Hell in a Cell 2019 - Card is not only subject to change, but is bound to

[KawadaSmile]

It's gotta be Kane. Bray's run as a main eventer is really short and The Fiend thing was actually working.

[NintendoLogic]

The Fiend thing only worked until Bray had to wrestle, which is the ultimate downfall of anything involving Bray Wyatt.

[FMKK]

4 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

The Fiend thing only worked until Bray had to wrestle, which is the ultimate downfall of anything involving Bray Wyatt.

So do squashes until it's time to beat him.

[KawadaSmile]

The Fiend was alright even when Bray was wrestling, because he can no sell shit and it's ok. I mean, based on the reactions he got when he simply stood up after being put through a table, WWE could do so much with so little, in terms of actual in-ring performances.

 

[Sweet Brown Koko]

WWE explanation of the finish from wrestlinginc:

The WWE website officially lists the main event as ending by Match Stoppage. They wrote the following at the end of the match recap, noting that the referee called the match off:

"Clearly sensing that a line was about to be crossed, the referee tried to stop Rollins from using the hammer. But The Beastslayer did it anyway, bringing the tool straight down on the whole pile, causing the ref to wave off the match while a crew of medics tended to Wyatt. Rollins, who was clearly on the verge of madness, made the mistake of straddling his fallen foe and quickly found himself ensnared in the Mandible Claw as Wyatt rose up from his back and continued his attack.

Rollins was helpless to respond as Wyatt took him outside the ring, exposing the arena floor by tearing up the mat. It became clear that the Universal Championship was the last thing on Wyatt's mind. Wyatt smashed Rollins face-first into the arena floor with Sister Abigail and applied the Mandible Claw once again. This time, the writhing Rollins was spared only by the signature shrieks that precede Wyatt's exit. Hell in a Cell did not end with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt as Universal Champion. But clearly, he'd gotten what he came for all the same."

[El-P]

Kayfabe is not dead. It's still real to them damnit. A DQ ? No, never. Did not happen.

[NintendoLogic]

The Fiend no-selling and squashing people would have been even worse. This is supposed to be a combat sport, not low-budget horror schlock. You can point to the Undertaker, but he was huge enough to be intimidating even without the gimmick. The Fiend is just Husky Harris in a clown mask.

[The Thread Killer]

49 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

The Fiend no-selling and squashing people would have been even worse. This is supposed to be a combat sport, not low-budget horror schlock. You can point to the Undertaker, but he was huge enough to be intimidating even without the gimmick. The Fiend is just Husky Harris in a clown mask.

Maybe, maybe not...but he's over.

You can't lay any of the problem from last night at the feet of Bray Wyatt.  To be fair, you can't even blame Seth Rollins too much. I watched that match and (even though they did that stupid red lighting) the match was going fairly well up until they started with the ridiculous segment with the infinite curb stomps.  Even though they couldn't see the action very clearly, the fans were still pretty engaged and into that match. They badly wanted The Fiend to win. The segment with the giant mallet was deliberately campy, I am sure it was intended to play off the juxtaposition between goofy kiddie show host Bray Wyatt and The Fiend. Like people have pointed out, the mallet was right out of Firefly Funhouse. That segment of the match didn't bother me at all.  Wyatt seemed to deliberately drop the mallet on the overturned steps, which made a loud booming noise and then Dio Maddin immediately mentioned that fact, pointing out how heavy it was and getting across that it was a serious weapon.

You can love Wyatt or hate him, but I can't see anybody arguing that The Fiend isn't crazy "over" with the fans.  For gawd's sake, the crowd was loudly chanting "Zowie Wowie" during this match.  I think that once again, WWE had a preconceived notion of how the fans would or should react to a certain angle or character and they are either unwilling or unable to pivot and adjust the crowd reactions.  I think in their minds, The Fiend is supposed to be a scary bad guy and Seth is supposed to be a hero, so that's how we should react.  The problem is, people don't like Seth (for good reason) partially because he sucks, but partially because they've written his character to look like a geek and a chump.  Conversely, most people love the Firefly Funhouse segments and they think The Fiend is a really cool character, so SURPRISE...the fans like him.

I remember vividly being at a WWF house show at Maple Leaf Gardens in the early 90's. It was around December 91. The Main Event was Randy Savage and Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Jake Roberts and The Undertaker. When The Undertaker made his entrance, the fans went bonkers...even louder than they had for Savage, and definitely louder than the reaction for Duggan. Every time The Undertaker was in the ring (especially against Duggan) the fans cheered for Taker and some actually booed Duggan.  When Taker did his magic sitting up spot, the place went nuts. It didn't help that Duggan was constantly trying to get the fans to chant "USA" and we're in Canada...but I remember saying to my friend that it was weird how popular The Undertaker was.  My friend commented: "Of course. He's cool and Duggan sucks.  They're either going to have to make The Undertaker do something really bad to somebody really popular to get the fans to hate him, or they're going to have to make him a good guy." Within two months, The Undertaker turned by saving Elizabeth from an attack by Jake Roberts.

The HITC Main Event reminded me of that.  The Undertaker was meant to be evil and scary, but the fans were drawn to him because he's cool.  The exact same thing appears to be happening with Bray Wyatt, except now WWE seems determined not to listen to their fans. If they had half a brain (which they don't) tonight on Raw they'd let Rollins come out and be his natural whiny, entitled annoying self - complaining about the fans not supporting him last night and cheering Wyatt.  The fans would officially turn on him, because that's what they want to do anyhow.  Bray Wyatt can host another Firefly Funhouse segment talking about how Seth almost escaped The Fiend but next time he won't...and presto. Double turn.  The fans can cheer Wyatt and boo Rollins and WWE can keep their stupid angle and listen to the fans at the same time.

But they won't. This is WWE: "You don't tell us what you want, we tell you what you want."

[...TG]

I didn't watch the show - playoff baseball comes once a year and this show wasn't exactly moving the needle. But I think it's clear that while the booking certainly isn't helping him, Seth has again been a complete disaster as champion.

[FMKK]

52 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

The Fiend no-selling and squashing people would have been even worse. This is supposed to be a combat sport, not low-budget horror schlock. You can point to the Undertaker, but he was huge enough to be intimidating even without the gimmick. The Fiend is just Husky Harris in a clown mask.

I'm not saying it's a good gimmick but if you're going to book it, at least cover up for the obvious deficiencies for as long as you can.

[Strummer]

Uh oh wwe briefly tweeted out a Seth v Fiend rematch for the Survivor Series before quickly deleting it

[Log]

6 minutes ago, Strummer said:

Uh oh wwe briefly tweeted out a Seth v Fiend rematch for the Survivor Series before quickly deleting it

That leads me to think that they had that tweet set to go out at a certain time, as that was the original plan.  Now, based on reaction from last night, they're rethinking that.

[aaeo_]

This fiend shit is like a funny student film. I think I get why people watch WWE now.

[hammerva]

1 hour ago, Strummer said:

Uh oh wwe briefly tweeted out a Seth v Fiend rematch for the Survivor Series before quickly deleting it

Given that the first match was a Hell in a Cell I assume that the rematch is a straight wrestling match.  They love going backwards that way.   

[El-P]

43 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Given that the first match was a Hell in a Cell I assume that the rematch is a straight wrestling match. 

Yes. But... with NO DQ ! 

[jiraffejustin]

Sledgehammer vs Mallet on a pole match

[Mad Dog]

58 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Given that the first match was a Hell in a Cell I assume that the rematch is a straight wrestling match.  They love going backwards that way.   

NXT loves that shit too.

[TheDuke]

I feel like this main event from this show was a great unintentional advertisement for AEW Dynamite.

[Matt D]

I will say this. If I had to choose between no-selling Bray or meaningless suplex Brock, I'd probably take Bray. The difference is that one is presented as supernatural and unreal and the other is presented as more real and more legitimate than everything else. I'd take a monster over a MMA star being better than the rest of the wrestlers. 

[Migs]

6 hours ago, El-P said:

Yes. But... with NO DQ ! 

Ahem, no *stoppages*.

[sek69]

32 minutes ago, Migs said:

Ahem, no *stoppages*.

The saddest thing was watching all the WWE diehards out there Well-Actually'ing everyone by pointing out it was a ref stoppage rather than a DQ. As if that makes it any less lame. 

This show reminded me so much of 1998 era WCW before it completely went to shit, the undercard was pretty decent but the main event was so mind bendingly awful it tainted everyone's view of the whole show. You saw that a *lot* in that era. 

[gordi]

Are we maybe at the point where we should no longer be allowed to be surprised by stuff like this? I mean, I think it's reasonable to be disappointed... but this is the second year in a row where they have ended the Hell in a Cell show with a non-finish in the Main Event Hell in a Cell match. Fool me once, shame on you... 

[fakeplastictrees]

You are right. We've been down this path before. I'd love to see a chart outlining key elements to let someone know if WWE is about to book itself into a corner. Maybe a survey will work better? If you answer 'Yes' to 8 of the 12 questions, that means WWE booked itself into a corner. Complete the survey prior to a PPV. If the numbers check out, grab popcorn and enjoy the show. If the numbers do not shake out and point to an overbooked iceberg ahead, you at least know when to check out of the show and save yourself trouble.

[Strummer]

PWI reporting Sasha suffered a back injury at hiac which why she wasn't cleared for Raw

[NintendoLogic]

I think we all knew going in that WWE had booked itself into a corner. You had two guys who couldn't afford to lose in a match that is explicitly designed to provide a decisive finish. But even given those constraints, it's hard to imagine what WWE could have done that would have been worse than what they actually did. When presented with the likelihood of doing irreparable damage to Rollins, Wyatt, or the Cell gimmick, they managed to kill off all three. It's the kind of thing that would have caused fans to flood the ring with garbage had it happened in the 90s.