Hell In A Cell 2019 Review

Sunday, October 6th, 2019
Golden 1 Center
Sacramento, California

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We get a nice opening promo on the history of Hell In A Cell. I would have liked to have seen more of the older footage incorporated as well, but this was a good way to build to the show.

Hell In A Cell Match
Raw Women's Championship Match
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Sasha attacks Becky before the cage hits the floor. They brawl under the cage and Sasha hits a suplex onto the ramp. The cage is now down and they are still on the outside of it. Becky turns things around after hitting Sasha with the door and they are both inside the cage for the first time. Becky has a chain wrapped around her fist and hits Sasha in the...back? Okay? Becky goes under the ring and gets a table and puts it in the ring. Becky then goes for a ladder, but Sasha comes from behind and hits her with a chair. It's so good to see heel Sasha back. As Sasha is setting something up, Becky returns the favor. Becky hits a series of baseball slides, pushing Sasha into the cage. Sasha then hits a nice Meteora on Becky, driving her into the ladder. That was a cool spot. Sasha then sits Becky down on a chain in the middle of the ring and she hits the double knees again and almost gets a 3 count. Becky fights back and hits a dropkick, pushing Sasha into the cage. She follows that up with a Becksploder into the cage. Sasha is now wailing away with a kendo stick and then sets them up in a corner. Becky reverses and slams Sasha face first into them. Becky now puts a chair on top of them and sets Sasha on top. Becky does a dropkick off of the apron and knocks Sasha off the chair. That was definitely unique. Becky now sets up a table in the ring, but Sasha hits a Backstabber. Sasha hits the Meteora, driving Becky through the table but Becky is able to kick out before 3. Becky is able to steal the kendo stick from Sasha and is unleashing on her until Sasha shoves her face first into a chair that is hanging from the side of the cage. Sasha goes up top, but Becky throws a chair at her and then hits a super Becksploder into a pile of chairs. Becky puts her in the Disarm Her and gets the submission victory. Both women worked really hard and had a really good match. Not quite great, but pretty close. My biggest complaint that it felt like after every big move, it was no big deal and it was their turn to hit a big move.

Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)

Tornado Match
Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan & Luke Harper

Since I am reviewing this after the fact, I have now seen the Luke Harper Twitter bio controversy about him getting fined, so apparently he's still not happy. This is certainly an interesting choice for a second match on the card. Knowing WWE, they were probably still trying to come up with the rest of the card. Both teams go right at each other as soon as the bell rings. Bryan hits a missile dropkick and then a suicide dive. WWE has dropped the ball on a lot of performers, especially this decade, but Harper has to be near the top of the list. Harper throws Reigns face first into the stairs that Rowan was holding up for him. Bryan is able to get the LeBell Lock on Rowan, but Harper breaks it up. Bryan tries to make a comeback, but Harper hits a Michinoku Driver. Reigns finally makes his return and breaks up the pin attempt. Reigns hits the Drive By on Rowan, but is immediately greeted with a suicide dive by Harper. All four men are down outside of the ring. Rowan takes a piece of the barricade and drives it into Reigns and out into the crowd. They attempt to give a powerbomb on the table to Bryan, but Bryan reverses with a hurricanrana off the table on Harper. Then Reigns hits a running spear to Rowan while on the table. That was a nice spot there. Back in the ring, they go back and forth until Bryan hits a running knee followed up by a spear from Reigns and they pick up the victory. That was a hard fought match. It wasn't great by any means, but it made logical sense and made all four men look strong.

Match Rating: ***1/4

After the match, Reigns goes to shake Bryan's hand and Bryan walks away from it. Bryan then plays to the crowd for a hug, but Reigns turns his back for dramatic effect before accepting the hug.

Seth Rollins is in the back for an interview. He says he has no choice but to burn it down tonight against Wyatt.

Randy Orton vs. Ali

I really would love to see the alternate timeline where Ali got the championship match against Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. That match he had with Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan was so good. Back and forth they go until Orton pushes Ali off the top rope to the floor. Orton then suplexes Ali face first on the table and then a back suplex. Orton goes back outside and tries another back suplex, but it's countered by Ali. Orton takes advantage and throws him into the ring post. Orton, as usual, is wrestling this match as if it is 25 minutes long instead of 12. Ali hits the 54th suicide dive of the night so far. The crowd has not been into this one so far. Ali rolls through on his first 450 attempt and then Orton moves out of the way at the gas station. Orton hits his DDT from the second rope. Orton goes for the RKO, but Ali does an amazing block. Ali goes for a somersault and then leaps up, but Orton counters it with the RKO and that's all she wrote. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. I'm not sure what this really did for either man. The last minute or so was good though.

Match Rating: **1/4

Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors

You can't help but almost forget that Asuka is on the roster anymore. You could also almost forget that there is a Women's Tag Team Championship. The Kabuki Warriors get the early advantage. Interestingly, they are sort of playing the heel spots in this match. Bliss makes the hot tag to Cross. Sane goes off the top rope, but Cross gets her knees up. Auka is able to make the save. Asuka sprays green mist out of her mouth and gets the victory. That was a nothing match that felt really unmotivated. The Kabuki Warriors should have been champions probably awhile ago, but this seemed kind of random.

Match Ratting: *3/4

The OC vs. Braun Strowman & The Viking Raiders

Interesting that the announcers talk about the Viking Raiders' time at the Performance Center. Why even bring that up? Ivar gets to show off his athleticism before tagging in Erik. Styles hits him with cheap shot and the OC is back in control. The crowd is pretty dead here so far and I can't blame them since this feels like a thrown together Raw match. Hot tag to Braun and he attacks the OC like a wrecking ball. Braun then gets the dreaded shoulder to the ring post, as Styles avoided him charging at him. We now have chaos until Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm. Braun was about to take out Styles, but the OC comes in and attacks them and then the ref disqualifies them? When was the last time they called a DQ for that? This show just gets worse by the minute. After the match the Viking Raiders take out Gallows and Anderson. Styles goes for the Phenomenal Forearm on Braun, but he hits him with a right hand. This had no business being on a pay-per-view.

Match Rating: **

The Street Profits are backstage. They get interrupted by some 24/7 shenanigans, where Tamina wins the title by rolling up Carmella.

King Corbin vs. Chad Gable

I don't know, I think Gable has to grow the hair back. And I know that a lot of people who really know a lot about the business have applauded Corbin for being a true heel, but to me it is turn off the TV heat. Never wanting to see someone on TV again is not good heat. He calls Gable "Shorty" Gable now. I'm not sure there are more than a select few that are more talented than Gable. I hope this is his break, but I'm guessing calling him "Shorty" won't be it. Just as I type that, the crowd starts chanting "Gable". After a hot start, Corbin backs Gable into the ring post. I can't believe Corbin still wears the black tank top and black pants. There hasn't been a less intimidating big man in a long time. I agree that Corbin works a match like a heel, but he works it like a heel on a house show in 1991. No one wants to see that on a big show anymore. It would be interesting to me to see what would happen if Corbin were to get released. Which organizations would be interested in him? Corbin catches Gable off a springboard and turns it into a spinebuster. The crowd is completely killed at this point. Gable hits two cannonball kicks in a row, but Corbin catches him the third time and hits a powerbomb for a two count. Corbin hits a Deep Six, but Gable is able to kick out. Swinging neckbreaker followed by a moonsault by Gable. Gable now has the Ankle Lock in, but Corbin is able to get under the ropes. Corbin grabs the sceptor, but Gable ducks and rolls up Corbin for the win. Gable was doing everything he could to try to make that match interesting, but it was 80% Corbin and that pretty much always equals a garbage match.

Match Rating: *1/4

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley

This match should be a big deal, but instead it feels thrown together. Bayley is showing off her more cocky character. They show Tamina in the crowd running away from R-Truth. Tamina is the Baron Corbin of the women's division. Funaki gets involved in a fun spot and then Carmella superkicks her and Truth wins the 24/7 belt back. Bayley misses a springboard crossbody and Charlotte gets her in the Boston Crab. This is kind of an interesting dynamic with Charlotte being a full fledged heel and Bayley in the middle of her turn. Bayley is going after Charlotte's legs now, using the ring and post to her advantage. As far as the announcers go, Graves and Cole are much better as a duo. Graves is starting to show signs of going back to his NXT persona. Now Charlotte is going after Bayley's legs on the post. Bayley rolls up Charlotte but gets caught using the ropes. Charlotte hits a distracted Bayley with a boot and puts her in the Figure Eight. Bayley taps and Charlotte wins the championship for the 803rd time. Not a bad match, but it lacked heat due to the story being more about Bayley's heel turn and not the feud. After the match Bayley throws a fit and starts to cry.

Match Rating: **3/4

Gable is backstage and says to call him Shorty. He wants someone to ask Corbin how it felt to come up short tonight. He gets attacked from behind by Corbin because the feud...must...continue.

Hell In A Cell Match
Universal Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend Bray Wyatt

Just what I always wanted in wrestling, Rob Zombie meets ICP. Remind me how WWE is still TV-PG? Not only is the cell red, the lights are red as well. Perhaps it was Wyatt's dream to know what it felt like to be a roast beef sandwich at Arby's? Seth tries using the kendo stick, but it doesn't even phase Wyatt. Rollins hits a flurry of offense and sets up a table inside the ring. Wyatt catches a suicide dive attempt and hits Sister Abigail into the cage. I'm at the point where I like IRS better than Wyatt in the Rotunda power rankings. Rollins sets Wyatt on the table and hits a Frog Splash and both men are down. Wyatt is right back up though and Rollins is in shock. Rollins hits a Stomp and again Wyatt pops back up. Wyatt hits Sister Abigail and gets a 2 count. Wyatt pulls out a cartoonish hammer and then uses it to push Rollins into the cage. Rollins continues to fight back on the bargain basement Joker. Springboard knee off the top rope twice in a row and Wyatt is still standing. He hits three Stomps in a row and the crowd is booing. Wyatt gets up to a pop. Rollins hits the Pedigree and Wyatt kicks out at 1. Please just turn Wyatt babyface so we can kill off this character. Twitter behavior aside, Rollins is such a better performer and he is stuck with this. Rollins pulls out a chair and Rollins hits him in the head and Wyatt kicks out at 1. Rollins places a chair on his face and grabs a ladder and uses it on the chair. Again, the Heath Ledger wannabe kicks out. Rollins now has a tool box and puts the chair and ladder over his head. He takes the tool box and smashes it on top of the ladder and chair to a chorus of boos. As the ref checks on Wyatt, Rollins now grabs a sledgehammer. The ref tries to stop him and Rollins thinks about holding back. Instead Rollins uses it and the ref rings the bell. In a Hell In A Cell match. The crowd is about as hot as I have heard in a long time. Probably since the time Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble. They immediately pull up the cell and the medical staff is there. As the crowd chants "AEW", Wyatt puts on the Mandible Claw, which is an insult to Mick Foley. This character and Mankind should not even be mentioned in the same breath as one another. Wyatt continues putting on the Mandible Claw and the lights go off and blood is coming from Rollins' mouth and the crowd boos. We go off the air to darkness and Wyatt laughing. Yeah, I'll gladly stand in the corner by myself while being the only one who hates this gimmick. This wasn't even a match, which is a shame because these two probably could have a good match if given the chance. An all time bad ending to a bad show.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Well, after a really solid year of pay-per-view shows, WWE gives us one of their worst of the decade. A card that was full of unannounced matches and a main event that featured one of the worst characters since Isaac Yankem with an ending that would make Vince Russo blush. The sad part is that creative had seemed to be rejuvenated, but this is a big roadblock. With the pressure of AEW starting to sink in, let's see how they respond next month at Survivor Series.

Overall Rating: 22%