WWE went rolling right on through the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California last night (Sun., Oct. 25, 2015) with Hell in a Cell, a pay-per-view (PPV) that featured two cage matches that actually managed to not only live up to expectations but exceeded them. A little blood goes a long way, folks.
Let's not waste time with pleasantries and get right to reactions to the show (click here for the live blog with full match coverage).
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What goes around comes around
I think we can safely say that Undertaker and Brock Lesnar have gone above and beyond in every match they've had together when one of the two isn't concussed, right? SummerSlam was far more fun than it had any business being before that whole unsatisfying finish.
But it wasn't that unsatisfying because it was a necessary chapter in a story that came to its conclusion here in the most satisfying way possible.
Let's thank the pro wrestling gods that these two have the clout within WWE to get away with flirting with breaking the Muta scale in the PG era. Hell in a Cell matches are supposed to be uncomfortably violent displays of barbarism, and they gave us that as best they could considering the limitations.
Clout or not, Undertaker is old as hell.
That hardly matters when Lesnar is countering Hells Gate with BROCK SMASH:
Favorite part of the match. BORK SMASH. pic.twitter.com/Rd6JmUJ2wj
— DTAM (@DeathToAllMarks) October 26, 2015
That GIF right there is every reason Brock Lesnar is everything we need in pro wrestling. Two dudes executing moves is fine but sometimes we need one dude just beating the ever loving shit out of another dude. At some point in those many punches you start to feel bad for Undertaker, even though you shouldn't.
Speaking of which, that finish felt sooooo good. That thunderous, absolutely righteous low blow to that no good dick kicker was perfect. Cheaters can't win in the end, Undertaker, and it's time to face the music.
Except...
LIVE IN FEAR
I quite liked how WWE presented the close to this show, with The Wyatt Family carrying Undertaker's broken body to the back like they were going to rebuild him in their image. I mean, I know that's not the plan -- it seems clear this is a set up for Survivor Series, especially considering how heavily they were promoting next month's show around it being the 25th anniversary of Undertaker's WWE debut -- but it's fun to run with that idea for a night.
I do, however, live in fear that they'll actually follow through on booking Undertaker vs. DirtyBeard McAssStain for WrestleMania 32.
Please don't.
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Politics
Alberto Del Rio is a fine professional wrestler, that much is certain. I don't call myself a fan of his but he's damn good at what he does.
That said, his US title victory over John Cena was a flop, much like his previous run with WWE (which is part of the reason his US title victory over John Cena was a flop).
The bigger issue, however, is it felt so transparently motivated by politics.
Del Rio left WWE back in August of 2014 after a backstage confrontation with a social media manager in the company. As the story goes, a racist remark was made, Del Rio asked for an apology, was openly disrespected, and he responded with violence. WWE had no choice but to fire him for his actions.
Del Rio would later say that Triple H all but told him to lay low for a while, let the heat die down, and they would bring him back sooner rather than later. Eventually, the social media manager in question was let go and now, just over a year later, Del Rio has made his return.
And how did they book this return? By pairing him with Zeb Colter, a character who essentially embodied what the social media manager was representing, and giving him a US title win in his first match back, a match that wasn't bad, necessarily, but wasn't particularly good.
So I guess the pitch here is Colter has seen the error of his ways and wants to help Del Rio succeed or Del Rio is selling out to beat Cena to win a title in the biggest promotion in the world. Either way, it exists for all the wrong reasons.
It also gives this spot, the challenger to beat Cena on his way out the door for a few months, to a returning star who wasn't ever really that much of a star relative to expectations as opposed to a putting over a potentially hot young act who sure could use the boost (looking at you, Prince Pretty).
This was just underwhelming all the way around.
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All the best to all the rest
New Day vs. Dudley Boyz: I believe this was our first exposure to a New Day sans Xavier Woods and while they were still fun, it couldn't be any clearer that he's a key ingredient in the genius they cook up each week. Either way, this feud has relied on their impressive ability to get over the fact that they're big fans of wood and the Dudley Boyz break too many tables. It was always thin, and the matches have never been all that entertaining. They do enough to get by and that's what they did here.
Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella: It's at least somewhat frustrating for me, as a wrestling fan, to watch WWE push Charlotte by putting her over Nikki when it couldn't be any clearer after tonight that the latter is a million times better than the former. It's painfully obvious, in fact, and while they certainly didn't reinvent the wheel, they've told a good story in both their PPV matches and Nikki gets the majority of the credit for that. It's strange, actually; they're clearly setting up for Paige to challenge Charlotte next and I'm here worried about what the future holds for Nikki.
Seth Rollins vs. Kane: There is very little to say about this and that's a mark in its favor. The match was well worked and they made the right call putting Rollins over clean without overbooking it to death. Rollins has been a victim of overexposure during his WWE world heavyweight title reign, but he was given just the right amount of time here.
Kevin Owens vs. Ryback: They treated the actual match the same way they treated the build to it. It wasn't important and that was clear in everything they did. At first I loved the finish because Ryback sold an eye poke that I could have swore I saw but was alerted to the fact that it was just a kick to the chest and a second viewing shows that to be correct. That kind of kills all of this.
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt: Considering their limitations -- they don't have the political clout to get away with the color Lesnar and Undertaker did -- these two did a hell of a job making the modern day Hell in a Cell match feel like a brutal brawl. They were given a lot of time and if you can handle long periods of selling for the big spots -- gotta give it that epic feel and all -- this was the match for you. This may have been one of Reigns' best singles matches if only because it feels more and more like he's finding a comfort level with his own character.
I quite liked this show.
Grade: B+
That's it from me, Cagesiders. Now it's your turn to sound off in the comments section below with all your thoughts on last night's show. How did you like it, if you liked it at all?
Photos via WWE.com