Review for WWE Hell In A Cell 2013

Hell in a Cell is one of those matches that over the years thanks to the 'themed' PPV has become a shell of its former glory. Not tonight. This was the first time in many years that the Hell in a Cell match actually meant something and no more is that shown than in the opening montage which could have come from the Hell in a Cell Anthology DVD.

There are two reasons why the Cell meant much more this time and it is simple

1.) There are only two
Despite my opinions of the two matches themselves, both work well in using the Cell as part of the match and unlike most matches like this (eg Money in the Bank) it didn't feel like I was watching the same spots over and over.

2.) Both had a reason for it
Instead of being a case of two people wrestling and it just happens to be in the Cell, both of these matches had a reason to be in there and especially in regards to the Bryan/Orton match it felt like old skool booking 101 of how a feud should work and it does.

The PPV could almost be redubbed 'Tag Team Night' with three of the eight matches being contested in this way. This is probably the most tag matches I've ever seen on a show for many years. The Triple Threat Tag Team Championship match between The Shield, Cody Rhodes and Goldust and The Usos was great and though you can't compare it with the best tag matches I have ever seen it is certainly better than most. My only problem was that the rules made no sense and it probably should have been under 'elimination' rules, but still a great match.

Los Matadore vs. The Real Americans was fine, but nothing special. As is also the pointless Mixed tag between Great Khali and Natalya against Fandango and Summer Rae. It was nice to see both Natalya and Summer Rae, but this is certainly not the best way to show their wrestling skills. 'Fine, but nothing special' could also describe the US Title Match between Dean Ambrose and Big E. Langston.

As it seems to always be, AJ is great to see in her Divas Championship match against Brie Bella and though this is definitely not a great 'wrestling' match, it was certainly entertaining. The back and forth between the two and AJ's great heel gimmick is just superb. It doesn't hurt that they both look amazing too.

Shame, the same can't be said about John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. To be honest, if I had been Del Rio I would have just lay down in the middle of the ring as we knew exactly what was going to happen and it was as predictable as an Undertaker win at Wrestlemania. The match itself was again 'fine, but nothing special' and I can understand why they didn't make it the main event or in the Cell.

The first Hell in a Cell between CM Punk against Ryback and Paul Heyman is almost a great match, but really I was a little confused by Heyman being on top of the Cell. Punk and Ryback put on a good match and the ending was the first time in a while I had seen anything done on the top of the Cell and it was amazing.

The second Hell in a Cell between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the WWE Championship is possibly one of the few matches where the Cell actually meant something. These were two who over a few months had a great feud that as much as I hated it, it made me hate Orton and made me want Daniel Bryan to just destroy him. Where better to do that, than in the Cell? The dynamic of having Shawn Michaels as the referee was also interesting and the ending was just amazing.

Extras includes interviews with CM Punk and John Cena and also a fine match between Kofi Kingston and Damien Sandow. These are nice and I think with more of this type of stuff would make the disk more worthwhile.

Note: I will ignore the stupid Spoilerific cover as I will accept that WWE think we all suffer from short term memory loss!

Hell in a Cell is a great PPV and it is very rare I say this about the themed PPVs. I enjoyed most that the show had to offer and even the average things were still entertaining. It is doubtful that I will watch much of it again, but there are certainly bits that are worth watching.