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Hell in a Cell isn’t the be all end all feud ender it used to be, nor is it necessarily synonymous with great matches these days. The PPV does still have unique classics like The Undertaker v Mankind and The Undertaker v Shawn Michaels in its history.
The Cell remains as big of a spectacle as WWE has nowadays for a singles match, and by sheer immensity of the Cell itself, it remains an honor for a storyline to ultimately garner a match inside the menacing structure.
The Hell in a Cell PPV is now less than two months away. While it’s still early to predict who will lock horns inside the Devil’s Playground this time around, we can start to see certain rivalries that might warrant some violence and a sense of finality by October.
Here is a look at five rivalries that could get the Hell in a Cell treatment this fall.
#5 Seth Rollins v AJ Styles
For as decorated of a star as AJ Styles has become in WWE, he has not yet had the opportunity to perform inside of one of WWE’s most distinctive, signature match types, Hell in a Cell. While Styles can still hit remarkable high flying offense, he has also evolved his game with his advancing age to be more ground centered.
So, whereas the prospect of Styles working a match in the Cell ten years ago—before he actually signed with WWE—would have almost certainly entailed a big dive or bump, in 2019 we could expect something different.
As one of WWE’s greatest in ring performers, we could anticipate him honoring the cage match tradition with a brutal classic. There may be no better rival for him to do that with than Seth Rollins.
WWE has pushed the Beast Slayer nicely with his clean victory over Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. He seems to have fallen short of challengers now and Styles has the talent and kayfabe credibility to work in that role for an extended program while WWE builds other challengers, culminating in a showdown in the Cell.
#4 Roman Reigns v Daniel Bryan
WWE launched an unusual angle when a mystery assailant pushed the scaffolding on to Roman Reigns backstage. At present, there are links to Daniel Bryan being a part of the plan, if not the attack itself, but rather than take credit for it, he has claimed innocence.
It’s tough to say where this angle is going, but it’s hard to imagine that it doesn’t involve Reigns and Bryan duking out in the ring at some point. The two have worked well together in the past, both on opposite ends of The Shield vs. Team Hell No, and in a main event match at Fastlane 2015.
Bryan’s strengths play well to Reigns’s and these two could very well put on some great matches, with Rowan adding some intrigue from outside the ring, and Buddy Murphy hanging around the periphery of the angle as an X-factor. Hell in a Cell could provide a proper platform to neutralize outside interference in favor of Reigns and Bryan resolving their issues once and for all.
#3 Becky Lynch v Sasha Banks
Becky Lynch garnered the first women’s main event at WrestleMania this past year, but three and a half years earlier, it was Sasha Banks who worked the first main roster PPV main event of all with Charlotte Flair. Based on the interactions between a returning Banks and, first Natalya, then Lynch, it looks as though Lynch and Banks are on a collision course sooner than later.
One of the drawbacks to Lynch’s title reign since WrestleMania has been a paucity of credible challengers. Banks fills this role nicely in terms of being over with the fans, her talent in the ring, and even her history with Lynch, including beating her back in NXT. This program could very reasonable go on for the next two months—perhaps, even, with Banks winning the title off of The Man for a stretch—and arrive at these two working a Hell in a Cell match.
#2 Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar
There is every possibility that the story of Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar has truly come to an end. The Beast Slayer achieved a come from behind, clean victory over the most credible monster in the business. Besides that creative development, the consensus among fans is that they’re sick of Lesnar as a part-time champion, and so there is a little appeal in seeing him challenge for the Universal title again.
WWE has always had trouble putting an end to money-making feuds between marquee stars. It’s why we got another round of Rollins vs. Lesnar in the first place, never mind that we wound up essentially where these two left off coming out of WrestleMania.
Rollins vs. Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell could snag WWE one more big draw of a main event out of these two, particularly by marketing it as the last match the two will ever compete in against each other.
#1 Kofi Kingston v Randy Orton
One of the main limitations of Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship reign has been a lack of credible, interesting challengers. For as good as Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens are, neither was positioned as a real threat to take the title.
Randy Orton feels different.
Playing off of the long history between Orton's and Kingston's on screen and behind the scenes action, and capitalizing on Orton’s identity as a perennial main event guy, WWE has positioned him as Kingston’s biggest challenger to date by a long shot.
Add in the heat of Orton antagonizing Kingston’s family’s at SummerSlam, and Kingston coming at him with a fury, this is a feud that is just heating up. Orton has worked his share of Hell in a Cell matches and Kingston has a good one under his belt, as part of New Day opposite the Usos. Put these two together in October and, win or lose, Kingston may get the defining match of his title reign.
