Since
it’s inception in 1997, the Hell in a Cell Match has been one of
the highlights of WWE’s product. Originally only used to end a major feud, the
match in recent years has been devalued thanks to the company wheeling it out
whenever they needed a decent pay-per view buy rate and the Hell in a Cell
themed pay-per view events have added to that with meaningless matches which
are usually predictable in their results.
2013’s
offering looks to be the best yet, with a strong storyline running through the
centre of the show and the return of John Cena after his return from injury –
early – Hell in a Cell 2013 could be the defining event of the year if WWE get
it right on the night.
On
October 27th from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, this is WWE
Hell in a Cell 2013.
WWE Championship Match
Hell in a Cell Match
Special Guest Referee:
Shawn Michaels
Randy Orton vs Daniel
Bryan
I’ve
heard many people complain about the ending to the vacant WWE Championship
Match at Battleground on October 6th. The problem WWE had is that if Daniel
Bryan defeated Randy Orton on the night, as he did at Night of Champions, then
it would all but ended Randy Orton’s heat for the continuation of the feud. The
face knocking off the heel two pay-per views in a row would zap our interest
totally in the feud. Who could believe Randy Orton would go on to defeat Daniel
Bryan again if he was pinned or submitted to the ‘Yes’ lock? In the same vein,
had Randy Orton pinned Daniel Bryan on the show it in some people’s eyes it
could have had an adverse effect on Daniel Bryan’s challenge for the main event
spot.
Which
left Vince with a problem. Did he unnecessarily end a feud which still had
months in it or did he risk upsetting the fans for one night in order to keep a
profitably programme between two talented men going for the foreseeable future?
It’s the same as do you shoot one man to save a thousand or let them all die?
For me, Vince made the right choice. I would rather see one dissatisfying
ending and have the feud continue rather than WWE practically end it so soon
into its run and have the returning John Cena take Daniel Bryan’s place. If
that had happened then the whole feud would have been bereft of surprises.
There would have only been one winner.
Could
WWE have gone about this a different way? Yes. The perfect answer would have
been to scrap Battleground altogether, but not for the reason you think I’m
getting at. In 2013, WWE followed TNA and cut their pay-per view output.
Instead of holding Extreme Rules and WrestleMania in the same month the company
opted to push Extreme Rules back to May and they should have done the same with
Hell in a Cell and Battleground. I would have much preferred to see one pay-per
view in October and have WWE give themselves time to build up a new take on the
Daniel Bryan vs The Corporation. This could have been done with a one night
tournament in the vein of Survivor Series 1998.
Of
course Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton would have advanced to the final to clash
for the vacant gold – had WWE made the Championship vacant at Night of
Champions, remember Battleground would have been cut from this scenario – but
along the way the pair could have included some lower card talent in their feud
and leant a helping hand in the furthering of talent who need the help. Had
Randy Orton and Daniel Bray just scraped through matches with the likes of
Antonio Cesaro, Kofi Kingston, Bray Wyatt and Curtis Axel then it would have
had a huge impact on the mid-card and lower card, to the point where all four
men would have had the aura of nearly defeating two men WWE hold in such esteem
going into Hell in a Cell. If the company wanted to do something different in
order to give a fresh flavour to the Orton vs Bryan main event matches then
what better way to have a Fatal Four Way Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE
Championship?
The
point of all this is to point out how easy it would have been for WWE to do
something different with Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. Sooner rather than later
the WWE Universe are going to tire of seeing Orton and Bryan in the main event
month after month and WWE is going to have to do something drastic to swathe
our calls for change. Hell in a Cell could be the beginning of that change and
with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee I smell yet another heel turn on
its way. More on that in a moment, but what better time to shed new light on
the feud than have one man – Randy Orton in order to keep the feud going – take
the WWE Championship and then have Orton and Bryan lead their own Survivor
Series teams against each other in November. It would be a great distraction
and one WWE need to implement seeing as the plan is obviously to have the pair
square off in a TLC Match in December.
I
feel that in the past two months, I have said everything I can on the Randy
Orton vs Daniel Bryan matches on pay-per view. I’ve voiced my opinions,
expressed my thoughts and right now, for the second pay-per view in three weeks
I do not know what else I can add. Thankfully WWE have seen sense and added a wild
card to Hell in a Cell in the Special Guest Referee, Shawn Michaels. You will
have read above that I suspect something is afoot with the choice to have
Triple H’s best friend as the referee in this match and should he turn on the
man he trained, Daniel Bryan, then it would lend a great deal of heat to the
feud as well and another angle to explore. Shawn Michaels is never going to
wrestle again, but he could play a vital part in the proceedings as we head
into 2014. By siding with Triple H and appearing here and there on television,
WWE could build a story of revenge of torn loyalties to run simultaneously with
the Randy Orton and Corporation vs Daniel Bryan affray.
Gradually,
as we enter Royal Rumble and WrestleMania XXX, Triple H and Shawn Michael’s fractured
friendship would deteriorate on screen as ‘The Game’ gave Shawn Michaels task
to complete – which would involve costing Daniel Bryan the WWE Championship –
until he finally had enough. Michaels could then begin to botch tasks given to
him before WrestleMania XXX comes around. Now at this point everything I’m
about to say is dependent on WWE booking Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan in the
main event of the show and not ruining it all by throwing John Cena in there.
Should
WWE book the finale to the feud at WrestleMania XXX then it should go down like
this; after botching tasks at Royal Rumble to allow Daniel Bryan to win the 30
man match, Shawn Michaels would join Triple H, Vince McMahon and Stephanie
McMahon in the ring at the conclusion of the Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan WWE
Championship Match on the card. As Triple H and his family beat down Bryan in
front of Michaels, Triple H would hold up a weary Daniel Bryan and order Shawn
Michaels to hit him with the Sweet Chin Music. After a moment of contemplation
Shawn Michaels would wind up for the move but at the last moment change
direction and nail Triple H with the move, taking out Stephanie and Vince too,
allowing Daniel Bryan to pin Randy Orton for the Championship victory. That
would be the perfect ending to a great feud and WrestleMania XXX. It could be
explained later that Shawn Michaels had changed his mind about costing Bryan
everything he worked for and his actions in botching tasks were a deliberate attempt
to allow Bryan to move on and become champion.
I
think everyone will agree that would be the perfect ending to the feud as long
as Shawn Michaels didn’t touch Randy Orton and allowed Daniel Bryan to do the
work against his opponent. That way no one can say that Shawn Michaels won the
match for Daniel Bryan. Shawn Michaels would have his revenge on Triple H and
the McMahon Family and Daniel Bryan would finally get the victory he has been
waiting for and stand tall – ready to take the WWE by storm in 2014.
Hell
in a Cell will be the continuation of the feud between Orton and Bryan and this
time there has to be a winner. WWE cannot continue this feud without a WWE
Champion and to keep this feud alive and kicking, let’s just hope its Randy
Orton who is standing tall at the end of the night. If not, then who knows
where WWE can take this feud next.
Winners Prediction:
Randy Orton
World Heavyweight
Championship Match
(c)
Alberto Del Rio vs John Cena
Too
much, too soon, is the thought that went through my mind when it was announced
that John Cena would return to action at Hell in a Cell, after the company
announced Rob Van Dam would be taking some time off – just four months after
returning to the company. As well as being a huge pointer that WWE have no other
talent ready to step up, it’s a risky choice the company have made to bring
back a man who only two months ago had surgery on his arm and was predicted to
be out of action for 4-6 months. It’s not the first time WWE and John Cena have
done this of course, the company man has retuned from injury too early before
and suffered for it.
Just
think of everything WWE could have done with 6 months of Cena-free programming.
They could have built new stars, they could have cemented their intentions to
strengthen each division and more importantly they could have shown us how
serious they are about making things better instead of papering over the cracks
by sending John Cena back to wrestling school. No one can say that John Cena
wouldn’t have been ready to step back in the ring and learn to clean up his act
because two months after surgery, here he is. Had WWE resisted temptation then
they could have put Cena back through his paces for four months. Imagine how
much better Cena would have been after all of that. In fact it should have been
John Cena who suggested WWE take this course of action. We’d have respected him
more for it. And before the Cena faithful bombard me with messages about his
fine performance at SummerSlam, one great match doesn’t erase all those
horrendous ones.
It’s
a come down of sorts for Alberto Del Rio. Not in stature. John Cena is maybe
the biggest name Del Rio could face at this moment in time. But for what it
means. Those with long term memories will remember all of the times on pay-per
view the pair have done battle before and it doesn’t end well for the Mexican.
Let’s hope this time is different, because Alberto Del Rio has been a tour de
force as World Heavyweight Champion and it would be a crying shame if it was
all undone by WWE having such an inferiority complex that they thought they
couldn’t possibly continue without Championship gold around John Cena’s waist.
WWE
need to ask themselves if they’re prepared to cut such a great heel reign short
just to feed Cena and his fans egos. If they are then I would then question the
judgment of those people who answered yes to that question. It’s a well
documented fact that John Cena has cut enough careers short because if his
slapdash nature in the ring and Alberto Del Rio has suffered at the hands of
WWE and its start/stop booking in the past few years. If WWE begin to repeat
that process just because their top star is back then I’m not sure Del Rio’s
career could take another hit. Surely its common sense that Alberto Del Rio
would defeat John Cena at Hell in a Cell then captain a team against Cena’s at
Survivor Series in order to protect the Champion.
At
this point in time John Cena does not need protecting. He could lose every
match for one whole year and still be a main event star in WWE and the fans
eyes. John Cena losing matches of this calibre to get his opponent over and
ensure they go into another feud or the rest of the year strong is only going
to enhance Cena in the long run as someone who has the future of the company as
his priority. That would be a different side to Cena and one we only see on
rare occasions. John Cena could compete in this feud without having to win it
and WWE should be concentrating on furthering Alberto Del Rio instead if
feeding Cena fans what they want all the time.
Anyone
who thinks I’m wrong, consider this. This is the second time in two consecutive
years John Cena has had problems with his arm / elbow. In 2012 he was out for a
month plus change because of his injured elbow and this year Cena was out for two
months plus an operation because of the same arm / elbow. What happens next
time? There will undoubtedly be one. Cena’s schedule is so packed that he’s
bound to injure the arm again. But what if it’s more serious? What if John Cena
tears more tendons or even breaks his arm and is out for six months or more?
Suddenly WWE are going to feel the wrath of their own gluttonous pig
headedness. If WWE sacrifice Alberto Del Rio to John Cena again after doing so
much good with the faux millionaire, then who replaces John Cena at the top of
WWE’s mountain should something more serious go awry?
And
that’s what it’s all about. Long term planning. It has to be the top of the
priority list for a company like WWE and all possible outcomes have to be
covered. WWE have to have options to take Cena’s place in case something goes
wrong and he can’t perform. WWE have to have cover for every position on the
card because they’ve failed to do so before and this time, there’ll be no
excuse for them to give. If Alberto Del Rio loses to John Cena at Hell in a
Cell then everything will have been for nothing and WWE will be back at square
one.
Yes
its a good idea to put Cena in this situation to keep him away from the Randy
Orton vs Daniel Bryan feud but only if the company are going to do the right
thing. Should Cena prevail then it not only tells us where WWE’s priority lies
but the company will also be sending the message that John Cena is more
important than talent such as Dolph Ziggler, Christian and Rob Van Dam – all of
which have failed to defeat Del Rio for the gold, some numerous times. The
effect that will have will be disastrous.
At
Hell in a Cell 2013, Alberto Del Rio should finally be allowed to put old
demons to rest. The match may just scrape past the post or it may be the
surprise of the night. But when that final bell rings the World Heavyweight
Championship must still be around the waist of Alberto Del Rio – done so by a
clean pinfall. It’s the only way to show that John Cena isn’t the be all and
end all and that WWE are capable of thinking of other talent that will be able
to carry the company into the future.
Winners Prediction:
Alberto Del Rio
Hell in a Cell Match
2 on 1 Handicap Match
C.M Punk vs Ryback and
Paul Heyman
Not
only is this a rematch from Battleground but this is also a rematch from one
year ago at Hell in a Cell 2012 – barring the active inclusion of Paul Heyman.
For those who remember last year’s rather disappointing effort, Punk defended
the WWE Championship against the upcoming Ryback in the shortest Hell in a Cell
Match in WWE history. The match was the first time Ryback had been pinned or
lost in the business when Brad Maddox – the special guest referee – hit Ryback
with a low blow as he was ready to delivery the match winning Shell Shocked,
allowing C.M Punk to roll up the challenger for the victory. That was one year
ago. It’s amazing how much difference three hundred and sixty five days can
make.
One
year on, both men are lower down the card than they were this time last year.
Instead of being WWE Champion, a mantle Punk fitted into perfectly, ‘The
Straight Edged Saviour’ hasn’t had even the smallest sniff at the WWE
Championship since Elimination Chamber and is now feuding with the man who
managed him to victory in the latter part of 2012, Paul Heyman. For Ryback,
Hell in a Cell can be seen as the moment Ryback’s main event career all but
ended. Going into his 2012 Hell in a Cell Match against Punk, Ryback wasn’t
nearly as popular as needed to be to have him defeated that early on in his
career and WWE did more harm than good by booking the match to take place
inside the steel structure. In 2013, Ryback has had WWE Championship
opportunities but none of really believed that he would take the gold away from
John Cena. Apart from that, the rest of 2013 has been a disaster for the
Goldberg wannabe.
In
all truth, this should have been the feud which put Ryback on the map again.
The one which made people sit up and say, ‘okay, maybe he’s had a rocky start,
but he actually does something’. Everything that’s come before from Ryback
would have been forgiven, if not forgotten, had he really put everything he had
into this rehashed feud with Punk. Ryback didn’t have to be the greatest
wrestler in the world, there are ways and means around the in ring work if he’d
have just shown one ounce of enthusiasm or charisma. But he hasn’t. Once again
the man with more muscles than brains has snarled and flexed his way through
the programme yielding very little result.
Questions
are beginning to arise now of whether Ryback was the right choice to add to
Paul Heyman’s stable of Brock Lesnar and Curtis Axel. Surely there are other
more deserving young talent out there who would have benefited from the
exposure of both being aligned with Paul Heyman, not to mention running a
programme with C.M Punk had it been their first venture into the business. NXT
has a thriving scene of young guys who look better than Ryback – less jacked up
– and who can wrestle ten times better than Ryback, who could have given C.M
Punk a great match and a great feud. Just think how big it would have been for
someone new, if they had made their debut at Night of Champions and attacked
C.M Punk in the vein of The Shield at Survivor Series 2012. It could have sky
rocketed someone new to stardom.
As
head of new development, Triple H should have insisted on this happening. I
can’t be the only one who can see that it would have cut out years of build up
and burials when the company inevitably got bored of their new protégé who will
now debut to no fanfare and lose to anyone and everyone before receiving a push
should the company still be keen on them. Ryback is a dead end and everyone can
see it but Vince McMahon and his stooges who tell him everything’s fine and
there’s nothing wrong with the product. The most worrying thing is where
Ryback’s push is going to end.
For
anyone who was privy to the early WrestleMania XXX plans in early October, they
make for worrying reading. Depending on what happens with The Rock and whether
he wants to have one last match with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker will be left
with Ryback. A plan WWE seems keen on and depending on which source you read,
then WWE have actually voiced the option of Ryback being the one to end ‘The
Streak’. Not only is that a ridiculous statement but if The Undertaker is ever
going to lose at WrestleMania (which I doubt he ever will), then it should be
to someone who has prospects and a future in this business and someone who
needs that kind of heat. Not Ryback. According to all sources, the storyline will
be centred around Paul Heyman pushing Ryback to do what C.M Punk couldn’t.
There
is always the other option which WWE did in 2004 and that’s building up a
possible Ryback vs Brock Lesnar feud in 2014. Lesnar will be staying with the
company next year and needs a new feud if he’s to stay fresh in his part time
capacity. Whilst I’d rather see another C.M Punk vs Brock Lesnar match, Ryback
vs Brock Lesnar could be an interesting avenue to explore as both men have very
intense and hard hitting ring styles.
If
WWE aren’t planning a Ryback vs Lesnar feud and Ryback inevitably loses at
WrestleMania XXX to The Undertaker – should the pair clash, then where else is
there for the company to take the Goldberg impersonator? He’ll have lost to The
Undertaker, he’ll have inevitably lost this feud to Punk when it’s all said and
done and there’s clearly no space for him at the top of the card anymore after
his 2013 main event run with John Cena. Would it be a better idea to persevere
with the character and hope against hope that he gets over with the fans or axe
the character completely and put it down to experience? After investing so much
in Ryback the company will carry on with him until the time comes they can’t.
Ryback wouldn’t be the first experiment to end up on the cutting room floor and
he certainly won’t be the last.
C.M
Punk is better than this. We all know that. He should be at the top of the card
but right now there’s no room for him. Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan are taking
up all the room and when there is a space; John Cena will no doubt be inserted
into that space. Which means C.M Punk has to bide his time until WWE see that
they need him in the main event. The Ryback feud is a mere distraction whilst
WWE dream up the next phase in the Punk vs Heyman feud which will undoubtedly
end with a match pitting C.M Punk vs Paul Heyman, most probably at WrestleMania
XXX – which would be a comedown for Punk.
If
WWE want to do something huge with Punk then this would be the road to take.
End the Punk vs Heyman feud at Survivor Series in a Survivor Series Elimination
Match pitting Brock Lesnar, Ryback, Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman vs C.M Punk,
The Miz plus two other wrestlers who need the exposure and then add Punk to the
main event of TLC to freshen up the WWE Championship picture in a Fatal Four
Way TLC Match for the company’s top championship. Punk would inevitably lose
but then win the Royal Rumble match in January, cashing in the briefcase at
WrestleMania XXX at the conclusion of the Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan match. If
WWE played the win well then Orton could go over at WrestleMania XXX and by
losing it to Punk then WWE could begin another feud with either C.M Punk vs The
Corporation or Punk vs Orton for the WWE Championship.
Of
course all of that is what could be. WWE have got to be willing to push someone
else other than John Cena in the WWE Championship picture. If WWE plan to have
John Cena defeat Daniel Bryan for the gold in 2014 as payback for Bryan’s
victory at SummerSlam then it may be wise to insert Punk into the World
Heavyweight Championship picture. He’s the perfect foil for Alberto Del Rio and
the pair could contest a thrilling series of matches before Damien Sandow
cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase, beginning a new feud with C.M Punk.
A feud which Punk could help Sandow shine in and one which hasn’t done before.
Anything
is better than a rerun of a feud that isn’t even a year old yet. C.M Punk needs
a challenge. C.M Punk needs to be the best, because at the moment Daniel Bryan
is whitewashing him to that crown. At the top of the card C.M Punk can add
something to WWE. Where he is now, Punk is merely where he was in 2007 – 2008,
getting lost in the shuffle. And as everyone in WWE knows, that’s a very
dangerous place to be.
Winners Prediction: C.M
Punk
WWE Tag Team
Championship Match
Triple Threat Match
(c) Cody Rhodes and
Goldust vs Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs The Usos
In
my opinion it was a huge mistake for WWE to take the doubles straps off of two
thirds of The Shield and put them around the waist of the Rhodes / Runnels
brothers. Cody Rhodes is a star of the future, there is no doubt in anyone’s
mind about that. From the moment he stepped into a wrestling ring it was
apparent that he was destined for greatness. His father was one of the greatest
stars this industry has ever had and the younger Rhodes is following in his
footsteps. However, where my gripe lies is with his tag team partner.
WWE
in 2013 is mostly or at least should be a young mans game. There are those
wrestlers who are over the 40 plus age limit and get along nicely without
upsetting the Status Quo of things. They ply their trade down the card teaching
the younger guys coming through what they know. Most of them! What they don’t
or shouldn’t do is take a Championship which said younger guys were doing some
good with and try to emulate what has already been done. Now, pause. As a lower
card talent who has just signed a brand new contract with WWE, Dustin ‘Goldust’
Rhodes / Runnels can’t go to WWE creative and say that he thinks they’ve made a
mistake – he doesn’t wield that kind of power. Only stars such as Randy Orton,
John Cena, C.M Punk and Daniel Bryan can get away with that. But Goldust, at
forty plus years old could at least voice his opinion in a way which seems like
he’s thinking of the future generation of stars.
Anyone
who believes that Goldust isn’t good friend with Triple H after their time
coming through WWE’s ranks together is either dumb or naive. The pair have a
great understanding of each other and Triple H more than anyone knows Goldust’s
limitations in the ring and as a champion. No one, hand on heart can truly say
that any of Goldust’s WWE Intercontinental Championship reigns in the mid 1990’s
were brilliant. In fact Dustin had passed his best in the early 1990’s when he
left WCW. His finest days were combating Steve Austin for the WCW United States
and Television Championships. By the time he arrived in WWE in 1995 he was stagnant.
His biggest reaction by far was in the 2011 Royal Rumble Match – long after
everyone though he was gone for good and whilst he did some good for Sheamus,
which he deserves a lot of credit for, in WWE’s ECW in 2009, his run in the company
has been less than satisfactory.
I
know that WWE have switched Champions to hype a story between the Rhodes Family
and Triple H and The Corporation, but it would only have taken a very quick
review of Dustin Rhodes’ time as Goldust to realise he wasn’t the right choice
as one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions in 2013. It may sound like I’m
griping for nothing, but in actual fact I’m only trying to think of what is
best for business. It would be a travesty right now for WWE to allow someone
who has never truly sparkled to drag the tag team division and Tag Team
Championships right back to where they were when Extreme Rules 2013 went on the
air. Rollins and Reigns did wonders with the gold even making a top class match
out of nothing on the Money in the Bank 2013 pre-show with The Usos.
There
were other roads that WWE could have gone down with this feud. The first was
mentioned with in the Battleground preview, where Cody Rhodes and Triple H
would wage a war which could have ended at Hell in a Cell inside the ‘Devil’s
Playground’, with Rhodes defeating Triple H clean in the middle of the ring. It
would have been a stature enhancing victory for Rhodes who would have been
catapulted to unprecedented heights from the result and it would have been
vindication for Triple H, who would have been lauded for finally doing what WWE
couldn’t in nearly five years and that’s smashing the glass ceiling that Cody
Rhodes has been kept under. Randy Orton got so close in 2010 when Rhodes
reigned as WWE Intercontinental Champion and then WWE took it all away with his
crushing defeat to Big Show at WrestleMania 2012. It could have been the
beginning of something...unforgettable.
The
second option involves the team which don’t even factor in this storyline but
are included in this match – The Uso’s. The Samoan tag team and sons of WWE
legend Rikishi could have relieved WWE of its problem in one foul swoop. There
was no need for WWE to put the tag team gold on Cody Rhodes and Goldust just to
emphasise the feud between then and The Shield / Triple H / Corporation.
Instead of the Tag Team Championship change happening on Raw, free TV, WWE
could have done so at Hell in a Cell in a continuation of the Rhode’s Family
trying to regain their jobs. This scenario happens in the place of Cody and
Goldust emerging victorious from their Battleground match with Reigns and Rollins.
Still
out of a job and seeking revenge on those who sought to take his career from
him, Cody Rhodes and Goldust, along with father Dusty Rhodes invade Hell in a
Cell, costing Reigns and Rollins the Tag Team Championships to The Uso’s at
Hell in a Cell. The plan would have been great for the Runnels brothers as well
as The Uso’s. The Samoan’s would have obtained a huge victory over a reputable
team, Reigns and Rollins would have been saved the bother of losing their
coveted gold to a middle aged, over the hill has-been such as Goldust and the Runnels
brothers would have looked even more persistent than they did with their
victory at Battleground. It would have leant all three teams even more to their
image and the storyline an interesting twist.
The
Uso’s are one of WWE’s premier tag teams, though not that you’d know it for the
way the company have treated them. The real life brothers have all the talent
in the world and are certainly one of the contenders WWE should be looking at
in rebuilding the doubles division underneath The Shield. Along with teams such
as The Real Americans, Los Matadores, Los Locales – Ricardo Rodriguez is
determined to make the wrestler gimmick work even though he’s an announcer, to
the point where his Los Locales team with Tyson Kidd has been touring recent
tapings of NXT to much acclaim – then WWE could build a very convincing tag
team division of the likes they used to have. Pairing odd wrestlers who need
the rebuild such as Kofi Kingston, The Miz etc then the sky is the limit for
WWE’s doubles division but they need to act now.
With
The Uso’s WWE have – I have already said this – the modern day equivalent of
The Headshrinkers, who their blood line connects to as one was their uncle and
the other their father. WWE would never be able to recapture the magic they had
with The Headshrinkers in the early 90’s but they wouldn’t need to. Turn the
Uso’s heel and stop them coming out looking as if they’re headed for a rave.
They’re convincing no one. Put them in black get up and repackage them as a cannibalistic
team – call them ‘The New Headshrinkers’ if you have to, just do something
before its too late. Repackaged as an incarnation of their relatives with a new
twist would be everything the pair need to succeed as they wouldn’t be
restricted to what they can do as a face team. It makes perfect sense, what
doesn’t is why WWE haven’t done so already.
Separately,
Jimmy and Jay aren’t going to get anywhere in WWE. They’re too small and WWE
don’t see them as serious contenders to the United States or Intercontinental
Championships. Together, with the right gimmick and backing from the WWE
machine then they could go on to define an entire generation of tag team
action.
Seth
Rollins and Roman Reigns haven’t been given half of the credit they deserve for
their stint as WWE Tag Team Champions. After defeating Daniel Bryan and Kane at
Extreme Rules 2013 in May the tandem, along with WWE United States Champion
Dean Ambrose have been one of the best things on WWE television. Every attempt
to hinder them has been thwarted with expertise, putting them on pre-shows so
they can’t be seen hasn’t worked out for the company as the matches were so
good people went out of their way to watch them. It made no sense when WWE took
the gold off of the pair on a free aired edition of Monday Night Raw. It
devalued the Championships and all the work the pair have done.
There
was so much more left to do with the pair as Champions and other opponents they
could have made before dropping the gold. Simply put, the division underneath
them isn’t yet stable enough to survive without Reigns and Rollins ruling on
top. Logic dictates that you only replace the champion(s) when there is someone
else ready to take the throne. Cody Rhodes is a singles star who should be in
the main event and Goldust simply isn’t good enough despite his excellent
singles match on Raw with Randy Orton which has to be credited mostly to Orton.
The Runnels brothers aren’t what WWE need in the tag team division right now
when the people were buying into the dominance of The Shield as a force in the
company.
Going
from rarely defeated to regularly looking at the lights for anyone and
everyone, The Shield has become a parody of their former selves. All three men;
Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose are the best hope WWE have of reigniting a spark
under their ailing doubles division and they need all the help they can get.
That doesn’t include jobbing them to anyone and everyone who walks that aisle.
At Hell in a Cell, WWE needs to put them back on top as quickly as possible as
this match has to serve to do two things. Replace the Rhodes brothers on top of
the tag team mountain and advance Cody Rhodes as the serious threat he looked
like at Money in the Bank – because Damien Sandow is failing miserably.
Winners Prediction:
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
WWE Divas Championship
Match
(c) A.J Lee vs Brie
Bella
And
on and on and on it goes. In a repeat of our Battleground preview, what can I
possibly say about this that I haven’t said before? For what seems like the
billionth time but on pay-per view but is actually only the third, A.J Lee –
the saviour of WWE’s Divas Division – defends her Championship against Brie
Bella, who is yet again only included here because she’s engaged to Daniel
Bryan and WWE don’t want to risk upsetting him in case it has an adverse effect
on their main event output.
I
am convinced that A.J has come back from her concussion too quickly and its
maddening that WWE would put her back in the ring with the woman that is partly
if not wholly responsible for the injury. With her accident prone nature and
her lack of in ring skills, Brie Bella is a very poor choice of challenger for
A.J when the company has so many talented females waiting in the wings for a
chance. Like her former storyline boyfriend, Dolph Ziggler, A.J should have
been kept out of the ring until WWE were sure that she was a hundred percent
fit. Yes, it took Dolph Ziggler five weeks to recover from what was a very
nasty concussion – and he still wasn’t fully ready when he returned – but the
time out is worth it when you consider that A.J could suffer in the future.
We’ve
been over this match so often that whilst this section is very short I have
nothing else to add on the matter. I could sit here and go through this and
that until our eye bleed but I won’t because it bores me and you as well. You
don’t want to hear me go through the same old facts and I don’t want to write
them, for that reason I’ll end on this. If WWE do decide to take the WWE Divas Championship
off of A.J and stick it on the tiresome Brie Bella yet again then it may as
well bury its women’s division with a full service and forget it ever happened.
Winners Prediction: A.J
Lee
Hell in a Cell Kick-Off
Match
WWE Intercontinental
Championship Match
(c) Curtis Axel vs Big
E. Langston
Where
did it all go wrong for Curtis Axel? The man is the son of the late WWE legend
Mr. Perfect, one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step foot in a ring. He has
the genes, he has the knowledge and he’s shown us that he has what it takes to
get it done in the ring. So why has he been so lacklustre in the ring in recent
months? He was the star of the triple threat match at Payback and he had a very
good match with Kofi Kingston at the beginning of Night of Champions, though
his star was dimmed somewhat by the participation in the 2 on 1 handicap match
later in the night. So why now has he decided that after all of this, years of
toiling, maybe the wrestling industry isn’t worth it?
I
don’t know if Curtis Axel has realised that wrestling hasn’t got the magic it
promises unless you’re at the top but something is wrong and WWE either don’t
want to or don’t care to address it. Could we actually blame Axel if he saw the
horrific truth of wrestling? No. It’s the business which was partly responsible
for the death of his father (Curt ‘Mr. Perfect’ Henning died in 2003 of a massive
cocaine overdose) and it’s the business which has shattered many dreams and
taken the lives of many more wrestlers, most of which Joe Henning grew up with.
If it hasn’t taken them then it’s almost certainly ruined them. Shawn Michaels
almost ruined himself both physically and mentally during the first act of his
career. If it wasn’t his back which nearly broke him then it was his addiction
to drugs which almost ruined his life (Michaels kicked the drugs when he
married and found God, he is clean and wholesome in 2013). Then there was Road
Warrior Hawk who Henning grew up with as his father was close to the Legion of
Doom. Hawk, like Curt Henning, passed away from a massive drug overdose – his usage
of illegal drugs was and still is infamous in the wrestling industry. The
British Bulldog who passed away in 2003 was heavily medicated when he passed
away and the effects of the business contributed to the deaths of wrestlers
such as Bam Bam Bigelow, Andrew ‘Test’ Martin, Chris Benoit, Mike Awesome and
Chris Kanyon who were all suffering from depression when they their lives were
cut short from suicide or other causes.
Of
those wrestlers Axel / Henning grew up with who are still alive but suffered
heavily because of the business are Lex Luger, who Henning’s father famously
feuded with in 1993 in WWE and in WCW later on. Luger, thanks to the addiction
to drugs from the toll wrestling took on his body suffered a massive spinal
stroke and was paralysed from the neck down for many years. Luger never thought
he would walk again but in 2013 is healthy and back on his feet. Scott ‘Razor
Ramon’ Hall and Jake Roberts whose lives were all but ruined through drugs and
alcohol administered through the effects of wrestling. For years, both Hall and
Roberts were self medicating and drinking themselves into an early grave.
Happily, after moving into Diamond Dallas Page’s house and allowing him to help
them overcome their ills, both Hall and Roberts are in the best health they’ve
been in for years and thank god.
Wrestling
is a dangerous game without a doubt, but it doesn’t have to be for Axel. If he’s
holding back because he’s worried about going the same way as so many of his
icons and fathers friends then he doesn’t have to be. In 2013, WWE may be a
demanding place to work but I’m certain Vince McMahon has learnt his lesson
about pushing his stars too hard. Curtis Axel would never be allowed to go the
same way as his father or others. It wouldn’t happen unless he wanted it to and
by the recent performances he’s put in then I’m sure he doesn’t want it to.
WWE
need Axel to let loose as we turn into 2014. He has to live up to the hype
which may be another reason he’s underperforming, and be the man that he
promised to be after his rebranding. WWE can’t keep the Intercontinental
Championship around his waist if he continues to phone in his performances
which means they will have to find a suitable replacement of which there is no
one. Believe it or not, with Paul Heyman by his side, Joe ‘Curtis Axel’ Henning
is the best chance WWE have in 2013 of rebuilding its Intercontinental
Championship division – it would be a crying shame if he blew it for both the
company and himself.
Big
E. Langston is a yo-yo performer. Dolph Ziggler brought the best out of him at SummerSlam
in what had to be Langston’s best performance in the company to date but apart
from that he’s a statue in the company. Langston has had a couple of good
matches on Raw which have made some think twice about him as a performer, but a
great wrestler performs time and time again, not on sporadic occasions. I don’t
see how or where Langston fits in the company in 2013 as he’s not WWE, World
Heavyweight, Intercontinental or United States Championship material and as of
now, with A.J basically going her own way and into her own storyline, Langston
is treading water.
The
former NXT Champion is done in WWE. There’s nothing left for him. If he had the
talent to produce every night then it may be a different story. But he doesn’t
and it’s not. I don’t know where he goes from here but it’s glaringly obvious
to everyone watching that Langston is taking the place of someone with the
skill and more deserving. If you disagree with me then answer me this. If Big
E. Langston wasn’t on this or any other card, would you really miss him or
notice that he was absent?
Winners Prediction:
Curtis Axel
There
will be a few more matches added to the line up after this preview is posted,
of that I am sure. WWE can’t allow the card to go this empty when it’s possible
that returning star John Cena won’t be able to go more than ten minutes. Should
that happen and WWE don’t have anything else to pad out their card with its
going to put a strain on the top of the tree.
Without
a doubt John Cena’s return is going to be the main focal point of the evening
and I fully expect his match with Alberto Del Rio to go on last in order to capitalise
on the emotion of the night. However it’s the other main event match which will
be the most interesting to watch to see how WWE handle this tricky situation.
There has to be a new WWE Champion crowned on October 27th, if not then the company
risks raising the ire of their audience who have sat through a false ending at
Night of Champions and a non ending at Battleground. If Randy Orton wins then
it risks damaging the image of Daniel Bryan and if Bryan wins then it risks
dampening the fire under Randy Orton and the Corporation storyline. With the
only solution being a Shawn Michaels or even John Cena heel turn WWE need to
handle the match and the night very carefully.
Whether
the company know it or not, there’s a lot riding on this night and if they don’t
get it right then there won’t only be hell inside that cell but also in the television
and pay-per vi buy rates for months to come.
Onwards
and upwards...
