WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 Winners: Biggest Stars of the Night
On paper, the prospect of a Hell in a Cell pay-per-view sells itself: three main events, unforgiving steel on all sides and the potential for massive, frightening, career-shortening spots.
But there are several factors that work against this PPV every year. First, there's the timing. A Hell in a Cell match, at least in the late '90s and early '00s, was the blow-off to a feud. On Sunday, there were three scheduled Cell matches, but only one of them—Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair—had the requisite heat to justify the stipulation.
The second factor is the violence, or lack thereof. WWE loves showing off clips of the Mankind vs. Undertaker Cell match from 1998. And there's a lot in that match to be proud of. But by doing so, WWE creates an impossible bar to reach, especially in the PG Era. How were any of Sunday's matches going to match that level of brutality, even if that was the exact thing they were marketing?
Thus, the wrestlers were between a rock and a hard place; how could they stand out and live up to the premise of Hell in a Cell while also surviving to fight another day? Here are the biggest stars of the night.
Rusev Ups His Game
1 of 5
Rusev and Roman Reigns had the first match of the evening, and they delivered a solid performance. It did not, however, have to be inside Hell in a Cell. Aside from a couple of minor moments, Reigns and Rusev never used the cage to sway the match one way or the other. Instead, all three major spots used the steel steps. This was more of a hardcore match.
Out of the two of them, Rusev was more impressive. He took those kendo stick shots like a champ—does it even count when Roman takes shots to his foam rubber vest? And the Bulgarian Brute did a great job of looking physically dominant all the way up until his downfall.
Strangely enough, his new facial hair helped his character development; now that we can see his upper lip and chin, he's much more expressive and relatable. And that's a good thing because one-dimensional, Lana-focused storylines are only going to take him so far.
Bayley Sells Her Shoulder Injury
2 of 5
Bayley carried Sunday's match against Dana Brooke, and even though she picked up the win, she held on to that underdog vulnerability that makes us love her. She is one of the best storytellers on the roster, because she treats every bump like it affects her. And at Hell in a Cell, with the way she sold her shoulder injury, that talent was on full display.
Whenever she landed on her shoulder, she winced in pain. Whenever Dana targeted it, she grabbed on to it. Even when she was doing her taunts, she was careful to drop her right shoulder a tiny bit lower than her left. On Raw Talk, she was nursing it with an ice bag.
It's old-school fundamentals, and that attention to detail made her minor match into a minor highlight.
Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins Bring the Brutality
3 of 5
The Hell in a Cell match between Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens was vicious. They may not have bled, and no one took a dive off the roof, but they made up for it in other ways. Owens delivered some of the hardest chair shots that've been seen in years. KO took a high-risk power bomb through two tables, and Rollins had the core strength to lift and throw him. Neither one of them did anything flippy or eye-popping—they both relied on good old-fashioned blunt-force trauma.
And can we talk about Chris Jericho? He's been doing some of the best comedic work of his career, and people genuinely laughed out loud when he managed to push his way inside the cage. Jericho has now saved Owens's skin twice, and it's all building to that crucial moment when Owens knifes his best friend in the back. Hopefully, by that time, Triple H will be back on television.
TJ Perkins Dazzles a Dead Crowd
4 of 5
T.J. Perkins's entrance music is fitting—the guy moves like a video game character come to life. There's a slight desensitization that comes with watching the best cruiserweights wrestle—they're doing things that you didn't even know were possible, and they're doing them in succession.
It's too bad, then, that half the arena's audience cleared out to get drinks or go to the bathroom during the Cruiserweight Championship contest between Perkins and Brian Kendrick. It seems the cruiserweights are now the bathroom break instead of the women. As good as their matches are, and no matter how impressive their acrobatics, the fans are not emotionally invested in the division's wrestlers. Until Raw takes the time to develop these characters beyond their technical prowess, the second-class status of the cruiserweights will continue.
Charlotte and Sasha Banks Miss Their Big Moment
5 of 5
It needs to be said, as painful as it is to say it: That women's Hell in a Cell match was a big disappointment.
It was filled with botches, both major and minor. First, Charlotte fell off the cage, which meant Sasha had to improvise the powerbomb through the announcer's table. Throughout the match, Sasha kept landing on the back of her neck. Midway through the contest, Charlotte fell off the top rope, which meant that she had to take a table bump from the apron instead. And lastly, the finish was awkward. Sasha was too light to break through the table, so she instead bounced off it twice.
The women were the biggest stars of the night by virtue of their match's historical impact. However, that whole performance could, and should, have been a lot better.
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