By Jason Powell
Check out today’s All Access Daily podcast with Will Pruett and I discussing the key matches from WWE Hell in a Cell at PWAudio.net.
WWE Hell in a Cell Hits
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere HIAC match: The big spectacle match lived up to expectations even if it did feel 5-10 minutes longer than it needed to be. They did a hell of a job, but I could have done without most of the brawl on top of the cage. Still, this was everything you’d expect from a Shane match complete with the awful punches and, more importantly, the big stunt at the end. In this case, Sami Zayn was there to pull his longtime rival Owens out of the way as Shane took the big leap from the top of the structure. Shane took an ugly bump and the table didn’t appear to have the same deflating crash pad that was used for the same spot at WrestleMania. Owens ditched the New Face of America gimmick and got back to being the “snapped” version of his persona, and he shined throughout the build and during the match. Zayn’s involvement is intriguing and serves as a hell of a hook for Smackdown. Is he aligned with Owens? Did he pull Shane out of the way because he wants to be the one who puts Owens down? This looked like a heel turn, but the big question is who these guys will actually work against if it was a heel turn. It’s easy to pair them with other heels in a Survivor Series elimination match, but where do they go from there? By the way, grandpa may want to pull his youngest grandson aside and let him know that laughing at the heel as he beats up your father is not the right reaction.
New Day vs. The Usos in an HIAC match for the Smackdown Tag Titles: An excellent hardcore tag team brawl. The spot with one of the Usos being trapped in the corner of the cell with kendo sticks was innovative and fantastic. Woods being handcuffed over the ring post was also really good, though it was odd that the Usos ended up freeing him for no apparent reason. The match was violent, yet I enjoyed the way New Day stayed true to their characters by working in trombones, cymbals, and the rainbow colored kendo stick. They did a really nice job of working those silly items in while maintaining the intensity of the match. This was my favorite match of the night.
AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Tye Dillinger in a Triple Threat for the U.S. Championship: It wasn’t surprising to see Dillinger added to the match, but it was disappointing. I really wanted to see a Styles vs. Corbin singles match, and the way they set up the Triple Threat backstage with Dillinger and Daniel Bryan was about as dorky as it gets. Did WWE really fly Bryan in just to do this segment or was this something that was filmed last week? Anyway, Dillinger’s involvement was obviously done to have him be the fall guy for Corbin so that Styles could drop the secondary title without being pinned or submitted. I like the idea of Corbin as the U.S. Champion, and I really like the idea of Styles getting back in the world title mix where he belongs. Forget I said that if he’s the next guy who has to put over Jinder Mahal clean.
Randy Orton vs. Rusev: A better than expected match. Both men deserve credit for getting the crowd into their match even though they had a tough act to follow in the tag team HIAC match. I was surprised that Aiden English never got involved in the match and was instead limited to a Kickoff Show appearance. It will be interesting to see if Orton and Rusev move on from here or if they keep the program going with an angle or even a rematch on Tuesday’s Smackdown.
Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable vs. The Hype Bros: A minor Hit for a match that got the show off to a decent start. It succeeded in making Benjamin and Gable look good while also showcasing the building frustration between Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley.
WWE Hell in a Cell Misses
Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship: Jinder Madness continues with the dull champion getting a clean win over Nakamura. As much as Mahal’s title reign is eye rolling and damaging to the brand and the title, beating Nakamura should have felt like a major moment for Mahal that provided him with a sense of in-ring credibility with casual viewers. Instead, it was just plain flat, in large part because WWE has failed to showcase Nakamura properly. He has a cool entrance and they tell viewers he’s an artist and a rock star. That’s it. How about putting him in a feud with another top notch in-ring talent? We’ve seen glimpses of good he can be when he worked with John Cena and Randy Orton in one-off television matches, but his forgettable feuds thus far have been with Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, and Mahal. As much as I like the idea of Nakamura vs. Styles at WrestleMania, I can’t help but wonder how different things would be for Nakamura right now had they actually went to that feud early on with the goal of showcasing just how great Nakamura can be in the ring.
Natalya vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Championship: I spent the match assuming that Natalya was targeting the knee of the challenger to set up Charlotte winning the title only to have an excuse to drop it when Carmella cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. Instead, it was a half-assed attempt to put heat on Natalya when she struck Charlotte with a chair for the intentional disqualification. The finish felt cheap and flat because it didn’t feel like this was an act of desperation from Natalya to save her title as much as it felt like a lazy way for creative to set up a rematch.
Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler: A flat match positioned in the buffer spot between the WWE Championship match and the main event. Ziggler continues to be the WWE welcome mat for new talent to beat in their first main roster program, yet none of those wrestlers have come away feeling hotter than they were when they first appeared after being called up from NXT. Will Roode be any different?
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