Devil’s Deal Done.
The fifth annual WWE Hell in a Cell came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, FL. Destruction, brutality, finality. These three words perfectly define the unpredictable chaos that ensues once a Superstar steps inside Hell in a Cell. It is inside this diabolical steel structure that rivalries are concluded and excuses are left at the door. On this night in Miami, two ring warriors would step inside the structure to settle once and for all who can rightfully be called the “face of the WWE” as the WWE Champion as Daniel Bryan would face “The Viper” Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell with the vacant WWE Championship on the line with Hall of Famer “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels taking up the task of officiating the war as the Special Referee in a match where Shawn Michaels guarantees that a new WWE Champion will be crowned!
Over the past few months, Paul Heyman has drug CM Punk through a hell of embarrassment, cheap losses, and underhanded plots and every time that “The Best in the World” has come close to extracting his revenge on the evil mastermind, Heyman has managed to squirm away thanks to men like Brock Lesnar, Curtis Axel, and, most recently, Ryback. However, at Hell in a Cell, CM Punk might finally get his ultimate revenge on Paul Heyman when “The Best in the World” faces Heyman and Heyman’s monster, Ryback, in a 2-on-1 Handicap Hell in a Cell Match!
Throughout his eleven-years in the WWE, John Cena has made a career out of impressive feats of superhuman strength and resolve and, just two months since his surgery to repair a torn triceps, the eleven-time former WWE Champion returns to the WWE to challenge an old nemesis for a new prize as Cena would challenge Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship.
In their first title defense since dethroning Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns for the WWE Tag Team Titles, Goldust & Cody Rhodes would be at a disadvantage as the Rhodes brothers would defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Jimmy & Jey Uso and The Shield’s Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat Tag Match, where the first man to score a pin or submission for their team will walk out as the WWE Tag Team Champions.
The Divas Title would also be on the line at Hell in a Cell as AJ Lee would defend the Divas Championship against Brie Bella. Also at Hell in a Cell, the exciting new team known as Los Matadores would square off with The Real Americans in tag team action.
Match Results
- WWE Tag Team Championship: Triple Threat Tag Match: Goldust & Cody Rhodes (c) def. Jimmy & Jey Uso and Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns by Cody Rhodes (c) pinning Seth Rollins following Cross Rhodes to retain.
- Mixed Tag Match: Fandango & Summer Rae def. The Great Khali & Natalya by Summer Rae rolling up Natalya.
- United States Championship: Big E. Langston def. Dean Ambrose (c) by intentional count-out. As a result, Dean Ambrose (c) retains.
- 2-on-1 Handicap Hell in a Cell Match: CM Punk def. Ryback & Paul Heyman by CM Punk pinning Ryback following the GTS.
- Los Matadores def. The Real Americans by Diego pinning Jack Swagger following the double-team STO.
- World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio (c) by pin following the Attitude Adjustment to win the World Heavyweight Title.
- Divas Championship: AJ Lee (c) (with Tamina Snuka) def. Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) by submission to the Black Widow to retain.
- WWE Championship: Hell in a Cell: Special Referee- Shawn Michaels: Randy Orton (with Triple H & Shawn Michaels) def. Daniel Bryan by pin following Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels to win the vacant WWE Title.
Detailed Results
The opening match of the night was for championship gold as Goldust & Cody Rhodes would defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Jimmy & Jey Uso and The Shield’s Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat Tag Match, where the first man to score a pin or submission for his team will win the match and walk out as the WWE Tag Team Champions. At the end of a thrilling and chaotic match, it was Cody Rhodes emphatically hitting Cross Rhodes on Seth Rollins, pinning Rollins to pick up the win and successfully retain the WWE Tag Team Titles for himself and Goldust.
Two nights after he was assaulted in the backstage area by The Wyatt Family on SmackDown, The Miz appears at Hell in a Cell. The Miz says that The Wyatt Family beat him down on SmackDown and wrote “liar” on his chest and, as a result of the attack, he has not been cleared to compete at Hell in a Cell. Miz then says that, just because he is not cleared to compete, does not mean that he is not cleared to “fight”. The Miz then tells Bray Wyatt to leave his “two hillbilly bushwhackers” at the compound and get out there right now, telling Bray to come and get him! Bray Wyatt appears on the Tron, seated in his rocking chair, saying that it pains him to see The Miz like this and The Miz does not see the “monster” that lives behind his eyes. When the lights come back on in the arena, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan are in the ring and, while The Miz puts up a brief fight against the “brothers” of Bray Wyatt, the towering Wyatt Family members begin their destruction of The Miz. However, just when it looks like all hope was lost for The Miz, The Wyatt Family’s forgotten victim returns to make the save as “The Big Red Monster” himself, Kane, rushes to the ring! Kane takes it to Luke Harper & Erick Rowan, sending both men packing out of the ring! The Miz would climb back to his feet, but that is when Kane would grab Miz by the throat, dropping Miz in the center of the ring with a chokeslam!
In Mixed Tag action, “The Lord of Dance” Fandango would team with his dance partner, Summer Rae, for the first time ever to face The Great Khali & Natalya, with Hornswoggle in their corner. In the end, it was Summer Rae surprising Natalya with a roll-up, picking up the win for herself and Fandango in Summer Rae’s in-ring debut.
The remaining champion of The Shield would put his title on the line at Hell in a Cell as The Shield’s Dean Ambrose would defend the United States Championship against Big E. Langston. At the end of a match where Big E. Langston would get busted open under his right eye, Langston would hit a big Spear on Dean Ambrose, taking both men to the outside. While Langston makes it back into the ring, Ambrose decides that his done, taking the count-out loss in order to keep his United States Title. After the match, Langston would get his hands on the United States Champion, planting Ambrose in the center of the ring with the Big Ending.
Then it was time for the first of two Hell in a Cell matches of the evening as, in a match requested by “The Best in the World” himself, CM Punk would face his most hated and loud-mouthed rival, Paul Heyman, and Heyman’s monster, Ryback, in a 2-on-1 Handicap Hell in a Cell Match, where absolutely anything goes with the match only ending via pin or submission! While Ryback and CM Punk both make their way inside Hell in a Cell, Paul Heyman rides out on a scaffolding cart. While Heyman is risen up to the roof of the Hell in a Cell structure, Heyman says that he has “risen from the depths of hell” and he has “ascended to the top of the world”, claiming that he “owns” CM Punk! With Heyman standing out of harm’s way on top of the Cell, the war begins between Punk and Ryback. It would not take long for the Cell five-timer, CM Punk, to get comfortable inside the structure as Punk dives to the outside, taking Ryback down. However, when Punk goes for a kendo stick shot on Ryback, Ryback counters, lifting Punk up and driving Punk spine-first into the wall of the Cell. After repeatedly failing to mount a comeback against Ryback, CM Punk would rely on the kendo stick to combat the power of Ryback as Punk neutralizes the big man with repeated shots to the back and mid-section of Ryback. Punk would then bring a table into the ring, but Ryback would interrupt Punk’s preparation of the table, dropping Punk crotch-first into the table!
Ryback then sets the table up in the ring, but Punk pays Ryback back for the dirty tactics as “The Best in the World” catches Ryback with a low blow, laying Ryback on the table before ascending the top rope and driving the monster through the table with his patented elbow drop! Punk would follow this up with a kendo stick shot to the face of Ryback before hitting the GTS on Ryback, securing the victory in what was technically a 2-on-1 Handicap Match. After the match, Punk would set his sights on Paul Heyman, grabbing a kendo stick before scaling the wall of the Cell. Punk would make it to the roof of the Cell and would finally get his hands on Paul Heyman, striking Heyman in the gut with the kendo stick before wearing Heyman out with repeated kendo stick shots to the back! Punk then picks Heyman up, hoisting Heyman up on his shoulders before hitting the GTS on Heyman on the roof of the Cell! Having extracted his revenge on Paul Heyman, CM Punk celebrates on top of the Cell as Heyman lies motionless.
In tag team action, Los Matadores, with El Torito in their corner, would face The Real Americans, with Zeb Colter in their corner. In the end, it was Los Matadores hitting the double-team STO on Jack Swagger before Diego pins Swagger to pick up the win for Los Matadores. After the match, El Torito would further humiliate The Real Americans and Zeb Colter, knocking Colter out of the ring and taking Antonio Cesaro out with a hurrincanrana.
Then it was time for “The Superman” to return as, just two months after a triceps surgery that was supposed to keep him out of action well into next year, Hell in a Cell would host the return of John Cena as the eleven-time former WWE Champion would challenge Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. In the end, the surgically repaired triceps of John Cena would sustain the intense punishment from Alberto Del Rio, including the cross armbreaker, before Cena would hit the Attitude Adjustment on Del Rio, pinning Del Rio to become the brand new World Heavyweight Champion!
The Divas Championship was also up for grabs at Hell in a Cell as AJ Lee, with Tamina Snuka in her corner, would defend the Divas Title against Brie Bella, with Nikki Bella in her corner. After inadvertently knocking her sister, Nikki, off of the ring apron, Brie Bella would find herself locked in the Black Widow as AJ Lee forces Brie to tap out to pick up the win and successfully retain the Divas Title.
Then it was time for the main event of the evening as the Hell in a Cell structure would surround an intensely personal and professional war, all in name of the vacated WWE Championship, as Daniel Bryan would go one-on-one with “The Viper” Randy Orton and the man in charge of all the chaos would be a Hell in a Cell veteran and WWE Hall of Famer as “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels would don the striped shirt as the Special Guest Referee of the match. With the Hell in a Cell Match for the vacant WWE Championship ready to begin, WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H takes it upon himself to carry the WWE Title belt down to the ring, shaking hands with Randy Orton. However, Daniel Bryan would refuse to shake the COO’s hand and Triple H would just smile and wink at Bryan before Triple H exits the ring and the Cell lowers around the ring before the match officially gets underway. Throughout the match, both men would trade turns punishing the other with the aid of the Cell, as well as the steel steps, but things would take a vicious turn once Daniel Bryan pulls a steel chair out from under the ring. Bryan breaks “The Viper” down with a trio of chair shots to the spine before Bryan tosses the chair into the ring. Bryan then digs underneath the ring, tossing some eleven steel chairs into the center of the ring! A desperation eye rake would save the match for Randy Orton as Orton would take advantage, twice driving one of the many steel chairs into the back of Daniel Bryan. After a third chair shot failed to put Bryan away, Orton would pile all of the chairs up in the center of the ring before putting Daniel Bryan on the top rope. Realizing what “The Viper” had in store, Daniel Bryan would fight Orton off, but Orton would stay focused, snuffing Bryan’s comeback out before Orton drops Bryan with a superplex on top of the pile of steel chairs!
After Daniel Bryan kicks out of the pinfall that follows, Triple H re-appears, making his way to ringside. The COO calls Shawn Michaels out of the ring for a heated discussion regarding the style in which Michaels is officiating the match. Meanwhile, in the ring, Orton hits Daniel Bryan with a powerslam, but with the Special Referee’s attention drawn away from the match, the pin goes uncounted. This infuriates Randy Orton as Orton shouts at HBK that the Hall of Famer is trying to cost him the title while Michaels shouts back at “The Viper” and at Triple H. As Orton slides back into the ring to put his focus back on Daniel Bryan, Shawn Michaels tells Triple H to get off his back and Triple H asks if Michaels is going to call the match. Michaels then tells the COO to “shut up” before telling his best friend to let him do his job. While Shawn Michaels tries to get his focus back on calling the match, Triple H repeatedly climbs up onto the Cell wall, shaking the chain-link fencing and shouting at HBK. When the Hall of Famer turns his head for a brief second, Randy Orton goes for the RKO on Daniel Bryan, but Bryan counters, inadvertently shoving Orton into Michaels, knocking the Special Referee down as HBK immediately grabs his face. With his best friend apparently in need of medical attention, Triple H leads the ringside doctor to the Cell door as the COO instructs a referee to unlock the Cell so the doctor can check on Michaels. While the referee struggles to open the Cell for his boss, Daniel Bryan hits the running knee on Randy Orton, but Shawn Michaels was unable to count the pinfall, still clutching his eye from the collision with Orton.
Having successfully opened the Cell, Triple H enters the ring, aggressively pulling Daniel Bryan out of the corner and shoving him out of the way. After briefly checking on Shawn Michaels before letting the ringside physician handle things, Triple H would turn around into a charging Daniel Bryan as Bryan would level the COO with a running knee to the face! In defense of his fallen best friend, Shawn Michaels delivers Sweet Chin Music to Daniel Bryan, but when Randy Orton crawls to the cover, the Special Referee has no choice but to make the three-count as, under the most dubious of circumstances, Michaels makes good on his promise to crown a new champion as Randy Orton wins the vacant WWE Championship! With the gold securely back in his possession, Randy Orton helps Triple H to his feet and a smile appears across the face of the COO as Triple H once again raises the hand of his hand-picked WWE Champion.
What did you think of Hell in a Cell? Post your comments in the box below.
