WWE: Is There a Lack of Energy for This Weekend's Hell in a Cell?

I hope I am proven wrong, but right now, I cannot get too jazzed up for this weekend’s WWE Hell in a Cell 2012. That’s because I am not sensing a whole lot of energy for it coming from WWE itself.

Sure, there has been buzz surrounding CM Punk’s WWE Championship battle with Ryback. But there always will be buzz around Punk, and that usually is because he creates it himself. When it comes to buzz, Punk is a walking beehive.

As for Ryback, he certainly has taken WWE by storm with his monstrous run to the top. Don’t forget, though, that was aided mostly by John Cena’s elbow surgery and subsequent rehab. WWE went scrambling to find a replacement for Punk’s opponent, and Ryback seemed to fit the bill.

Had Cena not been operated on, Ryback probably would have been pushed back into the card for another of his patented squash matches. And we would have been treated to another “future classic” between WWE’s biggest face and biggest heel.

But once you get past the Punk-Ryback match, the card seems pedestrian at best. The tag team championship match looks interesting. Team Hell No and the Rhodes Scholars have the best shot of the rest of the matches to be enjoyable.

As for the other main event, if you can call it that, there is not much excitement around that, either. Sheamus defends the World Heavyweight Championship against the Big Show, but the run-up to that match has been less than stellar. Aside from a couple of staredowns and shows of strength, the promotion has been practically invisible.

It’s almost a foregone conclusion that neither man will walk out of HIAC with the title belt. Dolph Ziggler has promised to cash in his blue-brand Money in the Bank briefcase at Hell in a Cell, and WWE is not going to have a repeat of Cena’s failure last summer to successfully cash in the MITB case for the WWE championship.

Also, WWE is creating a storyline for Sheamus that appears to have him more interested in battling Wade Barrett than the Big Show. Right there, that should tell you that he’s focused on the post-PPV period.

The rest of the Superstars and Divas on the slate are appearing on the card simply because WWE needs to fill three hours.

Wait a minute. That's deja vu. WWE also is facing the same dilemma with its Raw format now.

The success of HIAC may just rely on the out-of-ring action. How will the alleged relationship between Cena and AJ Lee be played out? Will The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Ric Flair or the Undertaker make a surprise visit? How will Vickie Guerrero react to the expected news that she’s not going to be the permanent leader of Raw?

I know that not all PPVs are going to be top-to-bottom blockbusters. They are only as good as the talent and the pre-show hype they receive. Shoot, even some WrestleManias have stunk.

But judging by the reactions to the Raw and Smackdown shows leading up to the weekend, Hell in a Cell just might turn out to be hell on the viewers.

Follow Bill Atkinson on Twitter at @BAtkinson1963.