WWE Hell in a Cell 2021: Predicting the winners for every match

This Sunday, WWE will present the 13th edition of their Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, the final one that will take place inside WWE’s Thunderdome in Tampa, Fla. The company will mark the occasion with this six-match card that features three championship bouts and two that will occur inside the structure the event is named for.

The final results for most of these matches seem straightforward, but given how erratic WWE’s decision-making can be, especially on a B-level PPV, pinning down what will ultimately happen once the show starts is a challenge.

In a way, though, that makes predicting the outcomes more fun (sometimes more so than actually watching these shows). So, let’s not waste any more time.

These are the predictions for WWE Hell in a Cell 2021

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre- Last Chance Hell in a Cell Match (WWE Championship; if McIntyre loses, he will never wrestle for the WWE Title as long as Lashley is Champion)

Thank goodness WWE added that “Last Chance” stipulation to this match because fans have grown exhausted by this program. Lashley vs. McIntyre represents WWE’s inability (if not lack of interest) in more than one top babyface. They could’ve found some new opponents for Lashley before going back to McIntyre, but their lack of faith in anyone else has led to them running this program into the ground.

The stip also telegraphs who will win. While it would’ve been nice to see Lashley get a chance to have a legitimate title run with a variety of opponents, it feels like WWE has used the little patience it has holding off on moving the title back over to McIntyre. Plus, the company likely wants the belt back with McIntyre once they move back to a live touring schedule.

Prediction: Drew McIntyre pins Bobby Lashley, wins WWE Championship

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (Raw Women’s Championship)

Who is supposed to be the babyface in this story? Given that WWE pipes in boos for both women every week and has scripted them to come across as less-than-likable, they seem to be as confused as the fans are.

Making matters worse, Vince McMahon and his creative team haven’t made this match feel like a clash between two of the top women’s wrestlers on Raw. Instead, they have made Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley look like fools who either forget the rules of the match they’re competing in or become too distracted in their respective matches with Nikki Cross. Apparently, having Flair and Ripley win matches prior to the PPV was too difficult.

Ripley SHOULD win this match and get a chance to find her groove as champion, but much like in the WWE Title match, the opportunity to hand the title back to Flair will be too hard for them to resist. You know, because it makes more sense to go back to the familiar as opposed to going all-in on a young star.

Prediction: Charlotte Flair pins Rhea Ripley, wins Raw Women’s Championship

Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley- Hell in a Cell (SmackDown Women’s Championship)

A SmackDown Women’s Champion on the rise and the woman who held that title longer than anyone are set to battle once again and the writers chose to center the build around a laugh.

This is the company that purports to produce “sophisticated” programming. Even with them adding the Hell in a Cell stip and booking an effective brawl on the go-home SmackDown, it feels like it’s too little, too late.

Anyway, WWE stretched this program out an extra month to compensate for the lack of depth in the SmackDown women’s division. That scarcity may entice WWE to book a title change to extend this even further until Sasha Banks returns. However, giving Belair a big win inside the cell would cement her as the top star in the women’s division is the move to make here.

Prediction: Bianca Belair pins Bayley, retains SmackDown Women’s Championship

Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler

As bad as scripting Shayna Baszler to be afraid of a cheap doll was, the possibility of Alexa Bliss no-selling Shayna Baszler’s offense before picking up the win would reinforce how much of an all-time bad program this is.

With this story, WWE intended to establish Bliss as such a threatening force that even the terrifying Baszler is taken aback by her, but the combination of Bliss not possessing the required menace to pull off this character and the cheesiness of the “supernatural events” have caused the promotion to fall well short of that goal.

It won’t stop them from pushing through and putting Bliss over, though. They (hopefully) may not go as far as to have her brush off Baszler’s attacks, but that won’t affect the result.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss pins Shayna Baszler

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro

With Cesaro winning the previous two meetings, having “The Architect” get a win back seems like the route WWE will go with this one. However, SmackDown’s all-heel slate of men’s singles champions gives him little place to go in terms of a fresh opponent if he gets his hand raised.

Then again, they’ll probably have another match at Money in the Bank, so Rollins will probably pick up the W to keep this going. If nothing else, the match should be great.

Prediction: Seth Rollins pins Cesaro

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

As fun as it is watching Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens wrestle each other, is this latest iteration of their longstanding rivalry going anywhere? It feels like WWE is spinning their wheels with these two until they shake up the rosters, which means Owens and Zayn will have at least one more match following this one.

KO won the last two matches in this latest stanza of the saga — via pinfall at WrestleMania 36 and via countout on SmackDown — so look for Zayn to get a cheap win here.

Prediction: Sami Zayn pins Kevin Owens