Back in the day, a Hell in a Cell match used to be and was considered something big, something major, a gimmick match that served the purpose of blowing off a feud that had high stakes and/or an enormous emotional investment. Over the years we had the likes of guys like Rock, Austin, Triple H, Undertaker, HBK and Foley (amongst others) being featured in these type of matches and the common denominator in all situations was the well scripted storyline that made each and every one of them all that more special. It wasn’t an everyday thing, it wasn’t something common and when a HIAC match was made and announced, it got us all buzzing and excited. Having said that, does any of the above apply to the HIAC PPV scheduled for this Sunday? For the newest and/or youngest wrestling fans I’m sure it feels pretty cool but for all of us old school fans, I think there’s a feeling of…sigh, like, it just doesn’t feel as special as it should.
When the three HIAC matches were announced, my immediate response and reaction was “overkill” and I stand by it. As mentioned above, these types of matches had a special vibe and feeling when taking place and booking three on the same fucking night just takes all that away. I mean, look at the matches that are taking place inside the Cell this Sunday and think…just think for a bit…do any of these three matches really have the hype or back-story that justify a finale inside this structure?
To be fair, the only one that comes somewhat close is the Sasha Banks/Charlotte feud, one that has been running for months now, has some emotion into it and stakes that can warrant this final encounter taking place inside the Cell. Not only is it for the Women’s title, but Charlotte has her undefeated PPV record on the line so in that aspect, I actually don’t mind this.
How about Reigns and Rusev or KO and Rollins? Have these feuds really been hyped up or built to a point that the Cell is necessary? Fuck, the list of Jericho has been featured and meant to be more important than the Universal Title instead over the past month whereas Roman and Rusev have seen wedding cakes and…photo albums.
Anyway, enough of my rumbling, let’s get to the card:
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (Kickoff Match)
Though these 6-man tags have been played time and again, being this is the cruiserweight division, I actually like the idea for these guys to kick start the show and perhaps set the pace. It probably doesn’t really matter who wins but I’ll go ahead with Nese, Gulak and Daivari and to take it a step further, I expect Nese to earn the pin for his team. I personally like Nese a lot, apparently so does WWE so…there you go.
Bayley vs. Dana Brooke
What a mess Bayley has gotten into, having to feud with Mrs. Botchamania herself Dana Brooke. From a botched dirty win that turned into a clean finish to the arm wrestling crap last week, Bayley has been dragged into something she certainly doesn’t deserve. My fear is, WWE may be contemplating on keeping this little feud going for a bit longer and if this were to be the case, I wouldn’t rush to consider Bayley’s win a lock. Trust me, I don’t think it would make much sense for Bayley to lose but with WWE nowadays and their tendency on fucking things up, I would not be surprised.
Assuming Sasha is retaining the belt and keeping in mind that a possible Sasha vs. Bailey title match would most likely be saved for a major PPV (either Rumble or Mania), she would need a heel to work with moving forward, thus excluding Bailey from the title picture for a bit longer. If say, Nia Jax enters the picture as the next challenger for the belt, Bailey will have to be “occupied” in another feud for and that would have to be with either Brooke and/or later Charlotte; there’s always the wild card named Emellina but I really can’t add her in the picture anywhere until she makes her debut, whenever that is (Survivor Series?)
So, call me an idiot, call me nuts but for storyline purposes, I’m going for the big upset by predicting Dana Brooke wins in some “fishy” matter, just to keep this little thing going for a tiny bit longer.
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
I really don’t like the idea of Enzo and Cass losing a bunch but WWE is obviously playing on the fact that they are over regardless so this contest should be considered a no brainer. If Gallows and Anderson are supposedly being built to be major badasses and eventual contenders down the road in this division, then there win this Sunday should be a lock…
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
In theory, another lock. Having gotten this far and with the Demolition record constantly being mentioned and reminded, there can’t be any other outcome besides New Day winning and retaining. I’m sure they’ll make it look close, as they should, but New Day will survive, most likely on some miscue between Sheamus and Cesaro…
WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
I had made an early prediction about 3 or 4 weeks back where I thought Kendrick will win this and be crowned the new Cruiserweight Champion and I’m sticking with it. All signs are pointing to it…
U.S. Champion Roman Reigns vs. Rusev (Hell in a Cell Match)
WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell Match)
Raw Women's Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair (Hell in a Cell Match)
Last but not least, the three Cell matches, all of which are title matches. If you’re wondering why I’ve put them all together instead of individually, the answer lies in the approach I will attempt to make in order to reach my predictions. Bear with me.
Three HIAC matches, all title matches and the big question, in my opinion, is can WWE really go ahead and not have at least ONE title change? Could you really have all three champions just retain inside the Cell? I mean, you obviously could but wouldn’t that come across as somewhat dull and…meh? So, with that in mind, which of these three title matches could see a title change?
Could it be the Raw Women’s Championship? Any way you look at it, it seems highly unlikely. For one, WWE were forced to make a title change when Sasha got hurt the other month and then went ahead and gave her the belt back shortly after she was cleared and returned so another title change this soon would make the belt look like a hot potato. Furthermore, the plan all along for Sasha Banks was to be champion anyway for a lengthy reign so having her drop it in her first title defense less than a month after she won it would make no sense whatsoever, not to mention it would make her look weak. Lastly, one would think that tomorrow night must be the blow off of the feud, being in the Cell and all, with a match that can obviously make Charlotte look just as strong while dropping the undefeated PPV record in the process. The fact that the event takes place in Boston, aka Sasha’s home town could also be considered as an extra factor, however it’s one that I really don’t count as a major thing given how WWE has a tendency to screw these so called homecomings.
On a side note, anyone notice how all of a sudden Charlotte has been referred to as Charlotte Flair for the last few weeks? How did they say it in those Saw movies…Oh, yes, there will be blood…
How about the Universal Championship? You would think that this has the best chances of a change, mostly based on the fact that KO’s reign hasn’t really been a strong one. On the contrary, the List of Jericho has gone more over then the number one belt on the show, Y2J himself is more over as a superstar and then WWE seems to have forgotten to capitalize on the storyline with HHH’s involvement. That being said, it’s exactly because of the storyline I feel they are trying to tell that KO must retain. I mean, if Rollins wins, then what? How does his story with HHH progress if he already has the big prize in his possession? And how do KO and Y2J feud, being it is rather obvious that this bound to happen? Sure, they still could but having the big belt at stake would just add to it, don’t you think? The way I see it, Jericho will obviously interfere (don’t really expect Triple H, though always a possibility, especially if they plan to do Rollins vs. Hunter at the Royal Rumble instead of Mania), KO will get the win and then, while celebrating, I could easily see Jericho hitting a code breaker on KO. It’s not like Y2J has a lot of time left (if the reports about him leaving in early December for Fozzy are true) so if there was ever a time to pull the trigger, this would probably be it, not to mention Survivor Series next month is in Canada…
This brings me to the…unthinkable? As far as I’ve heard and read, everyone – literally everyone – is considering Roman Reigns a lock. He’s the…golden boy, the chosen one, Mr. Superman, the top dog that WWE want to shove down our throats, Vince’s favorite etc. and it seems impossible that Roman would drop the belt just a short month after he won it, right?
Well, what has Roman exactly done with the belt ever since he won it? As far as I’m concerned, absolutely nothing and it just comes to show what a mistake WWE made in the first place by taking it off Rusev. Rusev, I feel, did a great job with the belt and him retaining I think would actually help WWE because, think about it, where do these guys go one from here if,say, Roman retains? It’s not like Rusev will be inserted into the main title picture any time soon and then what do you do with Roman? Who could he feud with next? Are there any credible heels available in the current roster for Reigns to move on against? I’m looking at the roster up and down and find it impossible to pick one good opponent, let alone anything fresh and/or new that we haven’t seen.
Bottom line, I feel Rusev needs the belt a lot more than Reigns does and it’s not like Roman will be buried or anything. On the contrary, be certain he will be back in the main picture in no time whilst Rusev can go on and do wonders with the US belt behind his waste.
So there you have it, just when I’m closing in on 2000 fucking words on a PPV regarding a show, RAW, that I litterally trashed just a few days ago...
Enjoy the show folks !!!
When the three HIAC matches were announced, my immediate response and reaction was “overkill” and I stand by it. As mentioned above, these types of matches had a special vibe and feeling when taking place and booking three on the same fucking night just takes all that away. I mean, look at the matches that are taking place inside the Cell this Sunday and think…just think for a bit…do any of these three matches really have the hype or back-story that justify a finale inside this structure?
To be fair, the only one that comes somewhat close is the Sasha Banks/Charlotte feud, one that has been running for months now, has some emotion into it and stakes that can warrant this final encounter taking place inside the Cell. Not only is it for the Women’s title, but Charlotte has her undefeated PPV record on the line so in that aspect, I actually don’t mind this.
How about Reigns and Rusev or KO and Rollins? Have these feuds really been hyped up or built to a point that the Cell is necessary? Fuck, the list of Jericho has been featured and meant to be more important than the Universal Title instead over the past month whereas Roman and Rusev have seen wedding cakes and…photo albums.
Anyway, enough of my rumbling, let’s get to the card:
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (Kickoff Match)
Though these 6-man tags have been played time and again, being this is the cruiserweight division, I actually like the idea for these guys to kick start the show and perhaps set the pace. It probably doesn’t really matter who wins but I’ll go ahead with Nese, Gulak and Daivari and to take it a step further, I expect Nese to earn the pin for his team. I personally like Nese a lot, apparently so does WWE so…there you go.
Bayley vs. Dana Brooke
What a mess Bayley has gotten into, having to feud with Mrs. Botchamania herself Dana Brooke. From a botched dirty win that turned into a clean finish to the arm wrestling crap last week, Bayley has been dragged into something she certainly doesn’t deserve. My fear is, WWE may be contemplating on keeping this little feud going for a bit longer and if this were to be the case, I wouldn’t rush to consider Bayley’s win a lock. Trust me, I don’t think it would make much sense for Bayley to lose but with WWE nowadays and their tendency on fucking things up, I would not be surprised.
Assuming Sasha is retaining the belt and keeping in mind that a possible Sasha vs. Bailey title match would most likely be saved for a major PPV (either Rumble or Mania), she would need a heel to work with moving forward, thus excluding Bailey from the title picture for a bit longer. If say, Nia Jax enters the picture as the next challenger for the belt, Bailey will have to be “occupied” in another feud for and that would have to be with either Brooke and/or later Charlotte; there’s always the wild card named Emellina but I really can’t add her in the picture anywhere until she makes her debut, whenever that is (Survivor Series?)
So, call me an idiot, call me nuts but for storyline purposes, I’m going for the big upset by predicting Dana Brooke wins in some “fishy” matter, just to keep this little thing going for a tiny bit longer.
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
I really don’t like the idea of Enzo and Cass losing a bunch but WWE is obviously playing on the fact that they are over regardless so this contest should be considered a no brainer. If Gallows and Anderson are supposedly being built to be major badasses and eventual contenders down the road in this division, then there win this Sunday should be a lock…
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
In theory, another lock. Having gotten this far and with the Demolition record constantly being mentioned and reminded, there can’t be any other outcome besides New Day winning and retaining. I’m sure they’ll make it look close, as they should, but New Day will survive, most likely on some miscue between Sheamus and Cesaro…
WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
I had made an early prediction about 3 or 4 weeks back where I thought Kendrick will win this and be crowned the new Cruiserweight Champion and I’m sticking with it. All signs are pointing to it…
U.S. Champion Roman Reigns vs. Rusev (Hell in a Cell Match)
WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell Match)
Raw Women's Champion Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair (Hell in a Cell Match)
Last but not least, the three Cell matches, all of which are title matches. If you’re wondering why I’ve put them all together instead of individually, the answer lies in the approach I will attempt to make in order to reach my predictions. Bear with me.
Three HIAC matches, all title matches and the big question, in my opinion, is can WWE really go ahead and not have at least ONE title change? Could you really have all three champions just retain inside the Cell? I mean, you obviously could but wouldn’t that come across as somewhat dull and…meh? So, with that in mind, which of these three title matches could see a title change?
Could it be the Raw Women’s Championship? Any way you look at it, it seems highly unlikely. For one, WWE were forced to make a title change when Sasha got hurt the other month and then went ahead and gave her the belt back shortly after she was cleared and returned so another title change this soon would make the belt look like a hot potato. Furthermore, the plan all along for Sasha Banks was to be champion anyway for a lengthy reign so having her drop it in her first title defense less than a month after she won it would make no sense whatsoever, not to mention it would make her look weak. Lastly, one would think that tomorrow night must be the blow off of the feud, being in the Cell and all, with a match that can obviously make Charlotte look just as strong while dropping the undefeated PPV record in the process. The fact that the event takes place in Boston, aka Sasha’s home town could also be considered as an extra factor, however it’s one that I really don’t count as a major thing given how WWE has a tendency to screw these so called homecomings.
On a side note, anyone notice how all of a sudden Charlotte has been referred to as Charlotte Flair for the last few weeks? How did they say it in those Saw movies…Oh, yes, there will be blood…
How about the Universal Championship? You would think that this has the best chances of a change, mostly based on the fact that KO’s reign hasn’t really been a strong one. On the contrary, the List of Jericho has gone more over then the number one belt on the show, Y2J himself is more over as a superstar and then WWE seems to have forgotten to capitalize on the storyline with HHH’s involvement. That being said, it’s exactly because of the storyline I feel they are trying to tell that KO must retain. I mean, if Rollins wins, then what? How does his story with HHH progress if he already has the big prize in his possession? And how do KO and Y2J feud, being it is rather obvious that this bound to happen? Sure, they still could but having the big belt at stake would just add to it, don’t you think? The way I see it, Jericho will obviously interfere (don’t really expect Triple H, though always a possibility, especially if they plan to do Rollins vs. Hunter at the Royal Rumble instead of Mania), KO will get the win and then, while celebrating, I could easily see Jericho hitting a code breaker on KO. It’s not like Y2J has a lot of time left (if the reports about him leaving in early December for Fozzy are true) so if there was ever a time to pull the trigger, this would probably be it, not to mention Survivor Series next month is in Canada…
This brings me to the…unthinkable? As far as I’ve heard and read, everyone – literally everyone – is considering Roman Reigns a lock. He’s the…golden boy, the chosen one, Mr. Superman, the top dog that WWE want to shove down our throats, Vince’s favorite etc. and it seems impossible that Roman would drop the belt just a short month after he won it, right?
Well, what has Roman exactly done with the belt ever since he won it? As far as I’m concerned, absolutely nothing and it just comes to show what a mistake WWE made in the first place by taking it off Rusev. Rusev, I feel, did a great job with the belt and him retaining I think would actually help WWE because, think about it, where do these guys go one from here if,say, Roman retains? It’s not like Rusev will be inserted into the main title picture any time soon and then what do you do with Roman? Who could he feud with next? Are there any credible heels available in the current roster for Reigns to move on against? I’m looking at the roster up and down and find it impossible to pick one good opponent, let alone anything fresh and/or new that we haven’t seen.
Bottom line, I feel Rusev needs the belt a lot more than Reigns does and it’s not like Roman will be buried or anything. On the contrary, be certain he will be back in the main picture in no time whilst Rusev can go on and do wonders with the US belt behind his waste.
So there you have it, just when I’m closing in on 2000 fucking words on a PPV regarding a show, RAW, that I litterally trashed just a few days ago...
Enjoy the show folks !!!
