WWE Hell In A Cell 2019 will take place on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT live on the WWE Network with the kickoff show beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
It will be a daunting scene of destruction, anguish, and jaw-dropping plunges. Here are some early match card predictions for one of the most hellacious PPVs of the year.
So far, from Raw, the only officially announced matches are Seth Rollins (c) vs. Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship and Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship. From SmackDown, there are no officially scheduled matches as of yet.
Without further ado, it’s time to plunge into October’s PPV. Let’s predict the Hell in a Cell 2019 card, starting with the potential kickoff match:
Drew Gulak (c) vs. Lio Rush [Cruiserweight Championship]
At Clash of Champions 2019, Drew Gulak successfully retained his Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against Humberto Carillo and Lince Dorado. Although Carillo looked mighty impressive in the match, he failed to capture the championship while Gulak pinned Lince Dorado for the victory.
Considering that Carillo did not get pinned in the three-way, it was plausible to assume he would get a one-on-one title match with Gulak at HIAC. However, this does not seem to be the case since Lio Rush returned to NXT on its USA network premiere last week to defeat Oney Lorcan and become number one contender for Drew Gulak’s Cruiserweight Championship.
During his time as a hype man for WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley, Lio Rush reportedly took a leave of absence from the WWE following some backstage misunderstandings.
Despite his longtime absence, Lio Rush should be the best option available to dethrone Gulak now that he is back and better than ever. The gold rush is upon us, for it’s only a matter of time until the Man of the Hour becomes the champ of the year.
Prediction: Lio Rush
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks [Raw Women’s Championship: Hell In A Cell]
At Clash of Champions 2019, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch’s championship match stole the show despite ending inconclusively with a disqualification victory for The Boss. Since Banks did technically defeat Lynch without capturing the championship, she was automatically guaranteed a championship rematch at the next PPV in October.
At Hell in a Cell 2019, their feud will hopefully kick into higher gear, steal the show once again, and thereby assert their positions into another WrestleMania main event for the upcoming year of 2020. As for now, Banks needs to win this championship match against Lynch conclusively in order to provide substance to her return, heel turn, and compelling alliance with the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Furthermore, Banks has undoubtedly been the main talking point of the women’s division in the WWE ever since she came back onto our TV screens. The WWE must strike while the iron is hot, and the iron is assuredly burning at 100 degrees Fahrenheit and counting in the hands of The Boss.
With all metaphors aside, judging by recent adverts for SmackDown’s move to FOX, Becky Lynch has been rumored to being drafted to the blue brand in October. It’s safe to say that she has done all she could with the Women’s Championship on Raw. Before she leaves the red brand, the best Superstar for her to drop the championship to is definitely Sasha Banks.
Prediction: Sasha Banks
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
At Clash of Champions, Bayley defeated the Charlotte Flair by exposing the steel on the corner turnbuckle and thrusting Charlotte’s face into the steel. Hopefully, Ric Flair was scrutinizing that match because Bayley may just be the next ‘dirtiest player in the game.’
Due to this nefarious victory, expect Charlotte to eventually request her rematch for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at Hell in a Cell. This rematch will hopefully be more aggressive and show-stealing than their previous bout.
Now that the heel tactics of Bayley have been cemented, her championship reign has become a lot more interesting. It is evident that her reign can do wonders for the SmackDown women’s division in the long-term, and Charlotte does not need to ruin her momentum right now.
If this match occurs between Bayley and Charlotte, Bayley should be a safe bet to retain her SmackDown Women’s Championship. Although Charlotte’s starpower would be fitting, Bayley’s exciting championship reign is exactly what SmackDown needs on its inevitable move to Fox on Oct. 4.
Prediction: Bayley
Ricochet vs. Rusev
On Monday Night Raw, Maria Kanellis exuberantly revealed the gender of her soon-to-be newborn baby to be male. She then disturbingly revealed that the father of her baby is not her husband, Mike Kanellis.
She deceitfully revealed the father of her baby to be Ricochet. Mike Kanellis was furious at this revelation and foolishly challenged Ricochet in a match just to get embarrassed and lose.
Afterwards, Maria revealed that she lied about Ricochet and alleged that the true father of her baby was Rusev. Rusev then returned to in-ring competition and defeated Mike Kanellis to ‘gift’ him with his second loss in one night.
The intricacies behind the booking of the storyline is unprecedented. If this was a method utilized to pit Ricochet and Rusev in a match for the next PPV, then Rusev should pick up the win since he just returned to in-ring competition.
It’s quite facetious that Maria chose two male superstars who have girlfriends/wives in the business to be the father of her baby. With Ricochet dating Kacy Catanzaro and Rusev married to Lana, this match may not sit too well with them.
However this storyline pans out, expect this it to get a lot of backlash if it’s not implemented appropriately in the weeks to come.
Prediction: Rusev
King Corbin vs. Chad Gable [Grudge Match]
Baron Corbin defeated Chad Gable in the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament to become King of the Ring. During Corbin’s coronation on the last SmackDown Live, he decided to be a sore winner and make short jokes on Chad Gable.
Yes, it’s understandable that Gable came up ‘short’ and is a ‘little’ bit upset about losing to Corbin. Yes, it’s understandable that it will be difficult for Gable to hold his head up ‘high’ after said loss, especially since many have ‘overlooked’ Gable in his entire career.
However, it’s also understandable that this is the WWE and not the fifth grade. These aforementioned jokes were orated by King Corbin himself and it evidently didn’t sit too well with Gable.
It seems that their feud is far from over and they will most likely battle at Hell in a Cell to settle their feud for good. If this match occurs, King Corbin will most likely continue his momentum as King of the Ring and end Gable’s momentum, despite Gable’s willingness to prove that small guys like him can succeed with hard work, technique, and perseverance. Cheers to the bodybuilding fetish in the WWE.
Prediction: King Corbin
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (w/Sami Zayn) vs. Ali [Intercontinental Championship]
At WWE Elimination Chamber 2019, Ali was scheduled to be in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match. However, thanks to Randy Orton giving him a black eye, he was unable to compete and was replaced by current WWE Champion Kofi Kingston.
At WWE Money In The Bank 2019, Ali was very close to grabbing the Money In The Bank briefcase. However, he was screwed by current number one contender for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar, who entered the ladder match at the last-minute to become Mr. MITB.
In the King of the Ring Tournament, Ali was looking forward to rewriting his story by finally winning something monumental in his career. However, he unfortunately lost to Elias in the second round of the tournament.
On SmackDown Live last month, Ali pinned the current Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. This victory should have guaranteed Ali a future title shot at SummerSlam, but he is now on his quest to get that title shot and hopefully win the Intercontinental Championship from Nakamura.
Surprisingly, Nakamura has already retained the championship against Apollo Crews and The Miz. With Nakamura being a transitional champion while former Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor took a two-month vacation, it’s only a matter of time until he loses the championship.
Considering that the WWE always seems to have big plans for Ali but not follow through with them, the time to deliver on any plans for him should be now before his babyface popularity plummets some more. For a small man who got called up from 205 Live to the main roster, it is ineluctable that Ali will have a difficult time rising in the ranks of the WWE. However, stars can’t shine without darkness and Ali will hopefully be the ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel.
Prediction: Ali
AJ Styles (c) vs. Cedric Alexander [United States Championship]
It has been heavily rumored that Vince McMahon wants to bury Cedric Alexander, another Superstar who got called up from 205 Live to the main roster.
Alexander not only decisively lost that championship match at Clash of Champions, but also lost a 6-Man Tag Match with the Viking Raiders against The O.C. on the following Raw. To put even more icing on the cake, Styles delivered an Avalanche Styles Clash to Alexander after that match to assert his dominance as United States Champion as well as his superiority to Alexander.
It will be interesting to see how this feud continues over to Hell in a Cell because it now seems unthinkable for Alexander to ever win a championship due to the way he has been booked lately. If they are somehow planned to have a championship match at Hell in a Cell, he will unfortunately come up ‘short’ like most of the Cruiserweights on the main roster. There’s no doubt that Styles will be holding onto the United States Championship for a very long time, no matter who crosses his path.
His determination and never-say-die attitude makes the championship feel prestigious. The United States Championship desperately needs that after its continual irrelevancy for many years. While Vince McMahon continues implementing his body building fetish in disfavor of the cruiserweight division, Styles will be calling everyone’s momma because he now has an odd maternal fetish, which he facetiously continues to make known in his backstage exclusive interviews with the O.C.
Prediction: AJ Styles
Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Viking Raiders vs. The O.C. [Raw Tag Team Championships]
Remember that ‘too sweet’ time when AJ Styles, Gallows and Anderson were all champions on Monday Night Raw? That was a good time in WWE, but it was ruined a month ago when an illegitimate tag team, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, dethroned The O.C. to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions.
To facilitate even further damage to the WWE tag team division, another illegitimate tag team, Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, defeated seven legitimate tag teams to become number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships and later dethrone Rollins and Strowman at Clash of Champions.
To make matters even worse, Braun Strowman, who is no longer in a tag team with Rollins decided to crash a Tag Team Championship Summit last week on Raw. Unless Strowman is bringing back Nicholas or SNL’s Colin Jost to be his tag team partner, this was an unnecessary instance that spurs no storylines for either of the tag team championships going forward.
With The O.C. and Viking Raiders battling week by week, they will most likely and hopefully be involved in the Raw Tag Team Championship picture since they are legitimate tag teams. A legitimate tag team should hold onto the Tag Team Championships, so Roode and Ziggler should not retain.
Since the Viking Raiders have been associated with the supposedly buried Cedric Alexander lately, they will most likely not win the championships yet and remain strong in this bout without getting pinned. Considering that Gallows and Anderson were robbed of a lengthy championship reign, they should win this match to continue their momentum as well as their momma jokes with Styles as the top faction on the flagship show of Monday Night Raw.
Prediction: The O.C.
The Revival (c) vs. The New Day [SmackDown Tag Team Championships]
At Clash of Champions, The Revival dethroned The New Day to become the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions. The Revival is now the first ever tag team to have become NXT Tag Team Champions, Raw Tag Team Champions, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions in their career.
On top of that, as the record books show, The New Day has yet to defeat The Revival onscreen in two-on-two action. However, this record is bound to change very soon. With Xavier Woods dealing with a knee injury in kayfabe and Kofi Kingston inevitably losing his WWE Championship to Brock Lesnar on Oct. 4, Kingston will be free to team up with Big E and help his brothers win back the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WWE Hell in a Cell.
It would be a respectable consolation prize for Kingston after losing his coveted WWE Championship to The Beast. It would also be a great way to show how Kingston can bounce back from a big championship loss to delivering a monumental championship victory against Revival for the first time ever with his brethren.
Considering that Kingston pinned Scott Dawson last week on SmackDown Live in a six man tag team match, it would not be too far-fetched to see The New Day get their well deserved championship rematch. With no WWE Championship match occurring at Hell in a Cell thanks to Brock Lesnar, expect Kingston to return to the tag team division with The New Day as they become seven time tag team champions at Hell in a Cell.
Prediction: The New Day
Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross (c) vs. IIconics [Women’s Tag Team Championships]
Since Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are looking forward to breaking IIconics’ title run record and becoming the longest reigning women’s tag team champions, they should battle The IIconics one more time before they do so at Hell in a Cell. As Billie Kay would iconically say: “You’ve got to be joking me.”
It is more likely that fans would like to see a crazy freak and elegant goddess feuding due to their distinct mind sets and world views. Hopefully, this all culminates by Mania 36, where Cross and Bliss drift apart and could eventually settle the score.
As for now, they remain a unit and will most likely hold onto those championships for a very long time until a more formidable women’s tag team comes along to dethrone them. With IIconics embarrassingly getting eliminated first in a fatal four way elimination tag match to lose their Women’s Tag Team Championships and missing in action since SummerSlam, they have no chance in ‘hell’ of winning back the women’s tag team championships, and Bliss and Cross should thereby be the safe bets to retain.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper [Tag Match]
At Clash of Champions, Erick Rowan defeated Roman Reigns with assistance from Luke Harper. It was clear from its inception that the attempted murdering of Reigns was not a one-man job, and it’s now even clearer that the bludgeoning has only just begun.
No matter what the naysayers proclaim, Daniel Bryan is and will forever be a man of gravitas. He told everyone that he was an innocent bystander during these heinous activities and he will remain an innocent bystander until proven guilty.
Considering that Erick Rowan and Luke Harper destroyed Reigns and Bryan on the last SmackDown Live, expect these four Superstars to have a brutal tag team match at Hell in a Cell. Many may say that Bryan would turn his back on Reigns and join Harper and Rowan to convey that he was the mastermind behind this scheme.
However, it looks like Bryan has become a full-fledged babyface through this storyline and won’t be turning heel anytime soon. Although attempted murder of any individual could be used as a means of population control to solve the overpopulation problem today, it is far beyond Bryan’s character to go that far in saving the environment.
It would make sense for Rowan and Harper to continue their momentum from Clash of Champions with a victory at Hell in a Cell. They would be ideal candidates for tag team championship opportunities after a big victory.
However, Hell in a Cell is perfect PPV for this feud to end and justice can feasibly be served with a solid babyface victory by Reigns and Bryan. Both Reigns and Bryan need retribution for what was done; Reigns’ loss to Rowan at Clash of Champions and Harper’s return explains why his retribution was delayed until he eventually shares it with Bryan in this foreseen tag match.
Prediction: Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon [Hell in a Cell Match]
After losing to Kevin Owens at SummerSlam, Shane McMahon has made Kevin Owens’ time on SmackDown Live a living hell. He fined Owens for putting his hands on special guest referee Elias during their SummerSlam match, screwed Owens out of the King of the Ring Tournament against Elias in the first round and unceremoniously shoved and fired him since Owens didn’t help him as the special guest referee to defeat Chad Gable and advance to the King of the Ring Tournament Finals.
Since Owens put his hands on special guest referee Elias at SummerSlam and Shane McMahon put his hands on special guest referee Kevin Owens on SmackDown Live, Owens decided to sue Shane McMahon for his misleading and hypocritical actions. Owens feels that beating Shane McMahon up wasn’t sufficient and he must target what hurts him the most: his wallet.
Expect this feud to culminate in a match at a PPV where these two superstars have a lot of history. Owens and Shane had a Hell in a Cell match in 2017, when Owens won the match thanks to Sami Zayn’s ‘guardian angel’ rescue.
With Owens reportedly refusing to go to Saudi Arabia in support of his best friend, Sami Zayn, expect him to pick up a loss before WWE goes to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 31. Also, since Owens won that HIAC match against Shane in 2017 as well as their match at SummerSlam, it’s very plausible that 50:50 booking will be implemented for the ‘best in the world’ Shane McMahon to come out the winner of this match. As for the lawsuit, we all know that “the best in the world” will find his way out of that.
Prediction: Shane McMahon
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Bray Wyatt [Universal Championship: Hell in a Cell]
At Clash of Champions 2019, Seth Rollins slayed the monster to retain his Universal Championships. He is now scheduled to battle ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt at Hell in a Cell, where he could be in for a rude awakening.
Hopefully, Rollins does not slay ‘The Fiend’ too. Hell in a Cell is The Fiend’s playground, and that is the worst place for him to lose any match, whether it be conclusive or inconclusive.
This match undoubtedly needs to end in a clean Bray Wyatt victory. This superstar has surpassed all of the fans’ expectations when it comes to his gimmick and this is another situation in which WWE must strike while the iron is hot.
However, the iron is not just hot; the iron is actually causing a fire and the fire extinguisher is not enough to put it out. That’s what Hell in a Cell is all about, and the foregone conclusion is Bray Wyatt for Universal Champion.
Seth Rollins’ babyface momentum has simmered in the eyes of the common viewer and he definitely needs a break from the title picture before he starts getting booed like his Shield brother, Roman Reigns, was booed for the past four years.
There have also been plenty of rumors of The Fiend vs. The Beast for Survivor Series in a Universal Champion vs. WWE Champion match. This sounds like an exciting main event and should be in WWE’s plans after the draft in October.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt