Top 5 Takeaways from WWE Hell in a Cell

Top 5 Takeaways from WWE Hell in a Cell

By Anton Ware

10/11/2017

Hello Geektified family! It's time for another monthly review as we cover the latest Smackdown brand offering, Hell in a Cell. The Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI played home to the event and it is the 9th edition of the show. RAW headlined the event last year (with Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks as the main event) and now with Smackdown taking its place for 2017, Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens closes out the show. The PPV also features Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship and The New Day vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Titles inside Hell in a Cell. Who rises to the top you ask? Let's get into it!

#5: The Lone Wolf Gets His Prize:

AJ Styles defended his United States Championship against Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger in a triple threat match. The match told the story of Styles and Dillinger trying to overcome the size advantage of Corbin. Since it's also triple threat rules, Styles and Dillinger would also battle each other in an “every man for himself” scenario. In the end, it would be Corbin getting the victory by kicking Styles out of the ring in order to pin an unconscious Dillinger after Styles nailed the Perfect 10 with a Phenomenal Forearm. Baron Corbin wins his first championship in WWE. The Lone Wolf had a disappointing summer as he won the Money in the Bank briefcase only to lose it in embarrassing fashion a few weeks followed by a decisive loss to John Cena at Summerslam. When it seemed like all hope was lost for Corbin, he regained his ruthlessness and is a title holder. What's next for Corbin? Will the title go to his head or will it make him more focused and dangerous? Will he also be able to prove that his win wasn't a fluke and that he’s the real deal? Time will tell, but for now congrats are in order.

#4: The Beginning of The End?

Last night, Rusev and Dolph Ziggler were on the losing end of their respective matches. Rusev was defeated by Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler to Bobby Roode. Both men have been on the losing side of things for quite some time. Gone are the days where Rusev was destroying all the black wrestlers   the entire RAW roster during his US Title reign in 2014 with Lana by his side. Gone are the days where Dolph was main eventing WWE programming against John Cena with AJ Lee and the Money in the Bank briefcase in his possession. Both men now are in a position to help build the next generation of stars (or in Rusev’s case, help current stars stay relevant), but that doesn’t bode well for their own careers.  You can only take so many losses that the WWE hierarchy and crowd no longer view you as a threat and starts to give you less chances to make an impact.  If this continues with both superstars, what would be next for them? Could one or both them wait it out and continue their careers in WWE or will they say enough is enough and exit the door for greener pastures?

#3: The Jinder Mahal Experiment: Failure or Greatness?

In the main title match on the show, Jinder Mahal defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the WWE Championship. He won by his standard tactics: Singh Brothers interference, a distracted referee, and an opportunistic Khallas finisher to keep the title around his waist. This is the second time that he’s beaten Nakamura on PPV which pushes the King of Strong Style out of the title picture. With Mahal retaining the title, many fans are clamoring for him to get bumped from the top of the Smackdown Mountain sooner rather than later. Ever since he won the #1 contendership match for the WWE Title, he has been met with criticism over why he’s been slotted in the main event scene. When he actually won the title, the WWE Universe was shocked that Jinder managed to get as far as he did with the title. Since then, fans have not been welcoming of Mahal’s title reign due to his in-ring work, paint-by-numbers storylines/matches and the overused “evil foreigner who maybe hates America so boo him” character. So that begs the question: Is Jinder Mahal’s title reign lackluster or does it draw the right amount of heel heat? I think some of us in modern day wrestling may forget that heels are supposed to be hated and that the fans should want to see the bad guy lose what he doesn’t deserve. Jinder fits that perfectly. He in no way should be WWE Champion, but the story of his entire reign as champion has been The Singh Brothers always helping him win. He’s nothing without Sunil and Samir and there will be a time when he won’t have his boys to assist him. To me, that's the glue that holds up Jinder Mahal’s title reign and that little detail within his reign makes Jinder’s run as champion one of the more underappreciated acts in all of professional wrestling.

#2: The Tag Title Match Steals The Show...AGAIN!!

After many back and forth battles for the gold, The Usos and The New Day decided to end their rivalry in the war to end all wars, the place where feuds go to die: Hell in a Cell. These two teams have torn the house down every time they’re in the ring together and this outing was no different. Big E and Xavier Woods represented The New Day and were perceived as the underdogs because some fans didn’t believe that the happy-go-lucky team could adapt in such a vicious environment, but the prophets of positivity held their own throughout the contest. They would bring their own weapons including colored trombones, a cowbell, and even trapped Jey Uso in a corner of the cell on the outside with kendo sticks to assault him repeatedly. The Usos wouldn’t hold back either as they got revenge on Xavier Woods by handcuffing him, hanging him on top of the ring post, and beating him repeatedly with kendo sticks. The Usos even managed to perform a doomsday suicide dive on Big E. The New Day would get back on track, but the damage and limited ability to Xavier Woods was too much as Woods fell victim to the double top-rope splash onto a chair from twins for the pin and win. The Usos are now 5-time tag champions. Just a great effort from all four competitors.

#1: Sami Zayn With the Assist

The main headline from this show reads as this: Sami Zayn helps Kevin Owens defeat Shane McMahon during Hell in a Cell. Never thought we’d be saying that. Two weeks before the PPV, Owens nearly ended Zayn’s career (again), only for Shane McMahon to run out to put a stop to Owens’ actions.  For whatever reason, Sami Zayn pulls Owens’ near lifeless body out of the way from being injured by Shane McMahon’s Elbow Drop off the top of the cell. Looking conflicted over his actions, Zayn rolls Owens onto Shane (falls count anywhere stipulation) for the pin and win. Zayn would then go on to explain his actions by saying that even though he and Owens have fought like cats and dogs over the years, he still sees him like a brother and didn’t want his brother getting seriously injured. What will be the fallout from Zayn’s decision? Are he and Owens officially a tag team? Will there be repercussions for Zayn helping Owens win the match? It all remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, Smackdown has definitely been shaken up over these turn of events.

So what did you guys think of the show? Hit or miss? Let me know in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

-Anton