WWE Hell in a Cell 2014: Matches That Lived Up to the Hype

With a solid card and the much touted double main event, Hell in a Cell 2014 had a lot of hype to live up to this past weekend.

This particular pay-per-view has never had a real classic since its inception in 2009, but a strong card meant more hype than in years past. And, despite a few blemishes, the show managed to live up to those lofty expectations.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

This feud may have worn thin long ago, but John Cena and Randy Orton pulled off an engaging encounter inside Hell in a Cell.

Placing this bout in the middle of the card was a great move by WWE; not only did it benefit the other match inside the Cell, but it made this bout far more palatable. Having these two close the show would have put the focus on a rehash, but as an added attraction to bolster the card, it worked perfectly.

Of course, the fact that the match was worlds away from the lackluster affair that the pair came up with at this year's Royal Rumble helped considerably. While that bout played to a hostile audience, the crowd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday was drawn into the action immediately.

Credit: WWE.com

And there was plenty to get invested in; both men really gave their all. A beautifully executed RKO counter to an Attitude Adjustment was a real highlight—it's just a shame that commentary had to detract from the move by suggesting that we've never seen anything like it, despite the fact that a clip of the same counter was used in the pre-match hype video.

The storied history of Cena and Orton is something that WWE loves to play up, but this sort of misinformation in order to keep the bout "fresh" makes it more difficult to engage with a long-term narrative. In WWE, history is completely pliable, which can serve to alienate the long-term fan and undermine the benefits of WWE programming being ongoing and episodic.

Regardless, the match was good. Despite the hype that WWE built around the bout, many perhaps struggled to get all that excited about seeing these two face off again—but what we got on the night was a pleasant surprise.

Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship

On the pre-show ahead of the event, Paul Heyman predicted that this bout would be "state-of-the-art," and that's a very apt description for what played out.

It speaks volumes that even after Cesaro and Ziggler's singles matches on both Raw and SmackDown this past week, many were probably left wanting more when this one was over.

Few pairings could consistently deliver at the highest level like we've seen Cesaro and Ziggler do this year. Their matches are always among the best things on the show, whether they're on television or pay-per-view—and, crucially, they always feel fresh.

Credit: WWE.com

What we saw was great, but if anything was disappointing, it's that this one didn't last longer. When the 2-out-of-3 Falls stipulation was announced, I'm sure I wasn't alone in holding out hope for a 30-minute match.

However, on a nine-match card with two main events, that was never going to be the case. Despite the many times we've seen these two wrestle in recent months, it still would be nice to see them get the chance to show what they can do at length.

It's wishful thinking, once again, but you can't help but wonder what we'd see from a 30-minute Iron Man match between these two. It would never happen on a pay-per-view, unfortunately, but it would make for a memorable installment of Raw.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

While the ending may be contentious, it's difficult to deny that the main event of this year's Hell in a Cell was a return to the sort of spectacle that the structure fostered in its early days.

The match supplied so many memorable images: Dean Ambrose channeling Casey Jones as he marched to the ring with a kendo stick on his back, the synchronized fall from the cell wall, Seth Rollins being torn from his gurney and the contentious appearance of Bray Wyatt.

Many have criticized Wyatt's presence as detracting from the finality of the bout, but in many ways we got the best of both worlds. Ambrose's quest wasn't to pin Rollins but to deliver a beating—and he certainly delivered upon that.

Credit: WWE.com

It's best that Rollins and Ambrose spend some time apart for now; rounding things off too definitively might only serve to make the inevitable rekindling of this feud feel forced. As things stand, Ambrose has a clear reason to go after Wyatt for the next few months, but he and Rollins still have a reason to square off in the future—perhaps even at WrestleMania.

We've seen so many Hell in a Cell matches since the stipulation was used as the basis for a pay-per-view, and many of them have been rather lacking. Ambrose vs. Rollins is the first feud in a long while that felt like it warranted a Hell in a Cell match, and the pair definitely made the most of the structure.

It was great to see this match take its rightful place closing the show with two up-and-coming talents bringing unbridled intensity to a bout that felt like a major event. What happens next for all involved could make or break some burgeoning careers, but viewed as an individual match, this one will go down as one of the best Hell in a Cell matches ever.

Did Hell in a Cell live up to the hype for you? Or did some matches disappoint? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.