PWTorch.com - TUCKER LIVE AT HIAC: Instant Reaction to Sunday's PPV

THE SPECIALISTS
TUCKER LIVE AT HIAC: Instant Reaction to Sunday's PPV

Oct 27, 2014 - 1:20:52 AM

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY

Instant Reaction - WWE HIAC PPV 10/26
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 7.5

Despite questionable build-up and one of the stalest line-ups in recent memory, Hell in a Cell managed to be one of the strongest events in the PPV brand's history. No single match on the card disappointed, and for the first time since 2008 a Hell in a Cell match lived up to its namesake.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose's giant bump off the Cell structure was a wonderful surprise and an excellently choreographed spot. More than anything it served as a testament to WWE remembering that one of the first rules of wrestling is to make the act look as brutal as possible while doing minimal damage. I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant bump to take, but comparing Mick Foley's death-defying descent and even Shawn Michaels's flat back bump onto metal monitors and a paper-thin table to tonight's graceful falls onto sturdy, carpeted booths with all extra items removed proved that wrestling promotions have taken major steps towards protecting their talents (that was a mouthful of a sentence, wasn't it?).

This big spot, combined with the actual match itself, felt like a "greatest hits" of Hell in a Cell matches in the best possible way. Ambrose came across extremely well as the part-Mick Foley part-Steve Austin character and Seth Rollins bumped like a machine for him. The story told was simple but effective, and that includes the ending. As much as I would have loved to see Dean Ambrose come out with the victory (a sign of strong booking), I thought Rollins getting yet another cheap win will only make his eventual comeuppance even better received. Ambrose lost absolutely nothing, and Bray Wyatt's return was fittingly eerie, gimmicky, and entertaining. Heck, the first Cell match in history ended with a seven-foot-tall power ranger breaking the door off the structure, effectively killing the gimmick's purpose. If it had a purpose then and was okay, it's fine now.

The rest of the broadcast was solid, with a fantastic first hour before slowing down a gear in the second portion. Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro stole the undercard with a match that delivered plenty of captivating spots and nearfalls. The story of Ziggler never quitting despite Cesaro throwing everything he could at him was fantastic, highlighting how easy it would be for WWE to legitimize both Ziggler and the IC Title.

The U.S. Championship match, on the other hand, was somewhat flawed. The biggest issue with the segment was also its greatest strength; Damien Mizdow. His antics were by far the most entertaining aspect of the title defense, but he ended up sidetracking the crowd. Great nearfalls, such as Miz hitting his finisher on Sheamus, were completely ignored because of Sandow's intense charisma. He either needs to develop a feud with the Miz soon or dial back the gimmick a bit. It's great stuff, but it's only a side dish for the main course.

The Divas matches, particularly the Bella-Bella contest, were surprisingly entertaining. A.J. and Paige had arguably their strongest match together and the two sisters were extremely crisp in the ring. Both of these matches were extremely pleasant surprises.

The rest of the show was fine. Both the Tag Title match and Cena-Orton were technically fine, but suffered from the participants being so incredibly overexposed working together. Meanwhile, Rusev continues his quest to become the most noble heel of all time, overcoming a two-on-one attack to once again win clean. Not sure how that works...

While not the strongest event of the year, Hell in a Cell 2014 was a fun show to watch. Nearly every match exceeded expectations and the show never felt like a special edition of Raw. At the very least, it beats last year's Big Show saga.

Questions? Comments? Reactions? Find me on Twitter @BTuckerTorch, where I talk about wrestling and... stuff!