Welcome to Hell In A Cell for September 16, 2018. For all WWE pay-per-views, I will go over every match, share the highlights and quotes, and look ahead to the next show.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Rusev & Aiden English (New Day win by pinfall)
This match was good as we thought it was going to be, but this might have been the last match for Rusev and Aiden English. In the beginning, Rusev Day was working in tandem, but late match they began to break down. English cost his team the victory after refusing to tag Rusev in. Who becomes the hero and who becomes the villain will have to be determined in the coming weeks.
Highlights: Big E and Kofi hit a standing stomp on English
Rusev hits a kick on a diving Kofi
English hits a face plant on Big E on the ring apron
English tries to do the Acolyte
Grade 8 out of 10
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell Match) (Orton wins by pinfall)
Sometimes you don’t need big spots for a Hell In A Cell Match. Just turn up the brutality and let two legends go to work. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy destroyed themselves in that ring. chair shots, broken tables, and blood running were just a few of the highlights. Orton has gotten people to hate him and Hardy can still get up fro big matches. An instant classic for both men and the match type.
Highlights: Orton slams Hardy into an upside down ladder.
Hardy slide kicks a table into Orton
Chair shots hard enough to leave scars
Orton takes a screwdriver through Hardy’s ear gauge and proceeds to twist
Hardy falls face first from the top of the cage through a table.
THE WHOLE DAMN MATCH!!
Grade: 10 out of 10
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch ( Lynch wins by pin fall to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion)
There was no hint that these two women were once friends. This was a brutal match about who was the better wrestler. Charlotte was focused on submission, to make a point that she was better then Lynch. Lynch was looking for any way to win, her roll-up pin not in her usual move list. With Lynch as champion, what will she be like on Smackdown now she has gotten what she sacrificed everything for?
Highlights: Lynch dives from the apron
Trading punches on the ring apron
Charlotte pulls Lynch from the mat into a power bomb
Grade 9 out of 10
Raw Tag Team Champions Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntrye vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose (Ziggler and Mcintyre win by pinfall)
If the WWE keeps this up, HIAC might go down as one of the best pay-per-views ever. These four started strong and never let up. You had no idea who was going to win as big move after big move was hit. While it was disappointing that The Shield could not get the belts, this rivalry is too hot to simply end here.
Highlights: Ambrose and Mcintyre go head to head, yelling at each other
Ziggler and Mcintyre have one of the best keep their opponent from making a tag
The referee misses a tag to Ambrose and the crowd loses it.
The final seven minutes are just spectacular
Grade 10 out of 10
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (Styles wins by pinfall)
AJ Styles and Samoa Joe just have that perfect chemistry that only a long time wrestling each others brings. Styles was the aggressor while Joe could hit a big move any time. The finish was controversial, but this was a perfect way to do it. The first angle showed Joe with his shoulders pinned, while the second showed Styles tapping right before the 3 count. More of this to come.
Highlights: Joe kicks Styles as he goes for a Phenomenal Forearm
Joe hits a running Styles with a running shoulder block
Styles lifts Joe onto his shoulders.
Styles hits a 450 on Joe who is more then halfway across the ring.
Grade: 9 out of 10
Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse (Miz and Maryse win by pinfall)
I was a little surprised at this win, since the Miz won at Summerslamn, but this was a good match. Brie and Maryse did a fair amount of wrestling and both looked great doing so. Miz and Bryan continue to get better and better and that masterpiece of a match is still waiting to be had. Plus, it was cool to see two husbands and wives getting to work together.
Highlights: Bryan misses a headbutt from the top rope
Brie slides under Miz to hit Maryse.
Bire and Bryan both hit the Yes kicks.
Grade: 9 out of 10
Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey vs. Alexa Bliss (Rousey wins by submission)
This was the longest match that Rousey had in the WWE ring, and she did a fantastic job. The story line of Bliss attacking the ribs was an effective one and gave the Goddess a chance of beating the Baddest Women on the planet. Rousey keeps surprising, showing that she could be one of the best WWE superstars of all time if she keeps this momentum.
Highlights: Rousey hits a very strange pinning combination.
Bliss gets Rousey in a tree of woe
Rousey and Bliss collide mid air.
Rousey hits her own ribs to go through the pain.
Grade 9 out of 10
Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman (Hell in a Cell Match with Mick Foley as Special Guest Referee) (No Contest)
This was a pretty standard match up until the last five minutes. Strowman and Reigns were finding everything that Orton and Hardy had left under the ring. It seemed that Strowman was actually getting the better of Reigns until a spear through a table. Ziggler and Mcintyre showed up, followed by Ambrose and Rollins. The biggest surprise was Brock Lesnar, who kicked through the cage and proceeded to beat both men. A strange ending, but hopefully Raw will make it make some sense.
Highlights:Reigns takes a powerbomb and turns it to a Superman punch
Reigns runs full steam into a Strowman chair shot.
Ziggler and and Rollins fall from the cage through the table
Lesnar kicks the door open
Grade: 8 out of 10
Final Thoughts: An almost perfect pay per view. The last match was a little screwy, but it can be redeemed if the explanation tomorrow is strong enough.
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