Hell in a Cell has come to a close, and the WWE PPV ended with a very hurt Cody Rhodes taking on Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match. The evening also featured a fantastic 6-person tag match and a triple threat for the Raw Women’s Championship between Asuka, Becky Lynch, and defending champion Bianca Belair. Check out the full results for the PPV below.
Taking place in the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, there were seven matches on the card–two of which were championship matches. Also, Kevin Owens took on Ezekiel in order to prove that Ezekiel is actually Elias, but in the end, did it really prove anything at all?
If you want to watch a replay of Hell in a Cell, you’ll need the streaming service Peacock. While the streaming service does have a free tier, you will not be able to watch the WWE event through that. You’ll need a Premium ($5 a month, with ads) or Premium Plus Peacock ($10 a month, no ads) account. Regardless of which tier you choose, there will be a few WWE-related ads throughout the show.
There are multiple ways to watch Peacock. Aside from watching it on mobile devices and on the PC, you can stream the service on Amazon Fire devices, Android TV, Apple TV, LG Smart TVs, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xfinity, and more.
Check out the match card below:
- Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell Match)
- Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (Raw Women’s Championship)
- Bobby Lashley vs. Omos & MVP (Handicap Match)
- Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens
- Finn Bálor, AJ Styles & Liv Morgan vs. The Judgment Day
- Theory vs. Mustafa Ali (United States Championship)
- Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin (No Holds Barred Match)
Below, you can check out a recent episode of GameSpot’s wrestling podcast, Wrestle Buddies. Mat Elfring predicts all the results for Hell in a Cell alongside his AI machine PredictionBot 3000 v2.0.
Kickoff Show
You can also watch the Kickoff Show as it airs above.
Main Card:
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
(Raw Women’s Championship)
Bianca Belair wins by pin.
Mat: If Hell in a Cell were the Met Gala, then Becky Lynch just stole the show. Side note: I know nothing about the Met Gala. People wear fancy clothes there, right? I think that’s what it is. I’m very excited about this match because these are my three favorite women in WWE at the moment, and I could have seen it in person, but I didn’t want to drive to Rosemont, sorry, “Chicago.”
This is a great way to kick things off right now, and so much so that I’m crying–that’s probably because the poke bowl I ordered is spicy as hell. Regardless, the train is moving on this one between spots and it’s incredibly fluid. There’s great showcasing for each person in the match–especially Asuka, which makes me so happy.
What this match did exceptionally well was it never made any of these three women weak. While Belair retaining made the most sense, it felt like anyone could have taken home the title. I kinda wish this went to Asuka–even if I’m a huge Lynch supporter–but I’m happy with the outcome and the finish. This one was a lot of fun.
7.5/10
Chris: It’s funny, I was literally just telling someone that Becky Lynch’s gimmick right now is “Met Gala Everyday.” That person wasn’t Mat, but I’m glad we’re on the same wavelength. Anyway, I appreciate the desperation Becky Lynch acts with these days. She’s cocky, but she’s dying to have her title back and is willing to fight dirty to make it happen. Meanwhile, Bianca Belair continues to appear as one of the absolute strongest women in the industry–and she is. But she’s not been shown to be a “weak” champion for any reason.
Then there’s Asuka. I love Asuka and am glad she’s back. The crowd loves her, her offense is always fun to watch. But at no point in the build to this did I ever view her as a possibility for getting the win. She was simply never positioned in such a way that made her seem like a threat to Belair. Perhaps, it would have been best if they let Asuka and Becky Lynch be a slow burn feud, keeping them both busy while Bianca went toe-to-toe with other women on the roaster before this triply threat happened at a bigger show.
Anyway, that’s all the story leading up to now. This match was a blast, even if Asuka mostly felt like she was in the “I’m also here” role, while the match focused on Becky and Bianca. Even still, all three delivered very exciting moments. Honestly, the double ankle lock spot was probably my personal highlight.
Bianca won, which wasn’t really in question. What bums me out about this, though, is that Asuka feels less than when it comes to both of these opponents. When you make Asuka feel less special, you’re doing something wrong.
7/10
Bobby Lashley vs. Omos & MVP
Lashley wins by submission.
Mat: MVP is not a good rapper. Can I make the whole review about MVP’s song about Bobby Lashley? It’s very bad and feels very dated, like from 1987. But is it bad to make me hate him? I can never hate you, MVP. You’re a delight. Anyway, I’m still sweating from my poke bowl. I got shrimp, tuna, and salmon. I’m really living dangerously because I live outside of Chicago and eating seafood. There’s a lot of food in it too, so I’m kinda stuffed after getting halfway through. Good stuff though.
My poke bowl: 7.6/10
Now, as for this match… My favorite thing about this match is that there’s a lot of nothing happening, and the crowd gave a huge pop for Lashley spearing Omos because “something happened.” Anyway, the match happened, and I got pumped about Lashley and Cedric Alexander maybe teaming up, but I want this Omos/MVP nonsense over with. The match was fine. I really enjoyed seeing Lashley super-over with the crowd. I like him a lot, but I just wish he was in a better story.
5/10
Chris: Please make it stop. Lashley deserves more than this long and pointless feud with Omos. Heck, MVP deserves more too. Also I still don’t enjoy Lashley’s new “pose like a trophy” entrance. Anyway, this is a lot like the match the two had last month, except MVP was there to take the loss this time out. I honestly don’t know what to say about this match, other than Lashley continues to be super popular with the crowd, which you love to see.
5/10
Ezekiel vs. Kevin Owens
Owens wins by pin.
Mat: Why do I love this stupid, stupid, stupid storyline so much? It’s stupid because it’s obvious Ezekiel is Elias’ brother. How hard is that to understand? The Chicago crowd also appreciates how silly this all is. I do wish Ezekiel was a bit more defined. He’s basically Jimmy Wrestleman.
Jokes aside, what’s the point of all of this? Owens beats up Ezekiel. Nothing happens. It’s a clean match that does nothing for either of these wrestlers, and the match itself was pretty bland. Sure, I laughed a bunch when Owens was screaming “Elias” in Ezekiel’s face, but this was a weird match.
5/10
Chris: Remember when Kevin Owens was feuding with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin literally two months ago and main evented Wrestlemania Night 1? I do too, what is going on here? The Ezekiel thing was funny for a couple of weeks. How on Earth is it still going on, though? While we’re at it, why are the announcers not talking about how Ezekiel is bleeding after taking a DDT? At least Kevin Owens won this match–and there was plenty of aggressive offense throughout–but I’m so ready for this feud to be over.
6/10
Finn Bálor, AJ Styles & Liv Morgan vs. The Judgment Day
Edge pins Bálor.
Mat: Chris loves Rhea Ripley. He’s said it a lot on the podcast. This is information you truly need to know. I enjoy me some stables, even if they feel a bit derivative. I also wish Morgan/Balor/Styles would come up with a name for their group: The Fabulous Threebirds, Fullofit Club, The Happy Campers. The name choices are endless.
A six-man (six-person?) tag match has the potential to break down into a chaotic mess, at any point of time. Yet somehow, it never does. Liv Morgan is one fire, and her spots with Ripley were fantastic, especially when Morgan hit Ripley with that crucifix slam(?). It’s something I’ve never seen performed like that. It’s great to see a little something new in a match–when almost everything has been done in wrestling at this point.
This was surprisingly a lot of fun and well done. It remained exciting throughout the entire match The finish was fantastic, with Ripley providing a bit of a distraction, and it really elevates this group, as another dominant stable in WWE.
8.5/10
Chris: I love Rhea Ripley. This is a feud that’s been going on for months, yet I continue to be intrigued because of how it’s evolved. The Judgment Day has grown its ranks, there’s a weird fake Bullet Club of three that’s formed. It’s all bonkers and fun. I love that this faction has given Rhea and Damian Priest something to do that’s different and keeps them in the spotlight week after week. Also, Edge’s haircut works for him.
My favorite part of this match was when Liv Morgan and Rhea got to mix it up because, honestly, they’re both incredibly talented and showed it. I’m so glad Morgan is getting a bit of the spotlight in the feud, asn she’s woefully underused most of the time.
AJ Styles is the second man tonight to get unintentionally bloody (and once again, the announcers ignored it). But it goes to show how much these people all threw at each other in what, thus far, is the match of the night. Judgment Day rightfully got the win and I’m pleasantly surprised they didn’t introduce a fourth member yet. This crew is still finding its groove and adding another face to the mix isn’t necessary just yet.
8/10
Madcap Moss vs. Happy Corbin
(No Holds Barred Match)
Moss wins by pin.
Mat: Really excited to see Bart Gunn get his revenge on WWE after the Brawl for it All. Wait, that’s not Bart Gunn? It’s Madcap Moss? Happy Corbin needs a new name change. I’m thinking “Feeling Betrayed Corbin” or “Content Corbin.” Just toss an emotion at the beginning of his name, and we’re all good, right?
Bless this Chicago crowd for getting really into some of these matches that just don’t have the umph to make most people care. There were some pretty cool, brutal moments during the match I enjoyed, but all-in-all, it really didn’t do much for me. Madcap isn’t interesting as a babyface. He’s bland. To be honest, he didn’t really win me over as Corbin’s lackey either. Moss wins and hopefully, this puts this rivalry to shame because it is not great.
4/10
Chris: But why is he still called Madcap Moss if he’s not the court jester? According to Merriam-Webster, madcap is defined as “marked by capriciousness, recklessness, or foolishness.” Instead, shouldn’t he now be known as something like Angry Boy Moss?
The match was fine, but weird. Madcap Moss, as a character, makes zero sense. He got the win, but what does that do for him? He still doesn’t seem like a credible threat to anyone except, maybe Happy Corbin. It certainly was a “no holds barred” match and had the brutality to meet the hype, but it felt pointless.
5/10
Theory vs. Mustafa Ali
(United States Championship)
Theory wins by pin.
Mat: Fun fact about Theory, Chris and I interviewed him during Wrestlemania weekend, and he was the nicest guy in the world. Also, he was a delight. That’s a double threat. Then, there’s Mustafa Ali, a great wrestler who took all the credit for hacking Smackdown and starting Retribution when it was clearly the man known as Smackdown Hacker–you should listen to our wrestling podcast.
Both of these men are extremely talented, and this match was a showcase of some of WWE’s top younger talent. The duo put on a clinic, with some fantastic moves, like the middle rope Spanish fly or the amazing tornado DDT. The issue with the match came from the ending. We got a repeat of Theory hitting the top rope top get Ali off of the turnbuckle. Theory got a win clean, but it was a bit jarring because it happened so quickly in what we perceived to be a sequence that was action-packed. All-in-all, it doesn’t really do much for either of these stars.
7/10
Chris: I love Theory, I really do. But he feels a bit lost in the mix, which is odd given that he’s technically the top title holder on Raw. Meanwhile, I also love Mustafa Ali and think he has what it takes to be a big star, if given the opportunity. That’s why I was hoping that he’d get a win here to showcase him a bit, plus give Theory something to do (find a way back into Vince McMahon’s favor after letting him down by losing the match).
Whatever the case, these are two wildly talented wrestlers looking to have their breakout moments. I don’t know that this match was it, though. It was a pretty good bout and WWE did its typical thing where the hometown hero has to lose. Still, there was an opportunity here to leave this a match people will talk about. Instead, the heel won clean. So there’s not even a reason for a rematch.
6/10
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
(Hell in a Cell Match)
Cody wins by pin.
Mat: Cody’s outfit makes him look like a circus ringmaster, and his pec looks screwed up. Oh man, that looks bad. I am not behind this. I do not like it. I am cringing at this. I seriously don’t want to see him get hurt any worse. The crowd isn’t behind this either. This is the moment WWE has gone too far. (Unless for some reason that we’ve all been worked–who knows anymore)
You can’t have a good match when the crowd is legitimately worried about your real-life well-being. Listen, we all love to watch good guys and bad guys beat the hell out of each other, but we still care about the people performing in the ring. And in no way do we actually want to see anyone “shoot hurt.”
I’m not rating this.
/10
Chris: Big ups to Seth Rollins rocking the Dusty dots. You love to see it. That said, the injury to Cody absolutely sucks. The bruising here is harsh and I honestly can’t believe WWE would let him in the ring like that, unless there’s some kind of quick shenanigans planned.
Honestly, this is uncomfortable to watch, seeing how bad Cody’s pec is. Corey Graves keeps talking about the “hush” that fell over the crowd when Cody takes his jacket off and that’s because, honestly, this seems like a bad idea. And clearly, Cody has been cleared by someone on the medical staff. But it doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t entertaining–it’s concerning.
The extra bummer on top of all of this is clearly, Cody and Seth had some very cool stuff planned. It seems they’re still doing most of it, just at a much slower pace. And ultimately, the crowd did get into it. All it took was a table to appear from under the ring. When in doubt, get the tables.
At a certain point, this turned into a bull rope match, which seems like a bad idea when you are already one-handed. Rollins and Rhodes were clearly keen to stick to their plans for the match at all costs, though.
Ultimately, Cody got the win–he went 3-0 over Rollins in this feud–and will now go away for some time to take care of his injury. And I’m here, unable to rate this match because it feels ghoulish to do so.
/10
