Recap and Review of WWE Hell in a Cell 2021
Tonight, was the annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. Usually, Hell in a Cell takes place in October but WWE changed their pay-per-view schedule around so Hell in a Cell came four months earlier. The buildup for this show was not as strong as it could have been. Originally, Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio was scheduled for tonight’s show, but their match took place on Friday Night Smackdown. This left the show with only six matches. Here is what went down at Hell in a Cell.
-Kickoff Show: Natalya defeated Mandy Rose
-Bianca Belair defeated Bayley inside Hell in a Cell to retain the Smackdown Women’s Championship
-Seth Rollins defeated Cesaro
-Alexa Bliss defeated Shayna Baszler
-Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens
-Charlotte Flair defeated Rhea Ripley by Disqualification
-Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell to retain the WWE Championship
The opening match of the night was for the Smackdown Women’s Championship inside Hell in a Cell. Bianca Belair and Bayley have been at each other since after WrestleMania. Bayley is finally starting to get some of her momentum back that she lost when Sasha beat her for the championship eight months ago. Then there is Belair who has been riding high ever since the Royal Rumble. The psychology in this match was really great with how much Belair’s braid came into play. I also loved how each person focused on a body part to pick a part, which is something you don’t see a lot of anymore. Even though Bayley didn’t regain the championship, I feel she gained more momentum by having a really great physical match with Belair. I will be curious to see who Belair’s next challenger given the fact she’s beaten Bayley and Sasha Banks in a span of two months.
We continued with the Smackdown side of things with continued feud between Seth Rollins and Cesaro. Rollins tried attacking Cesaro from behind before the match started, but Cesaro got some early momentum. Seth Rollins then went back to his old tricks of trying to attack people’s eyes, which gave Rollins an advantage for some of the match. Both men brought everything they had, but in the end, Rollins used a sneaky roll up to edge out a win against Cesaro. The way Rollins won makes me think that feud is going a little bit longer, which doesn’t bother me since they have amazing chemistry in the ring.
Following an incredible match from the Smackdown side, we go to the Monday Night Raw side of things with Shayna Baszler and the crazy Alexa Bliss. I am not sure what the long-term goal of the Alexa Bliss character is, but it needs to go somewhere towards the Raw Championship at some point. As far as Nia Jax and Baszler go, they need either need to split up or refocus and go after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships again. Both have too much to offer then being beat physically and mentally in the ring by Alexa Bliss. Alexa’s unstoppable character really needs to be taking on the likes of Charlotte and Rhea Ripley.
It would seem that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are never going to stop fighting. They’ve been friends, partners and more recently enemies. It’s an easy feud to plug in because they have such a rich and deep history together even before coming to WWE. They’ve never had a bad match together and tonight was no different. They’re always telling a story in some way. I never thought I would see the day where heel Sami Zayn would beat babyface Kevin Owens. I always thought they were better against each other with the roles reversed, but they’ve made this latest chapter work and it’s been fun so far. I will be curious to see what direction they go now because there is only so many places they can go until they breakaway from each other for a while.
A match that has been fourteen months in the making has been Charlotte Flair versus Rhea Ripley. If you recall, Flair defeated Ripley at last year’s WrestleMania for the NXT Women’s Championship. This feud has been very confusing because I haven’t been able to tell whose babyface and heel. Charlotte did everything she could to get Ripley to snap and it worked. Ripley lost her cool and Charlotte got the win by disqualification. This will no doubt continued their feud into the next month and possibly longer.
The Main Event of Hell in a Cell was between WWE Champion Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. Lashley defeated McIntyre at WrestleMania and Backlash, so I was really curious how this match was going to go. The stipulation going into this match was if McIntyre lost then he could not challenge for the WWE Championship again as long as Lashley is champion. This match had the brutal physicality that two heavyweights should have, but at the end of the night it was the help of MVP once again that helped Lashley retain the gold.
Hell in a Cell was very underwhelming with how little it was built up and there weren’t really any epic moments. The matches were solid but I feel like only one of the feuds concluded decisively. At the end of the night, I have to give Hell in a Cell 6 out of 10. Hopefully, with Money in the Bank they will shake things up and new feuds will begin.
