WWE Hell in a Cell 2017: Dream Outcomes for Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Top Stars

No result in WWE is ever going to be perfect, but fans can always dream of the scenario that helps to make the talent look best and improve the roster as a whole. Often a perfect result is the difference between a good show and a great one, which is why it is so easy to wonder why we can't always see the ideal happen for all of WWE's best stars.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2017 on Sunday will have all its top stars competing, from The New Day to Charlotte Flair to AJ Styles, and they all could walk out of this show better than they came in if the right booking sets them up for success.

However, a dream scenario for stars of this caliber is not simply just an impressive victory. Each wrestler has a different story told. While Kevin Owens certainly needs to win in a way no one ever forgets, Shinsuke Nakamura and Jinder Mahal are both looking for something more memorable: an outstanding match that changes their fortunes.

All the top stars could see their dream scenarios occur and make this year's Hell in a Cell far more than the sum of its parts and improving SmackDown Live for a long to come.

The New Day

The New Day have quickly taken over SmackDown Live since their transition to that brand, and it is all thanks to their impeccable chemistry with The Usos. The contests between these teams have worked every time no matter which pair among the New Day trio steps up. In a time where tag team wrestling was falling out of favor, New Day and The Usos have single-handedly revitalized SmackDown's tag division.

The two teams have traded the titles back and forth with neither team suffering for it, simply showcasing how evenly matched the two teams are. However, all good rivalries must come to an end, and a match inside Hell in a Cell is the perfect closing chapter for any longstanding rivalry.

The top priority for New Day is to steal the show.

Their matches continue to get better and better, and now they have a structure that will only aid their efforts. The dream for New Day would be to put on the best tag team match in recent memory, adding an exclamation mark on a growing impressive legacy for Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods.

Winning would certainly be nice and is likely if this feud is to ever end, but the lasting impact of this match will be defined by its quality. It is absolutely possible for Jimmy and Jey Uso to put on a show for the ages with any two members of The New Day and cement the legacy of the current SmackDown tag team division.

Charlotte Flair

Charlotte's arrival on SmackDown Live and subsequent face turn have not been great for the image of The Queen, who has gone from the clear top woman in WWE to an often background act on her new brand. She debuted on SmackDown in April and is only now competing one-on-one at a PPV again.

This match will not only determine her immediate standing on SmackDown but also could plot the course for the next six months or longer on the blue brand. The clear goal for Charlotte would be to win the SmackDown Women's Championship Sunday, once more defeating Natalya to gain gold.

While she was involved with an overwhelming majority of the women's wrestling programs in 2016 and does not need to be that heavily featured, she is far too talented and popular to be used as just as one part of a feud involving the entire division or outright disappear from programming for long stretches of time.

On SmackDown, wrestlers must be constantly involved in a story to get a piece of the two-hour run time. If Charlotte wins the championship Sunday, she will likely take over the division and return to a place atop the roster as one of, if not, the most popular woman in WWE. This would give SmackDown's under-the-radar women's division the recognition it desperately needs.

AJ Styles

Styles is walking into a match where he is clearly the favorite and is almost certain to put on a great match in a victory. However, it would be even bigger for Styles if he managed to revitalize Baron Corbin's career by helping make him look like a true dangerous challenge before defeating SmackDown's top giant.

Corbin was not too long ago seen as one of SmackDown Live's rising stars, but, after losing his Money in the Bank briefcase in embarrassing fashion and being dominated by John Cena at SummerSlam in the same week, The Lone Wolf has lost a lot of his shine with rumors of backstage heat that could cripple him long term.

The Phenomenal One has been great at both looking great and putting over his opponents, and a veteran of his craft knows that a victory is only truly as impressive as how good he makes his opponent look. If Corbin simply proves Styles' complaints about his lack of commitment right and loses through a lack of effort, no one wins and neither benefits.

If Styles is going to take a step down to challenge members of the midcard on the SmackDown roster—even those who were once on the precipice of far more—he must help improve their standing. It will be up to both men, with Corbin hopefully showing a more vicious side while Styles sells his offense and fires back with his most impressive aerial displays.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Jinder Mahal

Credit: WWE.com

Despite the opposing ways these two are seen by fans, Nakamura and Mahal have a common problem: They need more top-level matches on their resume. While The Artist is widely respected for his career before WWE, he has been slow to adapt to WWE, while The Modern Day Maharaja was thrust into a top role he still needs to prove he is worthy to hold.

While a win for either man would be ideal, they both need a great match more than a victory, even with the WWE Championship on the line. Their first encounter at SummerSlam was not a great sign of what they can do together, but it was a short match attempting to follow a heated final encounter between Styles and Owens.

It may just be a dream, but Mahal and Nakamura need this match to come off as a true battle of established Superstars. It is telling that this match has been overshadowed completely by several contests on this card, especially KO vs. Shane McMahon. It is likely they will not main-event or even go on after either Hell in a Cell match on the card.

Whoever wins may become or remain the top champion on the brand, but the recognition of that position is waning. One of these potential international draws must step up to the bat, and, if both do so and far exceed everyone's expectations, it won't matter who ends up standing tall as WWE champion.

Kevin Owens

Any time a professional wrestler is walking into a match against a special-attraction performer, it is always the ideal for the full-time WWE Superstar to take the win. Shane-O-Mac may regularly be a part of the program in WWE, but he will not gain momentum from a win in the way that Owens will.

Moreover, KO is coming off a down period in his career, losing the aggressive edge that made him a main event star on Monday Night Raw. This feud has rejuvenated his run, and a victory against Shane would allow him to become the top heel on SmackDown Live, a role the brand desperately needs someone to fill convincingly.

Owens does not just need to gain victory but do so with an impressive statement finish that showcases just how far he will go to destroy this man that he truly hates. As long as it can be done safely, he needs to be the one to send Shane off the Cell to the floor, then stand over him clearly and definitively victorious.

If The Prizefighter ends Hell in a Cell with that dominant a victory, he would not even need to compete for the WWE Championship any time soon to be seen as the true top villain on the brand. His feuds would gain extra weight, and fans would flock to see someone step up to KO and attempt to bring him down once more.