Brock Lesnar returned at Hell In A Cell

WWE Hell In A Cell: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

WWE Hell In A Cell has come and gone leaving a little something for everyone in its wake. Wrestling fans saw the height of brutality in the opening Hell In A Cell Match between Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton. They were treated to a title change in a new era of women's wrestling, as Becky Lynch finally defeated Charlotte Flair to become the new Smackdown Women's Champion. The SHIELD continued their feud with The Dogs of War both in the RAW Tag Team Championship match and later in the evening during the Hell In A Cell main event between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe wrestled in a superb match. The celebrity wing of the WWE Universe was likely appeased with the Mixed Tag Team Match between Daniel Bryan & his wife Brie Bella and The Miz & his wife Maryse. Fans inclined toward legends likely went home happy with Mick Foley guest refereeing the main event and the return of The Beast Brock Lesnar.

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It should be noted; however, that Hell In A Cell wasn't perfect. In fact, many wrestling fans will likely argue that the event was far from perfection, even disappointing. There was a controversial non-finish to the main event between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. Daniel Bryan's questionable booking continued, as he has essentially become an afterthought in the WWE and what was up with the giant red structure that replaced the traditional beloved Hell In A Cell? There are many questions left to be answered at the conclusion of tonight's pay-per-view. We examine those as well.

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So as the great prophet Hawk Harrelson says, "Sit back, relax, and strap it down." Join us or a special Hell In A Cell edition of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly as we break down the very best, the worst, and the downright ugliest moments from WWE's Hell In A Cell.

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The Good: Becky Lynch Has Her Moment

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New Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch
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Stephanie McMahon ignited waves of controversy this week when she spoke at the Sports Business Journals Game Changer's Conference and dropped this gem that drew the ire of even the most ardent WWE fans,

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"We're successful for one reason only: We listened to our audience."
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While this left many scratching their heads in bewilderment, McMahon's words certainly held true for tonight's Smackdown Women's Championship match.

Fan favorite Becky Lynch has long been beloved by a frustrated WWE Universe, who have wondered when WWE corporate would see what they saw in Lynch. Lynch, who has long been hidden in Charlotte Flair's shadow, has floundered on WWE's mid-card; but, not tonight. Tonight the times they were a-changin'.

In a shocking moment, Lynch finally defeated Charlotte Flair to become the NEW Smackdown Women's Champion. The victory isn't shocking due to Lynch's lack of ability. To the contrary, Lynch is one of the greatest female wrestlers in the WWE. The victory is shocking because the WWE so seldom gives its fan base what it wants, a simple acknowledgement that from time to time they too can recognize talent. On this night, on this one occasion, the WWE Universe went home happy and so did the new Smackdown Women's Champion Becky Lynch, who later tweeted the sentiment of wrestling fans everywhere:

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The Good: Ambrose Wrestling On Pay-Per-View Again

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Dean Ambrose at Hell In A Cell

Although Dean Ambrose returned to be at the side of his SHIELD brethren, Seth Rollins, at this year's SummerSlam, Ambrose has not wrestled on a WWE pay-per-view since Survivor Series 2017. For those keeping track at home, that was nearly ten months ago.

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At times, it seemed like Ambrose would never return from the triceps injury he suffered last December. Anything; but, forgotten, the Asylum yearned for its resident lunatic to take the helm of the proverbial ship once again. Rumors persisted. He was to return at the Royal Rumble; but, he didn't. Surely, Ambrose would be back in time for WrestleMania; but, that wasn't the case. Fans were left yearning for more; but, ultimately unsatisfied.

In an interview with The Monitor earlier this week, Dean Ambrose revealed that his recovery process had taken a turn for the worst and what was once seen as a routine triceps injury recovery became a fight for his life, as the Lunatic nearly died from a staph infection.

Ambrose's tag team match was good; but, nothing significant occurred where it would be considered over the top or even memorable except for one key fact: he was there. Ambrose was back in a WWE ring doing what he loves, something that he once thought he may never have the opportunity to do again. Whatever your opinions are on professional wrestling, Ambrose's in-ring return is nothing short of miraculous and most deservedly lands itself in our "good" column.

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The Good: Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy

HIAC: Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy
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Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy was the Hell In A Cell Match we didn't want and never knew we needed. No one was clamoring for these two to fight at all, let alone inside the steel structure. Both future WWE Hall of Famers have been afterthoughts of late on the Smackdown brand; but, we should have known something was up when Hardy told Talk Sport that he would do something fans would never forget. When a performer as insane as Hardy says something like that, the ears perk up and fans listen.

Hardy wasn't lying. The match was as intense as it was brutal.

Early on, Hardy found himself the victim of a ruthless Randy Orton chair shot to the back:

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Then Orton carelessly suplexed him onto the ladder, midsection first:

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The violence had only just begun; however, as Orton used the ladder as a vice grip on Hardy's neck, suffocating the breath out of the former United States Champion:

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Then the unthinkable happened. In an act so heinous, so barbaric and ruthless that it can only be described as vomit inducing, Randy Orton found his way to a tool box underneath the ring. He procured an old fashioned screwdriver and ruthlessly poked it through Jeff Hardy's ear piercing. Orton stretched and twisted Hardy's ear to the point where it looked as if it might snap right off. Words hardly do the event justice.

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The match ended with Hardy targeting Randy Orton from the top of the cage and as Hardy landed through a table, it was evident that he had missed his target. Orton capitalized for the pinfall victory.

Hardy was taken out in a stretcher and rushed to a local hospital, where he complained of stomach pains and vomited blood. There is currently no update on his condition; but, one thing was certain at the conclusion of this classic: these two men gave their absolute all.

The Bad: Daniel Bryan The Afterthought

HIAC: Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs The Miz & Maryse
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The match is understandable. All four competitors have become reality television stars and are arguably better known for the escapades on E! than anything they've done in a wrestling ring. Daniel Bryan; however, stands apart from every other competitor in this bout. Without taking anything away from The Miz, who is great in his own right, Bryan is one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. His return to wrestling was met with the heralded fanfare it deserved. A man once deemed physically unable to compete was making an improbable return to the wrestling ring to do what he does best and loves most.

The WWE had yet another Daniel Bryan underdog story fall right into their laps. It was foolproof....or so we thought. Since Daniel Bryan's return just before WrestleMania 34, he has floundered on Smackdown LIVE's mid-card losing cleanly to the likes of Big Cass (remember him?) and The Miz. Daniel Bryan's post-WrestleMania booking has become so tragic that wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer recently called it, "promotional malpractice."

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Tonight's booking was equally sub par. Bryan and The Miz played second fiddle to Brie Bella and Maryse, who are well past their in-ring prime. While both women have had great wrestling careers, they were never known for their technical prowess; but, the majority of the match centered around the two. Brie Bella even called the match. The conclusion of the non-eventful affair featured Brie Bella and Maryse botching the finish (Bella also botched an earlier sequence of Yes Kicks). The team of Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella lost cleanly in front of an unenthused San Antonio crowd.

The Bad: Main Event Finish

Mayhem at Hell In A Cell
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In a match that promises a finish, the WWE Universe were deprived an actual finish at Hell In A Cell. After being unnecessarily distracted by a tag team feud between Rollins & Ambrose and Ziggler & McIntyre atop the cage, Brock Lesnar made his WWE return. The ending of the Universal Championship match was chaotic and centered on just about everything except for the Universal Championship and the two men fighting for its possession.

As Lesnar made his return, The Beast kicked the gate down and proceeded to annihilate the two men he undoubtedly deems responsible for his SummerSlam defeat:

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A Lesnar return is an event in itself; but, did it have to take away so much from the Universal Championship match? With all that build, which included Strowman winning and cashing in a Money In The Bank briefcase, didn't the WWE Universe at least deserve a legitimate finish?

WWE Creative obviously felt otherwise and we were left with a disappointing no-finish as the Hell In A Cell credits appeared on the screen in the most anticlimactic event of the five plus hour evening.

The Ugly: The Big Red Monster

The new HIAC steel structure
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It was ugly.

Twitter user @wrestlevotes claimed that with all the talk of Mick Foley and The Undertaker, Vince McMahon realized that the Hell In A Cell structure was getting old and needed an update. Since it worked so well with Eva Marie (sarcasm), maybe it was decided that the steel structure must be painted all red everywhere.

The Cast of WWE and E!'s Total Divas Celebrate SummerSlam at The London West Hollywood
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While the matches were similar on the inside they were more difficult to see from the outside. Red is simply a hell of a lot more distracting than a natural silver toned fence colour and distracted from the matches.

The structure became its own punchline. Fans were talking about it, rather than the wrestling.

Some thought the cage looked like the Sesame Street character Elmo trying to embrace the WWE Superstars in a great big hug:

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When being built, it very well could have been an old Brother love set, or even Shawn Michaels' Heartbreak Hotel:

The Brother Love Show
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Shawn Michaels' Heartbreak Hotel

One thing is certain. With all that red and the repeated mentions of hell, not seeing the actual Big Red Monster (Kane) was a bit of a letdown.

See No Evil Premiere - Arrivals

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE

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Edited by
Pratyay Ghosh
 
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