Hell In A Cell is one of the PPVs with specific match gimmicks which I love. I love knowing that we'll get at least one Hell In A Cell match, and this year we're being spoiled with three of them. I am worried that it might be overused, but hopefully each of the matches will be different enough to justify the fact they were in a cell.
Six matches doesn't seem enough for a pay per view of this stature and I'm wondering if they might include some more matches. Noteable names not on the card include Bayley, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel who have had conflict recently, Rich Swann who looks like being a fan favourite and Sami Zayn who has beef with both Braun Strowman and Chris Jericho, neither of who are on the card.
Enzo and Cass v The Club
The Club need a win here. They've put The New Day over repeatedly over the past few months and have started to lose a bit of the status they had prior to that. Enzo got a victory over Anderson on Raw and if The Club don't get the win then I don't know why WWE even bothered to sign them in the first place if they weren't going to give them a push that befits their status - a status which the commentary team have reminded us about at almost every available opportunity.
Enzo and Cass remain popular even when they lose and while they should be future title holders, the tag team division needs the Club to look like contenders as well. The Club should be the ones to take the belts from the New Day when the time comes so they need to start to get on a bit of a run now.
Prediction: The Club
Tag Team Championship:
The New Day (c) v Cesaro and Sheamus
There's no day that the New Day aren't holding the title to beat Demolition's record as the commentary team have been talking about it for the last couple of months. By my calculations, they will beat the record on the 15th of December. This suggests that they will beat Sheamus and Cesaro at Hell In a Cell, will likely compete in the Tag Team match at Survivor Series and therefore not drop the belts until Roadblock (18th December) at the earliest.
This leaves the tag team division in a bit of limbo until then. The Club look like they will be wrapped up with Enzo and Cass for a while, so Sheamus and Cesaro have been brought in as filler. Cesaro and Sheamus got a victory against the New Day on Raw, which makes it even more unlikely that they will get the belts here. That victory was probably just to give them a bit of momentum.
What will happen with the losers? For them to argue and fight again would just lead us back to where we were with the best of seven series. I guess there's two options. One is for them to finally have the deciding match but I think that a more likely option is for Cesaro to embrace Sheamus and for him to turn face. The win on Raw suggests that the WWE might actually be pushing them as a tag team even though it seems really unlikely. The odd couple thing might work for a bit and then they could start to actually get along.
With Finn Balor injured and not due to return until Spring, Seth Rollins is the only top level face on Raw at present. Sheamus is a former world champion and perhaps him and Cesaro could take turns challenging Kevin Owens once the Rollins-Owens storyline is over.
Wherever they go, they should give these two guys a bit of the spotlight as they are both great performers.
Prediction: The New Day
Cruiserweight Championship:
TJ Perkins (c) v Brian Kendrick
I'm starting to be a bit more interested in the cruiserweights. I listened to TJP on Talk Is Jericho and it helps to have an understanding of where guys have come from. If it seems as if someone has paid their dues, it's a lot easier to take them seriously and realise that they deserve their spot on the card.
Brian Kendrick has said that this is basically his last shot and they've made a lot out of his previous history with TJP and this should add a bit off fire to the match. This strikes me as the most likely belt to change hands. I'm not really sure why but I think something needs to happen in the Cruiserweight division to keep it in everyone's minds.
Prediction: Brian Kendrick
United States Championship, Hell In A Cell:
Roman Reigns (c) v Rusev
This should be the first of the cell matches on the card. The rivalry has been getting more heated and physical and this needs to be in the cell to contain it and likely put an end to the story to allow both competitors to move on.
Cell or cage matches are often the end to a feud and it is probably time for these guys to move along different paths as this seems to have gone on for decades.
Reigns is going to win here. He was being pushed as the champ earlier this year until he was a little bit naughty. He got demoted but it still seems like they want him to hold a belt, even though it's a lesser one, and he'll probably be the US champ for a while yet.
Maybe it's just because I haven't bought into Reigns for a while but I just want this to end now because I feel Rusev is better used elsewhere other than Reigns' punching bag.
I'd love for Strowman's calls for a strong opponent to result in him getting a US title shot as Reigns is easier to get behind when you think he's going to struggle.
Prediction: Reigns
Universal Championship, Hell In A Cell:
Kevin Owens (c) v Seth Rollins
These guys have obviously got good chemistry in the ring and enjoy their time together, as seen by the house show where KO did the people's elbow and Rollins hulked out. They should be able to pull off a great match and there was a nice bit of aggression on Raw which suggests which way this is going to go.
Owens has always had a mean streak. the way that he reacted after injuring Sami Zayn was indicative of how fierce he can be and he often brings that to the ring. I therefore can see Rollins being the one to take the big bump if there is one, especially as I can't see Owens dropping the belt. He's a great performer and a great personality in the ring and deserves to stay at the top for a while.
I don't see this ending here, though. Rollins should probably still be in the title picture for a while as he's the main guy on Raw if not in the whole company. If Jericho takes another break as is rumoured, then he will need to be written out storyline wise. Him going after Owens belt makes sense and Rollins is currently embroiled in that story as the antagonist. I wouldn't be surprised to see another triple threat between them before the year is out.
One way to start this all off would be for Jericho to help out, possibly by bringing Owens a weapon, and for Owens to be annoyed as he wanted to do it on his own - just as Jericho did a couple of weeks ago.
Prediction; Kevin Owens
Women's Championship, Hell In A Cell:
Sasha Banks (c) v Charlotte
This match has been billed as one of three main events, and might even be the one to close the show. Foley's promo on Raw highlighting to both competitors how dangerous the cell is means that if something spectacular doesn't happen then it will seem like a massive let down. Rumour has it that Charlotte has asked to do a moonsault off the top of the cell which Vince turned down. Something similar needs to happen though to justify the hype they have given this.
In terms of the match itself, both of them are likely to up their game but there's no reason to have the belt yo-yoing between the two of them so Sasha should retain. Charlotte's perfect PPV record has been made a lot of and so it should be even more of a reason for Sasha to celebrate when she gets the Charlotte to tap out to the bank statement.
Prediction: Sasha Banks
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