PPV Evaluation - WWE Hell in a Cell
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

I was not looking forward to this year's edition of Hell In A Cell. I thought the build-up was awful, with badly scripted promos (Dean Ambrose is a champ at making terrible dialogue seem passable), nonsensical stips (Ambrose beat Cena in a match where the winner got Rollins and the loser got a shot at becoming #1 contender to the WWE Heavyweight Title?!, huh?), and additions to endless feuds (Paige vs. A.J. and the Dust Brothers vs. the Usos). Still, WWE turned in a very entertaining night. To wit:

BEST MATCH – SETH ROLLINS VS. DEAN AMBROSE

Both of the Cell matches were excellent, in my opinion, but this one takes the nod simply because it featured the elevation of new blood into the actual main event scene. The decision to put these two on last was a good one, and the match featured a fun opening brawl, some spectacular bumps, and the general great chemistry these two have shown before. Some have complained about the ending, but it didn't bother me. The Rollins-Ambrose feud had to be blown off eventually (they've been battling all summer) and I'm interested to see Wyatt and Ambrose try to out-crazy one another. Well done.

WORST MATCH – PAIGE VS. A.J. LEE

Please, make it stop. These two have been feuding for so long that I can't remember what it's about any more. I think it was because they don't want to be real friends, but that can't be it. That would be too stupid.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – CENA VS. ORTON ON THE UNDERCARD

It was the right move, but how weird was it seeing John Cena on fourth? The two had a great match (not the 'classic' the announcers were playing it off as, but very good) and it was nice seeing the deck shuffled, even if it turns out to only be for one night.

BEST MOVE – DOUBLE CAGE BUMP

Before the main event started, Ambrose and Rollins battled around the arena, up and down the cage, and it all culminated with the two of them taking a bump from halfway down the cage through two announce tables below. That was before the bell even rang.

BEST MATCH FINISH – DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. CESARO

This opening match was a ton of fun, and I really liked that Ziggler won the 2/3 falls match in two straight falls. I really hope this is the start of a nice run for Ziggler, as the IC Title needs to be restored, particularly with the WWE Heavyweight Title held by Brock Lesnar only appearing sporadically in the near future.

WHAT IT'LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

A very solid show. I didn't think that anything was bad, and I really recommend the 2/3 Falls match and both cell matches. I give this show a solid thumbs up.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- Nikki and Brie! The crowd didn't seem to care that much, but this was a pleasant surprise and I'd recommend checking it out. The only odd thing was having Nikki go over clean, and it kind of takes away Brie's anger at being the 'personal assistant.' As a babyface she agreed to a stipulation, and then lost fair and square.

- Sheamus vs. Miz was pure comedy, barely a TV match. The good news is that the comedy came courtesy of Mizdow, who is so entertaining that I'm forgiving the entire segment.

- Big Show vs. Rusev was fine. Nothing more, and I like that Rusev won via tap-out.

- WWE: Please stop making fun of people not watching on the Network. Some of us can't, so we PAY YOU MONEY. Imagine UFC putting out an ad saying "Get Fight Pass! Unless you don't have Internet access, in which case we think you're a moron."

UPDATED 2014 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 - WWE SUMMERSLAM (2014-08-17)
2 - WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXX (2014-04-06)
3 - WWE PAYBACK (2014-01-06)
4 - ROH BEST IN THE WORLD (2014-06-22)
5 - WWE MONEY IN THE BANK (2014-06-29)
6 - WWE HELL IN A CELL (2014-10-26)
7 - WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS (2014-09-21)
8 - WWE EXTREME RULES (2014-05-04)
9 - TNA SLAMMIVERSARY (2014-06-15)
10 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2014-02-23)
11 - WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2014-01-26)
12 - WWE BATTLEGROUND (2014-07-20)
13 - TNA BOUND FOR GLORY (2014-10-12)
14 - TNA LOCKDOWN (2014-03-09)
15 - TNA SACRIFICE (2014-04-27)

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