WWE Hell in a Cell 2014: Analyzing Least Promising Storylines so Far

WWE Raw was highlighted by a surprise appearance from The Rock, but lowlighted by a few subpar feuds as WWE continues its questionable build toward Hell in a Cell.

Despite a third and decisive match between Lesnar and Cena, in what appeared to be their most recent trilogy, Cena has instead set his sights on Seth Rollins.

Cena’s pursuit of Rollins has created a direct conflict with Dean Ambrose. As a result, for now, your Hell in a Cell main event will pit Cena vs. Ambrose, with the winner getting his shot at Rollins inside the Cell.

The inclusion of Cena has slowed the momentum of the Ambrose-Rollins feud. Despite WWE’s improving efforts of positioning Rollins and Ambrose on the same plane as Cena, Cena seems above this feud coming off a blockbuster pair of matches against Lesnar.

With Lesnar conspicuous by his absence, Cena’s involvement in the Rollins-Ambrose feud will continue to seem forced and unnecessary.

Even more unnecessary has been the ongoing feud between the Bella Twins. What was once given lengthy, high-profile segments has been demoted to a basic WWE Divas storyline.

Without Stephanie McMahon, the Bella drama can no longer be taken seriously. Following a string of bad segments in good time slots, the conclusion of the Bella feud cannot come soon enough. Not even a Hell in a Cell match could save this sibling rivalry. In fact, that might be one of the few things that would make it worse.

Another Divas feud that continues to get worse features Paige and A.J. Lee, which was otherwise promising on paper.

During their most recent segment on Raw, Lee walked away from babyface tag team partner Emma while Paige continued to play the heel and develop a friendship with Alicia Fox. The curious actions made Lee come off like a heel in a feud that already has one.

This furthers a theme of failing to establish good from evil, thereby making it difficult for fans to decide who to cheer.

The lack of emotional investment has diminished crowd involvement in their matches. It’s bad enough live audiences would rather chant “CM Punk” to entertain themselves any time Lee is on camera.

With two weeks left until WWE Hell in a Cell, WWE’s storytelling needs work. The motivation for almost every major character needs to be made clear so it’s easier for fans to either support or resent their cause.

WWE also needs to make better use of top stars such as Randy Orton, who appears to be headed for the backburner on yet another pay-per-view.

After being reminded that WWE’s most dynamic talent only makes special appearances, solutions to WWE’s current problems may be difficult to come by.

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