WWE Hell in a Cell preview & predictions: Triple main event
Hell in a Cell is this month’s Raw PPV, emanating from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. It will be headlined by three Hell in a Cell matches, being billed as a triple main event.
The United States title will be defended as Roman Reigns takes on Rusev. The WWE Universal title is on the line as Seth Rollins squares off against champion Kevin Owens. And the match with the most attention is Sasha Banks defending the women’s title against Charlotte inside Hell in a Cell. On paper it looks to be an interesting show; how it goes is all based on WWE’s booking.
Here are the latest points following No Mercy:
Steve Khan: (WWE SmackDown Live Recapper) (58 points)
Kyle S. Johnson: (Columnist) (58 points)
Bryan Rose: (New Japan/CWC Reporter) (56 points)
James Cox: (WWE Superstars Recapper & WWE DVD Reviewer) (54 points)
Jeremy Peeples: (Lucha Underground Recapper) (39 points)
Brian Hoops: (Daily Pro Wrestling History) (36 points)
Ryan Frederick: (UFC Reporter) (28 points)
PeachMachine: (University of Phoenix Online Mascot) (17 points)
Paul “Gramps” Fontaine: (MMA Writer and Recapper and new grandfather) (17 points)
Kevin LaRose: (WWE Main Event and Total Divas Recapper) (4 points)
JJ Williams: (NXT/CWC Roving Reporter) (3 points)
Dana Brooke vs. Bayley
Bryan Rose: I’m assuming Bayley gets a win here, right? Dana won cleanly a few weeks ago. Fifty-fifty booking as usual, nothing to really see here.
Winner: Bayley
Jeremy Peeples: This is a no-brainer. Dana is on the main roster while Nakamura is in NXT. Maybe Unsolved Mysteries can come back to the WWE Network.
Winner: Dana Brooke
James Cox: Pretty much not seeing Dana Brooke as a long term roster member, just don’t see it. Comparing her to Bayley in any way is just nuts.
Winner: Bayley
Ryan Frederick: They can’t have Bayley lose this match. She seems to be in a holding pattern until WrestleMania season rolls around. But they can’t have Dana beat her. It’s not out of the realm of possibility with this company, though.
Winner: Bayley
Brian Hoops: The should give Bayley a win here, of course they may see more potential in Dana than Bayley but Dana has been winning on TV.
Winner: Bayley
Steve Khan: Bayley should really win this no question.
Winner: Bayley
Kyle S. Johnson: Has to be Bayley. Cannot be anything but a Bayley win.
Winner: Bayley
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs. Drew Gulak, Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari
Bryan Rose: I don’t know. Raw hasn’t made me really interested in any of these guys, which is a great testament to how the divison’s been treated so far. Cedric still has momentum from the CWC, but that can only last for so long. No one else has clicked on the main roster, either. Let’s be nice and say the babyfaces win here. Also — where’s Rich Swann?
Winner: Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara
Jeremy Peeples: It’s amazing how they have made the “cruiserweight division” feel completely meaningless already, and random matches like this with no rhyme or reason to them are why.
Winner: Team…I think babyfaces? Sin Cara, Lince, and Cedric
James Cox: I’m sure this will be fun but what a way to water down this division.
Winners: Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara
Ryan Frederick: It’s a good showcase match for the cruiserweight division, but they seem to want to kill the interest in the division. It’s a real shame because they have guys who can be stars if given the chance. Cedric Alexander is one of those guys. I’d have the babyface team go over here.
Winners: Sin Cara, Lince Dorado & Cedric Alexander
Brian Hoops: I am assuming the person who gets the pin should be next in line for a title shot, but you never know.
Winners: Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara
Steve Khan: Should be a decent showcase match with no implications on the bigger picture. Coin flip for the winner.
Winner: Gulak, Nese & Daivari
Kyle S. Johnson: Hey, here’s a match! Might even be fun, too. Let’s go with the babyfaces winning, probably with Cedric being the showcased guy.
Winner: Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Bryan Rose: Not really enthused for this, either. Amore and Cass still get the big reactions, but…yeah. I don’t know. This could go either way, and given how the rest of the panel goes I’ll go with Gallows and Anderson.
Winner: Gallows and Anderson
Jeremy Peeples: Enzo and Cass have been beating The Club like drums on TV, so the heels are due to win here.
Winners: The Club
James Cox: Gallows and Anderson should be monster main event heels, what happened? They made them do comedy.
Winners: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Brian Hoops: Gallows/Anderson have been getting beat on TV, so by WWE logic they win on Sunday.
Winners: Gallows and Anderson
Ryan Frederick: They’ve killed Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on Raw. They would’ve been better off on SmackDown. They’ve been beating them too much. With that, I expect them to win at the expense of Enzo & Cass. This feels like two teams with no direction.
Winners: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Steve Khan: I’m tempted to pick Enzo and Cass based on how far beneath the earth Gallows and Anderson have been buried. But every feud seems likely to continue beyond this show, and Enzo and Cass can get a win later to set them up for Survivor Series.
Winner: Gallows and Anderson
Kyle S. Johnson: Guns and Gallows have been buried so deep here that they almost have to win to be able to breathe oxygen again. Take them to win, take the feud to continue.
Winner: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: TJ Perkins (C) vs. Brian Kendrick
Bryan Rose: Brian Kendrick seems more apt for the role as heel champion chasing the challenger. At this point, I think Alexander and Swann seem like perfect people to chase him. Perkins is great in ring, but hasn’t really blown away anybody with his verbiage as of late. I see Perkins relenting towards the end of the match, Kendrick takes advantage and pins him to win the title.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Jeremy Peeples: TJ shouldn’t lose the title this early, but they set up a Kendrick win here by having him lose on Raw and be more desperate than ever to win.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
James Cox: I’m not sure where else they go other than with a title change.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Brian Hoops: Perkins shouldn’t lose this quickly, but Kendrick lost on TV so by WWE logic, Kendrick wins!
Winner Brian Kendrick
Ryan Frederick: It isn’t the right time for TJ Perkins to lose the title. However, the way they have built this match up, the only logical direction is a Brian Kendrick win. They seem to have backed themselves into a corner, and I expect a title change here. I don’t agree with it.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Steve Khan: It would be weird if Kendrick lost and was still on Raw every week after he said his life would be over if he didn’t win. I wouldn’t change the title yet, but it seems likely here.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Kyle S. Johnson: The story here will probably be that Perkins will show weakness and pay for it. That, or they’re killing Kendrick dead here. So, since this seems to be a show concerned with resuscitating corpses — and just in time for Halloween! — Kendrick wins.
Winner: Brian Kendrick
Raw Tag Team Championship: The New Day (C) vs. Cesaro & Sheamus
Bryan Rose: Hmm…The New Day are probably set to win just based on the fact they’re probably going to give them the record as longest reigning champions. Cesaro and Sheamus are the latest in the “tag teams that can’t get along” storyline WWE loves to do every other year, so it seems like a ripe time to give them the belts, but they probably won’t.
Winner: The New Day
Jeremy Peeples: Cesaro and Sheamus have no momentum and less heat, so this should be an easy win for The New Day.
Winner: The New Day
James Cox: Too early for Cesaro and Sheamus to be winning anything, but is there’s any more story to tell?
Winner: Cesaro and Sheamus
Brian Hoops: Cesaro and Sheamus may eventually get the belts, but not yet as it is apparent the New Day will get the record first for longest reigning champions.
Winner: The New Day
Ryan Frederick: To me, this doesn’t feel like a one-and-done match. It seems like the New Day win here and hold on to the belts to get the record, and once that is set, then the Cesaro & Sheamus team will finally start to get along and win.
Winners: The New Day
Steve Khan: While a title change seems extremely unlikely, Cesaro and Sheamus need to look strong since this will likely continue. Still, New Day gets the win.
Winner: The New Day
Kyle S. Johnson: This feud probably isn’t ending here, so Cesaro and Sheamus will come up just short, lose cleanly because of some kind of discord between the two, and be granted a rematch anyway. Logic is fun!
Winner: The New Day
Hell in a Cell, United States Championship: Roman Reigns (C) vs. Rusev
Bryan Rose: I hope Rusev overcomes the odds and beat Reigns, who has done nothing but torment him and Lana during this entire feud. But my gut says that Roman will find a way to win, that serial harasser.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Jeremy Peeples: Roman just won the title, and while Rusev is the natural face here, he is doomed to lose to the Big Dog.
Winner: Roman Reigns.
James Cox: Its really time to move Rusev into some main event programs and Reigns isn’t losing.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Brian Hoops: Roman just won title and should keep it here.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Ryan Frederick: They won’t beat Roman, at least not cleanly. And the Hell In A Cell stipulation means a clean win. Add in the fact that Roman just won the title, the winner seems obvious.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Steve Khan: Too early for Reigns to lose. We’ve seen these two wrestle a lot, but this should still be good.
Winner: Roman Reigns
Kyle S. Johnson: Ruthless heel Roman Reigns will continue to badger valiant babyface Rusev by taunting his wife and beating him soundly. Just move Rusev into the main event and feed Braun Strowman to Roman already, will ya?
Winner: Roman Reigns
Hell in a Cell, WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (C) vs. Seth Rollins
Bryan Rose: Owens winning clean I think gives him a lot of momentum. But with WWE, there always has to be a story. Maybe somehow Jericho gets involved in this, leading to an Owens win. I think the next program might be Jericho and Owens if they continue with the split, so that might be the most logical conclusion.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Jeremy Peeples: It’s too early for Owens to lose, and he really needs a credible win here. So I’ll go with HHH returning, hitting a Pedigree on Seth, Seth kicking out of that, but losing to the powerbomb.
Winner: Kevin Owens
James Cox: I do like Owens on top. He and Jericho have been excellent. I want this to be good, but Rollins has been sub par since he returned.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Brian Hoops: Story should be to build Owens up with some wins and make the title mean something. So far, they have not done that and changing the belt now cheapens it further.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Ryan Frederick: I expect Chris Jericho to be involved. Perhaps it plants more seeds for the eventual Owens vs. Jericho match. I hate beating Seth Rollins here without it meaning something, so I could see involvement from either Stephanie or Triple H. Owens needs to win this.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Steve Khan: Should be really good. It’s too early for Rollins to win. He probably has to get through Triple H first at some point. It’ll be interesting to see how Chris Jericho gets involved. We probably won’t see them split yet as they could end up on the Raw Survivor Series team next month.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Kyle S. Johnson: At this stage, it’s fair to assume that Hunter might wait for the end of football season before he reappears in this storyline. He could also show up in this match and then disappear for a month or two again, because that’s just how things seem to work in the WWE. Either way, Kevin Owens retains.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Hell in a Cell, Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (C) vs. Charlotte
Bryan Rose: Sasha should win this. As far as how the match will go…well, it should be interesting, that’s for sure! They will do a bunch of big spots just to make this as special as they’re hyping it up to be, but that usually tends for it to be a bit more sloppy in execution. We’ll see how it goes.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Jeremy Peeples: WWE loves to have folks lose in their hometown, but Sasha really should retain here to keep her momentum going – especially if this closes the show.
Winner: Sasha Banks
James Cox: At least this is different and at least it’s new. I don’t know how effective they can be in a cage, though. But here, alone, is at least one reason to tune in.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Brian Hoops: Let’s rebook this. Charlotte is the champion and has been retaining title due to outside interference, so they put this match inside the cell so the babyface (Banks) has a fair chance in her hometown to win the title. Easy story to tell but the opposite of what WWE has done.
Winner: Charlotte
Ryan Frederick: The booking of this feud has been head scratching at times, with the monkey wrench of Sasha’s injury changing the direction. They should’ve held off getting the title back on her until here, and I don’t think they’ll have her lose in her hometown. It wouldn’t shock me, though.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Steve Khan: Too early for Banks to lose. We’ve seen these two wrestle a lot, but this should still be good.
Winner: Sasha Banks
Kyle S. Johnson: A title change here risks too much belt-hopping in the span of a few months, so let’s take Sasha to retain. Nia Jax has been MIA in a while, so perhaps a post-match beat down is in the cards.
Winner: Sasha Banks