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Last Sunday, WWE put on their 13th annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. The match itself is one of the most brutal in professional wrestling history.
There have been just under fifty Hell in a Cell matches since its inception back in 1997. Even though WWE has matches like the Elimination Chamber and War Games, the Hell in a Cell match still holds up as a spectacle.
This year’s event featured two different Hell in a Cell matches, and both of them did not disappoint. The first Hell in a Cell match was for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Bianca Belair defended the championship in a hard-fought battle against Bayley.
The main event of the show saw WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre in the Cell. If Drew McIntrye loses, then he is no longer allowed to challenge Bobby Lashley for the championship.
There were many other matches on the card that helped fill up the 2021 Hell in a Cell card.
Rey Mysterio was supposed to challenge Roman Reigns for Universal Championship a Hell in a Cell match, but that match took place on last Friday’s SmackDown. Reigns dominated Mysterio throughout the entire contest to retain the championship.
The decision drastically changed the card of Sunday’s event, but it made for a great main event for SmackDown. This was the first time a Hell in a Cell match had taken place on the show.
Even though this major match-up was no longer on Sunday’s event, this show was still a decent card. If you have not seen Hell in a Cell, here are a few things to note from the pay-per-view.
#5 WWE Hell in a Cell started off with an intro inspired by The Warriors
During the WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff show, Natalya defeated Mandy Rose in a very athletic match. Dana Brooke joined her tag team partner Mandy Rose at ringside. Tamina Snuka also joined her fellow Women’s Tag Team Championship partner Natalya.
This match is a perfect setup for the continuation of WWE's Women’s Tag Team championship storyline. If anyone was worthy of a championship opportunity, it would be Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. So expect Rose and Brooke vs Tamina and Natalya for the championships soon.
With Natalya being a seasoned veteran of the roster, she is the perfect opponent for anyone that WWE plans on pushing. Mandy Rose has been a spotlight star for WWE for quite some time now, and her tag team with Dana Brooke is on the rise.
Mandy Rose was able to keep up with Natalya for the whole match, and at many points, it seemed like she was going to win.
After the Kickoff show, Hell in a Cell started with an allusion to the famous 1970’s movie The Warriors. Of course, the film has no ties to the WWE, but it was a cool tribute.
The Warriors is about a Coney Island gang on the run through New York after being framed for a crime they did not commit. Throughout the movie, a radio show host narrates and comments on the events going on.
Hell in a Cell started with a radio host similarly breaking down the show to the radio host from the movie. She breaks down each match with a specific tone that fits the character and even has a very similar sign-off phrase.
In the movie, the phrase cuts directly into a song, much like it did on Hell in a Cell. WWE used Ozzy Osbourne’s “Straight to Hell” as the show's theme. It started to play, and the show officially began.
#4 Bayley's Hell from the WWE announce table
Throughout WWE's history of Hell in a Cell, women have only been inside four times. Bayley competed in her second Hell in a Cell match in WWE on Sunday’s show.
Bayley challenged WWE's SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair but ended up losing the match after a hard-fought battle. The Role Model has really embraced her heel character and did a great job expressing that throughout the Hell in a Cell match.
Michael Cole and Bayley have an interesting relationship on screen, and it showed during the match. Cole commented on Bayley’s past in the cell, and she looked at him then told him to “shut up.” The exchange caused Bayley to be slammed through two kendo sticks, though.
After this exchange, many fans were calling for a Cole vs Bayley type of feud. It is not that far-fetched to think that these two would have great on-screen chemistry.
Both Cole and Bayley have personalities that make for expert microphone skills. Michael Cole has been on the WWE announce table for years, and he does have some memorable feuds under his belt already. It might not make sense to have them compete against each other, but the two fighting in a war of words would be entertaining.
Another thing from this match to note is how Bianca Belair’s trademark hair played a massive part in this match. Bayley was able to use it to tie up Belair and trap her so that she could use weapons against her. Ultimately, that decision caused her to lose the match, though, as Belair’s strength was just too much for Bayley.
Belair was able to use her hair to tug Bayley around before slamming her onto a ladder with the K.O.D., leading to a victory.
Bayley may have lost the Hell in a Cell match, but her experience helped Belair look even more like a star. This goes to show how good Bayley is in the ring and how skilled of a performer she is. WWE is lucky to have her!
#3 A Blissful Trance took over WWE Hell in a Cell 2021
It has been a few months now since we saw Bray Wyatt on WWE television. His absence has provided the spotlight to shine on his apprentice Alexa Bliss, who has taken over as the leading supernatural figure on Monday Night RAW.
Bliss' dominant victory over former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Shayna Baszler is not as surprising as how powerful her character is. Bliss seems to have the power of hypnotism as she was able to use it to help her win the match.
Shayna Baszler was accompanied to the ring by her tag team partner, fellow former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Nia Jax and their manager Reginald. Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax have a history together as well, so this storyline continues their attachment to one another’s careers.
During the match, Jax made direct eye contact with Bliss, and from there, she was hypnotized. Bliss raised her hands, and Jax followed her actions in sequence. Bliss used this ability to have Jax attack Reginald, and then once the trance was lifted, Jax was distorted.
This provided Bliss with the ability to set up a Twisted Bliss on Baszler for the win. What does this power mean for Bliss? What do her new abilities mean for WWE as a whole?
There has been a lot of mystery around Bray Wyatt’s character since his transformation into The Fiend. In addition, there has been even more of a mystery revolving around Alexa Bliss’s character change, with many questions revolving around how long she will be his supernatural sidekick.
Since the multi-time Women’s Champion has hardly competed in the ring since her character took over this transformation, many were intrigued about this match.
Now that she is back in the ring, will we see her use her powers more, or will this be a temporary thing? Does it mean that she could do this to anyone at any time? Does it mean that she can control Nia Jax as Bray Wyatt was able to do to her?
If Bliss can do this, then what else can she do? So many questions are left to be answered after this match, and it will be interesting to see how Bliss’s character develops in WWE.
If WWE ever does plan to transition Bliss back into her normal state, then they will need to do something drastic to explain it.
#2 Sami’s karmic justice at WWE Hell in a Cell 2021
At this point, it feels like Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have competed against each other hundreds of times in WWE, but there was something different about this match.
This time, Zayn had the cosmos on his side. "Karmic Justice" was served when Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens at Hell In a Cell. He used everything he had in his arsenal of moves, including one hell of a Helluva Kick that sent ripples through Owens' face, leading to the pinfall.
Sami Zayn appears to be adding his belief in karma to his character. He has been given the short end of the stick throughout his WWE career, but he has karma to thank for this win.
It is undeniable that out of the two men, Kevin Owens has had a more successful career. He is a multi-time champion in many different categories and promotions. He has been a main event star since he signed with the WWE.
With this win, though, karma has turned Sami's career around, and it appears all will be going up from here.
Sami was on a massive rise during his time in NXT. He is a former NXT Champion but was unfortunately injured in his first appearance on Monday Night RAW.
Due to his injury, he has always been one step behind Kevin Owens.
Zayn and Owens are best friends in real life and had always supported each other’s careers before they were even in WWE. Many fans know the history behind their friendship, and when played out on TV, it makes for great storylines.
What was different about this match is that it might lead to a huge push for Sami Zayn. By defeating Kevin Owens, his good karma is finally coming back to help him. Zayn was even talking about karma before and after the match on Sunday.
With Roman Reigns being the WWE Universal Champion, it is unlikely that he will be next in line for the championship but may be in line for a higher profile storyline. Especially if WWE is bringing back the King of the Ring concept, Zayn might be the next in line for the throne.
Kevin Owens took to Twitter following their match, saying that he would be taking some time off for a while. However, it has since been announced that Zayn and Owens will be taking part in a Last Man Standing Money in the Bank Qualifying Match on SmackDown.
These two men may have been destined to fight forever, but Sami's win at Hell in a Cell was some karmic justice for the Great Liberator.
#1 WWE's Helping Hands
WWE's Hell in the Cell provided for a few unexpected moments in the last two matches.
For example, the last two matches on the card ended under some unusual circumstances. Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley during the RAW Women’s Championship match, but didn't win the belt.
The Queen did not leave with the championship because she won via disqualification. When this happens, the title does not change hands.
When a DQ happens in a high calibre match, it is usually because of the heel. In this case, Rhea Ripley hit Charlotte Flair with the top of the announce table, causing the match to end.
This could mean two things, either Rhea is also a heel in this situation, or she hates Flair so much that she wanted to hurt her.
The two have competed against each other a few times before, so there is an interesting story between the two. After the match, the two were exchanging words with one another. It appears we will see a rematch in the near future due to this unexpected finish.
In the show's main event, Bobby Lashley retained his WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell match with Drew McIntyre, with some "helping hands" involved as well.
Drew McIntyre took a nasty bump onto a table, at least it was supposed to look that way. The camera went down too soon and showed that he took the bump onto a crash pad, and it was just supposed to look like he crashed onto the table.
As McIntyre was lying on the floor, a mysterious hand appeared from under the ring that pushed broken table pieces out.
Many fans who caught this mistake were taking to social media to make jokes about the situation. WWE has not addressed this as it just appeared to be a hilarious slip from the cameraman.
Overall, Lashley won, and McIntyre can no longer challenge for the WWE Championship while Lashley is the WWE Champion. It was a back-and-forth match, and it looked like McIntyre was about to win.
However, MVP got involved, and held on to McIntyre’s leg, causing a distraction. When he turned to face MVP, Bobby Lashley was able to roll up McIntyre to secure the victory.
What was your favorite part of the show? What do you make of the feuds coming out of WWE Hell in a Cell 2021? Let us know in the comment section below!
