WWE Hell in a Cell: Charlotte, Sasha Banks produce Match of Year contender
Anderson, Gallows, Kendrick back on winning trail
By David Ruse
Last Updated: 01/11/16 12:26pm
There's a new contender for WWE Match of the Year and a key win for a cruiserweight... the take homes from Hell in a Cell.
Banks, Charlotte wow Boston
WWE showed tremendous faith, quite rightly, in Sasha Banks and Charlotte, not only by placing them in the maiden women's Hell in a Cell Match but also allowing them to main event Sunday's extravaganza in Boston. It's just as well they did - nothing could have followed the sensational see-saw tussle that The Boss and The Nature Girl put on inside TD Garden, the inaugural women's bout to close one of WWE's main roster pay-per-views.
Charlotte and Banks have been competing against each other since their days in NXT and that familiarity showed during a clash high on quality, emotion and eye-catching spots. Banks was powerbombed through the announce desk, Charlotte tumbled through a table and both were blasted into a steel chair, but the wrestling was exceptionally smooth, too, with Banks' triple vertical suplex, a trubute to her idol, the late Eddie Guerrero, a particular highlight.
The competitors had the crowd in Banks' hometown of Boston in the palm of their hand, from the moment Charlotte viciously ambushed her rival before the Cell was lowered into place and left doubts over whether the encounter would take place, to the moment Ric Flair's daughter nailed a match-ending Natural Selection. Charlotte, now 13-0 in singles bouts at PPVs, may have departed with the Raw Women's Title but both were winners - and may yet win Match of the Year. If Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens' Battleground ding-dong had that accolade, it might have just lost it.
Rollins falls short again
The sub-header of this section seems a tad harsh because while Seth Rollins failed to prise the Universal crown from Owens, it was, as has become customary, only outside interference that prevented him from doing so, with Owens' bosom buddy, Chris Jericho, sneaking into the Cell following an injury to an official to dash Rollins hopes of nabbing a third world title in WWE.
Dean Ambrose scuppered Rollins' pursuit of a long reign with the WWE World Title when he deployed his Money in the Bank contract in June and a combination of Triple H, Jericho and a stricken referee have stopped him nabbing the Universal strap - though The Architect can console himself slightly following Hell in a Cell, as his powerbomb on Owens, which sent the Canadian through two tables, was an undoubted moment of the night.
Gallows, Anderson and Kendrick secure morale-boosting wins
Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Brian Kendrick are supremely talented and vastly experienced wrestlers but it's probably fair to say they were floundering a little heading into Hell in a Cell - Gallows and Anderson had been continually foiled in their bid to win New Day's tag straps, while Kendrick had been unable to land Raw's cruiserweight crown from TJ Perkins.
Yet, Sunday provided a timely boost for the veterans - Anderson and Gallows dispatched fan favourites Enzo Amore and Big Cass to suggest perhaps now is the time for them to dethrone The New Day, while Kendrick leaned even further to the darkside when he taped Perkins' wrists to the ropes and faked a knee injury en route to becoming king of his division. All three have now become a whole lot more interesting.
New Day survive - again
Raw Tag Team Champions Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston keep on rolling along - though they came within a whisker of losing their hardware on Sunday night. With Woods caught in Cesaro's Sharpshooter and left with no choice but to tap out, it seemed their 430-day-plus reign would come to a grinding halt and that Cesaro and Sheamus would claim the twin straps.
Fortunately for The New Day, the referee had witnessed Kofi Kingston attacking Sheamus seconds earlier and called for the bell to be rung because of that and not Woods' submission. You can now add Kingston to long a list of reasons, which includes Woods' trombone Francesca II and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart, why New Day remain kingpins of Raw's tag division.
WWE Hell in a Cell booking details
WWE Hell in a Cell will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) between 10am on Monday, October 31 and 10pm on Thursday, November 3.
The show costs £14.95 for customers in the United Kingdom and €21.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland, and can be booked in the following ways:
ONLINE: Visit this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/?DCMP=hellinacell
PHONE: UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Hell in a Cell, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
REMOTE
Sky+: Press the box office button on your remote, then click the sports tab followed by WWE Hell in a Cell.
Sky Q: Press Home on your Sky Q remote, select TV guide, then Box Office and the WWE Hell in a Cell. Enter your TV Pin if prompted. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
