This past Sunday, WWE hosted Hell In A Cell at the Staples Center in Los Angeles California. It had its share of violence and carnage, along with certain surprises along the way. There were chapters that closed while others opened. Now, time to get into the action.
Kickoff Match:
Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro and Neville vs. King Barrett, Rusev, and Sheamus
The show kicks off with a typical babyface vs. heel 6-man tag match. The heels gained control early in the match with a methodical pace. Ziggler and Neville took the most punishment. Cesaro led the charge to make the comeback for his team to win. There was no real buildup or story, other than the fact that Ziggler and Rusev had a feud over Lana and Summer Rae (Glad that is over). Barrett also has issues with Neville. Meanwhile, Stardust is nowhere to be found. It had plenty of action, but narratives that really need to go away.
Winners: Cesaro, Ziggler, and Neville
Grade: B-
US Championship Match (John Cena Open Challenge):
John Cena presents his open challenge for the US Title. Zeb Colter rode in on a scooter and called him a "divider". The ultimate surprise of the night came when Zeb introduced Alberto Del Rio as the crowd gave him a positive reaction. WWE hit the crowd with something they did not anticipate with the surprise return of ADR.
After being fired from WWE last year because he attacked an employee over racist remarks, Del Rio went to Lucha Underground. Some people did not expect him to ever return, or at least for a long time. Then, he returns with a bang. Cena and Del Rio sized each other up from the beginning. ADR outwrestled Cena and kept him on the ground for most of the match. The match was fairly short with Del Rio winning the title with a Backstabber followed by a kick to Cena's jaw. knocking him out for the three-count to become US Champion.
Two years ago, John Cena made his return at HIAC to defeat Del Rio to become the World Heavyweight Champion. ADR returns the favor in the same fashion on Sunday night. I guess turnabout is fair play.
Great to see that WWE realized the error that they made in firing him so that they could make things right.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Grade: B+
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt:
This was the first match inside of the Cell. Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt circle each other like caged animals. Roman charged in and punished Bray with right hands. Wyatt answered with a Kendo Stick to the face before beating Reigns multiple times with it. Bray continued his onslaught but replaced the Kendo Stick with a Steel Chair before slamming him into the cage wall. Roman answered back with his own weapons after pulling some toys out from under the ring. Wyatt proceeded to slam Reigns through a table. The Hound of the Shield made enough of a recovery in order to return the favor by slamming Wyatt through a table. In the end, Roman avoided more kendo stick attacks and overcame Sister Abigail with a spear to seal the win.
This was the perfect match to end this feud because it had a barbaric feeling about it. Roman proved that he has what it takes to survive matches like this, and we can finally conclude this chapter. Roman has redeemed himself after the debacle earlier this year when he was pushed to the top prematurely. Now, he is ready to climb the ladder for the WWE Title. This was a story of a warrior overcoming his greatest threat. Meanwhile, Bray continues to look like the big bad wolf who huffs, puffs but cannot blow the house down.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Grade: A
Tag Team Championship Match (New Day vs. The Dudley Boyz):
With Xavier Woods at home nursing an injury, one would think that the Dudley Boyz had the win locked. Early in the match, Bubba Ray and D-Von had very little trouble with the champs as they dominated Kofi Kingston. However, things started to change when Big E got involved as he changed the dynamic with his power. Kofi pulled an Eddie Guerrero and tried to make it look like Bubba Ray hit him with the trombone. The Ref did not fall for it. Meanwhile, Big E used the trombone to stun Bubba just in time for Kingston to nail him with Trouble in Paradise.
The New Day defeat the Legendary Dudley Boyz to keep the Tag Team Titles. Bubba and D-Von are at their best when Tables, Ladders, and Chairs are involved. This goes to show that they are simply back to enhance talent without a title run (a la Chris Jericho).
The New Day continue to elevate their status by defeating the Best Tag Team of our Generation via pinfall.
Winner: The New Day
Grade: C-
Divas Championship Match (Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella):
In the rematch for the Divas Title, Nikki Bella made improvements compared to her match at Night of Champions. Like the previous match, Nikki focused on Charlotte's injury. However, she was more physical in this match. Nikki pulled out all of the stops, from hurling Charlotte into the guardrail, slingshotting her into the ring ropes, along with an Alabama Slam on the ring apron. Much like the NOC (Night Of Champions) Match, Charlotte won with a comeback as she rolled out of the Rack Attack and hit the Figure Eight.
Winner: Charlotte
Grade: B+
WWE Championship Match (Seth Rollins vs. Kane):
Going into this match, the expectations were never high. Kane and Seth have had a feud because of how Rollins turned on him, but working with Kane does not do him any favors at all as Champion. Nobody realistically had Kane on the radar as the Champion, even if it were out of revenge. Seth did his best to make the most out of this match, as he used his speed and agility to get the best of the Big Red Monster. Kane fought back with a Chokeslam but failed to hit the Tombstone. The fight moved to the announce table. This match was so lame that even the Spanish Announce Table did not sell for the match. Seth hit a Powerbomb, but the table did not break. After a succession of kicks, Seth finishes the match with a Frog Splash followed by a Pedigree for the win.
Seth has had some shining moments as Champion, and this was his dullest.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Grade: C
Intercontinental Championship (Kevin Owens vs. Ryback)
Not much to expect from this match. Ryback dominated the slugfest of the match, but Owens raked the eyes to set up for the Pop-Up Powerbomb. Sound familiar? Night Of Champions on repeat. Owens needed to move away from Ryback because this was not working.
Grade: D
Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
This is the marquee showdown that everyone has been waiting for. Heading into this match, WWE promoted this as the Undertaker's final HIAC Match. Taker's retirement looks even clearer than ever before because this year marks 25 Years of his Dominance in WWE. The buildup of this match created a level of uncertainty about the outcome. On one hand, it would make sense for Undertaker to go off into the sunset winning this match. On the other hand, he could still be involved in Survivor Series since it will be the 25th Anniversary of his debut. That means that it would make much more sense for Brock to win. Undertaker slams the cell door shut before going into the ring. Before locking horns, Taker stares down Brock. Meanwhile, Lesnar laughs.
This match exceeded my very expectations, as both Monsters told a great story. When you put Undertaker and Brock Lesnar inside of a Cell, expect a violent bloodbath. Expect destruction. They brought it in every way. Undertaker delivered a methodical punishment as he rammed Brock into the ring post. Lesnar started to bleed profusely. Brock responded with some vicious chair shots. Taker would bleed afterward.
The WWE Officials tried to get in the way, but Brock was not going to let the match stop because of blood. He pushed them to the side. Lesnar drilled Undertaker with a pair of F5's. Even those could not keep the Deadman down. Even a shot from the ring steps couldn't stop him.
Brock's frustration grew as he tore the canvas off of the ring. I have never EVER seen that before in any match. This match was far from anything of the Modern PG Era. It draws similarities to the matches of the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era. In fact, this is shades of their match from No Mercy 2002, when Undertaker's face was flooded with blood. His entire face was crimson red.
In this match, both Taker and Lesnar were bleeding excessively. but not to that extent. Taker hit Lesnar with a chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver on the exposed wood but still could not get a three-count. During one point in the match, Brock pounded the Undertaker with some heavy punches. His ground and pound game is nothing to take lightly, and I am sure that Taker did not want him to go easy at all.
Lesnar finally defeated The Deadman with a Low Blow after an F5. This match was absolute carnage from start to finish. The level of Intensity was at 10 throughout. This was not just a match, but a war.
After the match, the cage is lifted. The Undertaker struggles to get up as he pulled himself up by the ropes. Suddenly, he was attacked by the Wyatt family. The night ends with the Wyatt Family carrying him away.
Grade: A+
Overall, the PPV went above the expectations of many fans. The Central Storyline for the PPV was Brock vs. Undertaker. It was very simple: Brock Lesnar conquered a Titan, but paid a heavy price to win. I still prefer the 2002 match, but this war had enough drama and suspense to keep me excited.
Meanwhile, Undertaker is in a war with the Wyatt Family heading into Survivor Series (Silver Anniversary) and possibly into WrestleMania Season.
This has been a great element to add to the Final Chapter of a very Storied Career of a Titan that has left many bodies in his wake.
I give this show 4 Edge Rated R Superstar WWE Titles out of 5.
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