Have you ever been a part of a team and had a game that normally wouldn't mean much, but from a momentum standpoint could mean everything for the team?
That was the situation for the WWE going into Sunday's Hell in a Cell Pay Per View. Having recently endured the lowest Raw ratings in years, the WWE limped into Sunday hinging their bets on 2 major matches. If the booking of those matches fell short of fan expectations, the company was potentially looking at dire times. However, for the first time in a while, the WWE hit on 16 and pulled a 5, giving us one of the best booked Pay Per Views in a long time. Let's talk about how it went down:
United States Championship - Daniel Bryan(c) vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison - Obviously, Bryan had to win. This was a match tailor made for him, and he just won the belt two weeks ago. Since this isn't that Attitude Era, I can't imagine pulling the trigger on a title change so soon, and in this case that's a good thing. This match was a solid opener, providing some pretty cool spots as well as a lot of interesting submission holds. If people embraced it, they could learn a lot about submission wrestling from watching this match. They could also learn that John Morrison comes to play on pay per views! Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about Miz tapping out again, but given the circumstances of the match, Bryan did have to win and Miz will certainly be able to bounce back. I still might have had Morrison be the one to tap, but he's a good guy getting a push so I get it. Miz is likely done with Bryan now, so it should be interesting to find out who will be next to contend for Bryan's belt. If a solid contender does no emerge, Daniel Bryan could fall out of favor VERY fast. I know a lot of people love him, but the feud with Miz made him. Not having Miz to feud with could break him.
WWE Championship - Randy Orton(c) vs. Sheamus - This match was better than I expected and was booked just fine. Sheamus looked tough and I think solidified his spot more than ever in this match, even in a loss. Orton comes off a bit too indestructible for my liking, but his character seems to have that aura surounding him. Clearly, the Fiery Red Hand of the Celtic Warrior wasn't the thing to bring down The Viper, but what will be? The guy is on the roll of his life, which is fine, but did he need to celebrate for 10 minutes after his win over a guy he already beat before? Cut the celebration out and I'm quite happy with the booking. Then again, if Orton actually sells some injuries from the cell, it would have opened the possibility of Miz cashing in, but that wasn't to be either. It's a shame, because I honestly don't know when that might happen at this point.
Alberto Del Rio Promo/Edge/Swagger into Edge vs. Swagger - I get that Del Rio is getting pushed, but he's really awkward speaking English. Plus, when you are using cheap heat tricks like belittling hometown heroes, you have nothing else good to say. I like his gimmick, but he needs to avoid the "typical heel" stuff in his promos. I did like Edge continues his "crusade to end all things stupid" and I like this character a lot better than the crap he's been portraying the last few months. The impromptu match was probably better than some of the other possibilities I suggested (though I do think ADR against Rey Mysterio will ultimately be solid when it happens), and I really like the way the match was booked. Swagger looked great while Edge ended up getting the win. Obviously, Edge is the more experienced guy, but Swagger looked like a threat for the first time in months. I think this was a good sign of things to come.
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - We all knew the stipulations going in and we all knew that the entire success of the Pay Per View and WWE's success moving forward was contingent on this match. If Nexus died, so too would ratings, at least in my opinion. Luckily, success was achieved here. After a pretty decent match, one that solidified Wade Barrett as a main eventer for a long time to come (he kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment and didn't tap to the STF), 2 assailants were able to foil the referee, knock out John Cena, and ultimately assist Barrett in getting the win. Excellent booking, as Nexus didn't actually interfere, but were able to find a way to help their leader win. I am so excited to see this story develop, and I think it has the potential to grow into the best story run by the WWE in a long, long time. When word gets out of this development, I think you'll see ratings jump back up for Raw, as many will want to see this story unfold, especially with the possibility of Cena eventually turning to the darkside. Kudos to the WWE on making the right decision here.
Unified Divas Title - Michelle McCool(c) vs. Natalya - Some may not like the booking in this one. I am not one of those people. I know it seems stupid to have Michelle get DQ'ed for Layla throwing a shoe, but think about the psychology behind it. Michelle was locked in a submission hold that she was about to tap out to. Layla, who is her insurance, couldn't physically get her body there before Michelle would have tapped, so thinking on her feet, she looks to her feet to help her friend hold on to the title. This successfully keeps the belt on the hottest female team while keeping Natalya looking strong as she looks to continue as an actual competitor in the Divas division (finally!) Natalya will be a champion someday, but the money is in a McCool/Phoenix feud, so the dreams of Natalya the champ will have to be put on hold for a while.
World Heavyweight Championship - Kane(c) vs. Undertaker - I am proud to be wrong on this one, mainly because I overlooked a major plot element that was staring me right in the face. My colleague, Mr. Kravit, reminded me that Paul Bearer was left for dead the last we saw him in the WWE. He was concreted to certain demise by the man he managed for years. At that time, Undertaker explained that Bearer was merely a liability and was unneccesary moving forward. Six years later, a weakened Undertaker drew power from an urn carried by a man he had seemingly killed years ago. If you think logically (which I know is hard for many WWE fans), you would have to question why Paul Bearer would return to help Taker in his weakened state. The answer is that he didn't. He saw a vulnerable Undertaker and tricked him into further demise. Now, Bearer may have his revenge on the man that tried to kill him, as he helped his son (remember when he was revealed as Kane's father?) with his master plan as it fit in perfectly with his own. The story was perfect, but the execution.........the execution was not. The Bearer turn was awkward at best and it came off weird and a bit cheesy. I hope the explanation is a lot better than the execution of the turn, because the story I just typed out sounds awesome, but watching it unfold wasn't so great on Sunday. I do believe the story still has a lot to offer though, and the turn itself should keep people tuning into Smackdown to find out where the story goes.
As far as booking was concerned, this show was written very, very well. The wrestling was average, with the Hell in a Cell PPV concept having basically no meaning, but this is an article about booking and that part was excellent. For the first time since the beginning of the Nexus story, Raw has an interesting centerpiece and it will be quite compelling to see which way the WWE ultimately goes with the story. Will Cena destroy the group from within? Will he do their dirty work, but ultimately be pushed too far? Will he be swayed to the dark side now that he is forced to join them? All are viable options, making this story very unpredictable. Couple that with a new twist to the Kane/Undertaker saga and you have very compelling television moving forward. This overlooked Pay Per View may have been just the thing to get the WWE moving in the right direction again. Isn't it amazing what creative booking can do for you?
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