Mr. Tito's PHAT WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 Review Submitted by Mr. Tito on 10/26/2020 at 12:15 AM
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Another WWE Pay Per View is in the books... It's October, folks, that means that wrestlers are scheduled to wrestle in a cage! This "Hell in a Cell" Pay Per View just reduces the value of that big cage. Usually, the Cell was used when 2 wrestlers needed to settle a score that a normal wrestling match couldn't handle. Now, because we're in the month of October, we wrestle in cages.
It's like the WWE believes that it's audience is so stupid that they can program them to think "it is October, time for Hell in a Cell matches".
And I have another critique before we start this show... Get rid of that damn RED cage. Very distracting, as red is the psychological color of madness. It is just irritating to look at and it looks kind of fake. Why can't you just use the typical gray color that worked for years and looks like something you'd buy from Lowes? You can't even buy that red crap anywhere. Furthermore, do we have to cut holes in the cage to make it easier the climb? We, the fans, can clearly see those holes which makes it clearly scripted.
It's little things like this, simple attention to detail, that the WWE is lacking and AEW is really lacking. Things like Champions come out second for matches, title belts have proper contendership systems, tag matches have rules, and wrestlers actually selling moves are missing from the industry. Fans see right through how scripted wrestling has become and also how poor the Creative Team has morphed into along with being very lazy. Just a little more attention to detail and fan service could go a long way.
But hey, what do I know? I witnessed the wrestling industry when it was expanding, twice now...
Onto the Hell in the Cell review.
Mr. Tito's PHAT WWE Hell in a Cell 2020 REVIEW
Opening match was Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso... Very similar to their previous Pay Per View match, though a big more slower paced... Again, Roman Reigns is acting differently inside the ring as a heel and likely from advice given to him by Paul Heyman. I thought that a real weakness was the referee work in this match. Ending was good, though, with Jey completely knocked out and Roman was about to further brutalize him with the steel steps, Jimmy Uso ran down to protect his brother. Then, Roman attacked Jimmy and applied his new submission hold. As Jey woke up, he quit upon seeing his brother Jimmy being tortured. After winning the match, Roman salutes his dad and uncle to become the "head of the table". [ ***1/4 ] Match was solid, though I liked the prior match better and I don't believe Roman wrestling Jey helps him as much as it helps Jey. Roman needs stronger opponents and badly.
Elias vs. Jeff Hardy did nothing for me... Both guys just looked goofy in their wrestling outfits. Jeff was fully covered with long sleeves to boot while Elias had cut up jeans on with an odd looking tanktop. It just didn't look like an athletic competition and it didn't help that both guys lacked chemistry together. The ending was awful, as Jeff Hardy hit Elias with a guitar for a DQ... Wow, imagine that, the referee actually called for a disqualification for weapon use on the outside. You don't see that often anymore! [ ** ]
I did not care much for Miz vs. Otis, as my demand to see both guys perform is close to zero. Seen Miz's best for years now, don't know what Otis's best is. HOWEVER - I liked the ending... Tucker ended up turning on Otis to help Miz win the Money in the Bank briefcase. This make sense... Their Tag Team took a backseat to Otis's infatuation with Mandy Rose and the drama surrounding that. Then, Otis becomes the Money in the Bank briefcase holder and yet again, their tag team takes a backseat. Because Otis was the reigning MITB winner, this prompted Otis and Tucker to no longer be listed as a Tag Team and forced Tucker to move to RAW. It makes total sense to me and I didn't expect it to happen, which made it better. Match was bad, but finish was great. [ **1/2 ] It would make sense for Tucker to hang around Miz/Morrison as their muscle or something on RAW.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley was a good match... But nothing stood out. The cage was just a few extra boundaries added to this match and wasn't completely needed as there were no threats of anyone coming in or Bayley running away. Probably the "Match of the Night" for me, but again, it didn't pop as it should to really push a highly rated match. [ ***1/2 ] Sasha Banks with the win, though, and here's hoping for a lengthy reign. She's one of the most popular superstars in the WWE and that is despite Creative messing with her throughout the years. PUSH HER STRONGLY!
Bobby Lashley vs. Jason Voorhees Slapjack was up next... It's quite a contrast when you have a guy looking like a million bucks, such as Lashley, and then a goofy looking dude in a hockey like mask as his opponent. Kind of an extended squash as Lashley won this match rather easily. What is the purpose of this Retribution joke-of-a-group again? It makes me appreciate the Nexus from 2010... Geesh. Afterward, both groups fought each other. Seriously, look at Hurt Business and then look at the goofballs and the tiny Ali... You tell me which is the more legitimate group. Let's end this Retribution disaster at Survivor Series, please. [ * ]
Same thing goes with Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre... Good match, but nothing spectacular. The cage wasn't needed and the outside spot through the tables was stale. It has been a bad year for the RAW roster in terms of star power and we can't keep blaming COVID-19 if viewership keeps dropping like it has. You can blame Drew all you want but Randy Orton has been pushed equally all year too. There is a REASON why the WWE (a) released Drew before and (b) made him return via NXT first. With Orton, the WWE changed their mind 13 times for his World Title pushes and now they are going to him again. What will change this time? Will he suddenly show the charisma that he's been holding back for the last 18 years? Will he start showing personality that fans can relate to or want to pay money to see? [ ***1/4 ] 14th Title reign for Randy Orton and just like this win, none of the other ones felt spectacular too. More of the same...
LAST WORD: Honestly, the show featured good wrestling but the television shows leading up to this event take the wind out of the WWE's sails for big shows. That and we've seen enough from this TIRED gimmick known as "Hell in a Cell". It's time to retire this Pay Per View series and only break out the big cage (and the non-red one, too) when the storyline merits it. All of these matches could have been easily performed without the cage, as the big Cell added nothing to any of the matches. [ B ] grade only for solid show but just an overall lack of excitement. We had 2 HUGE Title changes tonight but they just felt like regular wins and nothing unique. WWE has to make their titles and their contendership system matter again to make fans, as a whole, care again.
So just chill... Until the next episode!
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