Being treated to three Hell in the Cell matches may have been a path to roadkilling a gimmick, but with Hell in a Cell 2020 WWE managed to pull it off, at least for two-out-of-three.
The show kicks off with a goofy opener between Drew Gulak and R-Truth for the 24/7 Championship. Gulak starts off apparently “talking” to Lil’ Jimmy, who is punted into the Thunderdome. Hoo boy. After some comedic back and forth, R-Truth retains the title, then runs away from Lucha House Party and Akira Tozawa. Sigh. Can this title go away now?
Roman Reigns retains the Universal Championship against Jey Uso.
If there was a match to make me believe Jey Uso could be a headlining champion, this was it. This was the “emotional” and heaviest in the soap-opera drama yet, but well worth it. Shows how much Uso can sell anything Reigns dished out. Reigns’ persona is what it should have been all along. Just sheer brute blunt force trauma, choking out and overpowering. Some pretty brutal spots with Jey’s head getting throttled between stairs and ringposts, but would never give up.
The drama picked up when Jey appeared out cold, referees debated stopping the fight but Reigns wouldn’t allow it. Jimmy Uso rushed in and tried to plead with Roman’s humanity, with the family crying together and Jimmy promising to help Roman… who accepted by yanking Jimmy into a guillotine choke. This was the final break, as Jey said the words “I quit” and conceding defeat to save his brother.
Reigns walks away with the championship, as Afa and Sika (Headhunters/Headshrinkers) donned Reigns with a family Lei to represent his status as “The Head of the Tribe.”
Elias defeated Jeff Hardy by DQ
For some reason I keep forgetting both of them are still employed. I don’t like the addiction being used as a gimmick. It’s not helpful. It doesn’t “bring addiction to light” and doesn’t do anything. Sorry, I don’t buy it. Anyone with issues gets mental health help and goes through a recovery plan. Not use it as a gimmick for ratings. This gimmick sucks and so did this match. Elias is better than this. But I guess someone in creative got mad he was more over than any main eventer in the last two years.
Miz defeated Otis to claim the Money in the Bank Briefcase
This was months in the making. The surprise would have been to see Otis win. It was clear within the few weeks after his win, there was no chance he was keeping it. The past few weeks saw Tucker start to turn, and it was fairly obvious the turn was happening tonight. The match itself was alright, but the specter of the inevitable loss hurt it. John Morrison gets ejected for trying to interfere, and moments later Tucker clobbers Otis making the turn. Miz wins. Miz and Morrison are no doubt entertaining, but no one wants to see a Tucker/Otis feud.
Sasha Banks defeated Bayley to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship
This ladies and gentlemen, this was the main event. This one easily would have fit the main event of an ECW pay-per-view. Wrestling? Sure, but mixed in with heaping doses of kendo sticks, tables, chairs, fire extinguishers, and all but the kitchen sink. Some insane uses of the kendo sticks, at one point being taped up and bridged to be destroyed. Bayley impressed me the most here, taking as many bumps as she dished out. Sure, Banks did take most of the damage, but clear they opted to get creative with a mix of wrestling maneuvers into using foreign objects for the advantage. Banks’ Frog Splash was impacted by a chair, a ladder used as a springboard into a belly-to-belly, and the near-falls mounted. In the end, Banks, wrapping Bayley with a chair with trapped in the Banks Statements locked in the victory, and the championship.
Yes, I always rag on them going back to the Bayley/Banks rivalry when there is nothing else to do, but if it results in matches like this, then I’ll accept it each time.
Bobby Lashley defeated Slapjack
Yep. Retribution with another loss, the stable driven into retreat by one guy. I’m sure there is a point somewhere to be made here. Mustafa Ali was portrayed as leader, but if this is WWE’s comeback to the Dark Order, then this is a big fail. Unless it turns out they have an Exalted One by the name of Erick Rowan. Then I’d laugh.
But change the channel.
Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntrye for the WWE Championship
Sigh. I’m sure there is a completely logical reason. Right? Orton has been on a roll for months, right? Oh, wait. No? He hasn’t? He’s lost all of his title matches with Drew? Oh. He lost to Keith Lee clean? Oh right. Why is Orton main eventing? Is everyone else in quarantine?
This was a decent match with some good spots. McIntrye sent Orton crashing through a table and was on suplex spree, until he overtly showed off some cockiness, and you just don’t out-cocky Randy Orton. He’s the cockiest. Orton pulls out bolt cutters, because we always need those, taking the match outside the cell. Ultimately, McIntyre pulls a Shawn Michaels-like drop off the cell wall, plowing through an announce table. Yay, but the set up took so long it was more of a yawn. McIntyre almost had the win via Claymore, but Orton ducked, connected with the RKO, and he’s a 14-time champion.
Overall, Hell in a Cell 2020 didn’t drag on and didn’t feel like a three-hour show. The pace progressed evenly, even with some matches being complete duds.
The Orton win is a disappointment, it also doesn’t make sense unless it’s being built up to have Keith Lee challenge Orton.
