Opinion

Rob: Alternate Endings (WWE Hell In A Cell Edition)

Hated the WWE Hell In A Cell finish? Well get in line! Rob Bonnette has an in-depth look at the options WWE had for the match.

Published

6 years ago

October 13, 2019

Rob Bonnette

Hated the WWE Hell In A Cell finish? Well get in line! Rob Bonnette has an in-depth look at the options WWE had for the match.

We’re almost a week removed from the WORST FINISH EVER (just kidding!), the end of the Hell in a Cell match between Seth Rollins and the Fiend, and the hoopla still hasn’t totally quieted down just yet. While I agree that it was a bad call and the wrong call, some of you guys have gotten way out of hand. It’s not even my top five of bad finishes, to be honest. But I do have two questions for all of you –

You got a better idea? What were some other options than that finish?

You see it’s easy to just crap on the finish and scream into your twitter account while all the usual suspects in the Wrestling Fanspace get all hyperbolic about what it all means, just what would you suggest instead. I ran through a fwe options in my head and here’s what I came up with.

Don’t book the match in the first place.

That was the easiest way to avoid what happened, just don’t do it at all. Feed someone else to the Fiend, or just have him attack someone on the show instead of working a match, and give Rollins a different opponent (or just give him the night off, show would have been fine without that match). The Fiend is at a point where most people want him to win everything and lay everyone out so why mess anything up with a title match? And if you don’t want your Universal Champion taking a loss then keep him away from anyone who is in a must win position. I’ll let you know at the end but this option is leading right now for what I think the best choice was.

Put it on earlier in the show.

If you know you’re booking a finish that’s going to piss people off, don’t end the show with it. What was otherwise a great show got completely overshadowed by that ending, so putting it on early or maybe even first would have given people plenty of time to get over it and move on. The downside? They may not have. Pissed off fans are pretty resilient nowadays and they very well may have dug their heels in and checked out of the whole show. Not sure that this would have alleviated anything.

Change the finish.

Just book the Fiend to win the match! The match itself was a ridiculous but entertaining spectacle up until that ending. If the Fiend had won it straight up no one would be mad about the match at all whereas we know how they reacted to the non finish and they likely would have not been happy about Seth winning by pinfall. So just book the fiend to win and call it a day. The only problem with that was the proverbial question of what do you do afterwards. You can’t have the Fiend as Universal Champion for any extended period of time and quite frankly the character shouldn’t be about that anyway (everyone who gets hot doesn’t need to win a championship, people!!) You’re essentially trading one problem for another so I wouldn’t have gone there.

Make it non-title (and change the finish)!

If you make it non-title the Fiend can win straight up, and you don’t have to worry about what to do with the title. Everybody wins! After all he’d only been in one match not counting house shows, and had attacked a bunch of people so he didn’t really qualify for a title shot outside the tried and true piss off the champion, get a title shot rule of professional wrestling. Having been attacked multiple times by the Fiend Seth would have been more than justified by wanting to fight the guy, and in the cell. Just do it non title and the Fiend can win to either set up a future title match or put Seth in a compromised position for another opponent. I kinda like this idea.

Don’t make it a Cell match.

If you want to do some kind of DQ finish, have a regular match. The Reigns/Bryan vs Harper/Rowan feud had enough heat behind it to warrant a cell match so it would have been an easy swap. It would have been fine, really. The no sells would have worked fine with Seth’s regular moves. There is one big problem with this, though. The match was built around the horror movie aesthetic of Seth using all those weapons to no avail, and that’s what made it entertaining until the end. Take that away and it’s just another match so I’d probably pass on that.

Don’t change a thing.

Yeah people got pissed about it, but what matters anyway is what comes next. Even if you booked it in a way that satisfied everyone, a follow up that disappointed would have done away with that good will anyway (and seeing as how Wrestling Twitter reacts even when you give them what they ask for, that disappointment probably would have happened any way). In my time on Wrestling Twitter what I’ve found is that the people who want to be upset will find a way to get there no matter what you do. I watched it with my son, he thought the whole thing was cool, and he wasn’t the least bit bothered by the finish. Given the choice between taking it in like a nine year old or like Wrestling Twitter, my advice is to err towards the former.

Final Verdict

I’d probably have just made it non title in the Cell. Booking it as a fight in the cell allows for all the stuff they did and for the Fiend to win without getting the title. No, you don’t want Universal Champion the Fiend but booking a cluster kind of finish was clearly not a good idea. All that being said, way too many of y’all overreacted to this like it was the worst thing ever. If you want some examples of worse I got some here. It’s perfectly fine to say that they went with the wrong decision on this pay per view without launching into an all caps tirade about how this is indicative of everything that’s wrong with Vince MacMahon. It’s one decision in one match, ok? Trying to connect to previous weird decisions or saying you can’t wait for AEW is just dumb.

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Related Topics:Bray Wyatt Featured Featured Big Hell In A Cell Seth Rollins The Fiend WWE

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

2 months ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1