Hell in a Cell XI - 10/6/2019

[J.T.]

Actually, the idea of Braun turning heel and joining the cast of Firefly Funhouse makes me smile a little.  How will they find a sweater that size that will fit Braun?

I just think it would be a bad idea because I'm tired of Braun getting screwed over in main event singles championship matches and putting the Fiend in a program with Braun forces you to put one over the other when the angle is eventually blown off.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

1 hour ago, L_W_P said:

On 10/5/2019 at 4:42 PM, L_W_P said:

I've only read a recap and watched YouTube highlights but if I could delete one guys career from pro wrestling it would be Lesnar.

I wish he went straight to MMA or became a football star.

Dude is almost single handedly responsible for Vince deciding that "The BRAND is the Star" and watering down anyone who wasn't a locked in, yes sir, WWE lifer.

Now he walks in and out as he likes, winning titles and doing NOTHING to elevate anyone.

What was the point of Rollins beating him if he was just going to turn around and squash Kofi? Why not save the MITB case and do it that way?

Whydoes Rey want to call up Cain? Is he not man enough to step up to Brock himself? Hasn't his whole WWE career been built on fighting big bully types?

Its the same as Balor going to NXT. Great moment but what's the character motivation for doing that? Is he afraid of The Fiend? Can he not summon The Demon for at least 1 rematch to try and restore some pride? Or do we just sweep that away because "Hey hey, don't watch AEW, we have Finn Balor on NXT!"?

I mean honestly... They aren't even trying any more. Its just booking for a series of "moments" that get people talking before any serious thought reveals how badly it's been done.

By the time people are on board with the issues another "moment" rolls along and its onto the next...

I agree heavily with a lot of that, but I'll counter the Lesnar being the catalyst argument.

That mentality was well and truly in the swing of things when Austin walked in 02, or the Rock left to make movies.

Could even make an argument for it being Hogan leaving in 92 or Savage fucking him over to go to WCW too.

[RIShane]

WWE on Fox is amusingly snarky. 

 

 

[Sky Blue Sam]

While it sounds like the main event was a disaster, as a Brit who had to sleep rather than watch this PPV, I can honestly say I've never been more excited to finish work and watch a Seth Rollins match than I am right now. Terrible wrestling is always more fun than boring wrestling

Shocked anyone thought Becky was losing. She's on the cover of the new game and had a big segment with the Rock on the Fox debut. You don't do that and then immediately make her lose the belt. Becky's the star of the women's division, she's not losing right after being introduced to a new audience 

[J.T.]

I like Becky and all but she makes things boring by constantly clearing out the top contenders in the division. 

Sasha comes back to major heat and fanfare only to be killed dead decisively in two straight title matches?  

Whose the next challenger?  Ruby Riott? Ember Moon? Natalya? Fuck that division.

Sasha needed that win a lot more than Becky did, but I figured that the point of the angle where the front office punished Sasha for holding out had to start sometime.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[Sky Blue Sam]

Time to call up Shayna 

[RIShane]

Rob Schamberger’s art wasn’t a prediction for the women’s matches, it was a spoiler: 

 

[J.T.]

27 minutes ago, Sky Blue Sam said:

Time to call up Shayna 

So that match can also end up in a No Contest since the book obviously want to protect both of them to the exclusion of everything else?  I'll pass.

It would be interesting to see how they could book that match in a way where they both pass out to each other's submission finisher at the same time so that no one has to tap out or have their shoulders counted down.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[bazzil]

Speaking of Xpac heat

 

https://streamable.com/c8cys

[BurningBeard]

If it was possible to still kill a town, the main event sounds like it would have done exactly that

[J.T.]

5 hours ago, The Natural said:

Congratulations, Kabuki Warriors.

I am not sure what makes this image more awesome.  The cute ladies basking in the glow of victory or the fact that the physical evidence of Asuka's cheating is right there for the viewing.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[The Natural]

41 minutes ago, BurningBeard said:

If it was possible to still kill a town, the main event sounds like it would have done exactly that

Really loud boos and chants of bullshit, AEW and refunds. Didn't stop when the PPV went off air.

[Jamal]

Really loved Sasha/Becky but I also wonder where Sasha goes from here. She’s been red hot and needed the win far more than Becky.

Charlotte winning was a foregone conclusion. She’s definitely the woman Fox wants to spotlight. The match was decent enough and liked the glimpse we got of “why’s it always me” Bayley.

I want to cheer the Kabuki Warriors even more now. 

[Thunder Down Under]

As ridiculous as the match was, would it come anywhere near close to the top 5 dumbest Undertaker (and I guess also Kane) moments? He kidnapped the boss’s daughter to marry her in a satanic wedding (which ended up being revealed to be a plot his boss was in on),  hung someone from Hell in a Cell, embalmed Mideon on air (those three all happening within 6 months or so and then not long after disappeared and returned 6 months later as a Biker without any of those powers for the next 3 or so years) has been buried alive and almost killed his manager/possible father by encasing him in a cement crypt in the middle of an arena. How about his early involvement in the Warrior/Roberts angle. So the reaction about this being company killing seems just a little hyperbolic. 

 

My personal problem with the match was they had so many moments where it killed the suspension of disbelief. If it was just the cartoonishly large mallet and the over the top cartoon violence, with the match/show ending when the ref called the “no contest”, with the post match antics moved to Raw tomorrow, the angle as a whole probably wouldn’t have come across so badly and still serves all the same purposes (keeps title on Seth while still allowing Bray to no sell the beat down as he was never pinned and fresh enough 24 hours later after the most violent in ring beating in however long to get his vengeance). As it was, it was just too much to pack into 30 minutes. If people are mentally checking out 4/5 times because they find the stuff so over the top (personally the red light, the mallet, the violence, the eventual no selling of the violence and then the fake blood at the end we’re the main bits where I just chuckled at how fake/ridiculous it was), you’re going to get the reaction that was seen tonight. 

[J.T.]

9 minutes ago, Jamal said:

Really loved Sasha/Becky but I also wonder where Sasha goes from here. She’s been red hot and needed the win far more than Becky.

Yeah, but Vince enjoys his petty tortures and I figured we had to get to the meta where the book punished Sasha for trying to sit out of the remainder of her contract.  Neither Charlotte nor Becky needed those wins, but Bayley / Sasha could've gotten a lot of mileage out of victory.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[Custos]

Having watched the impressive 1-2 punch of the fantastic women's HIAC and the non-stop action packed Tornado Tag I was all ready to bring the positivity and give the Vince devil puppet his due. But alas the arena turned red and the booking turned to shit.

Imagine being in Becky's shoes right now. Kills it and kills herself in the brutal curtain jerking match, and it is but a faint, fond memory by the time her fiance has thoroughly shit the bed to the point where the fans are vocally demanding their money back. And it's not even (mostly) his fault.

@The Natural  Timmy Mallet was the first thing I thought of when I saw that comically proportioned monstrosity of a mallet, probably the same for most Brits our age. 

Sean Waltman, bless him, honest to a fault. Oh well, at least when HHH takes over he should be a lifer, even if we don't see him on Watch Along for a little while. 

Edited October 7, 2019 by Custos

[sevendaughters]

you're all crapping on that main event but they developed some sick photos during it

[Phil4126]

 What’s really dumb is that the nonstop trying to kill each other would be an ideal setup for a hell in a cell match. But maybe I’m thinking too much. Hats off to Sean Waltman for pointing out how stupid this all is on an official program.

in other news, if that was supposed to turn the kabuki warriors then they shit the bed there too. I’m not against evil Asuka and Kairi but they failed miserably if I’m supposed to hate them. I did crack up at the ref apparently not noticing or caring that Nikki’s face is green and that Asuka has green down the front of her. It’s cool.

putting aside my “netico” crush on Bayley, they have dropped the ball with a vengeance on her heel turn. Gets her ass kicked left and right and does nothing of note. I get the feeling the tantrum post match is supposed to go somewhere but I ain’t holding my breath

[LoneWolf&Subs]

13 minutes ago, sevendaughters said:

you're all crapping on that main event but they developed some sick photos during it

Bravo...

[J.T.]

19 minutes ago, Phil4126 said:

in other news, if that was supposed to turn the kabuki warriors then they shit the bed there too. I’m not against evil Asuka and Kairi but they failed miserably if I’m supposed to hate them. I did crack up at the ref apparently not noticing or caring that Nikki’s face is green and that Asuka has green down the front of her. It’s cool.

putting aside my “netico” crush on Bayley, they have dropped the ball with a vengeance on her heel turn. Gets her ass kicked left and right and does nothing of note. I get the feeling the tantrum post match is supposed to go somewhere but I ain’t holding my breath

I can love despicable Kabuki Warriors enough to ignore the faux pas of the finish.  If you're going to use the old Asian Mist dealie as a screwjob finish, I think it would've been better for Kairi to have been legal and taken it home after the cheat spot to keep Asuka and the evidence our of the ref's vantage point.

However, I'm not a big fan of her Sliding D as a flash finish and the book has been historically fearful of her using her big elbow too often.  Asuka taking the pin on Bliss makes the ref look like an idiot, but dumb officials are a wrasslin' tradition.

I totally agree that Bayley and Sasha would've gotten far more mileage out of wins that Charlotte or Becky will.

Edited October 7, 2019 by J.T.

[steve]

I felt like I knew Becky was winning as soon as Sasha came out. She looked super disinterested in doing her mannerisms.

But then the match was so good, I second-guessed even bringing it up.

I guess I've triple-guessed now.

Anyway, that match was really good, probably my favorite of either of theirs in a really long time.

[Cleavy]

2 hours ago, J.T. said:

I like Becky and all but she makes things boring by constantly clearing out the top contenders in the division. 

Sasha comes back to major heat and fanfare only to be killed dead decisively in two straight title matches?  

Whose the next challenger?  Ruby Riott? Ember Moon? Natalya? Fuck that division.

Sasha needed that win a lot more than Becky did, but I figured that the point of the angle where the front office punished Sasha for holding out had to start sometime.

Natalya and/or Naomi?

[J.T.]

5 minutes ago, steve said:

I felt like I knew Becky was winning as soon as Sasha came out. She looked super disinterested in doing her mannerisms.

But then the match was so good, I second-guessed even bringing it up.

I guess I've triple-guessed now.

Anyway, that match was really good, probably my favorite of either of theirs in a really long time.

As bummed as I am about the finish, it was probably the best match on the card.  Becky's mannerisms remind me of an actual MMA or Boxing champion coming to the ring and I love that about her.  She is in total no bullshit mode.

[Leonidas]

The Bad:

• Sasha lost her 2nd straight PPV clean as a whistle after coming back hot. 
• Bryan didn't turn on Roman after the win. I guess all the fans are meant to forget the last years heeling? What happened to that heel Bryan face Miz program they were building to?
• Turning Strowman heel is a bad idea, I mean he's already dead in the water, but a guy of his size could easily be resurrected. I doubt anything will come from the Fury thing. Fury's getting paid millions and millions in his boxing contract, he'd be stupid to risk his knuckles on Strowman's face getting paid peanuts comparatively. 
• Gable short jokes, and even worse the scripted responses from Gable. 
• Graves adding to those short jokes and even worse, his humble bragging about sleeping with Carmella every opportunity he gets. I legit hate Graves more than Michael Cole, I'm still in shock that could happen.
• Gable not winning by ankle lock, clean as a whistle screaming in agony at the top of his lungs furious tap out from Corbin. That's how babyfaces are meant to beat heels. Not by ref assisted distraction roll up.
• Gable is a wrestling machine and should be a mega star by now. Compare Angle's meteoric rise in '99 to Gable's last few years. Angle won everything that first year.
• Newly heel turned Bayley lost. As of yet we've not had any really good promos or angles to let her new heel persona shine through. You can tell from little things she actually has control over in her matches that there is potential there, if we ever get to see it.
• Bray/Seth - BAHAHAHAHA!
• The red lighting.
• The protected curbstomp being ruined, now whoever loses to just one of those is buried.
• The gimmick of the cell is dead.
• That mallet.
• Seth being a whiny cowardly uncool little creep. He's legit 6'2, 220lbs, but still looks to me like someone who wets the bed.
• The DQ finish in a no DQ match.
• Seth and the referee's "acting."
• The fake blood that was more pink than burgundy.
• Bray is also now ruined, because they booked him so strongly it will never make sense for him to lose, to seemingly anything, let alone one single finisher. Of course he will be back to his losing ways again soon, regardless of logic.
• Not a single WWE wrestler having this phrase in their lexicon - "That's not gonna work for me brother." Surely some of these people have fuck you money? Or at least pride in their career, being a mark for yourself isn't always a bad thing. Rusev, Kanellis, Gable, Kofi, Bray, Becky, Seth all should have uttered that phrase just in the past week.

The Good:

• Kabuki Warriors showing some heel tendencies.
• I haven't seen Asuka for a while, she looks good, like maybe she lost weight, not that she needed to, but she looks better than ever. Such a waste what they didn't do with her.
• Gable and Corbin do have good chemistry.
• AEW chants.

 

 

 

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, Custos said:

Having watched the impressive 1-2 punch of the fantastic women's HIAC and the non-stop action packed Tornado Tag I was all ready to bring the positivity and give the Vince devil puppet his due. But alas the arena turned red and the booking turned to shit.

Imagine being in Becky's shoes right now. Kills it and kills herself in the brutal curtain jerking match, and it is but a faint, fond memory by the time her fiance has thoroughly shit the bed to the point where the fans are vocally demanding their money back. And it's not even (mostly) his fault.

@The Natural  Timmy Mallet was the first thing I thought of when I saw that comically proportioned monstrosity of a mallet, probably the same for most Brits our age. 

Sean Waltman, bless him, honest to a fault. Oh well, at least when HHH takes over he should be a lifer, even if we don't see him on Watch Along for a little while. 

Cheers, @Custos. Agree with all you say.

Bonus:

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by The Natural