WWE Hell in a Cell 2014: Updated Predictions for Each Match at Event
The 2014 WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is coming up on Sunday, Oct. 26, but there is still some time to get in our predictions for the event.
Now that the card has been pretty much finalized, it is easier to figure out what the end results could wind up being.
A lack of Brock Lesnar doesn't necessarily mean a lack of excitement, as there are several matches that could tear the house down and really be memorable.
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will be looking to rip each other apart, Randy Orton and John Cena will be fighting for a future WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot and several other titles and reputations will be on the line.
But who will end up winning those matches?
Let's break them down one by one and attempt to predict the outcomes for everything coming our way.
WWE Tag Team Championship: Goldust and Stardust vs. The Usos
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Normally, when someone loses a championship in WWE, the next step is to have a standard rematch where the new champion retains his or her newly won title.
The WWE Tag Team Championship match taking place at Hell in a Cell will be no exception to this rule.
Goldust and Stardust are not exactly the hottest item in the company right now in terms of popularity or importance, but they are still very fresh champions. Likewise, The Usos have taken a step down from their previous high, and there's no need to put the belts back around their waists.
Essentially, this translates to a bit of a wash. In both scenarios—new champions or not—there isn't a whole lot of buzz to be created.
For matches that have no extravagant outcomes, the easiest thing for WWE to do is to stay on the same track and just have Goldust and Stardust retain their titles.
The fact that The Usos have already faced pretty much all of the competition in the tag team division and Goldust and Stardust haven't is yet another reason for the titles to stay where they are.
More challengers are waiting to go against the Rhodes brothers than The Usos, so this current feud will either end here at Hell in a Cell or at Survivor Series.
Prediction: Goldust and Stardust defeat The Usos
Big Show vs. Rusev
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The key to Rusev's program is that the tension exists not only due to his and Lana's opinions about America, but also because nobody has been able to defeat him outside of a disqualification.
As such, it is imperative that Rusev must remain undefeated until he faces the person with whom WWE wants him to have that moment.
Whether that person is John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose or even someone more surprising like Kurt Angle remains to be seen.
It is extremely unlikely that Big Show is the person being set up for that spot.
He is not a young enough star to capitalize on the victory, nor is he important enough to have that spotlight cast upon him and ride the momentum that will come out of it.
For that matter, the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in general isn't important enough to showcase Rusev's first loss. That is better suited for Survivor Series or perhaps even WrestleMania XXXI, where WWE can make a spectacle out of it.
Sure, WWE logic usually dictates that the babyface has his day and the heel is punished for his actions, but that only happens at the end of the feud. In the meantime, the heel will continue to dominate and pull out victories, which is what will happen here.
Enough feathers weren't ruffled from the incident on Monday Night Raw, in which Rusev attacked the U.S. soldier, to warrant any backtracking on WWE's part to rush to the end of this feud.
If it had been a legitimate soldier, rest assured WWE would be skipping to Rusev's loss as a form of apology. As a storyline, however, a Rusev win at Hell in a Cell after the incident will just further the plot even more.
Prediction: Rusev defeats Big Show
WWE Divas Championship: AJ Lee vs. Paige
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Almost every time AJ Lee and Paige face off for the Divas Championship, there seems to be a title change.
Eventually that has to stop, and Hell in a Cell may be where the hot potato cools off.
Lee is the more popular of the two, and there are enough heel women on the roster to keep her busy for a while, including Summer Rae, Layla, Alicia Fox, Cameron and Nikki Bella.
Paige is not left without her options, though, so it wouldn't be crazy for her to win the title again.
This feud can't last forever and could very well end at this event, considering how these two women have been wrestling each other for months. Whoever wins will probably distance herself from the other at least for a little bit, while the loser will step back out of the spotlight to let someone else take prominence.
Of the two, Paige will be filming for Total Divas with Fox, while Lee will be able to maintain the stress coupled with being a champion on the road, so it makes more sense for things to stay as they are.
Prediction: AJ Lee defeats Paige
United States Championship: Sheamus vs. The Miz
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It's hard to argue that Sheamus has been an amazing United States champion, but that has never stopped WWE from pushing people in the past.
In Sheamus's case, he's had multiple runs with various different titles that went on for months on end despite barely creating any buzz. WWE has supported Sheamus for years, so if he leaves Hell in a Cell with the title around his waist, nobody in the audience or watching at home should be stunned.
The Miz is definitely the driving force behind this feud and the more interesting character in the current climate. Having The Miz win the title and possibly feud with Damien Mizdow over it a few months from now could be gold and a lot more compelling to watch than Sheamus fighting the next random opponent.
Then again, there is always a chance WWE could go with an obvious storyline and have Rusev challenge Sheamus for the United States Championship, considering his anti-American bias.
Both scenarios require some fantasy booking to go a certain way, while WWE may be planning something else entirely.
Since Rusev has not even been teased as a champion for his entire run this year, it's easier to believe that The Celtic Warrior will be dethroned by The Moneymaker rather than The Bulgarian Brute.
Prediction: The Miz defeats Sheamus and wins the championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro
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Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler have been trading wins back and forth for the past several weeks, so it only makes sense for their encounter at Hell in a Cell to be a 2-out-of-3 Falls match.
Outside of rare circumstances, this has always meant that both Ziggler and Cesaro will end up with at least one submission or pinfall victory on the card.
The tricky part is figuring out who ends up with the second win, as that's what truly matters.
Both men are in a position where a loss can hurt them and a win can make a big difference, so there aren't any easy answers where everyone comes out on top.
If Cesaro loses, this is yet another example of his being unable to regain the momentum he lost after the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXX.
On the other hand, Ziggler seems to be perpetually spinning his wheels as a midcarder, never quite getting a solid push into the main event. Losing the Intercontinental Championship is a step down for him which will probably lead to jobbing out for the next few months as someone who has no focus.
What this ultimately comes down to is whether WWE has any plans for some heels to turn babyface over the next few months.
At the moment, there aren't many faces in the midcard who could go up against Cesaro, but there are plenty of heels for a program with Ziggler. Bray Wyatt will be returning soon along with Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Ryback and Bad News Barrett—all of were heels when we saw them last.
Assuming either Rusev or The Miz will defeat Sheamus for the United States Championship soon, having a heel Cesaro and a heel United States champion spreads the babyface roster too thin, so logic dictates Ziggler must retain in that situation.
Prediction: Ziggler defeats Cesaro
Brie Bella vs. Nikki Bella
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The Bella Twins will be competing at Hell in a Cell to determine which one of them has to be the other's personal assistant for 30 days. If the loser fails to comply with those terms, she will be fired from WWE.
Any fan of professional wrestling knows where this is heading.
When was the last time any storyline about holding someone's job over his or her head made the heel have to suffer as opposed to the babyface?
Nikki is undoubtedly going to win in this match—either legitimately or by cheating—which will result in a month's worth of torture for Brie. That way, when Brie's time is finished, Nikki will get her comeuppance, and it will be a sweeter victory.
Having Brie belittle and demean Nikki would go against WWE's anti-bullying campaign, since Brie is the good one of the two.
The bigger question at this point isn't whether Nikki will win at Hell in a Cell but what she'll be forcing Brie to do for the month of November.
Prediction: Nikki Bella defeats Brie Bella
Hell in a Cell Match: John Cena vs. Randy Orton
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Randy Orton and John Cena have faced off in a Hell in a Cell match before, but they are going to do it again at this event to determine who gets a shot at Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
At face value, it would seem like Cena would be the obvious winner once that stipulation was announced. However, fans shouldn't be so quick to rule out the potential of an Orton victory for several different reasons.
First and foremost, Cena has already had his matches with Lesnar, so if WWE is looking to do something different, Orton would be a fresh challenger for The Beast Incarnate.
It isn't hard to imagine that Orton vs. Lesnar could sell a pay-per-view, since Orton is a big enough name to justify a world title shot and could be built up to look like a threatening challenger.
Also, Orton was the subject of a popular meme that spread throughout the Internet recently, which may do him enough favors to convince WWE to capitalize on it.
Extra publicity in any positive light is going to be noticed by WWE officials, and since Orton's was embracing something entertaining about his character as opposed to making fun of it negatively, WWE has no reason to do anything but turn into the skid.
Lastly, Orton may be in line for a face turn, judging by his interactions with Seth Rollins. This could be a huge factor into determining the winner of this match, since WWE could tease the possibility that Orton will win the title from Lesnar and Rollins may cash in.
Conversely, Rollins could very well screw Orton here, resulting in a Cena victory and a match between Rollins and Orton at Survivor Series or TLC.
The smart money is always on Cena to win in almost any scenario due to his track record and overwhelming support backstage as the top guy in the company, but if Orton is able to pull off a win, it won't exactly come out of nowhere.
Prediction: John Cena defeats Randy Orton
Hell in a Cell Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
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The biggest selling point to this event is the culmination of the feud between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
Finally, after months of backstage attacks, random beatings, being jumped out of nowhere and screwing each other out of matches, these two men will be locked in The Cell together, and all hell can break loose.
This has to be the main event and will likely be the best segment of the night.
Both men are young, hungry and talented enough to give the fans a true classic that could actually live up to the Hell in a Cell matches of a long-gone era, rather than the watered-down ones of recent memory.
Ambrose has been given the bad end of the stick with this feud, so when all things are said and done, he should be victorious. Rollins has been holding his own and doing a great job in his heel role, but Ambrose has been the highlight of Raw lately, and he should not be punished with a loss but rather rewarded for his efforts in saving the shows.
Mr. Money in the Bank has enough wins stored up on his record that he doesn't need another here, particularly if he could lose the match due to interference from the man with whom he'll be feuding next: Randy Orton.
Prediction: Ambrose defeats Rollins
Do you have any predictions for Hell in a Cell? Who would you like to see win these matches?
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 podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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