By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

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In a PWTorch poll following Monday's Raw, 54 percent of respondents predicted a non-finish to C.M. Punk vs. Ryback in the Hell in a Cell PPV main event.

This was followed by 22 percent for Punk over Ryback to retain the WWE Title to end Ryback's streak, 14 percent for the match being changed and never happening, and 10 percent for Ryback winning the WWE Title to end Punk's near-one-year title run.

I believe the least-likely scenario is Ryback winning the WWE Title from Punk. (A) Ryback has so far been booked as a novelty act who hasn't made a difference in TV ratings since his mega-push began. (Granted, there's usually a lag time before these things catch on with the TV audience.) (B) What would it say about top star John Cena that he hasn't been able to get the job done against Punk on numerous occasions, but Ryback took the title from Punk on his first try? Unless the plan is to phase out the top star of the company and go with a committee of Ryback and a bunch of over-exposed stars, that doesn't make sense. (C) Punk suddenly dropping the title one month before the one-year mark would ruin a potential money match between Cena and Punk at Survivor Series, where Cena would try prevent Punk from reaching one full year while trying to finally re-capture the title back. (D) Even if he quickly won the title back, Punk would lose momentum for an even-bigger money match against The Rock at the Royal Rumble.

On the flip-side, if Punk retains the title via pinfall or submission in the booking-restrictive Hell in a Cell, then it would seem that Ryback is done as a main-event act. Of course, WWE could have 18 run-ins, a referee makes a bad call, etc., but the result would be the same that Ryback lost the match and his mystique is gone just as quickly as WWE inorganically began his mega-push.

So, the most-likely scenarios are WWE changes the match between now and Hell in a Cell (e.g. Ryback is attacked backstage by a jealous wrestler, such as Dolph Ziggler) or there is some sort of non-finish to, yes, a Hell in a Cell match. If there is not a decisive outcome, WWE would want a spectacular non-finish to distract PPV buyers from the lack of a result. So, let's examine five potential spectacular non-finishes that WWE would consider.

Five Things: Potential Non-Finishes at HIAC

(1) John Cena Beats Up Punk. The finish could be as simple as John Cena waiting for Punk and Ryback to create a physical opening in the Cell in order to yank out Punk, beat him up, destroy him, and the PPV goes off the air with Cena standing tall over Punk to give the Cena Audience a satisfying PPV conclusion.

(2) Major Star Returns To Run Off Punk. The finish could be something along the lines of Undertaker popping up through the Cell to scare away Punk, The Rock returning, Mick Foley returning, Batista returning, the glass breaking and Stone Cold appearing, Goldberg returning in his hometown of Atlanta, or someone else, to where WWE would focus on Punk and The Returner, and forget that a match is going on as the PPV ends.

(3) HIAC Collapses. The ol' "spectacular destruction" formula to get out of a match finish could give customers a satisfying PPV conclusion with the Cell somehow exploding or being torn down. Then, the fall-out would be who or what caused the destruction (and, of course, the storyline would be dropped after a few weeks, or Kevin Nash would return to remind everyone that he texted himself).

(4) Brawl Out Of The Cell. Punk and Ryback create the physical opening from Item (1), but instead of a third party involved, they simply brawl out of the Cell, fight into the crowd, a planted fan punches Punk as revenge for last week's Raw, they fight backstage, into the streets, down the street, up the street, and the PPV goes off the air with the match too out of control to ever return to the ring.

(5) New Method. In the process of brainstorming all of the potential scenarios (if Punk wins, how do they protect Ryback?, etc.), WWE comes up with a new method for getting out of a HIAC match while trying not to ruin the gimmick for future Cell matches. What they might come up with is anyone's guess.

(5b) PWTorch reader Bradd Mielke sent in another scenario: John Cena gets involved in the match somehow and BOTH Punk and Ryback destroy him. Then, Ryback is the first new member of the Heyman/Punk Alliance and he has been for quite some time. Ryback continues eating up opponents, but now openly as a heel. ALL involved now become cooler and Ryback can still be protected.

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