Hell in a Cell came to a close last night and I think I can say this for most, if not all, of WWE fans, we want live crowds back! This will be the ending chapter of the Thunderdome era PPVs and thank goodness. I’m tired of looking at those screens every week and we’ll have to put up with it for about 3 more weeks, but after that we’ll see live crowds. Overall, the show wasn’t bad, but it could’ve been a lot better. You could definitely tell that most of these matches were just going to be placeholders for bigger and better things to come, but it wasn’t a must-see show by any means. I think most fans could’ve tuned out of this show and not missed a step moving forward. We’ll see what happens on down the line, but here is my reaction to the show last night.

- Women’s Singles Match

Natalya over Mandy Rose

I kinda thought we were going to get a tag match for the Women’s tag belts after their faceoff on RAW last week, but we got a singles match in the kickoff show. The match was fine for what it was, but nothing of much significance. These two ladies had a good back and forth, but it was a kickoff show match, they weren’t going to have a lot of momentum regardless of how the match turned out. Again, fine for what it was, but nothing more.

GRADE: 7.0/10

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

Bianca Belair (C) over Bayley *Match of the Night*

I figured this was going to be the show opener and that was the perfect spot for it. This match lasted for nearly 20 minutes, but it didn’t feel like it. That is a great compliment. They had great chemistry in the match and if this weren’t a match in the Cell and if the finish were different, I would say that this feud should continue, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Bayley taking that bump on that ladder was a brutal move and executed perfectly. Belair solidified her status as champion and is looking great in her reign so far. Bayley should receive a good deal of the credit for that. It is times like these when you realize what an asset someone like Bayley is to the Women’s division. In a PPV full of less than ideal finishes, this one had a great and decisive finish and it was a big reason why it was Match of the Night.

GRADE: 8.9/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Seth Rollins over Cesaro

Not many things were going to top the match that these two had at WrestleMania and this one didn’t do that. Not to say it was a bad match, but it just didn’t work as well as their match a couple months ago. The result wasn’t the issue. I had a feeling that Rollins might win, but it was the way it ended. I didn’t think the finish had a lot of momentum. There was a great deal of traded shots, but it ended in a rollup pin. We’ll talk about rollup pins later on, but for as even as a matchup as this was, a roll up wasn’t a terrible call. With that being said, they could’ve done more to build the anticipation of the finish. It doesn’t seem like we are done with this feud though.

GRADE: 7.8/10

- Women’s Singles Match

Alexa Bliss over Shayna Baszler

NXT fans are pissed at how weak Baszler looked last night and during this feud and I totally understand. She was the longest reigning NXT Women’s Champion and has been stuck in the storyline for the last month. I’m not as baffled at this match as most people are because I knew what we were getting into with this one. I didn’t expect Bliss to lose, but there were a lot of ways they could’ve made this interesting, but it was very dull and weird. This Bliss angle has a ton of potential, but I think it has most been a dud. Hopefully things change, but this was the worst match by a good bit.

GRADE: 6.2/10

- Men’s Singles Match

Sami Zayn over Kevin Owens

I really liked this match. I feel like this is was the most underappreciated match on the card last night and really hit the mark. KO sold his injuries well and Sami Zayn wasn’t made to look like someone who narrowly escapes matches by victory. Both performers looked really good here, but the thing that will hurt them is the storyline that they’re in. I don’t think there are a lot of people invested. SmackDown is clearly the Roman Reigns show and nothing more. Everything else will live in a vague shadow.

GRADE: 8.8/10

- Women’s Singles Match: RAW Women’s Championship

Charlotte Flair over Rhea Ripley (C); DQ, no title change

A lot of people think DQ finishes are lame, especially in a PPV setting and I agree, but I think it was fine here. The match itself was great. Charlotte Flair dominated the match, Rhea Ripley didn’t have an answer for the Queen’s dominant display, so she took matters into her own hands and caused a DQ. I mentioned in the predictions that Ripley’s character doesn’t seem entitled enough for me to buy into her character and this showed that she could be a sore loser. It made me respect her reign more, but I still will not buy in. The match was really good though.

GRADE: 8.7/10

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

Bobby Lashley (C) over Drew McIntyre

This was pretty predictable and that isn’t always a bad thing. During the match, I was thinking to myself that this match has been everything a HIAC match ideally should be. Two gladiators thrown into an enclosed cage left to lay it all on the line and go until they literally can’t go anymore. Everything was more than great in the match, but the ending absolutely ruined it. Under no circumstances should a HIAC match end in a rollup pin. The whole point of a Hell in a Cell match is told in the match name. It isn’t called Wrestling Basics in a Cell for a reason. It is called HELL in a Cell. I understand why this finish was planned. They wanted both competitors to still come out of the PPV without look weak. For McIntyre, if you lose to a dominant champion like Lashley inside Hell in a Cell, I don’t think it makes you look weak personally, but whatever. Also, this match made me come to the realization that HIAC is ruined. There are too many matches inside the Cell. Counting tonight, we have had 7 HIAC matches in the last 8 months. 7!! Xavier Woods is going to be in a HIAC match tonight with the WWE champion on RAW. Nothing against Woods, but come on… He doesn’t need to be anywhere near the champion inside the Cell right now. An anti-climactic ending to a really good feud…

GRADE: 8.2/10

Yacs

Hell in a Cell (2021) Results and Reaction