WWE Hell in a Cell 2016 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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What we learned and what the future holds following the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Sunday night from Boston

As the year comes to a close here in 2016, it’s just about time to get set for one of the “Big Four” pay-per-views with Survivor Series taking place in November featuring one of the most anticipated rematches in quite some time (depending on who you talk to). However, before we get there, the RAW brand took center stage on Sunday night with the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

This was a show that showcased three main events that took place inside the devious cell, including a match that was carried by two talented women who were out to make history.

Now that the show has come to a close, where do we stand?

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Rusev – WWE United States Championship

What we learned: At the moment, Roman Reigns and Rusev are embroiled in one of the more talked about rivalries in the company, good or bad. However, the exciting part when watching these two compete against one another is realizing that as time goes on, this could turn into one of the better rivalries that wrestling has had in quite some time.

These two are just great together when you put them in the ring battling one another, and Sunday night with the stakes raised a little more with the match being inside the cell, they delivered an entertaining, brutal bout again. Could these two over the years produce a rivalry the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock, or even John Cena vs. Randy Orton for that matter? Maybe, maybe not, but this isn’t the last we’ll see of these guys trying to rip each other apart limb from limb. They’re two of the biggest up-and-comers in WWE right now, and we’ll see them many times in the future brutalizing themselves — more than likely for the top belt on the brand.

What’s next?: Well, with Roman and Rusev feuding for months now, and with the match on Sunday taking place inside the cell, traditional logic would tell you that the feud is over with Roman getting the win here and remaining champ. But, this is WWE we’re talking about, where traditional logic never really plays a hand in decision-making all that much. We very well could see this feud continue in some form or fashion at Survivor Series, possibly as part of one of the multi-man matches that are planned where they would have to figure out how to co-exist.

But, after the show on RAW Talk, Reigns did allude to the possibility that he might be gearing up for another run at the Universal title, so Monday night on RAW will tell us a lot about where the “Big Dog” is headed, presumably.

Bayley vs. Dana Brooke

What we learned: Yeah, what did we learn? We all learned –or were reminded, I should say– that we don’t want to see this feud anymore whatsoever. We all want bigger things for Bayley because of the way she’s stolen our hearts over the course of about the past two years, and constantly battling the still green Dana Brooke is not exactly feeding our need in that regard. The match was meh at best, but it stands to be noticed that they also did have to follow what was a pretty good Roman Reigns vs. Rusev opener. Still, even with the beloved Bayley in the bout, this is one match that we probably could have done without.

What’s next?: With Bayley obtaining the victory over Brooke, many are probably wondering whether or not it’s time for the hug queen to take aim at the WWE Women’s title.

Well — not just yet.

Wrestling fans are impatient, yes, but the fact of the matter is that all roads should lead to Bayley earning her first title at WrestleMania in Orlando next year. It seems like a long ways away, sure. But in the end that’s the best way to go with our favorite underdog.

So what do we do for the time being with our ultimate lady underdog? Well, hello there, Nia Jax!

Or, as we’ll talk about later, could a title feud right now actually work?

Anderson and Gallows vs. Enzo and Big Cass

What we learned: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows might not be dead in the water just yet! After weeks and weeks of being made to look pretty much like absolute jokes, the former New Japan stars and Bullet Club mainstays actually looked like a formidable tag team in WWE with the win over one of the most popular tag teams in the company.

For what it was, this match was pretty entertaining and the right team won. Enzo and Cass are so over with the people that they didn’t need the win here, but Anderson and Gallows needed this on Sunday night more than some probably imagine. We were thinking that Vince and WWE brass may have given up on them, but for one night at least we were reminded that this might not be the case at all.

What’s next?: It’s seemed inevitable for quite some time now that Anderson and Gallows will be the team to ultimately end the historic tag title run of The New Day, and after the outcome on Sunday night, that may still be the case after all. The only issue here is that there’s some time to kill before The New Day can break Demolition’s tag team championship record, so a title switch can’t happen immediately.

If I had to venture an educated guess, this feud will go on with the two teams having to find a way to work together at Survivor Series to help kill that time until Anderson and Gallows can pursue the tag titles once again — this time coming out successful.

Kevin Owens (c) vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship

What we learned: What a damn match, simply put. After this was over, we learned two things: 1) Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins are two of the best professional wrestlers on the planet right now and they should fight forever, and 2) That being said, this was easily the best match of Sunday night’s festivities.

Owens and Rollins went out there and stole the show, with KO walking out of that unforgiving cell with his beloved red belt in hand. Of course, yes, he was able to claim all the glory thanks to the help of his “best friend” Chris Jericho, but the screwy finish here can get a pass seeing as the Jericho-Owens union may be the best thing going in WWE today.

Seriously, though, if you have not seen Hell in a Cell and are only interested in watching one match, this one is it by a landslide.

What’s next: Again, this is tough to tell, because Survivor Series is coming into play yet again. Knowing nothing about Survivor Series at the moment is making it very hard to predict the future, and what makes it even harder was Jericho’s plea to Mick Foley to let Owens and Jericho lead Team RAW against Team Smackdown.

This is a request that may be granted by GM Foley, however, because that might be the perfect spot to pull the trigger on a Jericho-Owens split. We know that the eventual Triple H-Rollins feud is coming probably sooner rather than later (there’s no way they can wait until WrestleMania to have the first match between the two), so Owens will need something to do. That will be a title feud with his “best friend” to carry his title reign on RAW into 2017.

TJ Perkins (c) vs. Brian Kendrick – WWE Cruiserweight Championship

What we learned: There are times where WWE can see that something simply isn’t working, and when their eyes are opened to that factoid, they will go out and make the necessary changes.

The fact is that, for as talented as he is when he’s between the ropes and the bell rings, the TJ Perkins as WWE Cruiserweight Champion experiment just wasn’t working at all. It wasn’t connecting at all with the fans and a title switch desperately needed to be made, and it was on Sunday with the veteran Kendrick baiting his former buddy into the loss.

Brian Kendrick can still be one of the more entertaining and in-ring savvy wrestlers on the roster, and now he’s got some gold to go along with those traits.

What’s next?: Should Perkins get a shot at the title he just lost? Well, looking at the way he lost and that there’s always that “rematch clause” lingering, he probably will. But if they’re smart, they will just blow this return match off on RAW and be done with it.

Over the course of the past few weeks it’s become pretty clear that the real babyface breakout star of this new WWE Cruiserweight division is Cedric Alexander. He’s been a fan-favorite since the CWC and he’s managed to keep that momentum going on the main roster, which is an impresssive feat for anyone.

Kendrick should take are of Perkins soon so we can all enjoy Alexander chasing the dastardly, conniving champion for the strap.

The New Day (c) vs. Sheamus and Cesaro – WWE RAW Tag Team Championship

What we learned: Week after week and month after month we’re reminded that there is no way that The New Day are not breaking Demolition’s tag team title reign record. They’re just gonna keep rolling out wins until they get to that point and then, as stated earlier in this piece, they will give up the ugly straps they’ve held on to for over a year now. Sunday night, while WWE tried to make it look as dramatic as possible, Big E and Xavier Woods walked away victorious and the reign lives on.

Really, especially when you look at the placement on the card, this match was a filler and nothing more than that.

What’s next?: As also stated earlier, if the plan is to have Anderson and Gallows take the titles from the champs, then there’s still a little bit of time to kill. That being the case here, then another match between these two teams might be in order. Whether that’s at Survivor Series or on an episode of RAW remains to be seen, but expect these two teams to battle again and for the Sheamus and Cesaro comedy antics to continue.

Anderson and Gallows will get their crack at New Day — just not yet.

Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte – WWE RAW Women’s Championship

What we learned: Wow, there’s a lot to say about this one.

History was indeed made on Sunday night at Hell in a Cell with Sasha Banks defending her title inside the demonic structure against Charlotte to close out the night, marking the first time that two women have main-evented a WWE pay-per-view. This just a few weeks after these two closed out RAW.

From the onset, with the elaborate entrances and the dramatic lowering of the cell after the two women were in the ring, WWE did a downright amazing job of making this feel like the big deal that it was. You were made to feel as if you were watching history, which is the way it rightfully should have been.

Then the actual match happened.

The bout was all over the place and clustered, from the way-too-long stretcher job by Sasha right at the beginning to the shaky spots that the two women tried to pull off inside the cell. One that stands out the most is when Banks tried to put Charlotte through a table on the outside, but Flair hit the table in a manner in which instead of the table shattering it just — well, it just kinda collapsed.

Really, though, the biggest qualm about this historic event isn’t really all about the fact that Charlotte walked away with the belt –although, that was a head-scratching moment– rather it was the manner in which it ended. Sasha had sold the injured back all match, and it came to an end after Charlotte sloppily threw her into a table that was set up on the turnbuckle a few times then hit Natural Selection for the pin that no one expected at that moment.

WWE will give you the history that you wanna see, but in the end, they will find a way to screw it up and leave you royally pissed off one way or another.

What’s next?: I think, for the time being, we have seen enough of Sasha vs. Charlotte. That might seem like blasphemy to some, but it’s run its course for now. Over the course of their careers these two will end up having a rivalry for the ages, but every great rivalry needs a breather. It’s time for these two to take said breather.

The problem is, though, there’s no really credible female babyfaces on the RAW women’s roster at the moment to challenge Charlotte. In reality, Bayley is the logical choice, but we’ve already established that Bayley’s time should come next spring.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean Bayley is out of the running to challenge Charlotte right now. What you can do is have Bayley be the challenger to Charlotte, avenging the honor of her good friend Sasha. But as it will turn out, Sasha doesn’t want Bayley’s help, screws her out of the title against Charlotte and we get the heel “Boss” that deep down we all really want.

Over time, this will eventually give us the Sasha vs. Bayley WrestleMania bout we’re craving.

What did you think of WWE Hell in a Cell? What were some of your takeaways? Sound off to us in the comments below, and we’ll see you for Survivor Series!