RAW Deal: Raising hell

KANSAS CITY—The perennial problem with the Hell in a Cell PPV, ever since its establishment as a themed event in the WWE calendar in 2009, is that it robs the so-called Devil’s Playground of its luster and magnificence.

Instead of the match coming naturally at the end of an intense blood feud, rivalries are not only forced to work in the Cell, but the structure pulls double- and even triple-duty in one night. That was already evident in its first year: the Cell made sense for the Undertaker and CM Punk’s war, and an argument could have been made for John Cena and Randy Orton (yes, they’ve already been here), but D-Generation X and Cody Rhodes/Ted DiBiase had no business being inside it, much less main-eventing the event. Five years of this artificial booking have thrown a large bucket of water over the Cell’s heat.

Until now.

This year’s Hell in a Cell might be the first time in the pay-per-view’s lukewarm history in which we’re getting Cell matches that make a ton of sense to be Cell matches. We’ll get it in the obvious Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose matchup that sees both men want to pretty much kill each other in there (they won’t really kill each other, relax). The pleasant surprise of the night, however, is that the second Cena/Orton Cell match also gets some much-needed prestige by being for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot against Brock Lesnar and by being billed as the decisive final match in the decade-long feud between Cena and Orton.

Whether Sunday will be the final Cena/Orton match ever is still up in the air (and likely won’t be the case come the slightly-distant future), but if you’re still not psyched up by that addition, remember that it’s still a hell of a lot better (no pun intended) than a Cena/Orton match in the Cell just because. It gives Orton, most of all, something to play for in a time when he needs it: his possibilities range from facing Lesnar at Survivor Series in November to starting a hot program against Rollins—and going from tonight’s ending, the latter may have already begun. 

Everything is coming together nicely. For what I think is the first time in this pay-per-view’s history, I am really, really excited for it and what comes after. And oh, Mick Foley showed up to give it a boost too.

This serendipitous alignment, however, turns out to be more of the exception that proves the rule. The fact that we only just got big storylines that coincide with this new annual October tradition is actually further evidence that they need to get rid of this PPV and go with something more carte blanche. 

Because this isn’t going to happen every year; you’re going to need a string of lucky accidents that make Hell in a Cell work like magic. That’s way too much risk for a non-Big 4 PPV. Foley isn’t always going to be around to sell this.

High spots:

• This brewing Orton/Rollins feud is a thing of beauty, mostly because both men are playing their parts perfectly. Rollins is the believable and highly annoying cocky young heel, while Orton is the exasperated veteran who still feels he’s got something to prove. However, there was also one glaring mistake they made on this episode, which I’ll discuss in my low blows.
• Alicia Fox deserves a bigger spot in the Divas division. So much potential wasted in the acting out gimmick that debuted earlier this year, and unfortunately shelved in favor of being “Paige’s best friend.”
• Randy Orton really seems to be taking promo classes from Paul Heyman, who also makes a welcome appearance tonight. An inspired Orton is a thing to behold as well, and if the rumors of his dissatisfaction are true, then he absolutely has to win on Sunday. It’s really what’s best for business.
• The WWE has finally acknowledged that Dean Ambrose is Heath Ledger Joker!
• Mick Foley’s return wasn’t as powerful as the Rock’s return (mostly due to the slight difference in star power), but it was still something to behold. Also, the crowd was not cheering for Ambrose’s mannequin manipulation enough. 

• CESARO WINS VIA AN UPPERCUT!

Low blows:

• I NO LONGER CARE IF THEY CAN WRESTLE THEIR BUTTS OFF, I AM NO LONGER PATRONIZING THE WWE’S SIX-MAN TAG MATCHES. THIS IS UNASHAMEDLY LAZY BOOKING AT ITS WORST, AND ALL SEVEN MEN INVOLVED IN THE MATCH DESERVE A LOT BETTER THAN THIS. IF YOU CAN’T STAND IT ANYMORE, TUNE OUT AS SOON AS YOU FIND OUT IT’S A SIX-MAN TAG.
• AJ Lee is still not a sympathetic face, and I’m no longer sure what they plan to do with her as Paige is still firmly a heel. Is she being punished?
• The American soldier segment wasn’t as powerful as they were hoping it would be for two reasons: 1) the guy playing the soldier botched his run-in, and 2) the announcers didn’t react and sell the run-in like they should have. AN AUDIENCE MEMBER JUST JUMPED THE SECURITY BARRIER AND TRIED TO ATTACK A WRESTLER. THIS SHOULD BE A VERY BIG DEAL, GUYS—I DON’T CARE IF YOU THINK RUSEV HAD IT COMING! Big Show’s indignance ended up coming across as somewhat flat, and it was a huge waste of his good acting.
• Am I the only one who thinks the Bellas’ personal assistant stipulation for their blowoff match is more than a bit silly?
• While Cesaro needed a big win, Ziggler did too due to the rough couple of weeks he’s been having. Did Cesaro really have to go over the champion—and not even using his actual finisher—to get that shot? This is what happens when you neglect to build an actual title division.
• As much as I love the brewing Orton/Rollins feud, I feel like they really jumped the gun by having Rollins turn on Orton this early. They should’ve continued to tease it, have Orton win on Sunday, tease it some more, and finally pull the trigger at Orton’s title match on Survivor Series. They can still try to write it off using a temporary truce, but I feel the damage has already been done. The ball’s now in Creative, Orton, and Rollins’s court to make the feud work despite starting early.

Did you miss last week’s RAW? Would you like to keep up with Philippine wrestling? Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to most of those questions are yes, then you should check out the cleverly-named Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast—featuring Mellow 94.7 DJ Stan Sy and wrestling writer Romeo Moran! On their latest episode, they discuss the previous week in wrestling and have Philippine Wrestling Revolution’s Jake de Leon. Give it a listen here! – Rappler.com