WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

WWE Hell in a Cell Review - October 25, 2015

10/26/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureBray Wyatt takes Roman Reigns to hell.
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Neville, Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler def. King Barrett, Sheamus and Rusev (Kickoff Match)
​
The biggest problem this matchup faced was that it didn't mean anything because none of these six Superstars mean anything at the moment. Don't get me wrong, though: I thoroughly enjoyed this match from an in-ring standpoint and thought it was a lot of fun, but the ending outcome doesn't hold much value. They finally threw the babyfaces a bone by allowing them to pick up the victory, but it wouldn't shock me if they held the rematch Monday night on Raw. Again, it was one of the better Kickoff matches I've seen in some time, but no one benefited from it whatsoever.


Alberto Del Rio def. John Cena to Win the United States Championship

Well, color me surprised. Del Rio has returned! I honestly didn't believe any of the rumors that were circulating a few weeks ago about him making a potential return to the company after all the bad blood between the two sides at this time last year. I wrote in an article for Hidden Remote just recently saying I didn't care to see Del Rio back in WWE, but I must admit I "marked out" a bit when I heard his music hit. It was a genuine surprise that didn't fall flat, so props to WWE for keeping it a secret. What was even more surprising was when he beat Cena clean, with a kick of all things! I realize Cena is on his way out for a few months, but they didn't do anything to set up his departure, but it's possible they address it on Raw. Nevertheless, I'm skeptical about a Del Rio return because he was damaged goods before he left last year, but if they can book him properly this time around, he'll have a chance of getting over again.

PictureAlberto Del Rio returns to accept the U.S. Open!
Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt in a Hell in a Cell Match

It took some time for the crowd to get into the action, but they were invested in the action by the second half. Reigns and Wyatt put forth a strong performance and deserve credit for having as good of a match as they did. I was skeptical how well they would fare here considering their Battleground bout wasn't the greatest, but this blew that bout out of the water as they incorporated a handful of awesome hardcore spots that the audience was eating up. I'm not thrilled about Wyatt losing another feud, but he came out of this contest looking credible, so I'm not up in arms about it. Besides, it was fairly obvious they were preparing Reigns for another push toward the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, so I could certainly see him being Seth Rollins' next challenger at Survivor Series.


WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day def. The Dudley Boyz

I was almost positive this was going to be the night that The Dudley Boyz were going to get their big moment and win the belts given Xavier Woods was absent from ringside. The New Day have been on a roll as of late, but if this was going to be the end result, why not have the babyfaces go over the heels a few times going into the event? Thankfully, being as established as they are, The Dudleyz don't lose much from the loss, but this better be building to them winning the straps sooner rather than later otherwise fans will slowly stop rallying behind them.


Divas Champion Charlotte def. Nikki Bella

It was lazy on WWE's part to replay mostly the same package from Night of Champions for this match, and they left out Charlotte getting beat by Brie Bella with a dropkick on Raw recently! In all seriousness, they contested a very good women's match in what was easily the best of their series. They took a few more risks than they probably needed to considering their in-ring chemistry wasn't amazing, but I commend them for it. Charlotte isn't clicking for me yet and Nikki is stale in the title picture, so I have hope both of things change come the next pay-per-view where Sasha Banks will be in contention for the championship, or at least she should be.


WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins def. Kane (Corporate Kane is No Longer Director of Operations)

This was a dead feud coming into this show and the live crowd couldn't have cared less, which is a shame since it was a world title match. It didn't even feel like anything major was on the line and the stipulation of Corporate Kane getting fired if he lost was just plain stupid. Virtually no one saw him as a threat to the title and worse yet, Kane and Rollins didn't click at all as opponents. It was a decent effort, but it was ultimately a massive flop. If nothing else, Rollins finally won clean, so it wasn't a total lost cause.


Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens def. Ryback

I'm a Ryback fan. I'm an Owens fan. I'm not a fan of their matches. Unlike others, I didn't mind their Night of Champions match as I thought it was passable, but this was barely mediocre. Ryback can have a quality match with the right guy, and even though Owens shouldn't be blamed, they aren't a good pairing. Owens winning decisively should put this rivalry to rest and allow him to move on to a fresh set of challengers.


Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell Match

I was afraid this match wouldn't live up to the grand hype it's been given, especially after their last Hell in a Cell match from 2002 was such a classic, but this was tremendous. They told a stellar story with both men taking the fight to each other and refusing to give up by kicking out of several finishers. Typically, I'm not a fan of that approach, but when done sparingly, it can create great suspense like it did here. Of course, I'd be lying if I said the blood didn't add to it. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not (it likely wasn't), but it undoubtedly added to the atmosphere and made it feel like a true blood feud (literally). Lesnar winning clean was the right move after Undertaker technically beat him at SummerSlam and I really liked how they closed out the show on a cliffhanger with The Wyatt Family abducting The Deadman. It left me looking forward to what will happen on Raw and what it might mean for 'Taker at Survivor Series, where he will celebrate 25 years in WWE.


Overall Show

The opening and closing matches on this show were strong super. They kicked off the night on a high note with the shocking return of Alberto Del Rio and a title change followed by a better-than-expected Cell match. Undertaker and Lesnar delivered a fantastic match that met my expectations, but WWE has to keep in mind that they can't always rely on the part-timers to carry their shows for them. The middle of the show was decent yet unspectacular as nothing too much of note happened and the matches were average at best. On the whole, however, the event was enjoyable and I was very satisfied with it. Now, Survivor Series could shape up to be a major happening for the first time in years if Undertaker will be appearing, so here's hoping they can take this momentum and roll with it over the next month instead of returning to the stagnant programming they were producing prior to this pay-per-view.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact