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Credit: WWE.com
Sunday night, the WWE Superstars went back into the Thunderdome for one of the most dangerous events of the year, Hell in a Cell.
This year’s pay-per-view featured three matches taking place inside the super-sized cage. The WWE title was one of the belts on the line when Drew McIntyre took on Randy Orton again.
We also saw Roman Reigns put the Universal Championship on the line inside HIAC when he faced Jey Uso in a rematch from Clash of Champions.
Bayley put the SmackDown Women’s Championship up against her former best friend and tag team partner, Sasha Banks.
We also saw Otis defend the Money in the Bank contract against The Miz, while Jeff Hardy took on Elias.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened at Hell in a Cell.
Make sure to refresh this page throughout the show for updates results.
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A late addition to the card was the Kickoff match between R-Truth and Drew Gulak for the 24/7 Championship. The stipulation said there could be no outside interference.
Gulak addressed Little Jimmy directly and pretended to interact with him while Truth looked on with a confused look on his face. Gulak pretended to kick his opponent’s imaginary friend out of the ring and an angry Truth tackled him to the mat.
After taking some punches in the corner, Gulak brought Truth down and put him in a submission. The champ kicked out of a sunset flip, but Gulak put him right back into a submission to keep him grounded.
Truth started to make a comeback and used several of John Cena’s signature moves. He failed to hit the AA but did hit a Lie Detector for a two-count. Gulak met him on the top rope for a superplex, but Truth countered and won with a jackknife cover.
Grade: C
Analysis
The first few moments of this match were an unsuccessful attempt at comedy. What followed was a decent contest between two great performers who have been pigeonholed as comedic characters.
There are tons of other options WWE had for the Kickoff but fans have been asking WWE for months to make the 24/7 title mean more. This was a small step in the right direction.
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They stared at each other from across the ring and talked a little trash. The Tribal Chief said he only changed because he had to and Uso said he just did it for the title. They locked up and Uso was taken down right away with a shoulder block.
A confident Reigns hit a quick suplex and paced around until Uce got back to his feet. The challenger began to build some momentum and hit a couple of suicide dives. He kept talking to Reigns as he threw him into the cage wall.
When they got back into the ring, The Big Dog drilled him with a Spear. He tried to bring a chair into the ring but Uso caught him with a dropkick. Before he could follow up, Reigns nailed him with a second Spear. He tried to hit a third but Uso countered and hit a superkick and a Superfly Splash.
Uso grabbed a leather strap from under the ring and used it to whip Reigns across the back. Somehow, The Tribal Chief got to his feet and hit a third Spear. Uso said he couldn’t breathe but refused to quit. Reigns picked up the strap and began unloading on his cousin.
They ended up strapped together and Uso began building up a head of steam. He ended up choking Reigns out with the strap but he was unable to get him to say the words “I quit.” Surprisingly, Reigns applied a guillotine and choked Uso out. Reigns begged him to quit but Jey refused. Even Paul Heyman pleaded with Uso to quit so this would stop.
The Tribal Chief dragged Uso to the apron and hit the drive-by dropkick. He put the steel steps next to Jey’s head and kicked it as hard as he could. The ref wanted to stop the match and Reigns threw him out of the ring. Several officials came down and tried to stop him but he locked them all in with him.
After chasing them out of the ring, Reigns yelled at his cousin that this was all his fault. He was about to crush Jey’s head with the steps when Jimmy ran down and got in his way. He called Jey by his real name, Josh, as he begged Reigns to stop. The Big Dog broke down crying and sat down next to his cousins. Then he grabbed Jimmy and choked him out as he held onto Jey’s hand.
Jey quit to save his brother and finally end the match. Reigns stood over them with the title held high before leaving with Heyman. Afa and Sika were on the stage to congratulate Reigns on his win.
Grade: A+
Analysis
This was never going to be a technical showdown or an exchange of exciting spots. This was all about the story being told between the two individuals in the ring.
Being able to hear every word they said to each other made everything feel so much more personal. It added weight to an already heavy situation.
Some of the same beats were repeated from their previous encounter but the brutality of this bout made it so much more impactful. This is one of the best storylines WWE has done in 2020 and it’s because Uso and Reigns have made it special.
Was this the best HIAC match ever? No, but it may have been the best story told inside the cell. This was what sports entertainment is all about. The physicality was just as important as the tale.
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Elias performed a new song before Hardy made his way to the ring. They started with a couple of basic lockups and clean breaks before Elias hit a knee to the body and a hard right hand to take Hardy off his feet.
They took the fight out of the ring and Hardy was able to turn the tables. He missed a jump off the steps and crashed into the barricade.
Elias kept the upper hand for a few minutes and came close to winning with a sit-out powerbomb. Hardy hit Whisper in the Wind for a two-count. He dropped Elias with a Twist of Fate. The singer rolled out of the ring to avoid a Swanton.
Hardy stopped him from using the guitar as a weapon and turned it on Elias, getting himself disqualified in the process.
Grade: C+
Analysis
It was going to be hard for anyone to follow Reigns vs. Uso, so Hardy and Elias were fighting an uphill battle before the ref even called for the bell. We will try to be fair when judging this bout.
As good as Hardy and Elias are, this did not feel like the best they could do. This bout would have made more sense on an episode of Raw, especially with the disqualification finish.
This feud is obviously going to continue so at least this ending prevented either man from having to eat a pin right away.
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As soon as the ref called for the bell, Otis rushed The Miz in the corner and crushed him. He scooped him up for a slam to score a quick two-count. Tucker and John Morrison watched from ringside.
JoMo provided a distraction so The Miz could hit a DDT for another near-fall. Morrison hit a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. The Miz hit the It Kicks in the corner and a flying double ax handle.
He locked Otis in a sleeper and almost put him out but the big man fought out of it. The Miz nailed him in the face with a big boot. The Dozer began to build up a head of steam and hit a few of his signature moves.
The ref caught Morrison about to use the briefcase as a weapon and she kicked him to the back. While the ref was attending to Miz, Tucker nailed Otis with the briefcase. A shocked Miz covered him for the victory to win the MITB contract.
Grade: C
Analysis
Without a live crowd, Otis has lost what made him a breakout star in 2019. He was over because the crowd dictated it. Without those cheers, he doesn’t feel like a big star anymore.
Breaking up Heavy Machinery was a mistake and now they are on different brands. How are they going to feud after Tucker’s turn unless WWE just ignores its own rules?
This match was nothing special and the heel turn became obvious as soon as Morrison was kicked from ringside. At least The Miz has the contract now. Whether he successfully cashes it in will be interesting to see.
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Bayley tried to use the chair as the cell was being lowered but Banks kicked it and it landed outside of the ring. Once the cell lowered, it was out of reach. The Boss went right after her with some hard right hands.
She applied the Bank Statement but Bayley bit her hand to force a break. The Role Model drove her into the side of the cell. Banks dodged a few kendo stick shots and delivered a huge knee to the face. She pulled out a table and set it up next to the ring.
Banks ran across the table to hit a meteora against the cage. She threw a few chairs into the ring but Bayley was able to throw her over the top rope. She picked up a chair but missed hitting Banks on the table. The Boss kicked the table into her and sent her into the steel steps.
She set up two kendo sticks between the cage and steps. Bayley tripped her into the kendo stick and she hit the steps hard. The champ set up two more kendo sticks and used a slingshot to send Banks into them again. Banks managed to powerbomb Bayley from the apron into the wall of the cage.
The Role Model wedged a chair in the corner and sent the back of Banks’ head into it with a sunset flip for a close two-count. The Boss found a fire extinguisher and sprayed the champion in the face. She beat down her former BFF but Bayley blocked a frog splash with a chair.
Bayley set up a ladder across two chairs to make a bridge in the ring. She spraypainted the letter X on Banks but The Boss avoided the flying chair shot. She hit Bayley’s own finisher onto the ladder for a near-fall. The champ recovered and hit the Bayley to Belly for another two-count.
The Boss locked in the Bank Statement with some help from the chair for the submission victory and win the title.
Grade: A
Analysis
Reigns and Uso may have told a more intriguing story but Bayley and Banks made much better use fo the Hell in a Cell stipulation to put on a violent and competitive match.
The way they used the various weapons they found under the ring was both creative and brutal. They even used the ring itself to inflict as much damage as possible.
These two have had many classic encounters over the years and this was another one to add to the list. Clips from this match will be in their eventual Hall of Fame video packages.
There were a couple of odd moments but as a whole, this match exceeded what were already high expectations. Banks winning was the right call, especially if this feud is going to continue.
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Mustafa Ali threw down a challenge earlier in the show for any member of The Hurt Business to face anyone in Retribution. Bobby Lashley stepped up for his team while Slapjack repped his group.
Slapjack tried to get an early advantage by throwing his shirt at Lashley but The All Mighty still took control and drove him into the corner with a shoulder thrust.
Slapjack actually managed to get in a little offense and hit a cannonball in the corner. Lashley was able to apply The Hurt Lock to get the win. As soon as it was over, Retribution rushed the ring and attacked the powerhouse.
Lashley fought them off until his teammates could come even the odds. The Hurt Business drove them off to end the segment.
Grade: C-
Analysis
Is WWE trying to bury Retribution before it even gains any momentum? Because that is what it feels like is happening. It seems like The Hurt Business always comes out on top.
The match between Lashley and the former Shane Thorne was short and unnecessary. In fact, this feud is unnecessary. WWE should have let Retribution get some wins before creating a stable vs. stable feud.