WWE Hell in a Cell Review - June 20, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Natalya def. Mandy Rose

WWE cares so much about this women's tag team program that they added it to the Kickoff show less than an hour before it started. You'd think they do the tag title match here between Natalya and Tamina and Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, but I assume they're holding off because they know they don't have many other tag teams to challenge Natalya and Tamina. What we got from Natalya and Rose was a painfully mediocre match. It feels like Rose and Brooke are going to the heels in this feud, which is weird.

SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair def. Bayley in a Hell in a Cell Match

We've seen so many Hell in a Cell matches over the years that a lot of them tend to blend together if the story isn't strong enough, and this was unfortunately one of them. I've enjoyed the Belair vs. Bayley feud over the last six months or so, but it didn't need to culminate inside Hell in a Cell. It wasn't an all-time Hell in a Cell classic, but desplte paling in comparison to Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch and Banks vs. Bayley at Hell in a Cell in years past, this was a very good opener. There were some awesome spots sprinkled throughout, specifically the finish. Belair winning was the right call as you know we're getting Belair vs. Sasha Banks again at some point, likely at SummerSlam.

Seth Rollins def. Cesaro

This was on par with the other matches they've had in recent months, which is say it was quite good. These men can do no wrong when in the ring together. It was a very well-worked match and they did a terrific job of keeping it exciting throughout. Normally I'd be fine with Cesaro being protected in defeat, but Rollins should've gotten the decisive win if the plan is for him to face Edge at SummerSlam as has been rumored. Rollins said while he was walking up the ramp that he and Cesaro were now "even," and I'm not sure how seeing as how Cesaro has beaten him twice this year: once at WrestleMania 37 and again on SmackDown a few weeks later.

Alexa Bliss def. Shayna Baszler

Like most people, I expected absurdity from this match coming into the show, so I can't say I was shocked when I ended up being right. It's not even that the wrestling was all that bad; both women are talented in different ways. Rather, the focus was almost entirely on the supernatural shenanigans and I hated every second of it. Bliss plays her character remarkably well, but what they have her doing is just terrible television. The worst part is that it's coming at the expense of Baszler, the once-dominant two-time NXT Women's champion. Bliss won as we all knew she would, and Baszler's career is even farther down the toilet.

Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens

Zayn and Owens had another excellent match together. In other news, water is wet. I've seen them have even better matches against each other, which tells you how strong their chemistry is. This was more hard-hitting and physical than their past encounters and I loved how you could feel the bad blood between them. I figured Owens would win again to put the rivalry to rest (for now), but apparently not. Zayn scoring a rare clean win was a pleasant surprise, but it also probably means we haven't seen the last of this feud because WWE has no idea what else to do with them on SmackDown.

Charlotte Flair def. Raw Women's Champion Rhea Ripley by Disqualification

Flair and Ripley with their original one-on-one encounter at WrestleMania 36 that they work really well together, so it was hardly a surprise that this was also entertaining. It didn't quite reach the same level that did, but I assume they were holding back because there's more matches to come from them. It told a simple story with Flair wanting to teach Ripley a lesson, which led to Ripley getting herself disqualified because that's what Flair would do in her mind. The non-finish was whatever, but it was the fact that it happened after Ripley threw the top of the announcers' table at Flair. When the hell has that ever been considered illegal? Consistency is all I ask for.

WWE Champion Bobby Lashley def. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell Match

This was easily the most unpredictable match on the show as it could have gone either way. Thus, the addition of suspense surrounding the outcome made me enjoy this that much more. They gave it a hell of an effort and it was going great up until the unnecessary interference from MVP. McIntyre blamed MVP for distracting him at WrestleMania 37 and costing him the title that night, which he didn't, but that was actually the case here and it was a damn Hell in a Cell match. How much sense does that make? I assume this was the blow-off, but you never know with WWE. A distraction roll-up is not how I would have an ended an otherwise entertaining main event.

Overall Show

For starters, I appreciated that this was only a six-match card and that the event was under three hours. In fact, if you include the Kickoff, there were more women's matches than there were men's matches, which is got to be some sort of a record. That said, if you missed this show, you didn't miss much. I have such Hell in a Cell fatigue at this point and it didn't help that the last installment was less than eight months ago. I wish this was the last, but I know deep down that it won't be. I doubt the concept has much of an appeal at this point. The undercard featured a bunch of top-notch matches and even the top two matches were above-average up until the lame finishes. This felt like a transitional, pointless pay-per-view, but at least the wrestling delivered (excerpt for that atrocity that was Bliss vs. Baszler, of course).

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