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Hell in a Cell Hell in Cell 2016: thoughts/predictions

alexb

The Lunatic Fringe
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 !!!
 

Prince Bálor

I'm kind of a big deal
- Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (Kickoff match)
Prediction: Babyfaces win just because this is a random match with no storyline. Also, Cedric is the most over guy out of the bunch and will likely pin someone. This should be fun, so it'll be fine by me regardless of who wins.

- Bayley vs Dana Brooke
Prediction: Bayley wins because it is not an arm-wrestling match and I want her to win. Plus, Dana's had the edge for most of the feud, so Bayley SHOULD win.

- Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Prediction: Gallows & Anderson win so WWE can pretend that they still matter.

- The New Day vs Cesaro & Sheamus (RAW Tag Team Championship)
Prediction: The New Day retain after Cesaro and Sheamus have a little miscue that'll cost 'em the match.

- TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Prediction: Brian Kendrick wins to become the new Cruiserweight champion. It feels kinda weird to take the title off TJP so soon, but all signs are pointing towards Kendrick winning, which is fine by me. Based on the finish they teased on Monday, the "Let me win, please. Gotta feed my wife and kids" scenario is going to come into play. I'm not saying we're going to see another Fingerpoke of Doom finish, but after a hard battle, TJP will consider letting his old friend win... And Kendrick will use that moment of hesitation to cheat, he'll probably low-blow TJP and win and finally begin his career renaissance. Also, the division needs a reset button, a fresh start, so giving the title to Kendrick wouldn't be a bad idea.

- Roman Reigns vs Rusev (WWE United States Championship)
Prediction: Roman Reigns retains the title. Plain and simple.

- Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Championship)
Prediction: KO retains the title after either Y2J or HHH help him. And then we move on to the Y2J/KO feud and hopefully Rollins/HHH.

- Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Flair (RAW Women's Championship)
Prediction: The Boss retains the title in this historic match and not only that, but she also breaks Charlotte's impressive PPV winning streak.
 

Zardnaar

The Showoff
- Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (Kickoff match)
Prediction: Babyfaces win just because this is a random match with no storyline. Also, Cedric is the most over guy out of the bunch and will likely pin someone. This should be fun, so it'll be fine by me regardless of who wins.

- Bayley vs Dana Brooke
Prediction: Bayley wins because it is not an arm-wrestling match and I want her to win. Plus, Dana's had the edge for most of the feud, so Bayley SHOULD win.

- Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Prediction: Gallows & Anderson win so WWE can pretend that they still matter.

- The New Day vs Cesaro & Sheamus (RAW Tag Team Championship)
Prediction: The New Day retain after Cesaro and Sheamus have a little miscue that'll cost 'em the match.

- TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Prediction: Brian Kendrick wins to become the new Cruiserweight champion. It feels kinda weird to take the title off TJP so soon, but all signs are pointing towards Kendrick winning, which is fine by me. Based on the finish they teased on Monday, the "Let me win, please. Gotta feed my wife and kids" scenario is going to come into play. I'm not saying we're going to see another Fingerpoke of Doom finish, but after a hard battle, TJP will consider letting his old friend win... And Kendrick will use that moment of hesitation to cheat, he'll probably low-blow TJP and win and finally begin his career renaissance. Also, the division needs a reset button, a fresh start, so giving the title to Kendrick wouldn't be a bad idea.

- Roman Reigns vs Rusev (WWE United States Championship)
Prediction: Roman Reigns retains the title. Plain and simple.

- Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins (WWE Universal Championship)
Prediction: KO retains the title after either Y2J or HHH help him. And then we move on to the Y2J/KO feud and hopefully Rollins/HHH.

- Sasha Banks vs Charlotte Flair (RAW Women's Championship)
Prediction: The Boss retains the title in this historic match and not only that, but she also breaks Charlotte's impressive PPV winning streak.

I more or less agree with all of this.
 

Snowman1

Chillin' with the snowmies.
actually after thinking about it there's some interesting things to say here haha

Think WWE has figured out that Enzo and Big Cass make for the perfect opening act on a PPV. They can really get the crowd into something, although they're going to need a buffer match somewhere. Maybe this will work for that but... Eh, Enzo and Cass win, yay!

Bayley vs Dana Brooke really is in a tough spot. Hell Bayley already is since she's such a horrible fit for the WWE main roster on top of being too big of a star on NXT to be able to get her over the way they did on NXT, but they have to get away from Sasha vs Charlotte for a while and build someone up. But it's MUCH better to hold off Sasha vs Bayley III (actually much more but who's counting) until Mania, Sasha vs Dana is a disaster, Charlotte can win the belt and quickly blow off the rematch in time to feud with Bayley but why... As easy and wonderful as it is to call an Emma(lina) return here to help Dana win, I doubt that's in the cards... So, where has Nia Jax been? Go ahead and let her come out and wreck both girls in route to Sasha vs Nia Jax. That seems to be the best way to go here. You can rebuild Bayley later in time for WM

Sheamsaro vs the New Day is possibly the most important match on the card. If it just ends with some ambiguous bullshit, this show is going to feel really lame, really fast. I want a definitive answer to what's going on here. It's PPV, we're throwing out the nine ninety nine for progression of things. Can they get along? Will one guy officially turn on the other? Will they argue and still win? Please, anything but "well they argue and lose their title match but then stay a tag team". Or some Paige's team garbage where they break up 5 weeks in a row. Don't do that, either. But do something.

Strowman vs Sami Zayn is a hell of a David vs Goliath battle. Gosh would I love to see Sami Zayn slay the monster here, it'll do so much for the guy. Unfortunately Zayn is too good at selling for WWE to think he's good for anything else. But please

I can't say anything about the Cruiserweight matches. Outside of TJP vs Kendrick last month, I haven't seen any of their segments lol. Can someone fill me in on what's going on over here? Or in NXT?

As for the Hell in a Cell, it doesn't matter. It's a match with a cage around it. All the mystique they've built around it in the Attitude Era is gone already, so there's no real use in complaining.

And NOTHING hurts the prestige of Hell in a Cell more than knowing the main event is going to end in interference. This match, Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens for the Universal Title, means nothing. (Writing for the The finish doesn't matter, the action in the ring is just going to leave us waiting for the run-ins in the end, I "guess" Jericho could turn on Owens which could be okay but likely he'll run in and be ineffective so Stephanie and I've already put in more thought into this than anyone else in the world has. All they're doing is buying time for Triple H to be like "lololol I can come back after football season and prove how big of a star I am by bringing the ratings up!". Lol the NFL ratings are way down and WWE still can't capitalize

Quick prediction: Roman and Rusev break the cell to let said dudes interfere. Roman spearing Rusev right through the side of the cage sounds like fun, and while these guys have had a bunch of bad matches together I can actually imagine these two actually upping the intensity inside the Cell. Roman and Wyatt was pretty good last year + felt different, after all, and Rusev is the best. So, optimistic. But I'd expect a bunch of restholds followed by Superman Punch spamming and nobody caring

I CAN'T WAIT FOR CHARLOTTE AND SASHA. I just hope it happens before Strowman pinning Sami makes me sick.
 

Gman003

The Lunatic Fringe
Hotshot
God damn. Reading this post makes me want to watch HIAC tonight. But I have the world series I'm committed to. (We're 1 win away from the championship)

I could always record HIAC and watch it later tonight or tomorrow. But then I have RAW to watch and smackdown.... I'm so far behind right now I haven't watched anything all October because of mlb lol. (I really have wanted to watch though... but watching my team monster through the playoffs has been so exciting.)

Im going to survivor series in less than a month and I hate being so far behind. Once I bought the tickets I told myself, and the wife, that I'll have to keep up to date and watch everything. But then the post season came and fucked it up.

So, since we have like 5 other shows going on right now, plus my Indians, I think I'll pvr HIAC, watch it and say fuck raw for this week then pick it up next Monday again. Only like 2 episodes before I go see survivor series.
 
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