WWE's annual Hell In A Cell pay-per-view was tonight and featured three matches inside the structure. On paper, this seemed like overkill and it was in some cases. With that being said the show wasn't a complete dud and did showcase some great matches. For the sake of length, I'm going to hit the two more high-profile HIAC matches.
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins was a pretty good match and arguably the best the two have had together in WWE. The finish was what it was. There had to be a play to extend this feud and keep Rollins from winning the championship as it's expected that Rollins will eventually enter a program with Triple H. Presumably, the Universal Championship will not be involved. The highlight of the match was a giant table bump that Owens took via a Rollins powerbomb. Eventually, Jericho got into the cage and helped Owens win. Good match and was what it needed to be.
Time for the biggest story of the night.
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Women's Championship was good, maybe even great. I'll get this out of the way quick: they should not have headlined the show. Now, before you call me a jerk, see it from this perspective. I absolutely believe that the women of WWE have the capability of main eventing a big show and they did a lot to prove that at Hell In A Cell. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer made a very solid point this week that I agree with. The point is that if the women are going to headline a pay-per-view, then use the weeks of build to that show to promote the fact that they are the main event. Make them the focal point from the beginning of the build. They didn't do that here, but luckily, the women are talented enough to get past that. So let's talk about the match.
The match opened with a quick attack by Charlotte before the bell even rang. Great idea to start as it extended the match preventing the two from spending way too much time in the cell. Sasha took a crazy table bump and was later put on a stretcher. Reminiscent of Mick Foley's career defining moment, Sasha rolled off the stretcher to meet Charlotte in the cell. They had an awesome match, even if some of their spots didn't go exactly as planned. Some of their table spots didn't exactly work, but for the two's first attempt at a gimmick match like this, they definitely succeeded considering the pressure of the evening. A great positive of this match is that though it was good, they left the door open for improvement. The women still have spots to burn in matches like this, so there is still a lot of ground to cover. The men have done some many crazy spots and taken so many different bumps that fans have come to expect that from every hardcore style match. The women just got their first run at it and it's still fresh. Basically, this means that every crazy bump or spot still means a lot more in a women's match. They still have the ability to do less and get a great reaction from the audience. The future of women's wrestling is bright as the competitors continue to make great strides with the division.
All in all, this was a decent show with some good matches. I could spend all day talking the woes of the Tag Team and Cruiserweight Divisions, but I'll save that for its own article. The shows have been thin since the brand split and Hell In A Cell was not an exception. Fortunately for the fans, tonight's highs were good enough to get this show a passing grade.
Brady Sauvageau
-The Heater
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