[2002-05-19-WWE-Judgment Day] Chris Jericho vs Triple H (Hell in a Cell)

[ohtani's jacket]

I should know better than this, but I've been kind of high on Chris Jericho's 2002 work and I don't hate Triple H... but, yeah, what was the point in them having a Hell in a Cell match? Vince was feuding with Hunter at the time, and HIAC I guess was supposed to punish Hunter and stack the odds against him, but it also stacks the odds against Jericho. They tried to make out that Jericho was this ruthless, cutthroat heel and that he was in his element, but who's buying that? I have a hard time buying Jericho as the heel and Triple H the face let alone believing that Jericho can dominate a cage match against Hunter. The work is middling. It's not bad, but neither guy is prepared to take a big bump so it mostly revolves around using a ladder and the steel steps, and everyone, including the ref, suffering from lacerations. They take the fight to the roof like they're expected to, and everybody is waiting for something shocking to happen. Hunter takes a backdrop on top of the cage, which is as hairy as they get. Then they add the test of Hunter pinning Jericho on top of the cage, which doesn't make sense because it was never announced as falls count anywhere, and earlier the ref had told the wrestlers to get back in the ring because they couldn't win the bout on the outside. This felt like a lot of blood and hard work for nothing. Not one for the recommended viewing list. 

[Calvin]

Tim White takes the hardest bump in this match, and he also blades better than Triple H, ong.

A plodding hardcore match dressed up in a steel cage gimmick to blow off a hate feud that isn't actually a hate feud, but more of a "I'm killing your push for good" feud. Its amusing how they try to make the Hell out of a Cell segment feel organic, but they don't realize that those segments will always inherently feel out of place and you need someone clinically insane like Mick Foley to distract the audience with unbelievably dangerous spots.

**1/4