Hell in a Cell: WWE Title
Let me ask you all a question… Pretend for a minute you're the head manager of whatever it is you do as a job. One of your employees insults your family and you get into a huge, slanderous altercation that ends in fisticuffs (I have ALWAYS wanted to use that word in an article!). After the two of you get done beating the hell out of each other, what's the first thing you're going to do? I'd bet the farm that your answer isn't “fire two other random employees and give the aforementioned bad seed a huge promotion.”
I really don't understand the thought process of adding CM Punk to this title match so early. With Cena as the champion, you know it's not because WWE was worried about the main event under-selling. To me, this is a case of not enough creative material to spread around. Punk's war against Vince McMahon came and went. The text message angle came and went. The animosity with Triple H came and went. Any of these things could play into the match, as could the “fired” Miz and R-Truth, but none of them deal directly with CM Punk at this point. It's a shame, but I think Punk has been taken out of the controversy and put back into the main event picture. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for another WWE title reign, but it all feels so rushed and hasty. Most of the momentum surrounding Punk is dead, and while his character still gets a positive reaction, I can't wrap my head around why Triple H would put him in a title match so soon after their heated Night of Champions fight… Nothing makes sense to me. The people that do have momentum, Triple H, the Miz, R-Truth, and Johnny Ace's men in tights, aren't even involved with Hell in a Cell in any official capacity. John Cena and Alberto del Rio have done nothing to make this match more interesting than their last, and I don't anticipate a clean ending inside the Cell. More convolution will rear its ugly head before the night is over, and I still feel like the boys behind WCW are running this entire angle…
Prediction: John Cena retains the WWE title. Because I honestly have no idea where anything is going anymore…
The Hell in a Cell gimmick used to be a money concept. The brutal wars waged inside its demonic structure are legendary, and to this day are some of the most gruesome WWE matches to ever take place. Who can forget Mankind's fall of the top of the Cell, Brock Lesnar beating the Undertaker to a bloody mess, or the 6-man Armageddon Cell match for the WWE Championship? For better or for worse, the Cell has little place in 2011 outside of a poorly planned, gimmick-fueled filler event. Unless you're a huge fan of Mark Henry (all five of you) or an addict that can't miss a single PPV (and isn't a fan of pirating the WWE product…), I wouldn't spend the money on what will most likely be a stepping stone to Survivor Series. There's always the off-chance that we could see the return of Vince McMahon, the run-in from the Miz and R-Truth, or some other crazy development, but I'm not going to hold my breath… Who knows, this could be the best wrestling PPV of the year! There will undoubtedly be another match or two added to the card at the last minute. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger could defeat the Tag Team champions, or Cody Rhodes could wrestle his third match in as many shows. But in my not-so-expert opinion we're going to get the bare minimum plot development going into Vengeance in three weeks, most of which will be explained on Raw the next night anyways. But by all means, go watch John Cena over-sell being thrown into the cage for half an hour. I'm sure it'll end up on the next “best of” DVD.
For the sake of my free time, please continue putting all your comments down below in the nifty discussion area, rather than my email inbox. Of course, I am always on Twitter @MikeKillam. We'll see you all soon for my Hell in a Cell Review and Monday Night Raw preview!
