29th Oct2013

‘WWE Hell in a Cell’ Results & Review

by Chris Cummings

Hell-in-a-Cell

WWE Hell in a Cell is a pay per view that I’ve never really got on board with, the idea of hosting two cell matches in one night, every year, kind of saturated the use of the cell for me, a match that was normally kept locked away for special occasions was being wheeled out for a show every year. Still, the events have produced some interesting matches and this event, on paper, sounds like it will be decent too.

The results of the matches are:

  • Cody/Goldust beat The Uso’s and The Shield to retain the WWE Tag Titles.
  • The Miz had a brawl with The Wyatt Family and Kane returned.
  • Fandango and Summer Rae pinned The Great Khali and Natalya.
  • Big E Langston beat Dean Ambrose via count-out.
  • CM Punk beat Ryback and Paul Heyman in a Hell in a Cell match.
  • Los Matadores beat The Real Americans.
  • John Cena pinned Alberto Del Rio to capture the World Championship.
  • AJ Lee beat Brie Bella by submission.
  • Randy Orton pinned Daniel Bryan to capture the WWE Championship.

So, there is the card and results. It was an interesting show, but it never really reached that second or third gear that big shows often do. There seemed to be times when production and front-of-house were having trouble communicating too.

There was plenty of “good” here, with the opening three-way tag team match being the best match of the night and starting the show with a bang. The crowd reaction to this match was louder than any other on the night. Langston and Ambrose had a decent encounter considering it was a last minute booking after Curtis Axel was injured. The Punk and Heyman spot on top of the cell was memorable. Cena and Del Rio put on a better match than most expected, and the main event, while disappointing, was still entertaining and leaves a lot of questions for the future of the storyline.

We saw Shawn Michaels super kick Bryan and count his shoulders to the mat at the end of the main event, this should lead to some intriguing developments on TV, for sure. Kane returned, attacking The Wyatt Family and then choke-slamming The Miz. John Cena is the new World Champion.

As for poor things, well…there were moments (The Miz angle, Mixed Tag Match, Divas Match) where the show felt like a RAW or Smackdown, which is always a shame when it comes to pay per views. The main event was disappointing considering how we know that these guys are capable of much more. There was a lot of “no-selling” which makes it hard to enjoy certain matches. Punk and Ryback didn’t provide an interesting match, and it only took off after it ended when Punk cornered Heyman on top of the cell itself.

So, Hell in a Cell 2013 was a mixed bag. It wasn’t a terrible show, but it wasn’t great either. It felt like a stepping stone in a pond, a show that is setting up future shows rather than making any significant mark itself. The cell matches weren’t memorable, but luckily, workhorses like The Uso’s, The Shield, Goldust, Cody Rhodes and Antonio Cesaro managed to ignite the crowd for a while.

Survivor Series is the next show on WWE’s PPV calendar, so let’s hope it has more to offer than this did.

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