Review for WWE Hell In A Cell 2016

Hell in a Cell the PPV version is not the Hell in a Cell that we see randomly (such as the one this year at Wrestlemania). It should be the end to all feuds. It should be a match that sends a chill up the spine of the competitors. Now? It's just another match that whoever is champion will inevitably have to be involved in. This year Hell in a Cell was a Raw Brand exclusive and was the first ever WWE PPV headlined by a Women's match?

Glass ceiling.... Smashed!!!

However, that is not to say this is a great PPV. It is certainly entertaining, but some of it just didn't feel right for me.

The first Hell in a Cell between Rusev and Roman Reigns was a good match. It had some good uses of the cell and I am glad to see Rusev looking dominant again.

I love Bayley, I love her energy and her intro, however her match against Dana Brooke was a little lacklustre and should have been a way to show both of these as possible contenders for the belt. Again I love Enzo and Big Cass's intro. It has a great retro-New Age Outlaws feel, but their match against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson was again lacklustre. One of the main reasons for both of these is they are less than ten minutes long. This should not be allowed on a PPV. On a Raw (bearing in mind Raw is 3 hours too) this would be acceptable, but not on a showcase like a PPV.

It is surprising for the WWE Universal Championship to be this place on the card. It makes sense with the honour going to Women, but just feels weird. The match between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins in the cell was pretty good. It was given long enough to mean something (Which is the most important thing) and the two worked well together. I didn't agree with the whole Chris Jericho interference, but I understood why they did it and it certainly furthers the storyline. Some great moments throughout the match.

The Cruiserweight Championship match between TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick was a fast paced match which I enjoyed. It was a good showing by them, but I do worry that by isolating the Cruiserweights it may make them feel less important and having their own show only enforces this rather than being the spotlight that it should be.

The New Day against Cesaro and Sheamus should have been a great match and in a way I would have loved to have seen this in a cell too. However, it felt like a 'by the numbers' sort of match and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The ending made no sense and not sure what it did for anyone.

The main event is special for a number of reasons. As I said before, it is the first WWE PPV headlined by a Women's match, first Women's Hell in a Cell and possibly the biggest let down of the night. 

I shall explain...

Firstly, this is Boston. Sasha Banks hometown, so logic would dictate that they would let her win and have her moment in glory. Second, Sasha is far too easily injured to support the whole 'Boss Persona' that she has developed. It works for Bayley, but seeing her get dominated by Charlotte at times can be painful to watch. That's not a good thing. Thirdly, this is the FIFTH TIME the belt has changed hands since April. In fact (as of writing this) the belt has changed hands more times in nine months than the original women's title did between 2008 and
2010?

And remember... THIS is supposed to be the Women's Revolution!!??

The match itself is fine. I enjoyed most of it, but again Sasha is injured far too easily and has to sell far too much. It makes the whole 'rush of adrenaline' moments look a little goofy. Once to end a match is great akin to Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior, but it happens so often that it has no effect. As great as it is to allow the women to showcase in the main event, I don't think this did anything special and will probably never happen again.

Extras oddly don't include the Kickoff match, but do include three Hype segments for the PPV featuring Rusev and Roman Reigns, The Women's contract signing and Mick Foley and Stephanie hyping up the event. There is a great match
between Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins which is great. All in all this is exactly what the Bluray should be for the PPV, some promos, some bits from Raw and some matches.

Hell in a Cell could have been a groundbreaking PPV. The fact the women main evented should have meant that this was going to be one of the best of the year. Instead it just felt like any other PPV. The three Cell matches were not as much overkill as I thought, though the first two were much better than the main event. The other matches were fine, but nothing you couldn't see on any weekly episode of Raw. I think someone in WWE needs to understand that the matches on the PPV can run longer than ten minutes and that anything less simply don't mean anything. As it is, the PPV is not unwatchable, but certainly not one I would watch again.