Hell in a Cell was a couple nights ago and I think it is a proper amount of time to digest what took place on Sunday night. Overall, I thought it was a great show. Most people expected 3 great matches with some average to above average matches and that’s exactly what we got. It appears that there are going to be some changes coming up and they appear to be for the good. There were a couple title changes and I think most people thought that at least one title change was imminent, but the other one was a little bit of a surprise. Here are the results of the show and my reaction to it all.

- Men’s Singles Match: 24/7 Championship

R-Truth (C) over Drew Gulak

I wasn’t expecting to see the 24/7 Championship defended on the show, but it was in the kickoff show. Although this title is just an entertainment title with little significance, the match wasn’t that bad. The 42-time champ, R-Truth successfully defended the belt and it appears that he may reach 100 by next year, if the belt is still active by then. It was entertaining to see R-Truth imitate his childhood hero John Cena.

GRADE: 6.8/10

- Men’s Hell in a Cell “I Quit” Match: Universal Championship

Roman Reigns (C) with Paul Heyman over Jey Uso

The match was everything that it was advertised to be and more. It wasn’t a technical showdown, but it was an emotional fight. Roman retaining was a shock to nobody and how things went down was a shock to nobody, but that’s exactly what the fans wanted I believe. Jimmy Uso made his way to the ring to attempt to stop the action, but to no avail. Jimmy was the reason that Jey said “I Quit” and I think that was the perfect way to end it. The Wild Samoans met Roman Reigns at the end of the ramp after his victory and it was a great way to end the opening match. Since Roman Reigns has been back, he has reclaimed his spot as the top guy in the WWE. This match doesn’t prove anything more with him as an in-ring competitor, because he is already proven in that respect. This storyline proves that he can lead the WWE to bigger and better things and moving forward and whatever is thrown at him, they feel he can handle it. He elevated Jey Uso and he should continue to elevate more superstars moving forward.

GRADE: 9.5/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Elias over Jeff Hardy (DQ)

This match felt like a rushed match on RAW with an ending similar to one that would be on RAW rather than a PPV. A win by DQ does nothing for Elias moving forward and Jeff Hardy attacking Elias with a guitar to end the match didn’t make much sense either. This probably wasn’t the worst match on the card, but it wasn’t far off.

GRADE: 6.4/10

- Men’s Singles Match: Money in the Bank briefcase

The Miz with John Morrison over Otis (MITB) with Tucker

While the result wasn’t a huge shock, the way it went down was. I don’t think many people expected to see Tucker attacking Otis with the briefcase to help The Miz win the match. I guess they’ll have a feud coming up in the near future, because it appears that Tucker is now a member of SmackDown. It will be interesting to see what happens with the briefcase now that The Miz holds it, but don’t be surprised if John Morrison gets a little jealous and turns on The Miz. The match wasn’t awesome, but I think it was as good as it was going to get.

GRADE: 7.4/10

- Women’s Hell in a Cell Match: SmackDown Women’s Championship

Sasha Banks over Bayley (C)

Sasha Banks is your new champ and it ends the historic reign that Bayley had for over a year. The match was wonderful and I don’t think there was much to be improved upon. They did exactly what they set out to do and that was to have an aggressive, emotional, and memorable match. They checked all of those boxes and I’m interested to see what is next for the SmackDown Women’s Championship title picture. They have a lot of options, but I think Bianca Belair will be next to get her shot in what feels like a fantasy booking matchup. Bayley may claim her rematch sooner rather than later, but I expect her to take a little time off. She had a wonderful reign and the SmackDown Women’s belt was in good hands over the last year.

GRADE: 9.6/10

- Men’s Singles Match: United States Championship

Bobby Lashley (C) over Slapjack

This match was just added randomly to the card and all it was intended to do was to buy a little time between the two Hell in a Cell matches. The match lasted nearly 4 minutes and there was seemingly no real direction in the match other than giving The Hurt Business another win in a PPV setting. Retribution appears to be an enhancement talent group and I think they could’ve actually made them into something meaningful, but I think that opportunity has sailed. Lashley got a meaningless title defense and Retribution does nothing to help their cause. This is what we call a dud.

GRADE: 5.9/10

- Men’s Hell in a Cell Match: WWE Championship

Randy Orton over Drew McIntyre (C) *Match of the Night*

I knew Drew McIntyre’s reign was inevitably going to end, but I thought it was going to happen at the last PPV. McIntyre’s reign has been one of the best in recent memory and hopefully he can regain the belt when crowds return. With all that being said, he couldn’t have lost it to a better competitor than Randy Orton. Orton is undoubtedly at the top of his game and this match was fantastic. Orton gains his 14th World title reign and has put himself in the same company as Triple H, John Cena, and Ric Flair as top title getters. Orton isn’t known for having historically long title reigns, but this may be different. However, I’m expecting him to have a rather short reign, but who knows? He may hold onto it until WrestleMania. I guess only time will tell.

GRADE: 9.7/10

Yacs

Hell in a Cell (2020) Results and Reaction