedigree, meaning that "Corporate Kane" is out of a job. ***
6. Kevin Owens vs. Ryback for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - A decent, but unremarkable bout that ultimately felt more like one of those matches where WWE just wants to get the program over with. To be fair, however, I'd bet that's the mind set with a lot of fans as well who're just wanting to see Owens move on. Nothing particularly great here, but Owens scored the win via the Pop Up Powerbomb about the 6 minute mark. **1/4
7. The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match - A strong effort from both men that saw both of them bleed. There must be double standards pertaining to WWE's policy in blading because Lesnar himself has bled at least two other times this year in high profile matches. The fans were highly, highly invested in the physical outing and it told a great, simple story of two big dogs fighting for supremacy. I'm also glad to see that Taker's obviously feeling much better and doing much better physically than he has in quite a while, I also really enjoyed the look of shock as Lesnar kicked out of the Tombstone on the exposed wooden floor of the ring. The low blow from Lesnar had enough equal parts of desperation and turn about is fair play with Taker selling the shit out of it. Lesnar hit the third F5 on Taker and I knew it was over. Lesnar scores the clean win a bit past the 18 minute mark. The post match beatdown of Taker at the hands of the Wyatt Family and JBL's indignation was a lotta fun and it definitely seems to be setting up a traditional Survivor Series bout featuring Taker, especially as WWE seemed to make such a big deal of this year's Survivor Series marking Taker's 25th anniversary. ****
Final Thoughts - I thought HIAC was a very solid show. The HIAC matches themselves delivered and there was a solid undercard all in all. I also enjoyed the fact that each of the matches on the card had definitive finishes. Del Rio returning was a big surprise, almost as big of a surprise as scoring such a fast, clean and decisive win over John Cena to become the new United States Champion. Reigns vs. Wyatt was everything I expected it to be, which is a positive. Charlotte vs. Nikki was a strong bout in my eyes and I enjoyed the level of physicality they brought to the table. Rollins vs. Kane was what I expected it to be, both men worked hard and delivered a pretty good outing with a decisive victory for Rollins. Taker vs. Lesnar was a physical, bloody HIAC bout that told a timeless story of a couple of dominant forces fighting for supremacy. I thought that the IC & tag title bouts were the weakest on the card, but at least the right guys one. I enjoyed the lack of outside interference that I was expecting to happen in several matches, I think that lack of interference helped to heighten the event overall as most of the matches on the card were blow off bouts and a decisive winner was needed.
Grade: B+
