Hell in a Cell 2011 – See What Violence Gets You?

Hell in a Cell 2011
Date: October 2, 2011
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jim Ross, Booker T

Well it’s only two weeks after the last PPV and it’s three weeks away from the next one so the build for this much be well developed right? Anyway the mains are a triple threat for Red and a rematch for Blue and as usual with the main events lately, Blue > Red. I’m really not wild on this show but the Cell should help things a little. Anyway let’s get to it.

The opening video is your usual “oh no the Cell is horrible even though it’s the PG Era and the lack of brutality cripples this thing.”

Miz and Truth are in the front row and are ejected by Johnny Ace. That was quick.

Christian vs. Sheamus

Sheamus uses his power stuff to start us off and Christian uses his size and speed to escape. I love power vs. speed matches. Christian tries to speed things up and slaps Sheamus on the floor. Yes, slap the big monster that already wants to hurt you. Back in the forearms to the chest start up. I’d say that needs a name but that could be stupider than having two PPVs in two weeks.

Christian tries going up and that fails also, resulting in a powerslam/spinebuster. The top rope shoulder block is broken up and Sheamus is knocked to the floor to finally give Captain Charisma (if that name still applies) the advantage. Back in and a jumping back elbow (still love that move) gets two. We head to a sleeper hold because someone thinks it’s the 1980s and that move still means anything.

After it gets broken up, the Canadian just hammers away and actually beats Sheamus down. Score one for Canada I guess. Missile dropkick gets two. Sheamus is like screw this in an Irish accent and pounds Christian down. When all else fails, hit the other guy a lot. That should work almost every time. All Sheamus now as he hits some clotheslines but has a gorilla press countered into a Killswitch attempt which fails as usual.

Irish Curse (probably not called that anymore because 3 people in some tiny town in Ireland complained so WWE paid them some obscene sum so that they wouldn’t complain to Linda’s Senate campaign) gets two but Christian gets out of the Celtic Cross again. Christian heads up and that fails as well. He’s just not having a good night. He manages to knock Sheamus back for a bit and we get close to even.

Tornado DDT puts Sheamus down but the Killswitch is countered. So is the flying shoulder there but Sheamus pulls himself from sitting down in the corner to the top rope using the rope for a backflip in an awesome move and there’s the shoulder. Out to the floor and Christian drills him with a spear to put big Irish down. He gets back in at 8 and walks into another spear for a close two. I thought that might have been it. Christian tries for the Killswitch but it gets countered both times and after the Canadian’s shoulder goes into the post, the Brogue Kick puts him down for the pin at.

Rating: B. This was like a Smackdown main event and that means it’s fine on PPV. I was digging this but I’m a big Sheamus fan so there’s no surprise there. Christian is on a roll at the moment and has been having good matches with everyone. He has that kind of style that is easily adaptable and it meshes with everyone so this was no real surprise. Good stuff.

Henry cuts off Striker and makes fun of his voice and the usual interviews they have, saying Orton is joining the Hall of Pain no matter what.

Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara

This could be horrible. For the sake of sanity I’ll call them Black and Blue with Blue being the botchtastic original and Black being the replacement. They feel each other out and Blue frustrates Black a bit. Blue sends him to the floor and hits a big old flip dive. He looks a bit better than he did before he left so maybe the time for practice helped him. Black takes over and we head back into the ring.

And let’s hit the chinlock. I mean let’s hit it for awhile. Yes because in a match over who the real crazy high flier is, the right thing to do is go to a rest hold. I guess Black is supposed to be the evil one but it’s pretty stupid. The fans chant boring and I can’t say I disagree. Blue takes offense to it I guess and sends him to the floor for a big dive and back in for some kicks and a rana for two.

Black counters into a layout powerbomb for a close two. Booker talks about hitting someone in the mask area. Cole: “You mean the head?” Cole can be annoying but when he’s on with his jokes, he’s very on. As Cole makes fun of the Spanish of both guys, Blue hits a top rope armdrag for two but a swanton misses. Not that it matters as a sunset bomb hits a few seconds later for the pin at 9:40. Blue won if that wasn’t clearn.

Rating: C. That’s it? Booker summed up the ending perfectly well. “So what does this mean?” That’s the question that summarizes the problems with this whole feud: so what? It wasn’t a definitive finish as he won with the equivalent of a rollup. I don’t think they knew where they wanted to go with this feud and it showed pretty badly.

Otunga comes up to Punk in the back and lawyer jokes abound. Punk doesn’t want to talk to him and Punk makes fun of him some more and says he doesn’t need a lawyer even when he wins the title tonight. Otunga even has a sweater and bowtie tonight. Punk tells him to vanish.

Tag Titles: Air Boom vs. Dolph Ziggler/Jack Swagger

Cole: “And yes folks that name is your fault!” Ziggler vs. Kofi to start us off. See, this is old school booking: these were four guys in two singles feuds and they didn’t really have anything else to do after that so they were combined into one feud and made into tag teams which gives them new matches down the road while still being able to feud with the same people in a different feud. See it’s not that hard.

Ziggler gets beaten down for awhile but gets a boot up in the corner to take down Bourne and bring in Swagger. Everyone but Ziggler is in blue. We get into the standard Air Boom formula: hot start, then they get into trouble and by that I mean Bourne gets beaten down for awhile. Cole talks about how Vickie is going to get Swagger matches and spots he wants which is what you do as a manager. You have someone like Vickie who is a heat magnet and you have two guys like Swagger and Ziggler with talent but limited charisma. It’s a perfect match as they can do in the ring and she supplements it with the talking. Everyone wins.

Kofi comes in and Swagger pulls the rope down to send him to the floor so Ziggy can take over. Cole goes on a long rant about HHH and how horrible he is and Booker is like man I was in WCW so don’t try to tell me about politics. Not in so many words but it’s almost kind of maybe in a way implied. We mix up the formula a bit here so that Kofi is the one getting beaten down.

After Ziggler gets his beating in it’s the ankle lock by Swagger. Kofi escapes and hits a DDT to put both guys down. There’s the hot tag to Bourne and everything breaks down. Ziggler bails so Kofi takes Swagger down and breaks up the ankle lock with a top rope cross body. Bourne hits a standing moonsault to Dolph for two. The challengers set for some assisted powerbomb off the top but Bourne counters into a rana off the top to pin Swagger at 11:13.

Rating: B-. I liked this and I’m glad that they kept the belts on Air Boom. They need to build up a team like them so that we can have another team step up to challenge them. It doesn’t mean anything to have worthless teams lose and win the titles over and over again. Having a team like Air Boom on TV a lot and win the matches over and over again makes them interesting and builds up their reputation. See how it works?

HHH trailer.

We recap Henry vs. Orton and I think you know the story here by now. Henry is a monster, beat up everyone then beat Orton for the title two weeks ago and that warrants the biggest gimmick match in the company. Clear connection right?

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry

Vengeance is pushed and it’s in three weeks. Are you serious? They head to the floor quickly and Orton sends him into the cage and beats him down. Orton tries the elevated DDT but it’s too early for that so Henry fights it off and Orton’s shoulder goes into the post and gets pulled on. Orton gets sent into the cage but fights back in the ring. Henry is like FRIED CHICKEN AND BISCUITS and hits a powerslam for two. Henry goes for the steps and slams them into Orton (or was it the other way around?) to keep up the dominance.

Henry uses more step stuff and sends him into the cage then yells about pizza and twinkies before we go back inside. Orton tries to hammer away but Henry is just too fat. He picks Orton up into the World’s Strongest Slam position but hits a backbreaker instead. Then he does it again. I guess he wanted to go back for seconds. Off to a bearhug so Henry can think of peach cobbler and Skittles.

JR drops some alliteration on us as Henry keeps dominating. At Mania 13 Shawn was on commentary and said of Sid that he didn’t stray from the power game because it took him everywhere he needed to go. That’s Henry in a nutshell: why change things if they work? More bearhuggery as my money is on prime rib wishes and burrito dreams for the champion.

Orton tries to hammer away but Henry is like THE POWER OF PUMPKIN PIE COMPELS YOU and sends him to the floor again. He sets to plant Orton like a patch of carrots into the steps with the Slam but Orton grabs onto the cage and climbs up a bit so he can DDT Henry onto the steps. Momentum shifts now and Henry is in trouble. Thesz Press and punches set up a dropkick to put Henry on the apron.

The elevated DDT actually works and the RKO does as well but Henry kicks out at two. Orton is shocked and isn’t sure what to do now. That’s a great plot device as Randy only had one big weapon to use but it only got two. Cole says Orton can’t beat him. Booker says hit it again. I never got why after a finisher can’t get a pin that everyone thinks they can’t get the pin. I mean…you can do it again. Orton loads up the Punt but Henry grabs him into the World’s Strongest Slam and gets the pin at 16:00. Sweet.

Rating: B-. This was like dipping a toe into the water of what the Cell is capable of. They used the cage a bit here and it helped a lot. Still though, this was kind of limited but you can’t really blame him for that. There’s only so much you can do with Henry and the big spots are of course out of the questions here. I’d have liked a few more minutes but if this was all they could do, I’m cool with that.

Post match Henry goes to leave but goes back in for dessert. He hits another Slam on Orton and sets up for Pillmanization. Orton moves (smart guy) and gets the chair. He pounds Henry down and they go up the aisle. Orton keeps pounding away and goes for a big chair shot but Henry gets a kick to the ribs and Henry runs. So yeah, there’s going to be a third one, probably in another gimmick match because the Cell is just a stop in the road on a feud anymore.

Alberto says he can win in the Cell and he’ll be like an animal trapped in a cage. You’ll see a new side of him tonight.

Here’s Rhodes and he has a surprise. He unveils a new IC Title which looks like the old style and has the white strap instead of the black. I think I’m digging this. Cody says he’ll defend the title anywhere anytime. Here’s Johnny Ace to complain though and he says HHH says the title is on the line tonight and it’s right now.

Intercontinental Title: John Morrison vs. Cody Rhodes

They needed a filler match so this is a good thing. Yeah I’m digging the white belt. Cody is in street clothes and is rolled up for two very quickly. Cole stands up for Cody (instead of WWE) and Cody can’t do anything because of his attire. Morrison takes over and sends Cody to the floor. Rhodes gets his shirt off and Morrison throws it into the crowd. Cody keeps heading to the floor and looks like he wants to leave.

Morrison is like *insert stupid expression here* and heads to the floor. Back in and Rhodes takes over for a bit. Well of course he can. I mean, Morrison is just a former champion and a world class athlete so of course a non warmed up guy can take over on him while in street clothes. Ok so he used the mask but you get the idea. Off to a seated abdominal stretch. Yeah because the weak spot on Morrison is his abs right?

Alabama Slam is countered but Rhodes grabs a Figure Four of all things. Ok so now he’s working on the knee. I guess it’s better than the ribs/abs. Now he’s focusing on the face. And I used to say he had psychology. Here’s Morrison’s comeback and a kick sets up Starship Pain but Rhodes breaks it up. Belly to back is countered but Morrison hits a Pele (called that) and sets for whatever he calls the Beautiful Disaster but Rhodes ducks and a rollup lets him retain at 7:23.

Rating: C. For a thrown on match, this was ok. They desperately needed something to fill out some of the card and getting the IC Title on PPV is always a bad thing. It’s hard to argue with bonus wrestling and this match was ok enough to fill in about ten minutes or so in total so no complaints there. Also having the white belt back with the old design brings a smile to my face.

Ace comes up to HHH on the phone and cuts HHH off from yelling at him. Awesome Truth is in the back. HHH runs to the back and finds them having destroyed Air Boom. Ace gets yelled at as the champions are down.

Divas Title: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Kelly runs at her and hits what are supposed to be Thesz Presses (popular move tonight) and the screaming headscissors which is countered into a backbreaker. Beth takes over and chokes her down with what looks like a dragon sleeper. Off to another backbreaker but this time she bends Kelly over her knee but Kelly counters into a rollup for two. Slingshot suplex gets two for Beth.

Kelly starts her comeback and uses generic offense and a neckbreaker for two. She tries the bad bulldog but Beth counters into a Glam Slam attempt. Beth pounds away in the corner but Kelly fights out and hits the handspring elbow. Cole calls it vintage and Great Muta rolls his eyes somewhere. Top rope bulldog by Kelly gets a very close two. Eve and Nattie get into it on the floor and Eve goes flying into the barricade.

K2 is countered and Beth kicks Kelly between the legs for some reason. Beth hooks up that freaky submission that Natalya has been using lately and Nattie gets on the mic and tells Kelly to scream. Kelly makes the ropes and Natalya pops her with the mic which somehow the referee didn’t hear. Glam Slam FINALLY ends Kelly’s reign at 8:34. Yes they’re that long on time.

Rating: C. This was way too long and I can’t get over the ending: Beth Phoenix needed a mic shot to beat Kelly Kelly? I don’t get that at all as they’ve made Beth look weak already with two straight losses but at least she finally has the belt. I’d assume this sets up Eve vs. Kelly as they fill in as much time as they can for the Kharma return in like another 7 months or however long it is.

Vengeance is coming.

We recap the Raw World Title which is clouded or something because of what happened at MITB and Summerslam. Not really but whatever. Either way it’s Cell match time.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

After big match intros we’re ready to go. There’s a TON of time for this as it’s only about 10 minutes after 10. They emphasize that the fall has to be in the ring. Fair enough. Alberto immediately hits the floor and runs a lot. Both guys chase him and they slide in to get in what they can and the Super Best Friends fight over who gets to beat up Del Rio. Punk tries to steal the title on a rollup but it only gets two.

The big stars face off and both escape the other’s finishers. Del Rio tries to take Cena out but gets caught in an AA attempt on the floor. Punk dives onto Del Rio and Cena to break it up for some reason and back in the ring a neckbreaker gets two on Del Rio. The dueling chants begin but after being a CM Punk/Let’s Go Cena chant it’s turned into Cena Sucks very quickly. See the issue? It’s not so much pro Punk but rather anti-Cena.

Del Rio gets back into this and sends Punk into the cage. Cena is down also and Punk is the only one left standing after he takes out Alberto. He loads up a table on the floor but Cena shoves him into the cage to avoid a bulldog. Alberto gets a chair in and hits a belly to back onto the chair with Cena slowing breaking the chair down. That looked good. There are the chants again.

Cena is in the Tree of Woe and Del Rio misses a charge, sending his shoulder into the post. Off to Punk vs. Del Rio and with Punk in trouble, Cena dives off the top with the legdrop and gets two on both guys. This is good so far. AA is escaped by Alberto and he goes for the ribs/back of Cena. Del Rio is sent to the floor and Ricardo fans him off. Cena and Punk slug it out and it’s boo/yay time. GTS is broken up by a chair swung by Del Rio.

He picks up the chair and comes off the top with it to land on both of the Super Best Friends, getting two on each. Del Rio charges at Punk in the corner but is dropped over the top and hits the stairs on the way out. You couldn’t see it but you could hear it. AA out of nowhere gets two on Punk with Alberto saving. Del Rio is sent to the floor again and this time it’s the GTS to Cena for two. Del Rio saves again and sends Punk into the steps. He’s been the wild card in this so far and it’s working.

Cena is sent into the cage again so it’s Punk vs. Del Rio in the ring. Punk fights back and the Macho Elbow gets two. Cena comes back in and sends Punk through the table at ringside. Cena grabs the STF and Ricardo takes down the referee and breaks into the Cell. Ricardo has a pipe with him but Cena takes him down and throws him out of the Cell. Del Rio gets the pipe and bashes Cena with it. He throws Cena out and locks him outside with the key inside. Ok this is interesting.

The Mexican hits a German on the American for two. Punk goes up and Del Rio hits the running enziguri for two. Cross armbreaker is broken up and Punk fires off the kicks. Leg lariat puts Del Rio down and Cena is just now getting up and figures out that he’s locked out. Punk hits the bulldog as Cena looks for the key. Springboard clothesline gets two and Cena is trying to break the chain and the lock open. Alberto goes to the floor and grabs the pipe. It’s only about 10:30 so there’s plenty of time here. Two pipe shots put Punk down and Del Rio wins it at 24:12. I guess there isn’t a lot of time left.

Rating: B+. Good match here as they had time to work with and made it violent. You can have good stuff like this without blood and this was one of the better ones ever. The ending came much earlier than I was expecting and the championship changing is a nice surprise. Also it gives Del Rio a more legitimate title reign which is something he needed. I’m sure Cena vs. Del Rio is booked for Vengeance though.

Post match the Cell raises up and Cena gets in as do men in black hoodies. It’s Miz/Truth with pipes or something and the beating is on. HHH comes out and gets beaten down also as the Cell lowers again. HHH is on the floor, outside of the cage. The locker room comes out but no one has the idea of bolt cutters. Miz and Truth beat up cameramen and referees as some cops come in with cutters and get in. Truth and Miz surrender to the police and are cuffed. HHH beats up the cuffed men and is taken out by security…and we’re off the air at 10:37.

Overall Rating: B. I had a good time with this show despite the early ending. The Cell matches were good because, and this is a new idea I know: THEY USED THE CAGE AND MADE THEM VIOLENT. My goodness why is that such a complex idea? Oh wait, Linda was trying to become a Senator so they had to slow things down and make sure it was as kid friendly as possible last year. Not bad at all and I had a good time with it. However, the lack of build for it is going to hurt and the stuff that happened on the show will be blamed when the buyrate sucks, which is the nature of WWE anymore. Good show though.

Results
Sheamus b. Christian – Brogue Kick
Sin Cara b. Sin Cara – Sunset Bomb
Air Boom b. Jack Swagger/Dolph Ziggler – Top rope hurricanrana to Swagger
Mark Henry b. Randy Orton – World’s Strongest Slam
Cody Rhodes b. John Morrison – Rollup
Beth Phoenix b. Kelly Kelly – Glam Slam
Alberto Del Rio b. John Cena and CM Punk – Pin after a pipe shot to Punk