WWE Hell In A Cell 2018 Final Rating: The Beast Spoils The Party
WWE Hell In A Cell 2018 was a show that had a lot of promise heading into it, and despite a couple shortcomings, the pay-per-view lived up to the hype as a whole.
Things got rolling quickly at WWE Hell In A Cell 2018 and the show never looked back from that point with an action-packed show featuring many marquee moments throughout.
The main card kicked off with the first of two Hell in a Cell matches pitting Randy Orton against Jeff Hardy and what a match it would be. In one of the most brutal, non-PG like Hell in a Cell matches of all-time, these two men pulled out all the stops and then some.
Orton put a screwdriver in Hardy’s earlobe and pulled it while also twisting it in one of the most sadistic acts seen in a long time on WWE TV. But in the end, Hardy’s high-flying nature got the best of him when he attempted to lunge himself from the top of the cell onto Orton, who was lying on a table in the ring. The Viper rolled out of the way, Hardy crashed and burned, and Orton got the win in one of the best matches of the year.
The SmackDown Women’s Championship was at stake next when Charlotte Flair defended against former friend Becky Lynch in one of the most personal matches on the card. It was a very good match with a lot of technical prowess thrown in, as expected. Things really picked up towards the end when Lynch countered Charlotte’s spear attempt into a roll-up and got the huge win.
For the first time in two years, Lynch is the SmackDown Women’s Champion and the WWE universe can rejoice. After the match was over solidified Lynch as a heel as well when she refused to shake the hand of Charlotte. This feud has a lot left it seems and things are bound to pick up even more now that The Irish Lass Kicker is champion.
The Raw Tag Team Championship match followed when Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defended against Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. And for a match that was made kind of last-minute, this was absolutely outstanding. It wasn’t just one of the best tag team matches of the year, it was one of the best matches in general. Ziggler and McIntyre’s craftiness paid off when they retained their titles.
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship was up next and much like their SummerSlam encounter, this match was very good in its own right. The finish was controversial, however, when Joe appeared to make Styles tap out, but the ref counted Joe’s shoulders down on the mat and The Phenomenal One retained his title. The rematch will take place at the Super Show-Down event in less than three weeks.
Mixed tag team action took center stage next when Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella battled The Miz and Maryse in what turned out to be the least impressive match of the night. The pure wrestling between Bryan and Miz was solid, but going in, you knew not much would happen with Maryse and Brie. And to top it all off, Maryse got the awkward and sloppy pin to win it for her team.
The Baddest Woman On The Planet defended the Raw Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss and Ronda Rousey wouldn’t let Bliss get the gold back. This was an impressive match that saw Rousey sell Bliss’ offense tremendously after her attack on Rousey’s ribs this past Monday night. It was a very well-executed match, but Rousey was too much in the end and she made Bliss tap out to likely end this feud.
The main event match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship inside Hell in a Cell turned out to be one of the more strangely-booked matches in a long time. When it was just the two of them involved, it was solid. And it was even solid when Ziggler, McIntyre, Rollins, and Ambrose got involved and chaos ensued.
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But that outside interference took away from the actual match going on in the ring, and then there was the whole Brock Lesnar involvement. He came out and decided to take out both Reigns and Strowman since he’s storyline upset he hasn’t gotten a Universal Championship rematch yet. After Mick Foley was taken out of the equation as special guest referee, another ref came down and made a decision that will haunt this match forever.
After Lesnar’s attack of Reigns and Strowman, the ref called for the bell and the match ended. A Hell in a Cell match ended with no winner and ended after far less damage than most Hell in a Cell matches usually see. It was one of the worst finishes in WWE history in all honesty and there’s no excuse for it. This soiled an otherwise great show and sadly, most will remember this over the other greatness involved with the show.
From top to bottom, this was a great pay-per-view outing by the WWE. There were two match of the year candidates, a new SmackDown Women’s Champion, and some all-around great wrestling involved. But the Strowman vs. Reigns match ending the way it did was probably the worst decision the WWE could have possibly made in that situation.
This was shaping up to be the pay-per-view of the year, but it likely misses out on that billing after that horrendous finish and a so-so mixed tag team match. Regardless of personal opinions, this show has changed a lot in the WWE moving forward and it should be interesting to see where things go from here.
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