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NewsThrough Hell and Highwater : Hell In A Cell 2014 Review

Through Hell and Highwater : Hell In A Cell 2014 Review

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For the first time since Payback, WWE hosted a PPV that didn’t feature a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Bearing in mind that the laws within WWE storyline does not apply here as Brock has exceeded the thirty day threshold as to when he is supposed to defend the title at least once, WWE tried to compensate by putting on a show that didn’t feature their holy grail being defended. How did WWE fare? Let us find out now. Here is your ratings and commentary on each Hell In A Cell matchup.

Dolph Ziggler (C) def. Cesaro – Intercontinental Championship (2 out of 3 Falls)

You know what? I don’t care that Cesaro lost, and I can forego WWE not giving Cesaro the title. But they couldn’t give Cesaro a damn pinfall? I mean, Cesaro has already taken two pinfalls to Dolph in previous title matches, and in a 2 out of 3 falls, you have Cesaro lose in a clean sweep. Now before this match took place, everyone and their great grandfather was calling this a match of the year contender, and it damn well could have been had it gone to a third fall. Whenever WWE advertises a 2 out of 3 falls match, the expectation is that the match will go to sudden death, because then why advertise 2 out of 3 falls if you are just going to have the same man pin his opponent two straight times? All of that being said, I liked what I saw. Ziggler and Cesaro are two of the top workhorses in WWE and they proved it tonight. If you can somehow find the spot involving Cesaro’s superplex to Dolph after being cradled to his chest, please do so. It is epic. This match was far from bad, and was a great opener, but I’m disappointed in that WWE could have done so much more, especially after Cesaro’s strong outing against Sheamus at Night of Champions. Back to jobbing for Ziggler, and back to Vince knows what for Cesaro.

Rating: ***1/2

Nikki Bella def. Brie Bella

For all the flack I gave these two ladies for their absolutely atrocious on-screen acting, this match wasn’t bad at all. There was actually a great near-fall that could have been made greater had JBL and Cole not spoil the covers as they typically do. It was short, sweet and had no botches. Hell, we even got a suicide dive. Don’t see that often. The winner of this match was never in doubt, let’s be real people. But now we are going to endure more bad, cliche acting from these two, which already started tonight. And if they go the full 30 days, plan your bathroom breaks accordingly.

Goldust (C) and Stardust (C) def. The Usos – WWE Tag Team Championship

This wasn’t a bad match, but it isn’t anything I haven’t seen from these two already. Same Uso splashes, superkicks and outside dives, and essentially the same psychology. I liked the double superplex spot, though it could have been made much better had they hit it at the same time. Their match at Night of Champions was stupendous, but I made my expectations for this bout rather low, because I think it was difficult for them to muster up something different. Solid match, but nothing you haven’t seen. Now that The Usos have lost, who is left to challenge for the titles? I see no reason why Kofi and Big E are being left from the main roster as the tag team division could use some firepower, and boy has it ever. Now sounds like a good time to call up The Ascension as well and making The Miz/Mizdow a permanent tag team would be something to consider long term, because right now, the division that was supposedly going to get lots of focus from Triple H this year is as thin as an anorexic teenager.

Rating: **1/2

John Cena def. Randy Orton – Hell In A Cell

I was just waiting until I got the change to say “RKO from out of NOWHERE” in this match, and I had there two great RKO’s courtesy of Randy Orton that I didn’t see coming, but let’s face it. It didn’t do this match any justice. Just when you think Orton and Cena haven’t been in the ring together so many times, they have also wrestled in Hell In A Cell before and WWE didn’t push the point that Orton has already beaten Cena inside the structure. The match was your basic bread and butter from Orton and Cena. Nothing new at all. You had the same spots essentially and only modified some of their moves because they were inside the cell. And of course, no Orton/Cena match would be complete if they didn’t kick out of multiple finishers. This match really isn’t worth your time at all. Watch their bout in 2009 inside the same structure, then watch this match and tell me that it isn’t at least similar. Hell, you even had the same spot where Cena threw the steel steps outside the ring and Orton dodged it. The only thing that was different to me was the result. So Cena is facing Lesnar for the third time on PPV soon. So that’s that. Meanwhile it appears as though Orton will be feuding with Rollins, and that’s something I could sink my teeth into. Overall, average Cena/Orton match, and in modern times, that qualifies as dull and uninspired.

Rating: **1/4

Sheamus (C) def. The Miz – United States Championship

Let’s take a second to all appreciate the comedic talent that is Damien Mizdow. If the gimmick he’s playing was given to any other person on the roster, it would be viewed as annoying and a forced attempt at getting a few laughs from the crowd. But Mizdow makes it work because he does it with such passion and like he actually means it. Sadly, however, I am not judging this match based on his stellar performance. It is the actual match that counts. And it wasn’t good. Had it not been for Sandow, I could have easily dosed off on multiple occasions. It just wasn’t clicking at all. Was not good. Not a total DUD, but it was an essential comedy match that could have had more minutes go to the Ziggler/Cesaro matchup.

Rating: *1/2

Rusev def. The Big Show

I’m pretty sure anyone with a second grader’s education could have predicted Mark Henry coming out at some point in the match. While I’m surprised he didn’t turn on Big Show, I’m not surprised he played a role in the finish. As much as I dislike Rusev, give WWE credit for booking him like a monster in this match, because he did dominate Big Show for certain portions in the match. And note to all of you WWE fans, suplexing The Big Show when its not from the top rope is a very difficult move, so give him credit. Guys, there was no way The Big Show was winning in this match. At a house show, the result would have been different. But in a match that matters, Rusev needed the win. The actual match was just, well, meh. Wasn’t something that would resonate with me and I will probably forget about what happened tomorrow morning. But WWE never fails to make sure we are aware of the incompetency of America’s greatest representatives from WWE with the repetitive video packages. So it’s all good in that regard.

Rating: **

AJ Lee (C) def. Paige – Divas Championship

I simply don’t know what to make of these two anymore. This match just wasn’t there for me. I know these two are more than capable of putting on a great match if they were given some serious minutes and a reason as to why we should care. But I am still so confused as to what I am supposed to be focusing on here. So Paige has a new friend, he walks out to the ring, does her stuff, attack AJ, and AJ is angry or something. Point is, the feud coming into this match was lackluster and the match didn’t do it justice. Not to mention that the ending to the match was about as anti-climatic as it can get. So are we going to get more AJ/Paige? Is Alicia Fox going to get a chance? Perhaps so. But if they are planning to continue the AJ/Paige feud that has lasted since after Money In The Bank, then they better spice it up and fast.

Rating: *1/2

Seth Rollins def. Dean Ambrose – Hell In A Cell

I was actually scared at the beginning of this match. Well, the match didn’t technically start yet, but there were four men on the top of the cell at one point and their bodies were all over the place. A freak accident seemed at least plausible due to all that weight. Rollins and Ambrose crashing through respective tables was a crazy spot and I think it did the match justice as it kind of signaled how evenly matched they were, or at least the brutality of the feud. I was scared for a moment that WWE was going to call off the match, and trust me, you would have seen much more expletives in this column had they not go through with the match, but thankfully they did. Now the actual match lasted about half the length of the Cena/Orton hell in a cell match but the action was much more fast paced and exciting. You had both men going through tables, the briefcase played a role, and a screwdriver was being teased as well. You had a couple of great near falls, the crowd chanting THIS IS AWESOME, and i didn’t expect anything less. Then the lights go out, we get some random dribble, and cell phone lights subsequently illuminate the arena, the signal being that Bray Wyatt is ending his hiatus from WWE action. And at that point, the winner of the match was all but confirmed. Now, I do have to question WWE’s direction in giving Rollins the win. Trust me, I don’t mind having Rollins win the match. I love him. But this feud seemed like it didn’t have a proper closure. I thought that there was a better alternative to ending the match like that and giving Rollins the win. You have Dean Ambrose, who was betrayed by Rollins, exposed to be nothing more than a no-good scoundrel. At Money In The Bank, Ambrose gets screwed out of the Money In The Bank briefcase by one of The Authority’s chronies, Kane and Rollins is now Mr. Money In The Bank. At Battleground, he is ejected from the arena and loses by forefit and no match occurs. At Summerslam, in a fantastic lumberjack match, Rollins uses the briefcase when the referee has his back turned and Rollins gets the pinfall victory. The next night, Ambrose attacks Rollins backstage prompting another match between the two, this time a Falls Count Anywhere matchup. He gets ambushed by both Rollins and Kane and has his face smashed into cinderblocks courtesy of a curb stomp at his former Shield comrade. He returns at Night of Champions, thwarting every attempt at The Authority to keep him away from Rollins, and after defeating John Cena for the privilege of fighting Rollins inside Hell In A Cell, we get the match and he comes out the loser. I don’t know, it just seems that Ambrose was given the short end of the stick and normally I don’t think that’s how the story should end. But hey, I can’t complain if you an Ambrose/Wyatt feud is the end result. Think of the back and forth promos between the two. Anyways, this match was great and if you needed a reason to watch Hell In A Cell, this was it. The booking I was tad much for me, but the match was more than acceptable. I believe you will love the carnage and the story was told greatly. 

Rating: ****

Final Thoughts:

Before the PPV, I said the two keys for having a successful show was giving the good matches a nice amount of time and don’t make any stupid booking decisions. Did they accomplish both tonight? Yes and now. While they didn’t necessarily do anything over the top stupid, the matches that could have stolen the show was not given enough time to sink your teeth into. The Ziggler/Cesaro match in particular could have been a classic had it go down to the final fall, but WWE foolishly gave it a clean sweep. The Rollins/Ambrose match only had about 14 minutes of actual in ring match time due to the all the time eaten up from the theatrics that proceeded everything. As we look ahead to Survivor Series, it looks we will be getting an Orton/Rollins feud and an Ambrose/Wyatt feud. I cannot help but feel that all of the mid-card titles will have feuds that will eventually fade into obscurity, and I shudder to think what is in store for the Divas division and Cesaro. In conclusion, much like Night of Champions, this show was lacking much balance as it didn’t keep me engaged throughout the whole show. The first and final matches on the card are the only ones I’d suggest going out your way to see, as the rest in the middle is nothing more than something you would see on an episode of RAW or Smackdown. Don’t go out your way to find this show unless your looking for Ziggler/Cesaro or Rollins/Ambrose. Otherwise, this is a show that you could easily forget about the next day for the most part. 

Final rating: 5.5/10, thumbs in the middle leaning down.

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