WWE Hell in a Cell (Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Hell in a Cell (2015) took place on October 25, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This was the first WWE PPV other than SummerSlam held in Los Angeles since No Way Out in 2007.

Once again, my co-author Serena and I are tackling coverage of this event together since many of you gave us feedback that you enjoyed our back and forth banter as we discussed these wrestling events.

Ziggler, Cesaro, and Neville def. King Barrett, Sheamus, and Rusev

ZX: Another WWE PPV, another Preshow bout with some of their most talented in-ring guys on the preshow. I really hope that WWE begins to invest more into these guys’ characters and get them higher up on the card. It’s a criminal offense that we’re not seeing guys like Cesaro main eventing PPVs by now. Dear Vince McMahon, Cesaro has all of the brass rings. You need to give him the platform to get to the top of this company.

Serena: Just to be honest and upfront about it… I never watch the pre-show. Most of the time I really don’t care for the panel. They don’t really discuss anything, but just recite the same lines the commentary use during Raw or Smackdown!. Even more often I don’t care about the match. Yet, this time WWE has outdone themselves. Six superstars who are all capable of performing at a main event level and their all in a 6 Man Tag Team Match. To say that this breaks my heart would be an understatement. I propose to do the WWE World Heavyweight Title defense at the pre-show as well. Because it seems like every PPV the biggest title defense is at best at the middle of the card.

United States Championship Open Challenge - Alberto Del Rio def. John Cena

ZX: Shocker of the night by far. WWE must have given Del Rio one HELL of an offer to make him leave AAA in a heartbeat while still holding their Mega Championship at the top of that promotion to come back like this. I guess WWE’s “mistreatment” of him wasn’t that bad to make him come back running like a trained puppy.

I have to admit that I have lost a bit of respect for Del Rio to just jump ship like that in a heartbeat, abandoning AAA after all that they’ve done for him in the meantime, as well as potentially Lucha Underground Season 2.

Even the Cena haters can’t even hate on this match. Cena lost to Del Rio quick and it was CLEAN. There’s no disputing that loss in the least. I have to wonder what is the long-term plan of pairing Del Rio with Zeb Coulter while Jack Swagger gets the shaft?

Serena: I agree with Z on this one. Honestly, I was very surprised seeing ADR stepping on that ramp. I did read about possible deals between WWE and Alberto, but with the way he left the company and talked about it afterwards, it seemed like his return would be a highly unlikely possibility. Also, I do hope I am not the only one seeing the irony in Alberto Del Rio becoming U.S. Champion after he got fired because of an altercation with staff who made racist remarks. But hey, fans for the first time ever will have a legit reason to chant “You Sold Out!”

The match itself was very decent with Cena displaying the same revamped style he has been showing throughout the year and Alberto Del Rio proving that he is probably in the best physical shape he has ever been. The pin was clean, the win was clear and now we start the story arc of “Mex-America”.... Don’t blame me for wishing that heel Dolph Ziggler would have been the one to challenge Cena for the title.

ZX: I was in the same boat with you for a DZ/Cena feud. WWE are pulling him a 100 different directions at once and it’s hurting him more than helping. Cool, the Tyler Breeze debut was well-done, but the Rusev, Lana, Summer Rae, DZ love triangle (or rectangle) had an awkward ending. So Breeze’s debut just comes across as damage control to me while WWE doesn’t want to admit that they fucked up. I guess they are going to ignore the whole seeds they planted of the DZ/Cena feud - from Total Divas to the matches and segments themselves. It’s comes down to a LOT of bad booking on WWE’s behalf.

Hell in a Cell -- Roman Reigns def. Bray Wyatt

ZX: Unlike most people, I was more invested in this build-up more than anything else going into this event. Even though I’m getting sick of Bray Wyatt being built up as a threat then get shot down at the PPV, each and every single time he's in a major feud.

Serena: Don’t hate me on this, but I am not a big fan of Bray and the entire Wyatt family gimmick. I don’t think that it is in any shape bad, but it just doesn’t click with me. So when I saw Bray at “Money in the Bank” stealing the victory from Roman, I sighed. I didn’t think there was any point to this rivalry. And pretty much till a few weeks ago I absolutely loathed this family vs family storyline. The turning point was on Raw, when Roman came out for a stare down with Bray and simply said “Hell in a Cell.”. It was the best build up to a match as of late. Nothing. No flashy statements, no long winded promos (Yes, Roman did slip with that one later down the road.), just two men wanting to finish a grueling rivalry.

After all of this you expect a bone breaking and career stalling match. I personally think that they definitely delivered. Sure, this match is not anything out of the box, but the effort that both Roman and Bray put in was visible without any doubts. Reigns, who is following the footsteps of John Cena, is improving greatly with each PPV. This time you could notice the change in his facial expressions throughout the match. He did a stellar job emoting and reacting to each near pin fall or missed shot. Subtle enough, but still noticeable. Also, some pretty neat spots with the kendo sticks and tables. The match was entertaining and captivating, probably becoming the standout match of “Hell in a Cell”.

Tag Team Title Match -- The New Day def. The Dudley Boyz

Serena: While writing this joint review with Z, I noticed that this match wasn’t even listed in this match. Shows how memorable this tag team collision was. I said this before and I am not scared to state this again. The New Day are great performers. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have the definitely found their style, they use pop culture references perfectly, their ring work is solid. But at this point the Unicorns are so over that I a get bored watching them. That is the problem with the team being so flamboyant and out there that it doesn’t take long to reach the limit and become predictable. New Day’s title defense was the same match we see every week on Raw and Smackdown!. Same spots, same jokes, same “unexpected” victories. I don’t know if it is just me or others see it too, but there is a lack of chemistry between the Dudley’s and New Day. Something just doesn’t seem to click. So for me this match served as a bathroom break.

ZX: Can you blame me? The match itself was rather easily forgettable. Like you said, the Dudleys and New Day don’t really mesh well. With the rumors that the Usos are coming back into action floating around, I hope that means they will feud with the New Day while the Dudleys join up with the Brothers of Destruction against the Wyatt Family for Survivor Series.

Divas Championship Match - Charlotte def. Nikki Bella

ZX: Once again, Nikki Bella carried Charlotte through another high profile match and made her look like a million bucks. Nikki has definitely showcased her sheer dominance in the ring here. She has had her share of skeptics and critics throughout her title reign over the past year, but she definitely showed a lot of improvement here as she worked Charlotte’s limbs like a hungry predator. Her desire to regain the Divas Championship was on clear display here.

I know you guys are getting sick of me frowning on Charlotte but I can’t get behind her when Nikki works her body for the ENTIRE match then have Charlotte no sell the abuse, hit that lazy-looking Spear and lock in the Figure Eight for the win with little to no effort. It’s just as bad as AJ Lee getting ragdolled in her matches only to slap in the Black Widow and have her fans rave about how great she is.

The post-match “celebration” just ruined the good vibe from this match though. Paige came out to celebrate with Becky Lynch and Charlotte like there’s NO animosity between them. That alone made me feel like WWE has no remote idea of keeping up with their own storylines. Even the “heel turn” by Paige the next night on Monday Night RAW, it still didn’t remedy the situation for me. I’m sure Smackdown! will air by the time we get this article up but I really hope that WWE starts breaking up these teams and give these women time to shine individually while creating actual legitimate storylines.

Serena: So Charlotte has been a poorly booked champion. I know that Z isn’t too keen on her, but when I saw her coming to the main roster from NXT, I was genuinely excited to see her become champion. She is physically strong, looks like a true athlete and reminded me somewhat of Victoria/Tara. At Night of Champions, Nikki dominated so significantly during the match and the win for Charlotte was so weak that my hopes of an exciting title run fell below sea levels. And so far I wasn’t proved wrong. Baby Flair is portrayed as weak and gullible, week after week falling for Paige’s “Heel Turn 101” antics. (Paige current gimmick deserves its own separate rant). This match didn’t do any good for Charlotte either. Nikki Bella benefited from the smack she got for becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion and retaining the title by DQ before Night of Champions and is building herself as the strongest and most clean cut, classic heel on the main roster. The crowd hates her, she doesn’t do the mistake of working the crowd as a face would do and now embraces a style similar to heels like Owens, Dash and Dawson, who mock their opponents and picks a body part to injure repeatedly throughout the match. In conclusion, great match for Nikki, underwhelming defense for the champion, Charlotte.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match -- Seth Rollins def. “The Demon” Kane

ZX: In my opinion, this was one of the weakest matches on the card. Unlike most people on social media, I don’t have a problem with this match’s standing on the card. I personally felt that they could have booked this on previous Monday Night RAW or Smackdown! There wasn’t nothing stellar or extraordinary about this match, just pretty predictable from top to bottom. I was more relieved that Seth Rollins had a strong credible win for once instead of his weak booking as of late over the course of his title reign.

I get he is supposed to be cowardly, chicken-shit heel but there’s a way to book him stronger and still have him sneak by with the wins. If you want proof, go look at JBL’s heel run from Smackdown from 2003-2004.

Serena: Oh, how did I hate this entire angle with Seth trying to prove that Corporate Kane and Demon Kane is the same person. The person who offered this one should be fired right on the spot. It feels like it hurts me physically to see how poorly Seth has been booked as the champion. The guy is stellar. He truly is. He is the man and works great as an egomaniac heel. But the storylines he has been given are ridiculous to say the least. And this one with Kane was no different. I agree with ZX, I was relieved that Seth Rollins got a strong clean win and this match finally ended the so-called rivalry between him and Kane, but in the long run this added nothing to his wrestling credentials and people will forget that this defense has ever happened in a few months.

I hope that there is still a proper opponent for Seth to have the perfect feud with.

Intercontinental Championship Match - Kevin Owens def. Ryback

ZX: A nice short and sweet match. It could have gone either way in my eyes but I wasn’t mad with the result. Owens plays the part of a natural heel flawlessly and Ryback gets to benefit from Owens’ talents. Maybe this can repair the damage to Ryback’s image after losing momentum over the course of the last two years despite having a few strong feuds.

He’s another guy who I feel like WWE needs to properly build up that could potentially be a major player in another year or two. He’s already removed that Goldberg analogy since he’s already a MUCH better worker than him.

Serena: Ryback seems like such a genuinely good guy. That was why I felt so incredibly sorry for him, when CM Punk threw the Big Guy under the bus by accusing him of being a stiff worker and a threat to other wrestlers. I am happy to see Ryback in a feud with someone like Owens, because the latter really knows how to put someone over, while benefitting from it as well. KO can showcase the good guy nature of Ryback and let him display his incredible strength and also work his amazing heel gimmick and show agility that not many bigger wrestlers possess.

This match was absolutely fine. Nothing good, nothing bad about it. I would be interested in seeing more development for both parties and for their rivalry, because now it mostly seems like a title defense for the sake of having a title defense.

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

ZX: I don’t care whether the blood was intentional or not, but it was a welcome treat in a match like this. We don’t have to go back to the days of people blading in EVERY.SINGLE.MATCH and looking like a horror movie (I’m looking right at you Ric Flair…) from the blood everywhere, but a little blood here and there in a raw, physical match such as this is perfectly fine. What’s the point of these speciality matches if people aren’t getting messed up from the sheer brutality of them? I understand that this is the PG era, but don’t make it the “Kiddy Block” Family Filter era.

I’m going to get into a little of film theory here, but let’s face it. After the Attitude Era and a little of the Ruthless Aggression Era, along with a LOT of ECW and hardcore/deathmatches in general, wrestling audiences have been desensitized. What is desensitivity? It’s when an audience sees one thing so much that they become “numb” to that experience to the point where they are unfettered to it. The perfect example I can give in modern media is the horror movie genre. The horror genre grew obsessed with extreme violence and showing blood in every scene to the point where audiences grew numb to these “scares” thanks to films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the modern remakes), the Saw franchise, and other notable horror flicks. Now there’s a movement with films, such as the original Paranormal Activity where the horror is all in the audience’s head and they are left to imagine the on screen horror instead of seeing all of the violent acts take place. This is a throwback to the horror classics, such as Psycho, where less is more. WWE is doing a bit of the same thing with the PG era, training their audiences to expect less so when they do add in a bit of blood in a match like this there’s a more of a “wow” factor and causes more of a reaction from their audiences.

I went into this match not really expecting much as I’m not going to act like I have been mind-wiped by WWE and I still remember The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar’s feuds from 2002 and 2003. I was expecting a complete rehash from that stuff back then. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this match. The spot where Lesnar exposed the floorboards after removing the protective padding in the ring was a nice touch, but I have a feeling that Bubba Ray Dudley and Sting may have fed that spot to Lesnar and Taker since they did the same thing in Impact Wrestling a few years back. Nonetheless, it was still a great spot. I just wish that Taker actually had better aim on the Tombstone Piledriver to make it look more legit on the floorboards.

Serena: I probably have a lot less to say about this match than ZX did, but I mostly blame it on my lack of wrestling history knowledge. I personally didn’t really know how to feel about this match. It is always a great pleasure to see Brock in the ring, since he is greatly entertaining. But the bout between him and Taker at Summerslam (okay, the ending of it) disappointed me greatly. So, I didn’t really know how will this match go down. And if being completely honest… I did enjoy it. The match resembled something I used to watch in 2006 (yes, I am very much a baby in terms of watching wrestling). Both the blood, which we rarely see on WWE programming and some creative spots (Exposing the floor boards, for example) gave us a very enjoyable bout between two legends in the wrestling business. I am happy that the feud ended with the win going to Lesnar and I am even more excited that this rivalry has come to an end. Just like with Seth, I am more than intrigued to see who is next in line to face the Beast Incarnated.

Post-Match -- The Wyatt Family assaults The Undertaker and carries him out to end the show

Serena: When I saw the Wyatt family came out my initial reaction was “WTF? What are they doing here?”. Sure, I remember the match between Bray and Taker at Wrestlemania in April, but I didn’t have a feeling that something was left unresolved. The ending seemed clear. But nonetheless, The Wyatt’s came out, beat the living hell out of an already beaten Undertaker and carried him out of the ring. It felt odd. Just odd. Not bad, not stellar, not even “meh”. WWE continued their tradition of ending their recent PPV’s with a “huh?” from the crowd. That was the feeling I’ve gotten after seeing the end of “Hell in a Cell”.

ZX: JR brought this point up on his HIAC review on his podcast the past week and I have to agree 100%. Why in the blue hell didn’t any of the up and coming talent, especially the babyfaces, didn’t pour out of the locker room to help the Undertaker? No Kane to reunite the Brothers of Destruction (even though Kane came out on RAW to the same result the next night) after losing his job. You would think that guys like Cesaro, Neville, Ziggler, Reigns, Ambrose, etc. would jump at this chance at this chance to get the rub from helping a “legend” such as the Deadman. I guess no one on creative nor in the locker rooms were thinking of that.

It would have been a great chance to add more heel heat for the Wyatt Family as well since you know they would layout the babyfaces before carrying out the Deadman.

In all seriousness, I’m all for a Wyatt Family vs. Brothers of Destruction feud as long as it doesn’t end with Kane and Taker wearing those janitor jumpsuits like Daniel Bryan came back wearing after whatever sick shit the Wyatt’s do to convert people to their cause.