WWE Hell in a Cell 2018: Results, Highlights and Grades

Photo Source: WWE.com

Hell in a Cell Match

Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Result: Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy via pinfall

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Quick note about the red cage: It seemed like there were a lot more shots from inside the cell than there were in year’s past. Obviously, doing a live review, I can’t really research this as much as I would like, but it felt like the wide camera shots were used more sparingly. Is this because the wide shots looked like trash?

On to the match itself: Very quickly, this turned into every other stipulation match rolled into one. Tables, ladders, chairs (oh my!), brawls outside the ring using the cage as a weapon — all of it was there. But it was a great use of both superstars, because it was exactly what you’d want to see from Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy in 2018.

What have we learned about these two superstars over their very long careers? We know Orton is a sadistic monster, who wouldn’t think twice about pushing his own father in front of a bus for a pop. We know Hardy is a daredevil who wants to do crazy things, so he’s going to break out tables and ladders and find a way to use them.

So early on, it’s all Hardy, who comes out like a house of fire and takes it to Orton until he can grab his weapons of high risk. Eventually, though, this happens:

…and things turn to Orton’s favor very quickly. The Viper spends much of the next ten minutes punishing Hardy’s back — virtually taking away much of the Charismatic Enigma’s offense.

Now, look, I’ve never been a Randy Orton fan. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. The closest I came was when he was running his “RNN News Updates” early in his career. But you can’t watch this match and say Orton isn’t good at what he does. He may not be my cup of tea, but he is a tremendous performer when properly motivated.

There’s two things people are going to remember about this match. Number one, the ear thing, which ick. Orton seems way too excited about the ear stuff, doesn’t he?

And number two, the finish. Jeff said he was going to do something crazy, and, well, you saw it. Dude’s back is probably held together by spit and old chewing gum, yet he did a Swanton Bomb onto a chair — and that wasn’t the finish, because he had to do the thing off the inside of the roof. Matt Hardy announced his retirement via YouTube earlier in the weekend; is Jeff far behind?

Still, the match was deliciously vicious, even if the finish was probably ill-advised. Not sure what the deal was with Orton, whether he didn’t realize the injury was legit or if it’s a work, but Orton insisting on the pin, if a legit injury, is a bad look. Either way, that was a hell of a way to kick off the show.