WWE Hell In A Cell Kickoff Show
1. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Hype Bros. - A throwaway match, as kickoff show matches are, but quite good for a throwaway match. The crowd was energetic, they were invested in what the wrestlers were doing in all four of them worked hard to put on a fun 10.5 minute tag team match. Benjamin scores the win for his team via the powerbomb/clothesline finisher he does with Gable. ***
WWE Hell In A Cell Main Card
1. WWE SD Tag Team Championship Hell in a Cell Match - This was nothing short of fantastic and from an overall quality perspective has to rank among the top Cell matches in history. These two teams have been tearing it up with show stealing matches for the past few months but I don't see how they can top this as it was a legit match of the year contender. The spots felt fresh and this match also came off as a lot more violent than what we're used to seeing in WWE. They were able to make you "believe" that they wanted to hurt each other without having to go overboard, or really even using, dangerous spots. Personally, I loved all the kendo stick shots as that loud slapping sound really helps you to suspend disbelief that they're beating the shit out of each other. They told a great story with both teams showing that they were willing to go all out and I was especially surprised that New Day was showing such a vicious side. The match was packed with believable near falls and they kept everything at a fresh, energetic. My only complaint is that the Usos regained the titles, I'm just not a fan of rapid fire title changes and WWE has done a lot of that with several of their titles this year, though one reason why this irks me is because you can't fathom how they're going to top this. At any rate, I can't fault New Day or the Usos for that, it's not their call, they just went out there and delivered a classic match that made great use of the HIAC concept that didn't have to resort to anything crazy. ****3/4
2. Randy Orton vs. Rusev - Maybe it was some residual high from the HIAC bout that had something to do with it but I enjoyed this match. I wasn't at all invested or interested in the program leading up to it, but I thought the two of them did a good job to put on a good match. I was expecting the crowd to be flat for this as it was following one hell of an opening effort from the Usos and New Day, but the fans were into it and both guys did work hard. As expected, Orton pops up with an RKO a little before the 12 minute mark for the win. I get the feeling more and more that Rusev may be on his way out, he's just cooled off to such a degree that I have this sense of impending doom concerning him. **3/4
3. WWE United States Championship: AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger - An entertaining threeway dance, though part of me would've preferred that they kept it a 1 on 1 bout as I just don't see anything special about Tye Dillinger. However, the part of me that was glad Dillinger was in the match was because he was the one who ultimately took the fall rather than Styles. The match was a little slow at times, mostly around the middle as there were several minutes where Corbin was just slowly walking around delivering punches or forearm shots but things did eventually pick back up and energy was pumped back into it. One thing I liked about this is that there was a distinct lack of finishers being used. Sure, some were attempted but the only thing that really counted was Styles getting Dillinger in the Calve Crusher, though you knew he'd get out of it. The end came about the 19.5 minute mark, I figured this match would go 14 minutes tops, when Styles hits Dillinger with the Phenomenal Forearm but before he can make the cover, Corbin pops up out of nowhere and kicks Styles through the ropes, makes the cover and becomes the new United States Champion. I would've liked to have seen Styles retain so we could go onto have a proper return for the US Open Challenge, but Corbin winning doesn't bother me as I think he's in a spot that he's genuinely more cut out for rather than the main event. ***1/2
4. WWE SD Women's Championship: Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair - I had some mixed feelings on this one. I enjoyed the slower pace here personally, I just sorta dug that Nattie spent so much time working on Charlotte's knee and I thought Charlotte did a really nice job of selling it throughout the match. The crowd was pretty flat here, though I expected that as the previous three matches on the main card, well the tag team match on the kickoff show as well, had a much brisker pace than this one. I did like the story that was told as Graves kept emphasizing that this wasn't the Charlotte of old, she didn't have the focus or the ruthlessness that'd defined her whereas Nattie seemed to have stepped up. The ending to the match was pretty weak as, after Charlotte hit a nice looking moonsault from the top onto Nattie outside on the floor, Nattie grabs a chair and starts to work over Charlotte's knee, leading to a DQ. Given the DQ finish, you have to suspect that this ultimately ends with Charlotte regaining the title. **1/2
5. WWE Championship - Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - The low point of the night, in my opinion, as this match just had so little going for it. Jinder continues to be one of the dullest, most one dimensional in-ring workers in WWE and continues to demonstrate a complete lack of ability warranted to be WWE Champion. As for Nakamura, I like the guy but don't get me wrong, I've never seen him as the end all/be all game changer than dirt sheet writers claim him to be. I've seen a lot of his New Japan matches via YouTube and while they're good, I haven't seen the greatness Dave Meltzer proclaims while in basking if the afterglow of jerking off to Nakamura's matches. Still, it's painful to watch Nakamura slow himself down so much in order to compensate for such a painfully less skilled opponent. The biggest moment of the match was when the fans popped for the Singh Brothers being thrown out by the ref. Nakamura hits the Kinshasa but the ref is busy making sure the bros. are leaving, so Jinder has time to recover. The end comes about the 12 minute mark when Jinder sidesteps Nakamura, Nakamura crashes into the corner, Jinder hits the Khallas, or however the hell you spell it, for the win. I fully expected Jinder to remain as there's just so little chance of him dropping the title until WWE's tour of India is finished so my guess is that Jinder is champion until, at least, the Royal Rumble. *1/4
6. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler - I thought these two worked a fun match, though the crowd was completely flat as the wind has been taken out of their sails, as I figured it would be, from Jinder Mahal retaining the WWE Championship with the reign that just don't die. Roode is so much better as a heel, it's just so much easier for his personality to shine through and I kept thinking that his role with Ziggler should've been reversed in some ways. I don't mean Roode should've been doing this thing Ziggler's been doing the past month or so, but that Roode should be this cocky heel who loves displaying how superior he is while Dolph is the stalwart babyface. The match started off kinda slow but it picked up nicely and the fans did come alive for the second half. The ending comes via a series of reversed O'Connor Rolls, one in which Ziggler tries to use the tights only for Roode to reverse the move, pull the tights himself and score the win at the 11.5 minute mark. Ziggler immediately pops up to hit the Zig Zag as he leaves dejectedly. Maybe they can put some heat on this feud since it's not a one off as I was expecting. **3/4
7. Hell In A Cell: Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens - There were some things here that gave me some mixed feelings. It wasn't the ceaseless stunt show I was expecting, which was a good thing, and they had a lot of great drama and storytelling. My biggest complaint was I thought the match went a little too long and they tried to make Shane look too strong. Shane, in my opinion, shouldn't have come out of this match looking as strong as he did and this has always been my complaint about putting him in matches every so often. Shane was never a real wrestler, he was always a novelty, a memorable novelty, but a novelty all the same and it just doesn't sit right with me to have someone like Owens, who spent over 6 months as a World Champion, is a 3 time US Champion and 2 time Intercontinental Champion have to struggle so hard to overcome someone that's wrestled a total of maybe 20 televised matches since he was in his mid 20s. Aside from that, however, the match was a helluva lot of fun; it wasn't on the level of the Usos and New Day, but it was a great match where both men really worked hard. I especially liked all the stuff on top of the Cell as you genuinely got this feeling that people were holding their breath, that they were waiting with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that someone was getting tossed off the cell or that a section of the Cell roof was going to collapse at any second. Prior to that, Owens did a great job of teasing leaping off the Cell onto a prone Shane McMahon, it was quite easy to believe in his hesitation, which ultimately led to Shane climbing up so they could fight on top, because it had to be scary. I'm glad Owens didn't jump off and while that might've gotten some boos, I don't need to see a guy almost kill himself just so people can do their fucking "this is awesome" and "holy shit" chants. As they were fighting while climbing down from the Cell, Owens still took a great looking bump through the Spanish announce table; it wasn't as spectacular as what would follow or as spectacular as a frog splash from the top of the cage would've looked, but it worked just fine. As I said, I don't need to see someone almost die just so I can get my jollies. Instead of going for the pin, Shane climbs back up to deliver his flying elbow; he'd left a prone Kevin Owens lying atop one of the other announce tables and leaps off. As he leaps off, Sami Zayn appears out of nowhere, pulls Owens off the table and Shane crashes through it. Both guys are selling as though they're half dead, which is extremely easy to suspend disbelief for, and as they're about to load Shane onto a stretcher, Sami Zayn pushes them out of the way and drags a prone Kevin Owens onto Shane before pushing the referee down to his knees to count, which he reluctantly does, and Owens picks up the win a bit past the 38 minute mark. ****1/4
Final Thoughts - Hell in a Cell was a newsworthy show that had some highs and lows. The two Cell matches delivered in a huge way; the tag title Cell match is a strong MOTY contender in my eyes as New Day and the Usos worked their asses off to deliver a quality match that has to be among the top 3 Cell matches of all time. Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens also worked extremely hard to put on a very fun outing with lots of drama and though I didn't think Shane should've looked so strong against Owens, the overall spectacle, drama and work the men put into it can't be overlooked. Orton vs. Rusev was a solid outing, much more so than I expected, while the United States Championship match was a very fun threeway dance that saw a new champion crowned. I enjoyed the SD Women's Championship match as I enjoyed the more technical change of pace, the ending left something to be desired but I still enjoyed it. The WWE Championship match was another opportunity to show how mediocre Jinder Mahal is. There was no heat to the match, no drama and Mahal retained over a much more over and skilled opponent. Mahal is going to remain champion for the rest of 2017, we might as well resign ourselves to it as that's what Vince wants. Roode vs. Ziggler was a good match, though the crowd was flat due to the disappointment of Jinder retaining the title against Nakamura. What people will be and are talking about are the two Cell matches, the US Championship match and the apparent heel turn of Sami Zayn. Hell in a Cell, overall, was a fun show that started out very strong, dipped in the middle and recovered at the end.
Grade: B
