WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 - Preview and Predictions.

It’s October and it’s Pay Per View time! Which can only mean one thing, Hell in a Cell 2013 is upon us! After a shocking PPV last month, things can only get better right?

With a card that isn’t really either here nor there, I’m hoping that the WWE can pull something out of the bag for this, one of the most anticipated events in the wrestling calendar. There’s one thing we’re hoping for though. As the sun rises on Monday morning, Randy Orton or Daniel Bryan will have lifted the WWE Championship once and for all.

Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs Big E Langston

2013’s Hell in a Cell PPV starts with a championship match against current Intercontinental Champion, Curtis Axel and Big E Langston. With this relatively new feud coming off the back of the CM Punk and ‘Heyman Guys’ ranting, this is the biggest push Langston has had since entering the main roster and becoming Dolph Ziggler’s right hand man. 

As Langston has gradually been pushed alongside the Straightedge Superstar, Heyman has taken to belittling Big E, taunting him as a “marginally talented rookie barely out of the NXT division.” And after Langston took it upon himself to come to Punk’s defence during a beating from the current Paul Heymen Guys, Axel is now in his sights and next in line to destroy. i think that it’s still too early in Big E’s career for him to gain his first championship and he has a little while to go, despite wanting to see the smile wiped off of the Paulrus’ face. Axel will probably keep his belt for now, but only through some help or interference from, well we all know who.

Prediction: Curtis Axel win.

Divas Champion AJ Lee vs Brie Bella

With 2 wins now behind her over the current Divas Champion, Brie Bella looks strong going into this title match. 

In true AJ Lee style, she has bagged herself a new ‘bodyguard’ in Tamina Snuka who has done all she can in recent weeks to keep the Divas belt around AJ’s waist. Her recent interference has caused nothing but bother to, not only Brie, but both the Bella twins. But as the playing field is now leveled, hopefully the best woman will win and walk away with the victory. 

A romantic at heart, there’s nothing I would like to see more than newly engaged Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan walk away with the biggest titles in the WWE women’s and men’s divisions to place on their mantlepiece.

Prediction: Brie Bella win.

WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins vs The Usos

The tag team division has been a little stale over the past few months, with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins holding the belts without any real or threatening competition from anyone else in the WWE roster. There was always one team, in form of The Usos, that were always going to be next in line for their championship chance. 

This was until 2 weeks ago, when newly re-signed Cody Rhodes and Goldust went up against The Hounds of Justice and, with the help of a pretty hilarious appearance from the Big Show, were crowned the new WWE Tag Team Champions. 

So, of course, like all title matches, there is always going to be that re-match. But this time it’s slightly different. With Rollins and Reigns the former champions they have obviously earned their place, but with The Usos being ‘Number 1 Contenders’ for the title before the belts were snatched away from under their noses, it seems only fair to add them into a whirlwind triple threat match.

The Rhodes brothers will be given as good as they’ve got by the opposing teams, but there is a passion and drive behind their eyes that we saw the day they won their jobs back at the WWE, despite best efforts from the authority. Evidently, from this, I think that the Rhodes’ can keep hold of their gold. That is, if there is no interference from these high and mighty ‘authoritative’ figures or maybe Big Show will rise his head ready for another bought of havoc.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes & Goldust win.

CM Punk vs Ryback and Paul Heyman (Handicap Hell in a Cell Match)

This is a storyline that should have been over a long time ago, but if it were, where would CM Punk fit into this mismatch that Triple H has created in the company. Therefore there is only one thing to do. Give Punk another chance to get his hands on former manager and best friend Paul Heyman, only this time he needs to finish the job good and proper. 

With CM Punk winning the right to choose his own stipulation, he now faces a 2 on 1 handicap match against Ryback and Paul Heyman (yes, we have been here before.) Something great needs to happen in order to entertain the crowd and the fans at home, but to be fair, this probably won’t be the end. Even with Big E Langston behind Punk and no doubt a great match being put on if last year’s Punk vs Ryback Hell in a Cell meeting is anything to go by, I just think that there is no way they can let this go without leaving Punk in limbo for a few weeks, if not months.

Prediction: Ryback and Paul Heyman win.

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio vs John Cena

So, Cena is back. After 2 months recovering from surgery on his tricep, the 2 time World Heavyweight Champion his back in action 4 months prior to professional advice. 

There had to be something really that was going to spice the World Heavyweight Championship storyline up a bit. With Alberto Del Rio sailing through each week and past PPV’s with no real competition, it will take someone like John Cena to unsettle things and exceed expectations from the locker room, management and WWE Universe.

All in all I think that it’s time that Del Rio ended his title run and Cena seems like the person to bring forward to do this. Although I have recently heard rumors regarding Damien Sandow’s involvement in this match up, and to be honest, they make sense. Thinking back to Battleground there was a huge open opportunity for Sandow to cash in his MITB contract after Del Rio beat RVD, which was ruined before the PPV even started by an injury he sustained in the Pre-Show match.So what better was for him to get another chance, cashing in on John Cena moments after the championship has changed hands. 

Del Rio’s run ends, Cena makes his early return without having to strain himself post-op with the Heavyweight Champion duties and Damien Sandow cashes in his contract.

Prediction: John Cena win.

Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan (WWE Championship Hell in a Cell Match)

This is the match we’ve all been waiting for, and probably the match we were waiting for during Battleground too.. But with the special guests referee chosen by the WWE Universe, HBK Shawn Michaels has promised that at the end of Hell in a Cell 2013, there will be a new WWE Champion! But how much can we trust him? This storyline has cleverly been cut right down the middle so that no one can really guess for sure which way the title will go with Michaels interference. As Daniel Bryan’s former trainer, Triple H’s best friend and a hatred for Randy Orton, will the Heartbreak Kid let his personal relationships influence his choices? Well it wouldn’t be a WWE PPV if he didn’t!

This storyline definitely needs to come to an end now, and I think this is the best way to do it whether the end result is a popular one or not. After a disappointing end to Battleground (and a quite frankly disappointing PPV as a whole) Big Show took it upon himself to lash out against the ‘Authority’ and knock out both Bryan and Orton, as well as the referee, resulting in a rematch inside the steel cage at Hell in a Cell. But with this being Daniel Bryan’s first time inside the cage, will this do Randy Orton any favours? I think that Bryan will surprise us. Despite his lack of experience inside the cage, this is an added element that can only make him stronger. And without the interference from The Shield, Big Show or any of the other ‘big names’ who will try and sabotage this match, both of these men will fight ‘til the very end to ensure they get their hands on that belt. That is, if the third man in the ring plays by the rules.

Although the old Randy is back with his vicious and sadistic determination and will completely thrive in the cell environment, I still think in the back of my mind that it’s Daniel Bryan’s time to shine. 

Prediction: Daniel Bryan wins.

WWE Battleground - 6 October 2013.

This months PPV, Battleground, was one that stood on the fence. With a mix of highly anticipated matches alongside a few that were a little give or take, I was a little unsure going into it whether it was really going to capture my attention or if I would be fast forwarding to the main matches I had mainly tuned in to see. 

One thing to point out before anything else, if you woke up this morning waiting to see who the new WWE Champion was going to be. There isn’t one. Another pat on the back to WWE for absolutely nothing. But all shall be revealed below.

Starting off with a match for the World Heavyweight Championship was Mr. PPV himself, 

Rob Van Dam, against the current champion, Alberto Del Rio. This hardcore match fell nicely into RVD’s favor and had me thinking that maybe now the time had come that Del Rio would loose the title. Despite the silly gimmicks and Ricardo Rodriguez controversially switching employers, the Del Rio story line has run dry and, since returning to the WWE at Money in the Bank this year after a highly anticipated comeback, the company hasn’t done much for Van Dam.

As expected, the chairs, ladders and trash cans flew throughout this match and both RVD and Del Rio looked stronger than ever at times. But even with an interference from Rodriguez, RVD was unable to end the streak of the current World Heavyweight Champion, Albertooooo Del Riooooo.

With both men pushing each other to the limit, Del Rio was struggling to even get out of the ring and back to the locker room. In my eyes, and many others, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Mr. Money in the Bank, Damien Sandow to strike, cash in, and gain that Heavyweight Championship. For a brief moment it was expected, but an injury gained during the Pre-Show match against Dolph Ziggler ment that it was probably a wise choice to save it for another day.

This match was followed by one that I’m guessing was thrown in last minute due to someone being ill, or an unexpected injury? Quite honestly, I’m not really sure what they’re trying to achieve with The Great Khali and Marella team apart from a bit of light hearted comedy and the chance to go and make a cup of tea. The only worthwhile part of this 7 minute match was seeing Antonio Cesaro perform the Cesaro Swing on the Great Khali, leading to a win for The Real Americans.

The next two matches consisted of Champions who retained their titles. With Curtis Axel defeating R. Truth for the Intercontinental Championship and AJ Lee defeating newly engaged Brie Bella. 

The Axel/R. Truth match came about after a rematch was granted due to an interference on last weeks Monday Night RAW where CM Punk’s mind games cost Curtis Axel the match. Axel may have been distracted by Punk’s entrance music last week but he was completely focused on the matter at hand tonight and got the job done. Obviously we saw interference of some sort during the match for the Divas Championship when Tamina appeared, grabbing Brie’s sister Nikki, causing a distraction that lead to AJ keeping her beloved belt.

Next was a match that I hadn’t initially been too bothered about, but ended up being one of, if not the best, match of the night. After a few weeks of appearances from different members of the Rhodes family on RAW it was finally time to conclude the story of their fate. In a match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins of The Shield, if Cody Rhodes and Goldust were to loose, both these brothers and their father, Dusty Rhodes would be banned from the WWE forever. 

This was a great match with such a mix of old and new coming from the two generations of Rhodes brothers. Putting aside their differences they worked together to break down The Shield who used every trick in the book to win. With ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes even getting in on the action, the Rhodes family defeated The Shield and secured their place back on the WWE roster, and Dusty in the NXT training school. As Cody hit the CrossRhodes on Seth Rollins, it was an emotional ending to a storyline that had definitely captured a lot of peoples hearts, and all three generations earned their place back where they truly belong. 

After weeks of taunting, Kofi Kingston was finally able to get his hands on Bray Wyatt. Obviously Wyatt took the victory, but I’m still not sure what is going on with this concept. There’s a lot of cryptic messages, weird goings on, I get that, but maybe they have dragged it out too long to find out what it is and why it’s happening. There seems to be something about the WWE at the moment where they are spending so much time and effort on the promotion of the build up of a new wrestler, but when they finally arrive they’re not really used for anything or, in this case, strung out until nothing better can be done.

Next up was a match that I had been waiting for since it had been announced. After defeating Curtis Axel last week on RAW, Ryback was next in line for the 'Best in the World' on his mission to get his hands on former manager and friend, Paul Heyman. The match started with both men showing promising signs of finishing the match early, but in the end it was Ryback who was on the brink of finishing. But with a turn of events, Heyman interfered in favour of the monster, taking the mic to distract Punk from the match. The referee clocked on early though and whilst his back was turned, Punk took a leaf out of his former managers book of cheats and shot a low blow into Ryback, knocking him out cold. At this moment the ref turned back around and counted 1,2,3 and giving Punk the win he so desperately wanted.
Although the match was entertaining, I feel it was a little anti climatic. There is always going to be a great show of wrestling when CM Punk is on the card, but there was something missing in this match. I just hope that Punk will finally get his hands on Heyman and claim back his 'Best in the World' title that was snatched from him last month by a loss against Paul Heyman at Night of Champions. If Punk can successfully end the third chapter of this saga and shut the Paulrus up once and for all, the world will be a better place.

Now the match that I had been waiting for the most all night, the main event for the WWE Championship between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. After Triple H had stripped the belt from Bryan after Night of Champions because of an apparent 'cheating' incident with the assistance of a rouge referee, both Orton and Bryan had been furiously battling it out for 3 weeks seeing the return of, what 'The King' would describe as Vintage Orton. There was so much hype already going into this match alone, more so than the whole PPV put together, so we were all anxiously waiting on the crowning of the new champion.
As expected the match was good, seeing both men go to their limits and giving all they had to show just who truly deserved that title belt in, hopefully, the last match in this war orchestrated by Triple H and the McMahon's. Personally, I think that there is no one more deserving of the title than Daniel Bryan who has fought long and hard, time and time again to prove just how much he craves it. There was always going to be a hurdle to just though and this is where WWE definitely let the fans and the wrestlers themselves down with another turn in this storyline that quite frankly had gone stale a while ago.
With Bryan looking favourite to win the match after a long and exhausting fight, of course the Big Show makes an appearance. Obviously under the orders of Stephanie and Triple H, who had left the arena earlier in the evening and left Brad Maddox in control of the night, he approaches the ring and knocks out Daniel Bryan in one swift blow. Thankfully, Big Show has seen the light and despite being under the thumb of the WWE management decides to carry on and do the right thing. With there being no referee now present, shady referee Scott Armstrong from the match at Night of Champions appears to count the one fall of Daniel Bryan and no doubt crown Randy Orton the new WWE Champion once again. Big Show sees the light and not only knocks out Armstrong but also Randy Orton leaving both men out cold in the ring and the Championship belt, still, up in the air and unclaimed.

There seemed to be a lack of excitement going into this PPV compared to the previous build up to Night of Champions and the highly anticipated November event, Hell in a Cell. With the general morale being quite low going into tomorrows episode of Monday Night RAW, hopefully someone will pull something out of the bag and give the fans what they’ve been waiting for. There’s no point in having a monthly PPV, if some are going to be better than others. Granted, there will always be your Wrestlemania and Money in the Bank, but fans shouldn’t have to sit through 3 hours of mediocre matches for the sake of 2 or 3 good ones. But hey, here’s to Hell in a Cell!