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Hell in a Cell 2017 was a show that was really carried by it's two entertaining and uniquely booked Hell in a Cell matches. The New Day and The Usos provided another classic encounter in their long, excellent feud. We had surprising title changes that should move the Smackdown brand forward for the rest of the year.
The event even ended with an excellent heel turn that can be a major storyline focus in the months to come. The blue brand is well set-up thanks to this fun show.
With all of this in my thoughts, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE Hell in a Cell 2017:
#5 Baron Corbin wins the US title
Baron Corbin has been booked as a loser. As one of the few young heels on the Smackdown Brand, it was surprising to see him lose so much in recent months. He lost to Nakamura and Cena clean; he lost to Tye Dillinger on Smackdown just this last week; he even lost the Money in the Bank contract in the most pathetic way possible. So naturally, it was time for him to win the US Title abruptly on Sunday.
Maybe it wasn’t too surprising that Dillinger was added to the match. It allowed someone besides AJ Styles to take the pin. But Corbin was on a massive losing streak and this seemed like another way for him to complain when Styles retain over Dillinger I assumed.
It is good to see a young, talented guy like Corbin getting a chance to see what he can do with a major secondary title. It was just strange how he got to that point.
#4 Natalya retains
It was set-up as the classic feel-good storyline: the popular, talented good guy is fighting for her father who has just escaped a serious illness and with his daughter by his side the entire time. The logical and emotional thing upon her return would be to win the Smackdown Women’s Title and dedicated the victory to her father.
Or end this potentially emotional moment with Natalya abruptly hitting Charlotte with a chair. I guess that works too.
The match was pretty anti-climatic. Natalya spent most of the match simply working on Charlotte’s leg. Once Charlotte got a little momentum, Natalya simply hit her with a chair. It was surprising to see Natalya’s reign continue.
She hasn’t really added much to the belt and has been an afterthought on Smackdown each week. I hope some enthusiasm is added to the WWE Smackdown’s Women Division in the weeks to come. It certainly can use it.
#3 The Tag Match steals the show again
I think the most surprising thing was that The Usos/New Day was the opener to Hell in A Cell 2017. They have had excellent matches at Battleground, Summerslam and Smackdown Vegas. With the possibilities of the Hell in the Cell, the expectations were high, and they jumped over that high bar.
It was a nearly thirty-minute match that was not boring and the two teams found many creative ways to hurt each other. I don’t think I have ever seen a person trapped by Kendo Sticks before.
I really don’t understand why you would willingly jump head first into a steel cage but to each their own. This is one of best tag team feuds in a long time and they continue to exceed our already high expectations.
#2 Jinder retains clean
Have you ever the movie “Groundhog Day”? It is one of my favourites where a local weatherman repeats the same day over and over again. The WWE has its own version. Instead of a weatherman, we get Jinder Mahal. What is even weirder is that I used this same introduction back a few months ago.
Jinder is a long-running joke that never seems to end. One would think that declining television ratings and live gate attendance would play some factor to end his boring title reign.
The WWE decided to take its really popular star in Shinsuke Nakamura, and have him job to Jinder Mahal two months in a row. The surprising thing was how the finish occurred this month. The WWE decided to break the boring pattern of the Singh Brothers distracting Jinder’s opponent so he could hit his finisher to win. This time Jinder beat Nakamura clean.
It is shocking to see two really popular WWE stars lose repeatedly to Mahal for the last five months. When will the Jinder reign end? That might be the most surprising moment for the Smackdown brand when it finally occurs.
#1 Sami Zayn turns heel
I think it is pretty safe to assume the 47-year-old Shane McMahon is an adrenaline junkie. How else would you explain his willingness to jump off the top of a Hell in a Cell on two separate occasions? It is quite strange he is willing to do things that most 'full-time' WWE wrestlers would not do.
The match was a fun and brutal way to end the show. Owens and McMahon certainly took a lot of risks in, around and above the Hell in a Cell on Sunday night. While I still think it is really stupid for Shane to jump off the Hell in a Cell for the second time, it wasn’t completely surprising. But the heel turn was.
In a beautifully timed moment, Sami Zayn pulled Kevin Owens out of the way just in the nick of time. Since Kevin has spent two years insulting and beating up Sami Zayn on-camera, it was the best surprising moment of the show. He even helped Kevin win the match.
Zayn is a criminally underused talent and maybe that will be some of his justification for helping out Owens. Whatever way it goes, I love the possibilities of the Sami Zayn heel turn going forward. He deserves it.
