Figured Hell in a Cell would be a great point for me to jump into commenting on this thread. I’ve been keeping an eye on this for quite a while now and feel as if the Draft is going to really reset things and lead into a very big WrestleMania. Anyways carrying on now….
Let me briefly comment on the pre show and how just nail it. Even down to the WWE Shop commercials. It’s inspiring me to try and change things not only for pre shows but also the supplemental shows like Main Event, etc. that I’ve neglected booking for nearly twenty years now. If utilizing it properly it can help build up your up and comers and create some storylines that can feed into Raw and SmackDown so props for getting the “little things” right.
After reviewing the card I think you made the right choice in the opener. Initially I figured it would be later on the card but jumping right into a battle between these two is perfect to set the tone for the evening. Action packed and short in time was how I thought this match should be booked and that’s exactly what we got. I think you made the right call making Roman emerge in a roundabout weasley way thanks to the Special Council sacrificing himself by tripping. Strowman passing out protects him from taking the pin and sets him up well for whatever his next feud may be. I’ve enjoyed reading how you’ve booked Reigns in the early stages of this title reign but I’m really curious to see how it carries into 2021.
Curious to see how the championship exchange goes down on Raw. I think at this time WWE naming the titles the Raw Women’s Champion and SmackDown Women’s Championships was rather silly and kind of put them into awkward situations where they had to literally just pass the titles to one another. I personally would like to see the titles changed to their current names so fingers crossed maybe we get that instead!
Should be a tag team match incoming soon between these four women - maybe even some match at Survivor Series. I thought Baszler and Charlotte were an interesting pair but I admittedly am not sure about how they came about as a duo but I do like the pairing. Well who knows after reading the aftermath of the match - Charlotte leaving Shayna high and dry may cause some tension there so guess we will see what happens next.
Kinda had a feeling we would see Gargano escape with the gold after the earlier promo with Zayn and Sheamus. I think Sheamus taking the pin was the right call and the post match activities leads me to believe there is going to be some sides to pick with Cesaro and Nakamura and I have a feeling it’s going to be Sami who is left high and dry ultimately in the end. Very good stuff here and ties in a lot of different characters in one big story! Looking forward to the next aspects of this story.
The unfortunate part of this feud in real life was the fact that this match didn’t get to take place in front of fans after it had been slowly brewing for quite some time. It sort of took away the big feeling of these two women’s friendship finally collapsing. That being said - you knocked this one out of the park. The callback to Takeover and the ending sums up what Bayley was all about at this time. Barely escaping beating her former friend Sasha and having to cheat do so is the icing on the cake for me in finishing this feud off and sending Bayley off to Raw to get a new start even if Sasha is joining her there. I think we still get an interaction on Raw with Sasha probably interfering in the title exchange but man I’m looking forward to Bayley’s gloating on Raw tomorrow night.
I really enjoyed Rollins little stable he had going early on in 2020 but adding Theory into it adds another future star that can greatly benefit from Rollins leadership. Not sure on the entire history of the thread but am curious as to whether Theory ever teamed with La Invasion since he competed with Garza at WM that year in real life. Either way - kinda surprised that La Invasion pulled this contest out as I would have initially thought Rollins team would pull the victory out.
Moving on to the WWE Championship and I had a feeling all along that Benjamin and Alexander would ignore Lashley’s request from earlier in the evening. It certainly added a twist as now it appears Lashley needs help (ala Reigns in real life) to always retain and that he can’t beat Drew fairly. Have a strong feeling we’re looking at a rematch between these two come Survivor Series with some type of match in mind to try and keep Team Lashley away.
Looking forward to the reset of the rosters. I’ve always thought when WWE did the drafts in the fall instead of the summer it’s a very odd time but I guess it resets the rosters and helps with their “season premieres” they like to push in the fall occasionally. Either way I think the rosters are split pretty well and I’m always a sucker for drafts so I’m excited to see how things shake out.
And now time for the main event! As you know I’m working on this feud in my thread so I really enjoyed what all you’ve covered in this match from the beginning of their history at Vengeance 2004 (loved that match by the way) to how we got to this point. I was a little torn from the beginning of how exactly this match would end and who would emerge victorious as I really thought Orton could benefit tremendously from the victory. However - I think Edge is set for an even bigger nostalgia run once fans are allowed back into arenas in story time. I think we see Edge take a break until the Royal Rumble and I do think he’s certainly a big favorite to pull it out but I’m really curious to see what’s next for Orton.
Overall a very good show! I think there were several feuds that had their loose ends tied such as Sasha/Bayley and the Edge/Orton feuds but there are some intriguing situations heading into the final few months of 2020. I’ll be commenting again soon as I really enjoyed reading this show and certainly see why you are one of the best bookers here at WF. As I referenced earlier it’s the little things that you do right that just add even more to the booking of the shows and it makes the whole package complete. Keep up the good work!