WWE Hell in a Cell Results: Why This Pay-Per-View Was the Worst of 2011

Hell in a Cell is all over now and may I say, I believe it was the worst WWE pay-per-view this year.

I have collated a few reasons that sum up why this PPV did not match up to expectations and why it has let the others down in a big way.

The hard work put into Money in the Bank and SummerSlam seemed futile after watching last night’s action.

Although there were some extremely good bits, such as the arrest of Awesome Truth at the climax of the show, the whole PPV seemed pathetic.

Here are the reasons why.

Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara

What a horrible sight. What I thought was going to be the show-stealer ended up being the worst match on the whole card.

It wasn’t just the really obvious botches that irritated me; it was the complete lack of crowd reaction.

The two Mexican sensations did their best to put on an exciting match but did not gain any sort of investment from the crowd. It got a bit cringe-worthy at one point.

It put a dampener on the whole pay-per-view for me.

For a more in-depth look at this failure and why I thought it would be a show-stealer, please read my article regarding the match.

The Card Order

Card order has a big part to play when it comes to the success of a PPV.

Done correctly and the crowd will be buzzing all night, climaxing in the main event with an electric atmosphere. Done incorrectly and you get what we all saw last night: a dead crowd.

This was irritating because the WWE really has pulled its finger out this year, especially since Money in the Bank, bringing us quality PPV events.

However, last night just seemed to slip back into old habits, and I think the card order had a lot to do with it.

Sheamus and Christian on first? Followed by Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara? Give me a break.

Here is what the card order should have been:

1. Air Boom vs. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero
2. Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly
3. Sheamus vs. Christian
4. Cody Rhodes vs John Morrison
5. Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara
6. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton
7. John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

This would have allowed for a progression of interest, hopefully building the crowd up for the finish, which wasn’t actually that bad.

Putting the World Heavyweight Championship match on fourth was a ridiculous decision and I believe it hurt the event as it was one of the most anticipated matches—in fact, I’d say it was the most eagerly anticipated match.

Read about their storied rivalry here.

I don’t know what the WWE’s obsession with splitting up their main events is all about.

Alberto Del Rio

One result irritated me. In fact, it spoilt the whole PPV. Alberto Del Rio won the WWE Championship by pinning Punk after hitting him with a steel pipe.

Alberto Del Rio is now a two-time WWE Champion.

Cena was locked out of the cell thanks to Ricardo Rodriguez, Del Rio’s personal ring announcer.

Punk was beaten cleanly in the ring and now hasn’t won at a PPV for three months if you don’t count the win before he lost the title to Del Rio.

This also marks the second time Del Rio has pinned CM Punk for the title.

In August, I was under the impression that CM Punk was going to be the next big star, but he keeps getting beaten by this annoying aristocrat. WWE, if you are to build a main event star, make him win!

Punk needs that title!

He is in danger of becoming irrelevant again.

Lack of Weapons

A chair, a steel pipe, stairs and a table. It isn’t enough. This is Hell in a Cell and people were tweeting, asking what the point of the structure was.

I’m beginning to forget myself. The cell that is supposed to end careers and destroy lives seems to only destroy the lives of the audience as it prevents them from having a clear view of all the action. We need carnage, violence and edgy moves.

This is what Hell in a Cell is all about. If you can’t deliver for whatever reason (PG rating...), then don’t have the PPV or the match; otherwise, it will always be a disappointment.

The more matches they put on like this in this structure, the more it loses its mystifying, legendary status and just becomes a thing of boring normality.

They did not use the cell nearly enough. The one bit that I thought was half decent was when CM Punk was shoved off the stairs straight into the cell wall while taunting John Cena.

That is proper use of the cell! More spots like that and I would have been a happier man.

Nobody Escaped the Confines of the Hell in a Cell

OK, OK, I know, John Cena escaped, but that’s not the sort of escape I am talking about. Nobody fought on the outside of the structure.

Mark Henry threw the steel steps at Orton but hit the cell instead.

What an opportunity missed.

That could have been designed to create a hole and we could have seen them fight on the outside. I believe it would have made the match a lot more interesting, especially given Orton’s history in regards of RKOing people on announce tables.

The same goes for Henry. With his history involving putting people through tables, the option of making the two superstars escape seems like a no-brainer to me.

It is in the triple-threat match for the WWE Championship that things could have become interesting, and the three men could have scaled the side of the cell.

Fighting on top of the structure is something we haven’t been subject to for years and years.

It would have been a novelty and lessened the blow of Del Rio gaining the WWE Championship. I’m not saying anyone should have taken a ridiculous bump, but it would have been ridiculously exciting to see three men fighting on the roof of the Hell in a Cell.

I'm PPV'd Out!

There was a PPV two weeks ago; there is one in three weeks. Do they ever stop?! This unfortunately made this PPV the worst of the year.

It has had the shortest time between PPV events to further storylines, and I don’t think they did a good enough job of it to make it worthwhile.

All of those matches could have been seen on Raw or SmackDown.

It did not need the PPV backdrop as the matches didn’t seem special.

Every PPV this year has had at least one match that has stood out to me, but this one did not. The only match that stood out was Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara because it was so bad.

Too many PPVs fuels my cynicism and makes me look for problems in a more meticulous fashion. Upon analysing the Hell in a Cell PPV, I realise it truly is the worst PPV of this year.

Roll on WWE Vengeance.

Thanks for reading!