Hell
in a Cell 2012
Date:
October 28, 2012
Location:
Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators:
Michael Cole, Jim Ross, John Bradshaw Layfield
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
The
main event here is Ryback vs. Punk and there's one thing I love about
it: I have no idea who is going to win. They really could go either
way and as a big supporter of Rybac, I'd love to see it. The main
event is in need of a major change, so why not Ryback? The main
issue for him though is that the fans are going to have the Goldberg
chants going on high tonight. The Sheamus vs. Big Show match should
be good too. Let's get to it.
On
the preshow, here's Cena to address the AJ/Vickie/Cena story.
Apparently Vickie has evidence of the inappropriate relationship
which she'll show tomorrow on Raw. Tonight, Cena is answering
questions from social media. The first questions is about him
passing a torch to Ryback. Cena says no but he never had any fire to
pass. A TOUT asks what advice Cena would give Ryback for the Cell
tonight. Cena says that brute strength alone isn't going to do it.
A
Tweet asks if Cena could beat Ryback. Cena asks the fans who aren't
really clear on an answer. He does however say if Ryback wins the
title, he'd love the first shot. Another TOUT is about what was
Cena's toughest match. Of course he says it's the one against Rock.
Cena wants another shot of course. This isn't going anywhere is it?
Another TOUT asks if Punk is the best in the world but Cena won't say
yes. Another TOUT is from Dolph Ziggler asks if Cena will tell the
truth. Cena says the people should cheer Dolph because he used TOUT.
If Dolph is here, why not just come out here and fight?
Here's
Dolph.....or make that Vickie. She says the fans are more confident
in her than in Cena because Cena got his hand caught in the cookie
jar. Ziggler finally charges and gets knocked right back to the
floor. This was free on Youtube and I feel like I deserve a refund
after sitting through it.
Now
on to the actual show.
The
opening video is about the two world title matches, just as it should
be.
Alberto
Del Rio vs. Randy Orton
That's
quite the opener. Orton immediately jumps Del Rio and we're out on
the floor very quickly. Alberto goes face first into the announce
table and back inside we get the Orton Stomp. Orton stomps away in
the corner until the referee pulls him off. Alberto throws him to
the apron and rams the arm into the bar connecting the buckle to the
post. Back in and Del Rio hooks a kind of armbar followed by
something close to the armbreaker over the top rope.
Orton's
shoulder goes into the post and Randy is in big trouble. Alberto
hooks a different kind of armbar to keep control. It's nice to see
the holds used being mixed up as watching the same stuff over and
over again gets old in a hurry. Orton jumps over Del Rio out of the
corner and grabs a rollup for two. Del Rio hits a DDT on the arm for
two and puts on yet another kind of armbar, followed by another
armbreaker over the rope. This time though Orton shoves Del Rio off
and out to the floor. Basic storytelling and psychology there but it
worked just as well.
Orton
sets for the powerslam back inside but Del Rio hangs onto the ropes.
More good psychology there as you can only have Orton or anyone use
the same moves so many times before someone sees it coming. Del Rio
tries the armbreaker but Orton makes the rope almost immediately.
The backbreaker from Randy looks to set up the Elevated DDT but Del
Rio counters into another shot on the arm. Alberto tries the RKO but
gets countered into the Elevated DDT.
Randy
tries the mat pounding but hurts his bad arm again. Nice touch there
again. Del Rio hits the Backstabber for two but the armbreaker is
countered into the powerslam for two. They go to the corner but
Orton gets shoved off. He hangs on by the ropes but Del Rio hits a
double stomp to Orton's chest for two. This has been way better than
I was expecting.
Just
as I say that, Del Rio goes up and I think is supposed to jump into
the RKO, but instead he just lands next to Orton and they're
completely out of sync now. The RKO is countered as Orton is sent
into the corner where Ricardo rams the arm into the post. There's
the armbreaker but Orton somehow hangs on and rolls on top of Del Rio
for two. Del Rio tries the running enziguri in the corner but Orton
ducks and catches Del Rio in the RKO as he comes down for the pin at
13:06. That didn't have the impact they were looking for I don't
think.
Rating:
B-. This was higher until the
jump off the top which looked horrible. Either way, this was a very
nice surprise with some solid psychology and storytelling the whole
way through. Orton isn't great all the time but if you get him the
right kind of opponent, which is usually a guy who isn't a giant, he
can have some solid matches and this was one of those. If the botch
hadn't happened, it would have been an excellent opener. With it,
the match is just quite good.
We
recap the AJ/Vickie/Cena stuff and Vickie says she's got the pictures
to prove the affair happened. Vickie turns around and runs into
Heyman. Paul wants the match canceled but Vickie will have none of
it. Heyman snaps at the theory that Ryback scares Punk and goes off
on Vickie for a bit. Vickie continues to do nothing for me at all.
Tag
Titles: HELL NO vs. Rhodes Scholars
The
Scholars won this shot in a long tournament. In case it's not clear,
HELL NO is defending. The Scholars say that there's one thing for
sure: at the end of the night they'll be able to say “WE ARE THE
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!” Funny stuff. Bryan vs. Sandow (in dark gray
trunks, just like Cody) starts things off and Bryan hits a running
knee to Damien's ribs. Off to Kane for a low dropkick before it's
off to Cody for the same move for two.
Cody
gets caught in the champions' corner and it's back to Bryan for some
rapid fire kicks in the corner. Kane comes in again and throws Cody
around again until Damien gets in a chop block to take Kane's knee
out. More leg work keeps Kane down but Sandow jumps into an
uppercut. There's the tag to Bryan who moonsaults over Sandow in the
corner and hits a running clothesline to take Damien down. There are
the NO Kicks and the Scholars are both sent to the floor. Bryan hits
a BIG suicide dive to take them both out.
As
they head back in, Cody grabs Bryan's leg and Sandow knocks Daniel
into the barricade. Back in and a running knee gets two for Rhodes
as we enter the tag team formula mode. Bryan plays Ricky Morton for
a bit as Cody comes in to work on the arm a bit. Bryan punches his
way out of the corner but a knee to Bryan's ribs takes him right back
down. Off to Sandow again who pounds on the ribs for two.
Sandow's
windup elbow gets two (I'm not even going to try to spell the real
name) and it's off to a chinlock. Kane: “COME ON GOAT FACE LET'S
GO!” That actually works as Bryan almost gets the NO Lock before
hooking a drop toehold to send Sandow into the middle buckle. A
double tag brings in Cody to face the fresh Kane and the Big Fried
Freak takes over. The sidewalk slam gets two and the top rope
clothesline kills Cody. Kane signals for the chokeslam but Bryan
tags himself in and hits a Swan Dive, but Kane breaks up the cover.
Sandow
pulls Kane to the floor and gets punched in the face. Bryan
backdrops Cody to the floor onto Kane and misses the running knee,
taking out Kane by mistake. The champs get into a shoving match and
a pair of baseball slides take out Kane. Back in and Cody hits Cross
Rhodes on Bryan but Kane makes the save. Kane is losing it and
destroys everyone in sight drawing a lame DQ at 13:30 for beating on
Sandow in the corner.
Rating:
C+. This was getting good at
the end before the lame DQ. They did set up another match later on
which is fine, but with all of the teams they've got built up, do
they really want to go another month with the same guys? Still
though, entertaining enough match here and the champs fighting is
almost always entertaining.
Sandow
gets a chokeslam post match.
Miz
talks about how Kofi brings mediocrity and mediocrity brings the end
of civilization, so Kofi brings the end of the world. It ties into a
show coming up about people who are preparing for doomsday if that
clears up anything.
Intercontinental
Title: The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston
The
inflatable AWESOME from the Mania match with Cena is back. Kofi is
defending and this is a rematch from a few weeks ago on Main Event.
Both guys try and miss their finishers less than thirty seconds in,
sending Miz to the floor to regroup. How much regrouping do you need
after half a minute? Kofi jumps over the steps on the floor but Miz
kicks his head off to take over. That gets two back in the ring and
things slow down a bit.
Off
to a chinlock for awhile followed by a clothesline to put Kofi down.
There's a top rope double ax for two and Miz punts him in the ribs.
Miz's corner clothesline is blocked by a hard clothesline from the
champ and both guys are down. Kofi chops Miz down and hits the Boom
Drop for two. Miz runs from Trouble in Paradise but gets caught by
the spinning top rope cross body for two.
The
SOS is countered into half of the Reality Check but they seem to miss
on something before the neckbreaker. SOS gets two and Miz hits a
kind of Stunner to the leg. Miz bends the leg around the ropes and
takes off the leg pad and boot from Kofi's left leg. Kofi gets to
the second rope but Miz slams him off and puts on a half crab.
Kofi
crawls to the ropes but Miz pulls it right back to the center. The
champ counters into a cradle for two but Miz gets the same off a
short DDT. Miz loads up the Finale but Kofi counters into a kind of
victory roll for two. The kick misses for Kofi but the Finale can't
hit again. Miz gets kicked to the floor and as he comes back in,
Kofi kicks him into oblivion for the pin to retain at 10:44.
Rating:
C+. Another good and lengthy
match here as this show is already better than anything WWE has
thrown at us in weeks. This gets Miz out of the title picture and
hopefully pushes him back up the card. Kofi is fine in this role and
can be put with almost anyone to get a good match. Solid stuff here
and a fine match.
Kofi
says Miz has brought out the wildcat in him and that he's proud to be
the champion.
HELL
NO argues again. Kane thinks Bryan almost lost because he was
thinking about vegan candy. Bryan yells at Kane for bringing up
Halloween when he's always wearing a mask. Kane says that Bryan has
been wearing a mask since he was born on Old McDonald's Farm....AND
HE SINGS THE SONG. Bryan: “YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE!” Kane: “No. I
AM THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!” I love these two.
US
Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel
Since
we only had three announced matches left and it's ten after 9, they
had to add another match or two. Antonio says something in what
sounds like German or Swiss before the match. Cesaro is defending
and they've traded wins on Raw lately to set this up. Cesaro takes
it to the mat as soon as the bell rings before cranking on the arm a
bit. Gabriel counters a hip toss and monkey flips Cesaro down.
Justin
goes up top but the champ knocks him off to the floor. Back in and a
legdrop gets two for Cesaro and he pounds away with some rough
looking shots to the head. An uppercut to the back of Gabriel's head
gets two and it's off to a chinlock with a knee in the back of
Justin. Cesaro puts him face down on the top rope and hits a running
knee to the ribs. A double stomp gets another two on Gabriel and
it's back to the arm. The crowd is pretty dead for this so far.
Gabriel
comes back and takes Cesaro down for a quick top rope Lionsault for
two. Cesaro takes Justin's head off with a clothesline for two. The
champ pounds away in the corner but Gabriel comes out with a spinning
DDT for two. Gabriel tries the 450 but rolls through when Cesaro
moves. Cesaro goes to the floor so Justin hits a dropkick through
the ropes for two. He heads back in but dives into the uppercut to
knock Gabriel silly. Back in and the Neutralizer retains the title
at 7:35.
Rating:
C. I know there wasn't much
here, but having Cesaro run through the entire lower card is a fine
way to keep him on TV without having him face guys he's not ready to
beat yet. It's also a good way to make him look like more than he
really is, which is something Cesaro needs. Imagine that: using
jobbers to the stars to push someone higher up the card. It's so
crazy that it just might work.
Breast
cancer is bad.
Video
on Ryback and how unstoppable he is.
Heyman
sucks up to Vickie in the back because apparently the Cell has been
canceled. Vickie doesn't seem to understand what he's talking about.
The match is still on.
Prime
Time Players vs. Rey Mysterio/Sin Cara
Sin
Cara and Darren start things off with Young slapping him around on
the mat. Cara headscissors him down and there's the tag to Rey.
Cara has what looks like a Mysterio mask on the back of his own mask.
The main event for Main Event this coming week is these four teaming
with Del Rio and Orton respectively. Yep the card is already falling
down. Off to Titus for some power to take over on Mysterio. A
double elbow by the Players take Rey down and Young comes in for some
near falls.
Off
to a quick reverse chinlock by Young but Titus charges into a boot in
the corner to let the masked guys make a tag. Back to Cara who
speeds things up and hits a top rope cross body on Titus. Cara's
spinning armdrag out of the corner is caught by Titus and he rams
Cara into the corner. Back to Darren to pounds away a bit more
before hitting the belly to back suplex onto the apron for two.
Back
to Titus who suplexes Young onto Sin for two. JR says the Players
are trying to get a big payday for a win on a major PPV. What
exactly would be a minor PPV? Titus yells at Cara in the corner and
tells him to speak English, which will probably be a fine for O'Neal.
Titus puts on a kind of abdominal stretch before slamming him down
for two. Back to Young for a backbreaker which gets two. Titus gets
in a three point stance but charges into the post.
Cara
hits a kind of standing Sliced Bread #2 and makes the hot tag to Rey.
Mysterio speeds things up and hits a tilt-a-whirl DDT on Darren for
two. JR: “Keeping up with Rey is like trying to pour smoke through
a keyhole.” JBL: “Who would want to do that?” Cara dives on
Titus on the floor as Rey counters the gutbuster from Young into the
619 and top rope splash for the pin at 12:50.
Rating:
C-. This wasn't a bad match at
all but it ran too long and overstayed its welcome. These guys are a
good undercard feud for the tag division (imagine THAT say six months
ago) and putting them on here was as decent enough of an idea as you
were going to get. Either one of these teams could get a title shot,
and that's kind of cool to think about.
Cara
may have hurt his neck but he gets up on his own power. Apparently
on that standing Sliced Bread he landed on the top of his head.
WWE
is promoting a Rolling Stones PPV concert.
We
recap Big Show vs. Sheamus. The idea is that Sheamus can't Brogue
Kick Show but he wants to fight no matter what.
Smackdown
World Title: Big Show vs. sheamus
Sheamus
is defending. Show throws him around to start and Sheamus tries to
brawl with him. That results in the champion being knocked down into
the corner and Show is in command. Ziggler is watching with the case
in the back. Sheamus knocks Show to the floor and as the challenger
gets back in, Sheamus fires away with all he's got. It does a bit of
damage but Show shrugs it off and knocks Sheamus to the floor again.
We
head to the floor with Show throwing Sheamus into the barricade.
Back in and Show keeps pounding on Sheamus very slowly. He steps on
Sheamus' head and knocks the champ to the floor before sending him
over the announce table. This has been almost all Show so far and
Sheamus is looking like a ragdoll. Back in and Show hits the Eye of
the Hurricane for two. I think he used to call that the Final Cut.
Sheamus tries to fight back with some punches to the ribs but Show
throws him over the top to the floor.
As
Sheamus comes back in, he hits the slingshot shoulder but charges
right into a superkick for two. Show knocks him down again with
Sheamus only being able to get in some punches before charging into a
bearhug. Show gets on his knee instead of picking Sheamus up,
allowing Sheamus to hit some forearms. A slam doesn't work at all
and the Vader Bomb Elbow gets two for Show. He calls for the
chokeslam but Sheamus counters into a DDT but the kickout sends
Sheamus out to the floor.
Sheamus
tries the ten forearms in the corner but Show shoves him off. The
chokeslam hits but it only gets two. Show is getting ticked off now
but he can't hook the Colossal Clutch. Sheamus avoids an elbow and
tries the Cloverleaf of all things but Show kicks him off. They head
to the floor and Sheamus drives Show into the post a few times. Back
in and Sheamus goes after the knee before hitting some ax handles to
take Show down.
Sheamus
hits White Noise and does it with EASE. That looked better than a
lot of the AA's Cena hits on Show. That only gets two and Sheamus
charges into the WMD.....for two. Show tries another punch but
Sheamus kicks Show's head off.....FOR TWO. This is getting AWESOME.
Sheamus gets WAY fires up but the Brogue Kick charges into the WMD
for the pin and the title at 21:37.
Rating:
B+. This was exactly what it
was supposed to be: a heavyweight slugfest with Sheamus pounding away
with everything he had but it just wasn't enough. I would initially
say that Show winning the title was a bad thing but the way they were
going with the feud it was probably the best idea. This was a great
match though and WAY better than I was expecting. The kickouts were
great and the match worked really well. I can't believe I'm saying
this, but match of the night so far.
Eve
tries to talk to Booker but Booker goes to check on Sheamus. Teddy
says Eve is going to lose when Ryder comes up dressed as a witch. Oh
ok he's Eve. Teddy says that's one letter off.
Vince
is here and Punk asks him to cancel the match. Vince asks if Punk is
afraid of Ryback but Punk says no and leaves.
Divas
Title: Layla vs. Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn
was attacked at Night of Champions and Layla had to defend against
Eve instead of Kaitlyn. Eve won the title and was accused of
attacking Kaitlyn, setting up this. The challengers double team Eve,
argue a bit, and then double team Eve again. Eve and Kaitlyn finally
start fighting and we get a pinfall reversal sequence. Eve comes
back in and knocks Layla to the floor so she can beat on Kaitlyn a
bit.
Eve
works over Kaitlyn's leg with a long hold until Layla finally gets
back in. A hard kick to Eve's face slows her down and Layla pounds
away in the corner. A cross body gets two for Layla but Eve throws
her into the splits. Eve gets thrown into the splits as well and
Kaitlyn gives us a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER!!! Kaitlyn puts Layla in a
Fujiwara Armbar but Eve makes the save. The crowd dies as the match
starts to drag. Kaitlyn hits Stratusfaction on Eve to send her to
the floor and powerslams Eve down. Eve hits a middle rope Swanton to
break up the pin and covers Layla to retain the title at 6:39.
Rating:
C-. The girls are getting
better and they have an actual story anymore, but the fans still
don't care. This is MILES better than they were having a few months
ago, but at the same time it's still nothing to write home about.
Kaitlyn appears to be the future but I'm still not sold on her at
all. Decent match that ran too long.
Big
Show brags about getting the title back and dares anyone to try to
take it from him. That sounds like a match for Ryback once he's done
with Punk.
Sheamus
is getting looked at.
We
recap Punk vs. Ryback. Punk and Cena were feuding, then Cena got
hurt and Ryback was the next best thing they could come up with.
It's in the Cell because the calendar says it needs to be.
The
Cell is lowered. Cole says the Cell was introduced 15 years ago. My
goodness do I feel old.
Raw
World Title: Ryback vs. CM Punk
I
honestly don't know who is going to win here and I love that feeling.
The Goldberg chants start before the music hits. Ryback has a red
singlet tonight. Not much of a pop for him though. The big match
intros inform us that this match will indeed be taking place inside
the Cell. You know, in case you're REALLY FREAKING STUPID. The fans
get fired up for the Feed Me More chant at least.
Punk
immediately heads to the floor and we're in the big Cell where
there's almost no room at ringside. Punk gets back in and
immediately runs to the floor again. After almost a minute and a
half Ryback gets his hands on Punk and chokes him in the air. Ryback
kicks him in the chest and Punk is in trouble early. Punk gets a
boot up in the corner but a tornado DDT is easily countered.
Punk
is sent back to the floor where he tries to get out of the door.
Ryback throws him into the Cell wall and then does it again. The
Goldberg chants start up and Punk hides under the ring. Heyman
distracts Ryback, allowing Punk to spray him with a fire extinguisher
and knock Ryback into the cage. The champ finds a chair but Ryback
knocks it into Punk's head. Back in and Ryback hits a Warrior
gorilla press drop.
Ryback
misses a charge into the corner and Punk hits a springboard
clothesline to take him down. A top rope double ax only kind of hits
so Punk hits a second to stagger Ryback. A third attempt is caught
in midair but Punk hits a leg lariat to take Ryback down again. Punk
sends him to the floor and hits the suicide dive but Ryback is
slammed into the cage instead of being knocked down. Ryback easily
breaks up a neckbreaker on the floor but his spear hits the steps.
Back
in and Punk puts on a chinlock. We're over eight minutes into this
and it's been pretty good stuff so far. Another Ryback charge hits
the post and Punk smiles. Heyman: “HE'S STILL ALIVE!” Punk hits
the running knee in the corner and a clothesline to set up the Macho
Elbow for no cover. Punk brings in a kendo stick and mocks the FEED
ME MORE chant.
Ryback
Hulks Up and takes the stick out of Punk's hands. Ryback is all
fired up now and Heyman is panicking. The fans are getting into the
chant now and there's the Meathook (clothesline). Ryback loads up
Shell Shock....and the referee hits Ryback low and fast counts a Punk
rollup for the pin to retain at 11:45.
Rating:
B-. This is one of those what
the heck was that endings but it was a good match until we got there.
I don't like the screwjob ending and I wanted Ryback to win, but
this sets up another match down the line I guess. I don't recognize
the referee but I'm sure we'll find out who he was later on. The
fans went silent after the pin which is a good thing....I think?
Ryback
gets up and murders the referee as Heyman pulls Punk through the
door. Ryback catches up to him though and throws Punk at the Cell,
but Punk climbs up to escape. Ryback follows him and hits the Shell
Shock on top of the Cell.
Ryback
poses on top of the Cell to end the show.
Overall
Rating: B+. This was a really
good show actually and the ending has me wondering where they'll go
next. There wasn't a really bad match on the show but a few of them
were pretty slow. The Show title win was a nice surprise and the
ending visual of the Shell Shock was good, but it wasn't a classic
show. For what it was, this was solid, but it's another show that
leads to another one instead of something conclusive, which is an
annoying habit WWE has.
Results
Randy
Orton b. Alberto Del Rio – RKO
Rhodes
Scholars b. HELL NO via DQ when Kane would not stop attacking Sandow
Kofi
Kingston b. The Miz – Trouble in Paradise
Antonio
Cesaro b. Justin Gabriel – Neutralizer
Rey
Mysterio/Sin Cara b. Prime Time Players – Top rope splash to Young
Big
Show b. Sheamus – WMD
Eve
Torres b. Kaitlyn and Layla – Eve pinned Layla after a powerslam
from Kaitlyn
CM
Punk b. Ryback – Rollup after a low blow from the referee
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