WWE Hell in a Cell Review - October 2, 2011

Alberto Del Rio outsmarts the Champ out of the WWE title.

Great opening match between Sheamus and Christian to start the show, but the crowd didn't really kick into second gear till the closing few minutes. The Celtic Warrior's victory was an obvious one, but it gets him one step closer to challenging Mark Henry for the World Heavyweight Championship down the line. 

A huge letdown with the Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara match, as the crowd couldn't have cared less. The audience is what took away for the match, but I can't blame them given this program has been so horribly written. Not sure where it goes from here, but Hunico must reveal himself to differ his character from Mistico before both are ruined.

Fun WWE Tag Team Championship match with Air Boom successfully retaining against the team of Jack Swagger and United States Champion Dolph Ziggler. It would have meant a bit more had the match been announced a few days prior, as it was obvious it was going to transpire anyways. I'm enjoying the tension between Ziggler, Swagger and Vickie Guerrero, hopefully leading to a U.S. title match between the two bleached blonde Superstars.

Solid World Heavyweight Championship match between Mark Henry and Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell. The stipulation wasn't all that useful, but this bout was much more hard-hitting than their previous at Night of Champions. It told an intriguing story indeed, and having Henry kick out of the powerful RKO finishing maneuver made the World's Strongest Slam look extremely strong. I'm glad Creative didn't screw up by giving the title back to Orton, and the post-match beat-down at the hands of the Viper did no harm.

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Cody Rhodes successfully retains his rejuvenated IC Title.

I am absolutely loving the prestige Cody Rhodes is bringing back to the Intercontinental Championship, and this promo proved that statement. Bringing back the original IC Title belt was a very cool moment as well. Having Rhodes wrestle in street clothes kind of took away from this match, but the chemistry Rhodes has with John Morrison made up for it. Morrison is continue to down spiral on the roster, which is an immense shame given his high potential and athletic ability.

Finally, Beth Phoenix is Divas Champion. I don't believe the microphone shot was neccesary, but that was my only problem with this contest. The crowd was dead for change, which obviously wouldn't have happened had this title change occurred two weeks ago at Night of Champions. Nonetheless, here's hoping we are treated to a credible reign from the Glamazon.

Surprisingly, the WWE Championship won Match of the Night, as the fast-paced action between John Cena, CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio kept the crowd hot throughout the entire match with their believable near-falls. Innovate move from Del Rio to capture the title by locking Cena out, but I can't help but think that the strap has lost too much prestige at this point with the rapid title changes. Baffling as to why Creative put the belt on Cena for only two weeks. The Awesome Truth interference was logical, but very intriguing as they destroyed everyone they could within the cage. Triple H getting the best of them seemed weak, but it will viewers tuning into Raw tomorrow night for sure.

Overall, a better than expected show, ranking as a decent for this viewer. The action was excellent, but predictable, which isn't a bad thing in this case. The biggest factor is placing Hell in a Cell only two weeks after Night of Champions, a statistic that will certainly reflect in the ending buy-rate. Nonetheless, many viewers should be anticipating next with Awesome Truth.

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