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WWE Hell in a Cell PPV Reax #2: "There was a noticeable buzz for Triple H to turn heel on Shawn. Even I wasn't immune to the thought." Oct 5, 2009 - 2:52:38 PM
Mikel of Las Vegas, Nev. (5.0): Best Match: The two tag team matches. Worst Match: R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre. These gimmick main event PPVs sound very fancy in paper, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Though it adds a new environment and new change from your regular singles matches, it also waters down a match type that have brought about some of the biggest spectacles and backs the writers/bookers into a corner. The first example of that being the World Heavyweight title match being an opener. The match itself wasn't bad, but it felt very unimportant, especially considering that the Undertaker has become champion again. It's too early for John Morrison to drop his title, but I wouldn't count out Dolph Ziggler just yet. These two have more matches of greater quality coming up. Though I know I shouldn't be surprised with matches pitting Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio, their tag match turned out to be extremely solid and a welcome surprise. Crowd seemed split for this match as well, but not nearly as much as the WWE championship match between John Cena and Randy Orton. The match between the two itself felt very slow. There were very few moments of excitement in there. This match was one of the main reasons I said that the writers placed themselves in a corner. Why have Orton regain the title three weeks after losing? Obviously having Cena saying "I Quit" would be bad booking for Cena's character. Having McIntyre's match right after wasn't the smartest move made. A decent mid-card match between feuding wrestlers that have some sort of establishment would have been better. Regal vs. Tatsu. Shelton vs. Sheamus. Take your pick. The U.S. Title match was fine, but Kofi's going to need more direction. He doesn't seem to be going anywhere as U.S. Champion. He has no real big feuds. He's just being put in random four-way or Triple Threat matches. The main event told a great story and the right people won. When looking back at this feud, it really seemed to elevate Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase while keeping DX's place firmly planted. Whether Legacy can capitalize and go somewhere from here remains to be seen. But they looked vicious tonight despite the loss. All in all, a decent PPV but not nearly in the quality we've gotten in the past few months.
Terrie Neilson, Las Vegas, Nev. (6.0): Best: DX-Legacy HIAC Worst: Truth vs. Drew (timing) After tonight, there was a lesson to be learned: two HIAC matches might have tested the crowd's patience, but three are a booker's nightmare. For all the build toward it, the Punk-Taker version was a big letdown. I expected an Undertaker win, but it wasn't very long for a HIAC match, and what looks like a legit knee injury to Undertaker took some more away from it. It probably could have been booked as some kind of No DQ match instead. Morrison-Ziggler never felt like it got out of first gear, which may have been because time planned for Taker-Punk may have been transferred to Morrison-Ziggler. Dolph is now 0-3 in title matches, and yet no mention's been made of "so close and yet so far." Yes, it's more a face story, but MVP was on a major losing streak a while back, so there is no excuse not to see something in the chase record. Any bets on whether Batista & Rey's lack of actually earning the tag title shot (while Dolph did earn his) will get noticed? Mickie-Alicia was an okay match, but it suffered from a weird miscommunication in the corner Thesz Press spot. Orton-Cena should have been just a No DQ or Falls Count Anywhere match. There really wasn't much to the match to make anyone care if there was a Cell involved or not. And why in blue hell did Cena win the title if he was going to drop it so soon? Makes Flair's 16 wins seem so insignificant now. And with every kick the Legend Killer Punt is sold as less vicious and brutal than the last. I suppose there's an out here in the Cell match itself, but it's less than what it used to be. Drew McIntyre gets Vince's seal of approval, then gets thrown under the bus to have a good booked-out-nowhere PPV match. Thanks, babe, that's real confidence for you. DX-Legacy HIAC... oh, man. I expected a DX win with Shawn getting the duke to put a proper finish on the story in general. Legacy was put over as far as can be put over short of the rubber match win. Shawn Michaels is the PPV MVP, and for good reason. He essentially worked a two-on-one handicapped match where he got in the right amount of offense for the circumstances. He sold everything during the match for what it was worth, without making himself or Legacy look bad. The strong "HBK" chants came from a discriminating crowd, which didn't want to take much crap tonight. Legacy played their roles and their Divide and Conquer strategy very well. My flat-out mark friends bought it that the match was over once the door was locked leaving Shawn alone with Legacy. These very same flat-out mark friends drove semi trucks through Triple H logic holes. I'm hearing loud calls from these friends of mine for Triple H less to get the bolt covers he brought in but order the Cell to be lifted. These same people watched Cena order Cell dropped down on Monday. They may get caught up in the action, but they're not stupid. After the match was over, they talked about Shawn gutting out the match and Legacy having the upper hand for a while, but weren't saying very much about Triple H. If Legacy is indeed splitting up, the seeds from all three members have been planted. It will be interesting to see what sprouts. The minute Triple H pounded his sledgehammer in tandem to Shawn tuning up up the band for Sweet Chin Music, there was a noticeable buzz for Triple H to turn heel on Shawn. Even I wasn't immune to the thought. This further made him look like a monkey wrench in the match.
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[Shawn Michaels art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]
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