WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 Results: Biggest Stars from Latest PPV Event

The Undertaker may have been voted Mr. Hell in a Cell as an award for his overall performances within the gimmick match itself, but his absence from this pay-per-view did not mean that it was devoid of star power.

Rather, there were quite a few superstars who came out of the event looking more important than they've been recently—or in some cases, have ever been before.

At a cursory glance, you would assume this would be an easy list of just the people participating in the world title matches, but that's not the case.

Several of the participants in high-profile matches can be cast aside as others stepped up and helped make this pay-per-view a step up from the disappointing one that preceded it, Battleground.

So, just who are the wrestlers who were the highlights of the event? Let's take a look.

Cody Rhodes and Goldust

(photo courtesy of WWE.com)

Cody Rhodes and Goldust have taken what could have been a transitional title reign and turned it into one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE at the moment.

These two are consistently putting on great matches with each other and The Shield, and Sunday night was no difference.

With the inclusion of The Usos, who also played their part very well along with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, Rhodes and Goldust started off the show with perhaps the best match of the entire night.

Their synergy as a tag team is getting more and more of a foundation, and it already is at a level that many other tag teams in WWE don't have.

WWE's Tag Team Championship always has the ability to fall back down the hierarchy and become filler, depending upon the people holding it and the current direction that the creative team wants to go.

However, Goldust and Cody Rhodes have proved in this short time frame as champions that they're firing on all cylinders right now and something to watch out for on any event that they're participating in.

Big E Langston

(photo courtesy of WWE.com)

For someone who was cheated out of what could very well have been his first title victory by not even having the match Sunday night, Big E Langston may have been thrust into an even better position.

Defeating Curtis Axel is a positive, but he's only Curtis Axel—someone who doesn't have a ton of credibility behind him.

A pre-show victory is yet another positive, especially if you can walk out with a championship, but again, it is hindered by only being on the pre-show of the event.

Rather than sitting off on the sidelines, Langston was instead given a match with Dean Ambrose for his United States Championship.

Though he was unsuccessful at gaining the belt around his waist, Langston not only won via count-out, but also looked strong against a much more credible opponent in the process.

Several weeks ago, Langston was missing from television and doing nothing.

After Sunday night's event, he assuredly has more fans than ever along with more momentum and could very well be on the fast track to defeating Ambrose and taking the United States Championship away from him.

Big E is easily the wrestler who took the biggest step forward in his career Sunday night.

CM Punk

(photo courtesy of WWE.com)

CM Punk's feud with Paul Heyman was in dire need of something interesting to finish it so we all wouldn't look back on it as a complete waste of time.

Although the match with Ryback was nothing to go crazy over, what seems to be the finale of this program will be memorable and a good visual for what it's worth.

Punk relishing in being able to take his frustrations out on Heyman is one thing, but if you factor in that the two of them were on top of the cage, it suddenly becomes interesting.

If Punk takes time off to heal after this or if he sticks around, he'll have much more momentum going into his next feud than he did when this one was still going on and dragging itself out.

John Cena

(photo courtesy of WWE.com)

There will probably never be a pay-per-view that John Cena is on where he isn't one of the stars. It's as simple as that.

This is made all the more obvious when he makes a return from injury and goes on to randomly win the World Heavyweight Championship from someone who has held it for what felt like forever in my mind.

Cena is now at the top of the food chain once more, just as he was before he left for surgery.

Although he may take a step back and not be the absolute biggest source of attention for the next few months while the Triple H and Daniel Bryan storyline is still going on, Cena's not in a bad place by far.

Undoubtedly, Cena's title victory will receive a lot of coverage for quite a while, and he will continue to stay in that glory spot while holding it.

Those video packages promoting his return weren't for nothing, folks.

Shawn Michaels

(photo courtesy of WWE.com)

Shawn Michaels just can't avoid being the guy who steals the show, can he?

One could argue that since Daniel Bryan is the true driving force behind this feud, that he was the biggest star of the night, but I would disagree.

There's also an argument that can be made that Randy Orton is supposed to be the biggest star of the night, as he left with the WWE Championship, but I would reject that one as well.

Not even Triple H, in my opinion, surpasses the spotlight that was on Michaels during the main event.

Bryan is without a doubt the primary focal point right now, but in this match itself, he did essentially the exact same thing that he's been doing the past few months and nothing more.

The same applies to Orton, who throughout this whole feud has been really nothing more than a placeholder opposition entity for Bryan. He's a means to an end, not the person who has all the rising stock.

On the other hand, all eyes were on Michaels here.

How would he call the match? Would he interfere on anyone's behalf? When is he going to give someone the old Sweet Chin Music that we're always expecting?

Lo and behold, the reason we have Orton as our champion right now in WWE is due to the Heartbreak Kid taking action and delivering the final blow.

Come Monday Night Raw, think about it. What is going to be the question on everyone's minds?

Will everyone be asking why Daniel Bryan attacked Triple H at the end of the match or why Triple H inserted himself into the match?

Or, rather, will the main topic be the question: "Why did Shawn Michaels superkick Daniel Bryan?"

Do you think anyone else became a shining star during this pay-per-view? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Anthony Mango is the owner-operator of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment as well as the host of its YouTube podcast show Smack Talk. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.