WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 - 4 Reasons why the ending to the Universal Championship match was the right call

Chances are that if you are reading this, you were probably upset with how the main event match between Universal Champion Seth Rollins and The Fiend, Bray Wyatt, ended. Fans and analysts alike wanted a definitive finish to the match and a large majority was expecting the Fiend to defeat Rollins and become the new Universal Champ.

I was among that majority for the build to Hell in a Cell. WWE had dedicated a great amount of time, resources and detail to crafting everything regarding the Fiend, including his character, his entrance, his presentation and his Firefly Fun House. So heading into the PPV, a lot of people figured that all of that time invested into Wyatt's new persona would be paid off.

The ending was in stark contrast to what a lot of people were hoping for as Rollins ended up retaining the title via referee stoppage. While that taints the Fiend's aura in the eyes of many, if you analyze the ending after the fact, the booking decision was not as bad as everyone thought.

Personally, I'm more upset with two other recent title changes. Charlotte Flair won yet another title at the PPV, making her a 10-time Champ with her third reign of 2019. And even less palatable was the squash match of Kofi Kingston on the debut of SmackDown on FOX. Here we go again, another Lesnar title reign.

It would have been a great moment for Wyatt and the fans alike as it would have made up for some rather questionable booking that required Wyatt's character be rehabilitated. But a lot of things surrounding both the feud and WWE's booking this year make sense with further evaluation. Here are four reasons why the ending to the Universal Championship match at HIAC was the right call.

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#4 It wasn't a normal wrestling match

Does anything about this picture remind you of a normal wrestling match?

Did the Fiend lose to Seth Rollins in a straight-up wrestling match where disqualifications, count outs and interference were in play? No.

Did he lose in a submission match? No. The fact is that big stipulation matches like this are usually booked this way to keep both men looking strong.

While the end result is often unsatisfying because fans want decisive wins and losses in their wrestling matches, no-contests and stoppage-type finishes are often used for special occasions. What was HIAC but a special occasion?

Many are upset that the Fiend not winning kills his aura and all of the build to the match. But if you have watched WWE for the last 10 years then you know that this isn't the end of the feud.

Too much was invested in the build to this particular PPV to simply have Rollins move on to another challenger. All of AJ Styles' title defenses as WWE Champion were usually in three-part feuds (Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura).

While the finish may have been upsetting to a degree, we need to at least consider the bigger picture and the long-term goals. It's easy to dislike the finish because it just happened, but it doesn't mean that he can't win the title down the road.

#3 Rollins just won the title back at SummerSlam

Rollins beat Lesnar for the title for the second time at SummerSlam.

The lack of a definitive finish might be frustrating to some people, but consider the booking of the Universal Championship for most of its recent tenure. Has it been satisfying? Sure it was wonderful both times that Rollins dethroned Lesnar, but before that, The Beast's rather large shadow loomed over the title.

Had the Beast not won Money in the Bank, then it would have provided that opportunity to another more deserving Superstar. And had Lesnar not won and cashed in, it would have made Rollins' reign as Champ last from WrestleMania to the present. Instead, having Lesnar cash-in was a worse decision because it broke up Rollins' two title reigns.

Because he just won the title in August, it is way too early for him to lose it. Yes, The Fiend would have represented an acceptable foil to take the title from Rollins, but it would have made the title reigns of The Beastslayer useless.

The point is yes, the booking of the big red belt has been upsetting, but a lot of that is due to The Beast. Things would have been easier to digest had he not even been in the picture post-'Mania, but he was. For that reason, he deserves some of the negative vibes being sent to Rollins, Wyatt and WWE.

#2 Neither participants could afford a clean loss

Seth Rollins used many weapons to try to put away the Fiend.

When two Superstars are squaring off in a match with a stipulation, it offers more of a chance for a title change. Vince McMahon and the creative team do not let particular Superstars take many pins as they like to keep bigger names like Roman Reigns, Lesnar, Flair and Becky Lynch protected. It was even done last year between Reigns and Braun Strowman when Lesnar interfered at HIAC to throw a wrench into the match.

When Lynch lost the SmackDown Women's Championship last year, it was in a three-woman TLC match at the TLC PPV. She did not eat a pin and did not lose her aura because of that. A lot of other times, heels pick up cheap wins over faces to gain heat and to protect Superstars. It happens all the time, including last week on Dynamite when Pac beat Adam Page after a low blow.

They don't lose by a three-count and don't lose as much by getting beat by underhanded tactics. It might be upsetting at times, but it needs to happen from time to time.

Since Rollins just won the title and McMahon reportedly wanted Rollins as the Champion heading into debut/draft season, he was going to be protected to a degree. The match might have ended due to stoppage, but did The Fiend get slapped once and lose? Heck no.

He ate over 10 curb stomps, a pedigree, chair shots, a ladder shot, a curb stomp on a huge mallet and then a sledgehammer to a chair.

That is perhaps the greatest amount of punishment taken by a Superstar to keep him or her looking strong in defeat. Had he eaten one stomp or a superkick, then by all means, go nuts in despair and riot on social media.

But Wyatt didn't lose the match and endured punishment that would have even knocked out some of the best in the business. He kicked out at one on more than one occasion and ended the night on top. Since WWE sometimes books itself into a corner, and in this instance a Cell, the ending was the right call despite backlash.

#1 It prolongs what should be one of the better feuds of the year

This won't be the last meeting between Wyatt and Rollins in 2019.

Hopefully both Rollins and Wyatt are kept on RAW in the upcoming draft. Rollins is the face of the Red Brand and Wyatt is becoming one of the top attractions in all of WWE. Because his act needs a lot of exposure and TV time, it better suits both Wyatt and WWE to keep him on Monday nights.

A booking decision like the one to end Sunday night is usually done if the WWE has plans to prolong a title feud. It happened between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe when The Phenomenal One snapped and lost via DQ. While it was unsatisfying to a degree, it may keep things going until the definitive third PPV match. If you were upset with the finish to the HIAC PPV, it is understandable, but it isn't the end of things between Rollins and the Fiend.

Most older fans have been watching the product for a long time, but chances are by now, we should all have some working knowledge of what to expect regarding WWE booking. It won't always be what we want or expect and will oftentimes be upsetting. But anyone who has watched the WWE and even HIAC last year should have expected something different regarding the match finish. We aren't always going to get what we want and we often don't.

The whole HIAC PPV lead up could have been done a lot better, but WWE had more focus on premiere week and on the SmackDown debut on FOX. If this feud does not continue, then by all means, continue the anger on social media.

But this ending wasn't done with the short-term goal in mind but instead with a bigger picture in mind. If the Fiend doesn't hoist the title by the end of the year, I might eat these words, but for the time being, I think we all need to calm down a bit and see the direction the feud takes following HIAC.

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