Well I guess Halloween came early because Hell In A Cell is typically in October since it became a standalone Pay Per View (don’t tell my girlfriend that Halloween came early or my house will be covered in darkness) so this should be… different to say the least.

Lashley and McIntyre at it for the last time, Bliss and Shayna continuing their Lilly feud, the SmackDown Women’s Championship is contended in Hell In A Cell and Rhea is going to combat The Queen one more time to make sure the WrestleMania match from last year was just a fluke. Let’s see if the will be a good Pay-Per-View without the Tribal Chief in an official match or if this card will be… well… Hell.

Results:

• Hell In A Cell: Bayley vs Bianca Belair(c) for the SmackDown Women’s Championship – Bianca wins via Kiss of Death – *** ½ – TITLE DEFENSE!!
• Seth Rollins vs Cesaro – Rollins wins via Small Package – *** ¾
• Alexa Bliss vs Shayna Bazler (w/ Reginald & Nia Jax) – * ½
• Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens – Sami Zayn wins via Helluva Kick – ***
• Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley(c) for the Raw Women’s Championship – Charlotte wins via DQ – **
• Hell In A Cell: Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley(c) for the WWE Championship – Lashley wins via Roll-Up – *** ½ – TITLE DEFENSE!!

Review:

Bayley vs Bianca Belair-

Bianca starts it off first, giving Bayley a couple of scoop slams and taking Bayley down with a clothesline and Bayley starts the mind games outside of the ring and brings two chairs in after distracting Bianca. Bayley uses a slow swing with one of the chairs and Bianca takes full control of the match until a Superplex attempt goes wrong for the Champ as Bayley bashes Bianca’s shoulder into posts and starts to target her arm now. Bayley keeps getting a ruthless attack on Bianca until some separation is caused by the champion and now the assault on Bayley comes on the outside but Bayley actually bites Bianca off of her and gets a Kendo Stick to take a shot at Belair and does a Sunset Flip Powerbomb on the Cell Wall.

Bayley now sets the Double Kendo Sticks that she failed to set up last year after that but Bianca waited long enough to put Bayley through the sticks and bashes a chair into Bayley’s back but also takes too much time and gets the chair back into her face and getting the aggression back on the champion, even laughing at Bianca as she ties the long braid on the chair. Bianca now breaks some separation between her and Bayley but gets the hair off the chair and now on Bayley’s wrist to pull Bayley in for close attacks. Bianca unties her hair from Bayley and as Bayley pleads with the ref to leave, Bianca kicks Bayley’s head into the cell and laughs back at her. Bayley introduces a ladder after some more separation and after sidestepping and tug of war with the ladder, more damage is done to the champ in the ladder. Bayley hits her Roseplant finisher with Bianca in the ladder but the knee gives out of the challenger and can’t get the instant pin.

Bianca gets one last gasp of wind with one last separation from Bayley, she lands a Senton Bomb on Bayley on the ladder and then uses the ladder one more time with the Kiss of Death.

Seth Rollins vs Cesaro-

Rollins goes at the attack on Cesaro from the entrance, beating each other down before rolling into the ring again and the bell rings. Seth goes for his strieks but it’s not enough for the Cesaro’s strength and even his agility as Seth is reeling from the bat, inside and out. Rollins finally sees and opening against Cesaro’s strikes and gets cheap with the attacks and digging his weight into Cesaro’s face but after a while, Cesaro’s strength comes back with a deadlift Vertical Suplex to get some separation but takes too much time and Rollins comes back to take and fight Cesaro inside and out with knee strikes and some punches as well.

Cesaro gets an attack going from Seth’s strikes and bursts out with some more damage to Seth’s face, takes off the possibly weighted glove of Rollins, punts the glove into the stands (Pat would love that on commentary for the brand) and has Seth reeling again from the strikes and even a scoop slam for a nearfall. Rollins catches Cesaro from the top and gets the fight going for Rollins, kicks, strikes and looking like Osperay with a forearm shot to the back of Cesaro’s head. As Cesaro is dazed, Seth starts to trash talk and goes to more of the offense, more strikes to the back of Cesaro’s head to stun him. Seth, after another nearfall, takes too much time and goes for the Curb Stomp but Cesaro gets a burst of energy to stand up and take Seth off his feet.

After they get back to their feet, Cesaro takes Rollins down and swings him around and places the Sharpshooter in. Seth, crawls over to the ropes but it gets switched into a Crossface. As Cesaro centers Rollins again, they begin a tug of war, a battle for position as a Sharpshooter attempt has Seth catches Cesaro in a Small Package and gets the win finally.

Alexa Bliss vs Shayna Bazler-

Oh wow… this doesn’t look like a supernatural match… Um… okay. Hopefully a fair rating.

Reggie surprises Alexa from the beginning with a distraction and Shayna goes on the attack as Alexa is unphased and attacks Bazler with knee strikes and a senton as Alexa kind of… stuns Reggie in the outside but Shayna takes it to Bliss and Alexa… laughs. Even taking the Gutwrench Slam of Shayna and is also breaks out of Shayna’s different submissions and joint damage but the stomp actually looks to phase Bliss… for few seconds until she laughs and makes people get entranced by a gaze and takes Bazler down. Bliss actually damages and takes Shayna out as Reggie goes to take her down and entrances Nia to attack Reginald on the outside. (There’s the supernatural shit…)

A Sister Abigail but as a DDT instead of a Flatliner and Twisted Bliss and the vexed vixen of Bliss gets the win.

Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens-

Who will win the millionth fight against the Generic Wrestler and The Bringer of Disaster?

Well Kevin takes it to Sami quickly but it’s vocally apparent that the Nigerian Nails to the throat on SmackDown is making Owens struggle a little. Sami still gets absolutely rocked with strikes and not letting Sami get any offense going until Sami makes it with the ropes. Now that Sami Zayn is taking it to Owens, even clotheslining him to make him cough and gag more on the damage that was previously done. Sami tries a suplex but Owens still fights off Zayn and takes a Suplex with Kevin getting some offense going. Sami now lures Kevin to the ropes and decapitates him and lands a Tope con Hilo on Kevin and Sami has firm control again as Kevin might actually be hurt as the match happens.

Sami strikes over and over before Kevin gets out of the ring and ironically a second wind, another breath of life as Owens takes down Sami but as he continues the onslaught on the outside, Sami gets his knees up from a Senton attempt and gets the advantage again. As both men know what the other can do, the signature moves of each come in, Owens already hit a Cannonball but a Stunner attempt comes in and Sami catches it into a Half and Half suplex and when Kevin rolls back outside, he lures Sami into a Stunner on the outside and gets in after a 9 count to the outside.

As both men get some fight and attacks on each other, Sami capitalizes on weakness to the throat of Kevin Owens and hitting a Helluva Kick to finish off Kevin Owens, still reeled and coughing as he is down for the three count. (Owens actually looks like he messed up his shoulder in that match so, hopefully it’s nothing too drastic as he talked to the Ref as Sami showboated.)

Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair

Charlotte decides to sneak attack Rhea right away before the bell by distracting her with the belt and forcing Rhea out of the ring. Charlotte takes it to the champion a lot, not letting her get an advantage as the match goes on. Charlotte keeps talking about lessons that she’ll teach Rhea with being champion. Flair not quitting on the assault on the Nightmare and after Rhea moves out of the way from an attack to tweak Charlotte’s knee from a landing and the champ starts getting the advantage and takes it to Flair. Flair though gets another quick burst of energy and wind as she hits Natural Selection and goes to hit Rhea more and more with the offense, even going for the moonsault, missing the first but hitting the second rotation on the ground, just being more aggressive than usual onto the Women’s Champion.

Each time Rhea gets a burst of offense, Charlotte answers back with more of the aggression until Rhea lands the superplex and gets a form of momentum. As Charlotte makes a small mistake in the corner and gets hit by a Riptide, she luckily gets her foot on the ropes and breaks the pin. Rhea chases the Queen on the outside and it costs her, taking more damage to the knee and Charlotte takes control again. Charlotte puts the Figure Four on, maybe even the Figure Eight but Rhea is able to drag them both outside and Rhea tosses the table cover into Charlotte for a Disqualification.
(Aftermath: Rhea and Charlotte continue to fight back into the ring after referees try to break them up and Rhea hits a Riptide on Flair.)

Drew McIntyre vs Bobby Lashley-

Lashley goes to get a weapon but Drew makes chase and attacks him on the outside of the ring, shredding Bobby’s face into the steel and doing damage until Drew takes too much time to get the steps and getting attacked. Lashley gets some offense going again but Drew gets a split with a Suplex into the cage and bashing the Steel Steps into Bobby’s face over and over again and continues the relentless assault against the champion. MVP tries to get things situated for Lashley and hands the cane to Lashley through the cage and gets some form of offense going but each time, Drew makes sure he puts Bobby down with destructive moves against the cage and an Air Raid Crash into the steps.

Drew sets up a table on the outside of the ring and goes to do more of the attack to the outside of the ring and into the cell as more and more weapons get added in with chairs. Drew lets his anger full him over time hits moves onto the chairs like a Reverse Alabama Slam and every time Lashley gets some offense started, Bobby gets absolutely rocked and messed up each moment by the Scotsman.

Lashley finally gets some form of separation and an advantage on the outside of the ring and MVP gets involved, sliding a Kendo Stick in between Drew and a cage wall. Lashley gets more and more damage in with another Kendo Stick but as both Drew and Lashley get more and more aggressive in the ring, they take the referee out with a chairshot (ayyyyye we go in the ThunderDome event everyone) and Drew hits the Future Shock.

The ref outside gets the door unlocked to start the count after a Claymore Kick but MVP comes in and suffers after the door is locked back with MVP inside Hell In A Cell. MVP gets rocked by a Claymore and Drew goes back to the outside to dish out more punishment but, Lashley catches him in a Hurt Locker. On the outside, Drew tries to get a separation going, he drives Bobby into the table and cage hard as Drew begins to stand tall again. Driving the steel chair harder and harder each time to Bobby’s back to weaken him until he readies another Claymore but Lashley drops down and catches the wind as Lashley makes more offense on the outside, putting McIntyre into a table and drags the lifeless body in the ring and misses his Spear this time. McInytre hits a Future Shock and readies a Claymore until MVP grabs the leg of McIntyre just to get rolled up by the champion.

Final Rating: 5/10

It was…… okay. The Hell in a Cell Matches were amazing because they could actually do more, Bayley referenced her massive botch from last year and pre-planned which was great telling of that, MVP interfering was predictable but the match was still lived up to the Hell that was within the Cell and the Ring of Honor Alumni matches were great too because there was chemistry, actual storytelling and call backs to either storyline they are in or what happened at an earlier event.

The two things that massively soured me though… You have an MMA Fighter in the ring that can actually do damage, very talented in the squared circle and the octagon. She doesn’t need supernatural crap to be in a story, she’s good already on her own. If you want her in a story, break her off of Nia and Reggie or something, not a doll and Alexa making everyone watch a tape so she can crawl out of a well in seven days. Two, people wanted to cry and complain that Karrion Kross made everyone look weak and In Your House (he didn’t, they just used everything they had while he waited in the shadows in my own opinion) but, Charlotte flat out embarrassed Rhea. Like… that was me fifteen years ago getting a temper tantrum on my brother levels of embarrassment during this match. Was I supposed to feel bad for Rhea? Was that an attempt at a heel turn? Was that… I don’t know what that was other than embarrassing. You’re going into AEW involvement of IMPACT levels of embarrassment. Figure it out, pheasants.