WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 Matches: Best Finishes for Each Match on the Card
In just 48 hours, World Wrestling Entertainment will descend upon Dallas, Texas, and the American Airlines Center for its annual October pay-per-view extravaganza, Hell in a Cell.
The show will be headlined by two matches taking place in the imposing structure that is Hell in a Cell. John Cena and Randy Orton, arguably the two biggest stars of this generation, will battle for the right to challenge WWE World Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the near future.
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, once brothers in the dominant faction known as The Shield, will settle their considerable differences inside the devil's playground. With so much intense hatred between them, a wild and chaotic match should be expected.
Elsewhere on the card, the Bella Twins will continue their personal feud when they meet one-on-one; United States champion Sheamus will have to overcome both The Miz and stunt double Damien Mizdow if he wishes to retain his title; and Big Show looks to represent Americans across the nation as he squares off with the massive Bulgarian Brute, Rusev.
The finishes of all of these matches, as well as those not mentioned, will be key in determining the future of WWE's top stars and rivalries. Thus, the importance of nailing each and every finish becomes paramount.
But what is the best finish for each match?
See for yourself.
United States Championship Match: Sheamus vs. The Miz
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After dispatching of Cesaro at September's Night of Champions, Sheamus transitioned into a rivalry with former top contender to the intercontinental title, The Miz.
In the weeks that followed, the current United States champion has repeatedly battled the Hollywood star, as well as his stunt double, Damien Mizdow. More times than not, Sheamus emerged with his arm raised in victory. But recently, the intelligence and opportunistic nature of the heels has gotten the best of the Irishman.
Miz capitalized on the presence of Mizdow to beat Sheamus by count-out and earn his shot at the title. He also sat back and watched as Mizdow upset the champion in a huge Six-Man Tag Team match on Raw—a loss that almost assuredly shook Sheamus' confidence ahead of his huge title defense Sunday night.
Will it be enough to wrest the title away from a Superstar that has carried it with dignity and produced some of the finest matches in WWE since May 5?
Best Finish
That Mizdow has played such a key role in the program should earn him a role in Sunday's finish. It would be a mistake for WWE Creative not to involve him in some form or fashion. Rather than making him responsible for helping The Miz win another midcard title he simply does not need, this should be the instance that his interference backfires and results in the movie star dropping a major pay-per-view match to the Celtic Warrior.
A scenario in which Sheamus catches Miz with a Brogue Kick after the heel runs into his own stunt double would be suitable enough, especially since very few are overly excited for—or expect much from—the contest.
Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paige
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Does anyone even know why Paige and AJ Lee are still feuding?
First they were friends, and then they were enemies. Then the story revolved around AJ finding a tag team partner to combat Paige and her new pal, Alicia Fox. Now...well, now it makes even less sense than it did before.
At least fans know that Paige is the undisputed heel and AJ the babyface, something that was not readily apparent from the get-go. Other than that, the story has been incredibly disjointed and nonsensical. With WWE Creative failing both immensely talented women on so many occasions, Sunday's match should spell the end of the colossally disappointing program.
But how should it end?
Should AJ retain her title and, perhaps, move onto Nikki Bella? Maybe Paige should win and feud with Brie Bella, who has emerged as one of the more popular Divas on the roster.
Best Finish
Whether fans have become somewhat disillusioned by generic babyface AJ or not, the fact remains that she is the most over and marketable of the Divas on WWE's roster, thanks in large part to her every-girl appearance and the strong booking she enjoyed for nearly two years.
Paige may be fresher and is undoubtedly the future of the Divas division. But right now, WWE Creative appears much more comfortable pushing AJ as the face of women's wrestling in today's sports-entertainment landscape.
AJ overcoming attempted interference from Fox and forcing a submission from her younger opponent with the Black Widow is the most likely and, at this point, best finish.
Big Show vs. Rusev
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Rusev's run since the night after WrestleMania has been nothing short of outstanding. He has torn through every Superstar put in front of him, including numerous former world champions. And he established himself as one of the brightest breakout stars of 2014.
On Sunday night, he will have the opportunity to add his biggest conquest to date when he meets the World's Largest Athlete, the Big Show, in a battle of behemoths at Hell in a Cell.
The two big men have taken turns getting over on each other. But this week, things turned more personal than ever when Rusev attacked a U.S. serviceman on Raw, and his giant rival vowed to avenge the downed patriot.
Will he make good on his promise, adding the first loss to Rusev's otherwise unblemished record and successfully defending America in the process? Or will Rusev continue to run roughshod over the WWE roster, much to the delight of his social ambassador, Lana, and the mythical Russian Federation?
Best Finish
After a hard-fought match full of high-impact maneuvers and a few dramatic near-falls that see Big Show nearly knock off his opponent, Rusev catches the giant with repeated sidekicks before forcing him to tap out to the Accolade.
It would be a rare submission loss for Big Show that would further put Rusev over as the super athlete he is—and the Accolade as one of the most feared submission holds in the sport.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. Gold & Stardust
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At Night of Champions in September, Goldust and Stardust brought an end to The Usos' six-month reign as WWE Tag Team champions. In the weeks following that huge victory, the champions and their rivals have competed in numerous Six-Man Tag Team matches on Raw and SmackDown (most of which they lost), while Goldust found himself on the receiving end of pinfalls in matches involving Sheamus and John Cena.
The Usos have been rolling, finding themselves on the winning end of most of those six-man tag bouts and picking up wins over Stardust in singles competition.
Unfortunately, the attention of WWE Creative has been focused so many other places that the tag team rivalry has failed to really advance or produce even a remotely interesting angle to convince fans to express any excitement or anticipation for what should be a very good match.
Best Finish
Goldust and Stardust desperately need a victory that reminds fans why they are champions in the first place. After losing so often over the course of the last month, they need to re-establish dominance and set themselves up for their next title program.
Who that would be against is a mystery, thanks to poor development of teams by those in charge of booking.
With that said, a missed top-rope splash from Jimmy or Jey Uso, followed by a Disaster Kick from Stardust, would give the champions the clean victory they need to regain some of the momentum lost over the last few weeks.
Brie Bella vs. Nikki Bella
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Don't look now, but one of the best and most well-built programs entering Hell in a Cell is the sibling rivalry between Brie and Nikki Bella.
It had gotten off to a bumpy start, thanks in large part to a poorly conceived Jerry Springer bit and unintentionally hilarious pre-taped vignettes from Nikki. But the angle has recovered nicely, leaning heavily on old-school wrestling booking rather than new wave soap opera storytelling.
Brie has been forced into the same scenarios her sister was in months earlier and, unlike Nikki, has emerged victorious more times than not. After trading wins in tag team matches recently, they agreed to a match in which the loser will have to serve the winner as her assistant for 30 days.
Failure to do so will result in the loser's departure from WWE.
Best Finish
The best finish involves Stephanie McMahon, but the fact that she has stepped away from the program of late seems to indicate that she will have no involvement in Sunday's match. With that said, there are two ways the booking can go.
The first would be for Brie to score the victory and force her egotistical sister into performing humiliating tasks and chores. The second would feature Nikki pinning Brie and creating sympathy for her sister by putting her in some degrading scenarios.
As WWE continues to position Brie as the most popular Diva in the company, piggybacking on Daniel Bryan's rise to the top of the industry, she should lose to Nikki, which would allow her to continue gaining sympathy and support.
Hell in a Cell: John Cena vs. Randy Orton
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John Cena and Randy Orton have wrestled each other hundreds of times since 2007, according to CageMatch.net. So the idea of seeing them do so again—Hell in a Cell or not—is not necessarily appealing.
The fact is there is no real rhyme or reason for the two to be wrestling, outside of who they are and their position in the Authority's reign of terror angle. Last Monday night, the lack of story was masked with a stipulation awarding the winner of the showdown a future shot at Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
But does the stipulation mean anything? Most assume Cena will get a third match against Lesnar, especially given Orton's recent booking. That leaves many to wonder whether WWE Creative did themselves and the impending Cena-Orton match a great disservice by booking the Viper as poorly as they have throughout 2014.
Best Finish
The best finish would see WWE take advantage of the Internet exposure Orton has gotten of late, thanks to the "RKO Outta Nowhere" Vines, and push him to the moon with a pinfall victory over Cena, courtesy of his much publicized finishing maneuver.
From a booking standpoint, it would automatically return Orton to credibility and relevance while providing fans with a future title match that is fresh and original, seeing as how Lesnar and Orton have never met as main event talents.
Hell in a Cell: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
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Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have been feuding seemingly from the moment the latter blasted the former with a steel chair back in June. Since then, they have crossed paths at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, Night of Champions and nearly every Raw and SmackDown in between.
Their pure hatred for each other is exactly the type of feud that was meant to be settled inside Hell in a Cell. On Sunday night, that is exactly where the Lunatic Fringe and Mr. Money in the Bank will clash.
The absence of Roman Reigns due to injury has really benefited Ambrose in terms of television exposure and fan support. Easily the No. 2 babyface in the promotion—and rightfully so—he injected WWE with a sense of edginess, attitude and unpredictability that the show has sorely missed.
But is that enough for the company to go all-in with the unstable Superstar?
Best Finish
After enduring a Curb Stomp to close out Monday Night Raw, Randy Orton gains a measure of revenge by dropping Rollins with an RKO and assisting Ambrose in victory, creating an irreparable schism in the Authority and the first crack in their otherwise dominant reign over the company.
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