WWE: Hell in a Cell 2009

1 rating: 3.0

Hell in a Cell was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on October 4, 2009 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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The ultimate feud settler became just another event.

Oct 15, 2011

by Madpenguin
posted in WHAT CAN I SAY?

Rating:

I never thought the day would come. In fact, it never crossed my mind. But WWE decided to create an entire event based on their ultimate feud settler Hell in a Cell(HINC). When I first heard the news, I couldn't believe that they were hijacking TNA's(Total Non Stop Action) Lethal Lockdown ppv, which is an all steel cage event. But they instead only booked the hottest rivalries. I was also very skeptical of the move, because I wondered how they were going to pull off such a brutal gimmick event with its new kinder and gentler attitude.

An event like this would be difficult to pull off indeed, because several steel cage matches have been bloody throughout the years. However, I still came into this with an open mind, and I was willing to suspend belief but so far. I will say that the HINC matches were pretty good. But the entire card was put together in an awkward manner. Therefore, several matches were severely damaged, because those regular matches couldn't follow the cage bouts.

1) World Heavyweight Championship: Hell in a Cell
CM Punk(C) vs. Undertaker

This match will be memorable for several reasons, but there's a few I won't mention. First, a ppv has never opened up with a HINC match. Second, I can't remember the last time Undertaker opened up an event. That was strange all by itself. Anyway, I was really looking forward to this bout, because I enjoyed the build up leading to it. Plus, when Taker is chasing a title, you're almost always guaranteed to get a very good match.

The ring psychology was there with Taker dominating for a little while. CM Punk implemented smart tactics to cut down the Deadman, which delivered good inring storytelling. This set up a good portion of counters and the overall action was beyond passable. CM Punk also took a sick Last Ride. The match was very entertaining and the crowd was heavily into it.

Now, this is the problem I have with it. As a regular match it was pretty good. But as a HINC match, I don't think it completely came off as the ultimate feud settler by a long shot, in comparison to every single HINC match that has taken place before this. In the end, it felt like a regular match and nothing more. Also, the short length due to Taker's health issues didn't really help things either. 3.5/5

2) Intercontinental Championship
John Morrison(C) vs. Dolph Ziggler

For the past few months coming into this, WWE had restored quite a bit of credibility to the IC title. On ppv, it truly lived up to its namesake as "The Workhorse Title", and the titles credibility continued to be restored. These two were surprisingly given a good amount of time to work here. They completely went against the grain by not delivering an immediate spot fest. They kicked the match off with some decent chain wrestling and it gradually began to pick up.

Once the match appeared to over stay its welcome. I began to understand the story that was being told. Both guys came out looking good, and Morrison shows that his charisma is every bit as flashy as his moves list. This is a very good match that doesn't cater too much to the spot fest crowd. 3.75/5

3) Divas Championship
Mickie James(C) vs. Alicia Fox

The first bomb of the night. Creative attempted to build up Fox as somewhat of a threat. But she was way too green to be in high profile matches just yet. Yes, I understand Beth Phoenix was very green two years before this, when they put the belt on her. But at least she had her strength as a major selling point. Fox didn't have much then, and she still doesn't have much now.

This match had some decent moments with some good take downs and beliveable offense. But the chemistry wasn't there, and Mickie is clearly not as great as she used to be back around in 06, or maybe she just couldn't carry this girl. The highest point was the Tornado DDT at the end. But it was hard to tell if it was either botched, or Fox just sold it very well. 2.5/5

4) Unified Tag Team Championship
Chris Jericho & Big Show(C) vs. Rey Mysterio & Batista

Two reasons why I didn't get into this match immediately. 1) Rey's offense wasn't believable in the beginning. 2) The commentary straight up sucked. WWE really needed to go back to using a heel bias commentator. I never realized how bad a match could be without it.

The match had its good points, but Jericho played the spot monkey for too long. Batista got in some work and was dominant for a little while. But something has to be wrong when both heels are being cheered over him. I thinkWWE actually took notice of that, due to Batista's actions in the following ppv. Well any way I look at it. This was an entertaining match, and is one of the best up to this point. Some real good spots with a very believable ending. 3.75/5

5) WWE Championship: Hell in a Cell
John Cena(C) vs. Randy Orton

I think out of all the matches using the HINC gimmick. This could have probably been the only one actually called for. Since these two have feuded over a two year period. However, since the feud continued after this. I didn't really see much sense behind it.

Something that all Cena matches have in common. They start out very dry, but turn into something later. The chemistry was there. These two fought very well, and there were some good finisher kick outs. The match had a title bout feel, but it had the same feel as the opening bout. It simply didn't feel like a HINC match. The tactics that were used could have been done in a No Holds Barred Match.

If this match did anything well. It was in the development and use of Orton's "Viper" character. This match put him over as a murderous individual that will do anything to try and get the win. The ending to this match was sick but very effective. 3.75/5

6) R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre

What the hell were the bookers smoking? This match should have been the opening bout. There was no way this could have followed the two Championships, IC Championship, or Unified Tag matches and it showed. The crowd turned on this almost right away.

Neither one of these guys had any real star power. The proof was in the very fact that no one popped for R-Truth's very predictable, and played out moves list(I was happy to see that). Plus, there were boring chants when ever Drew did anything. The action was somewhat, sort of, kind of half way decent with some cheap brawling and grapples. But nothing special really took place here. This match would have been a dud even if it wasn't put on so late. 2.25/5

7) Triple Threat for the US Championship
Kofi Kingston(C) vs. The Miz vs. Jack Swagger

For those who don't know. A Triple Threat is a three man one fall bout.

I didn't think it could happen, but Swagger had fallen quite a bit since arriving on the RAW roster. Around this time, he was being used poorly, and he hadn't seen a great match since his feud with Christian blew over many months before this. But getting to the match. This was another one that was hurt really bad for being so late on the card.

This followed the typical formula of the heels working together to take out the babyface, which happens to be Kofi. Eventually, the heels did self destruct and they tried to pound each other. The match was pretty boring until it finally became a free for all. There were some good multi-man spots and near falls. This one wasn't predictable and I was surprised by the end. 3.25/5

8) Tag Team Hell in a Cell
DX(Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. Legacy(Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase)

The final HINC and match on the card. And it's not for any belts? I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this coming on last. But I have to give credit where it's due. There was no better way to cap off the show.

The divide and conquer theme was in full force once again. Legacy damn near broke DX into pieces early, and this shaped up into a squash of epic proportions. This match was brutal in many ways. They delivered action in many forms, and Legacy once again proved that they can take it to DX pretty strong. The last few minutes leading up to the end, and the ending itself is chaotic. I will admit that the match was predictable though, and one superstar was put over as being way too dominant. But I think the action made up for it.

In retrospect, I no longer like this match the way I used to. But I still find lots of enjoyment in it. Plus the rivalry itself was great, and this is among my favorite matches of 2009. Match of the night for me. 4.25/5

Overall, Hell in a Cell was WWE's best event for awhile by this point. But it still paled in comparison to both Backlash 09 and No Way Out 09. However, I still recommend this event as a rental. WWE proved they can deliver at least one very good HINC match without the use of blading. But this event should be scrapped immediately before HINC becomes another one of those, "what's the big deal?" matches. In my eyes, HINC should be very rare and used only when the situation really dictates. I hope they haven't decided already to cram this down our throats every year or it will lose its appeal.

The extras only consist of the main event aftermath with someone leaving on a stretcher.

Pros:
-Great event, title matches are very watchable.

Cons:
-Awkward booking, two matches shouldn't have been here

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