Hell in a Cell Preview
On Sunday, October 30th, Raw will present a pay-per-view, and this time it is in the form themed event centered around the demonic structure of Hell in a Cell. There will be a record three Cell matches taking place this Sunday, one of which will be the first ever women’s Cell match in WWE history between Sasha Banks and Charlotte. This card is lining up to be decently good, and it has a very solid chance to compete with Smackdown’s No Mercy, which was solid, but it didn’t exactly live up to the hype. Every Raw championship will be on the line at this star studded event, so that is sure to make it one to remember.
The first title that will be defended will be the Cruiserweight Championship in a match between the champion TJ Perkins and his challenger Brian Kendrick. These two will clash for the second consecutive pay-per-view, and the match shouldn’t disappoint. The build has been a bit inconsistent though. The entire division has kind of been searching for its identity ever since it came to Raw, but hopefully new names and new faces will be added to the title picture after this match is all said and done. If WWE is really looking for Perkins to be an impact player every week, he will get the win here over the wily veteran Kendrick.
The only non-title match that has been announced for the card thus far is a tag team match between the team of Enzo and Cass and The Club, consisting of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. This feud has been a bit boring to be completely honest. With these two teams, you’d think there’d be some entertainment value in it, but there just hasn’t been at all. The Club has been booked atrociously since their debut, so it might be good for them to get a win here to regain some much needed momentum. However, Enzo and Cass are still a hot commodity in the division, and a win for them could mean a title shot in the future.
Raw’s Tag Team Titles will also be on the line in a match between the defending champions The New Day and the oddball team of Sheamus and Cesaro. The Irishman and the Swissman were paired up after their best of seven series went to a draw, so general manager Mick Foley rewarded them a tag team title shot instead of one of them getting a singles title shot. This pairing has been… interesting to say the least. The two of them have undeniable chemistry on screen, but they have been more of a comedy act in the weeks leading up to the show. However, it feels as if The New Day’s reign has gone on for quite some time now, and as entertaining as they have been, they have grown to be a bit stale. Dropping the titles wouldn’t be the worst thing for them. Plus, the Sheamus and Cesaro can get on the same page, they can really turn into a dominant force in the tag division.
Roman Reigns will be defending his newly won United States Championship inside of the Cell against Rusev. This feud has just been lackluster to say the least. A feud between these two monsters should be intense and hard hitting with a lot of bad blood. While there has been some of that, it’s really just been an attempt at comedy. From the cake in Rusev’s wife Lana’s face, to a segment that explained the history of Rusev’s family. This kind of stuff can really cause someone to cringe, and hopefully Reigns wins so that this feud can finally be over.
For the first time ever, two women will step inside Hell in a Cell together to compete for the Raw Women’s Championship. Sasha Banks and Charlotte will clash once again, but the stakes have never been higher. These are absolutely the correct two to make history and be the first ever to enter the Cell. Their feud has been good, the match will not disappoint due to them being two of the best women’s performers in history, and it will be a great way for the feud to end with a Sasha Banks victory inside of the Cells for the first time ever. There has even been talks for this match to be the main event of the show, but recent rumors have proved otherwise.
What is should be the actual main event if it is not the women will be the WWE Universal Title match between the champion Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. This match is the third and final match to take place inside of the Cell, and it should be a good one. This feud has been average, but it’s just a shame that Owens hasn’t really been the focal point of it. He has been overshadowed by his best friend Chris Jericho and the tension between Seth Rollins and his former Authority members. Nevertheless, the match should be fun to watch and hopefully the crowd isn’t burned out from the women’s match taking place earlier in the show. As for who wins, there are many factors that will go into that. Will Jericho interfere, will Triple H make an appearance, is the company backing Kevin Owens to have a long title reign? No matter what happens, it should be very, very interesting.
This show could honestly go either way. The matches have the potential to be great, but they have to be booked properly. There could be some filler matches added to the card in the forms of Sami Zayn vs Braun Strowman and also Dana Brooke vs Bayley, but that won’t really help bolster the card much. The key to this show will be execution. If Raw can execute, it will be a tough act for Smackdown to follow.
Eli Rafail is a senior and a second year Journalism student.
Eli participates in sports and activities in school including football, baseball, band,...