5 WWE Hell in a Cell Predictions

WWE's annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (or Network special, does anybody still pay for pay-per-view?) is upon us. We can debate the merits of the event, notably the multiple eponymous Hell in a Cell matches, but that's a story for another day. The fact remains that there are no less than three Hell in a Cell matches to look forward to, and five championship matches booked.

The SHIELD has reunited, the Universal Championship is being defended, and Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy are wrestling like it’s still 2008. Mick Foley, the man synonymous with the Hell in a Cell structure, is returning to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of his iconic match against the Undertaker. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair have the hottest feud in all of wrestling, and I am ready to boo the woo.

I may not agree with everything happening at this event( why isn’t Shinsuke Nakamura on the card?), but I will be watching every minute of action, either because I want to see justice done(looking at you, Charlotte Flair), or because I won’t be able to tear my eyes away from the car crash on my screen(noted lunatics Mick Foley and Jeff Hardy will both be locked inside the Hell in a Cell Structure in different capacities).

That got me thinking about what I wanted to see, and what I was likely to see, besides Becky Lynch getting revenge on Charlotte Flair. How would storylines progress? Would characters stay true to their motivations? Will WWE adapt to crowd responses, and change the direction the stories are heading in?

This article is going to make predictions about what will happen at the event.

These are based on my own biases, and what we have seen on WWE television in terms of crowd reactions, character motivations, and character development.

This is not a simple XYZ wins prediction article. For example, I won’t just write that Charlotte Flair will defeat Becky Lynch, and retain her Smackdown Women’s Championship. I will write about how she will win, why it makes sense given the story being told, and how this will advance the story.

Not all matches taking place this Sunday are discussed herein. For example, I have not included A.J. Styles versus Samoa Joe because I truly do not know where they will take the story.

So without any further ado, let's get right into it.

Ronda Rousey wrecks Alexa Bliss...eventually

When it was rumoured that Ronda Rousey was WWE bound, people began to theorize about who she could possibly face. The match that seemed to make the most sense was Charlotte Flair.

Then, Ronda Rousey showed up at the Royal Rumble and based on their interaction( Asuka dismissively ignored Rousey's handshake offer), it appeared that 'Rowdy' may have been on a collision course towards the Empress of Tomorrow.

I personally wanted to watch Ronda Rousey VS Sasha Banks.

Yet, here we are, with Ronda Rousey somehow facing Alexa Bliss, whilst Banks and Asuka can't even make it onto the card.

But I digress.

Rousey humiliated Alexa Bliss at Summerslam, and her last two UFC losses notwithstanding, that was the only believable outcome. Bliss may wrestle a 'Hoss style', and maybe one of the most protected women on the roster in terms of booking, but she was up against a woman who not only looked and moved like she outclassed her in terms of pure athletic ability, but was also booked as such.

Rousey has an aura about her. She wasn't going to go from rag-dolling the 270 pound Nia Jax in the latter stages of their championship match to losing to Alexa Bliss. Moreover, the entire story of their SummerSlam match was based upon Rousey finally getting her hands on Bliss. The babyface usually wins when the payoff to the story dictates that she do so. But the babyface absolutely needs to win when she is one of the greatest pay-per-view draws in history, and primed to be the face of the WWE's women's division in their 'Women's Evolution Era'.

Based on the events of this past Monday, the story leading into the match is Bliss viciously injuring Rousey's ribs. This would not have happened if her injured ribs were not going to be a part of the match. Moreover, Ronda Rousey may be the baddest woman on the planet, but she is still a WWE Babyface in the 'Women's Evolution Era'. WWE Babyfaces generally follow the Hulk Hogan model(Heel gets advantage via nefarious means, Babyface gets beaten down, Babyface refuses to give up, Babyface eventually prevails), even Goldberg was booked as such during his first run with the company. This model is especially useful if the Babyface in question is inexperienced and unable to fully play their part in a competitive back-and-forth, high profile match(see Reigns, Roman VS Orton, Randy, at Summerslam 2014). Lastly, WWE cannot afford to have three-minute matches involving their female superstars anymore, not when the backlash caused by such matches led to #GiveDivasAChance and the women's evolution.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, it is not especially difficult to arrive at the conclusion that whilst Rousey will eventually prevail, it will be after Bliss gets the upper-hand by targeting her injured ribs.

Jeff Hardy is going to do something stupidly death-defying

Jeff Hardy; noted lunatic with little or no regard for his personal safety.

The Hell in a Cell structure; something high for him to jump off of.

I could go into how the story dictates that Jeff Hardy get a brutal revenge on Randy Orton, or at least attempt to(it does), or how Jeff Hardy's character is devoid of fear(it is), or how him using the Swanton Bomb to put Randy Orton through a table on Smackdown Live a few weeks ago wouldn't have happened if they didn't mean to top it inside the Cell(it does) or how his metaphorically broken body after Orton escapes may lead to him becoming more 'Woken'(it could), but all we need to know is that its Jeff Hardy in a Hell in a Cell match.

This is the same man who was speared in MID-AIR whilst hanging on to the suspended Tag Team Titles in his epic TLC match at Wrestlemania 17.

This is the same man who said he wanted to top Shane McMahon's heart-stopping fall from the top of Hell in a Cell at Wrestlemania 32.

Oh, and his opponent, Randy Orton? A noted psychopath who needs to do something especially heinous to reinforce his new heel-turn, and set him up for his inevitable clash with A.J. Styles.

Welp.

Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch execute a double-turn

Let me start by saying that I am biased.

I love Becky Lynch. I have always supported her, and will always support her.

I quite like Charlotte Flair.

BUT I BOO THE WOO.

I cheered Becky when she attacked Charlotte at Summerslam after Charlotte won fair and square stole her spotlight.

I revelled in the crowd chanting 'you deserve it' at Charlotte after said attack.

And I have shamelessly supported Becky every single time she has attacked Charlotte since. Darn, I even rationalized her attack this past Tuesday whilst Charlotte was taking a selfie with young fans as Becky preventing Charlotte from polluting young minds (which she totally was doing).

I did say that I was biased.

But if crowd reactions are anything to go by, as Sam Smith would say, I know I'm not the only one.

Crowds have refused to boo Becky.

Her bad-@%% new look may have something to do with it. Or maybe its the fact that she is inherently likeable. Maybe Becky needed a stronger babyface foil, and Charlotte comes across as entitled and opportunistic.

Moreover, Becky's promo on Smackdown Live in the immediate aftermath of SummerSlam blamed the fans, but WWE edited that bit out of the video they uploaded onto YouTube.

The only truly heelish thing she has done since then has been the aforementioned attack this past Tuesday, and if past WWE booking is any barometer, that screamed "SWERVE".

Becky Lynch is a true-blue babyface that the crowd desperately wants to cheer.

Charlotte Flair has proven that she plays an excellent heel(her last name is Flair for crying out loud), that the crowd refuses to cheer against Becky.

The solution?

A double-turn.

I think that Charlotte Flair is going to lock Becky Lynch into the figure-8 leg-lock and that Becky is going to pass out in the pain instead of tapping out. And then, Charlotte is going to viciously attack her after the bell has rung to reinforce this turn. Think Bret Hart and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13.

It makes sense in terms of Becky's character too. She attacked her best friend needy, entitled friend because this championship meant so much to her. She fought, and defeated, almost every single woman on Smackdown Live for an opportunity to reclaim it. She would sooner pass out due to pain than give up.

Seth Rollins will be forced to defend his Intercontinental Championship

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose( not the SHIELD, as they explained this past Monday), are set to face Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler( I refuse to call them the Dogs of War), for the RAW Tag Team Championships.

How did this happen?

Seth Rollins basically blackmailed General Manager Baron Corbin into making this match. Corbin can claim that he acquiesced because it is his job to make the big matches, but he did so because he was coerced. And because nothing of value to him was on the line. But mostly because he was coerced.

If Corbin has proved anything thus far, it is that he is petty and vindictive.

The guy holds grudges and is not afraid to abuse his power. We have seen it in his treatment of Finn Balor. He changed the rules mid-match to no-disqualification so that he could use a steel chair to beat Balor. He booked a match between Balor and himself, only to inform Balor at the last minute that he was facing Braun Strowman instead. And, he tried to get back at Bobby Lashley by placing him in a handicap match, which was a fine idea in theory, but not so much in practice, as his opponents were the Ascension. But still. It's the thought that counts, n'est pas?

Seth Rollins crossed the boss. And now, there will be hell to pay (pun intended).

Look for Corbin to force Rollins to defend his Intercontinental Championship, with a view to at best costing him the Championship, and at worst, depleting him before his Tag Team Championship match.

Moreover, there are only 7 matches booked for the main card, and the United States Championship is not being defended. It would be strange for the WWE to not book another match(they don't seem to understand that less is more) and have neither secondary championship defended at the event.

Furthermore, if anybody on the roster has the stamina to pull double-duty, it is Rollins. He wrestled for almost an hour on RAW earlier this year, and famously wrestled for almost 45 minutes at Night of Champions, 2015, against John Cena, and then Sting.

Seth Rollins is going to Burn. It. Down.

Twice.

The Hell in a Cell Structure fails to keep anybody out during the Universal Championship Match

Braun Strowman wanted to fight Roman Reigns inside the Hell in a Cell structure because he thought that it would prevent Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins from interfering.

Braun Strowman is an idiot.

Or, he doesn't have the WWE Network

Because otherwise, he would have known that structures and match-stipulations that are meant to prevent outside interference, inevitably involve outside interference.

I do not think that Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will be the first to interfere in this match. Remember, they never interfered during Roman Reigns' Universal Championship defense against Finn Balor, even when it looked like Balor might win. That is not how the SHIELD rolls. They let each other fight their own battles. They only interfered when Braun Strowman tried to take advantage of a weakened Roman Reigns.

But Braun Strowman has found himself some friends; Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. And they will certainly attempt to interfere in his match, which will lead to Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins showing up too.

The question is not whether there will be interference. It is who will inevitably knock out Mick Foley whilst running interference.