The biggest winners and losers of Hell in a Cell

Hell in a Cell was very much a tale of two shows. It was emblematic of a consistently inconsistent WWE. The first few hours were very good, with five good to great matches in a row!

The show was well on its way to being the shoe-in for the main roster's best pay per view of the year - and that isn't because most of WWE's major shows this year have been underwhelming at best. This was a legitimately good show, but then the screwy ending to the WWE Championship match happened. The show fell off a cliff from there, continually getting worse, and the last hour was WWE at its worst, to the extent that fans were supposedly furious in the aftermath.

Why it seems impossible for the main roster to deliver a great show from beginning to end, I honestly have no idea. How could it have gone so wrong after such an excellent beginning and middle?

Nevertheless, let's take a look at the outcomes last night and see who made the most out of it. Who got the least?

---

Losers: Rusev Day

This was a great way to start the show and I'll admit it, WWE almost got me thinking for a moment that Rusev Day would win. Nonetheless, it didn't happen. The "miscommunication" cue between Rusev and Aiden English was lamely done and shouldn't serve as a point of tension, but clearly, it was last night, and it's going to.

With seemingly nowhere to go, the chances for a breakup of Rusev Day just got a lot stronger after last night, but such a breakup wouldn't help either man. They'd be doing the exact same thing they're doing now. They'd just be less over and entertaining.

With a thin tag team division, breaking them up would be silly, but that looks like it's the direction we're heading in.

Winner: Becky Lynch

By far, the biggest winner of last night's show was Becky Lynch. Amazingly, she not only defeated Charlotte Flair, but she did so for a title on pay per view, something which has been unheard of until now. It was a very rare instance of the company pulling the trigger on a hot act.

Becky wasn't in the mood to bury the hatchet with Charlotte, though. The two will have their rematch in Australia, and probably another one at Evolution.

Still, it will be interesting to see where the blue brand's women's division goes with Becky finally back on its throne after two years in the wilderness.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Becky Lynch may have been the biggest winner, but this was by far the night's best match. A legitimate match of the year candidate, it was exactly what the Raw Tag Team Championship needed after six months of being jokes. To make things better, the right team won.

McIntyre was the real star of this match, though it might not seem like it at first. He was the most menacing in the contest, made his presence felt, and was the ingredient that finally put the Shield away via his Claymore kick to Seth Rollins, allowing Ziggler to get the pinfall.

Big things are in store for McIntyre. Last night was his first major showing.

Loser: Samoa Joe

Everything about this match was great until the ending. Samoa Joe tapped AJ Styles in the Coquina Clutch before the three count in a roll-up, but for some reason, AJ Styles is still WWE Champion. The two will meet for a third time in Australia, but there's no doubt that Joe will lose.

This was a clear signal that the company doesn't want to put the championship on Joe right now, despite him being red hot and outperforming AJ Styles in this feud with every segment.

Shades of the Nakamura feud were present, especially when Paige said: "there will be a winner."

Hopefully this program doesn't decline too rapidly.

Loser: Alexa Bliss

Seeing Ronda Rousey sell so long for Alexa Bliss was ridiculous, but as expected, she retained her championship.

This means the definitive end of Alexa Bliss' run at the top of the Raw women's division, at least for a while. It was overdue.

Beyond Evolution, Alexa Bliss' path is unclear, for the first time since she was called up to the main roster.

Loser: Braun Strowman

Welcome to the failed cash in club, Braun Strowman!

Though he didn't lose this match technically, the manner in which it ended still made his place clear. His Money in the Bank win was for nothing. It's one of the biggest burials of 2018.

It didn't help that, while he was entertaining, his role was to foolishly try and get sympathy for Roman Reigns.

Loser: Monday Night Raw

Just when you thought Raw couldn't possibly get any worse, it does.

After one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches in history, a gaunt-looking Brock Lesnar returned and caused a no contest...in what's supposed to be a no disqualification match.

Raw has been a mess, but if there was one great thing about Roman Reigns' title win at SummerSlam, it was the definitive close of the repetitive, tired, never-ending feud with Brock Lesnar.

Or so we thought.

What a mess.