Hell in a Cell was a massive pay-per-view for WWE on Sunday night, one that featured five title matches from the Raw brand and made history with the first-ever women's match held inside the Hell in a Cell structure.
Two of the three Hell in a Cell matches stole the show, though neither was completely "clean" in the sense of their finishes occurring without extenuating circumstances. There were also a pair of title changes on the pay-per-view, including Charlotte capturing the women's championship for the third time to close the show.
Check out full results from Hell in a Cell below. CBS Sports will update this post shortly with highlights from the event.
Results
U.S. Championship (Hell in a Cell) -- Roman Reigns (c) def. Rusev via pinfall to retain the title: There was definitely no chill in this one. Stairs were thrown into the ring, bodies were tossed into the structure, and Reigns used a kendo stick to hit Rusev about a dozen times outside the ring. Rusev eventually took control of the stick and snapped it on half after using it on Reigns. He followed with a near fall after running Reigns head-first into a set of steel stairs propped atop the ring post; Rusev then nearly earned a submission by locking in The Accolade. A metal chain was brought into play, which Rusev first wrapped around his fist and then used as a whip. He later utilized it as part of another Accolade submission attempt, pulling Reigns back with the chain from inside Reigns' open mouth. Reigns countered with a Samoan Drop onto the steel steps. While he was recovering, Rusev stood on the steps, giving Reigns a great opportunity for a massive spear, which he used to earn the victory. Reigns continues to get a lot of grief, but the dude has taken a big step forward and continues to put on some damn good matches.
The #Accolade is LOCKED IN once again...this time with the STEEL CHAIN! #HIAC@RusevBUL@WWERomanReignspic.twitter.com/ErfZymqDb7
— WWE (@WWE) October 31, 2016
Bayley def. Dana Brooke via pinfall: Look, Bayley wasn't going to be thrown into the title picture right away. Brooke had her moments, but a sudden Bayley to Belly was how everyone figured this would end. Hopefully she can now move on to better competition that can actually elevate her game.
Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson def. Enzo Amore & Big Cass via pinfall: There was an absolutely epic promo by Enzo & Cass before the match -- be sure to go find it. Unfortunately, that was the lone highlight of the proceedings. Cass got in some power moves, as one would expect, but Gallows & Anderson singled out Enzo and concentrated on him at the end of the match, eventually hitting their Magic Killer finisher before picking up the 1-2-3. Not a surprising finish for sure and probably a good move considering Gallows & Anderson needed the win. But it is strange that Enzo & Cass are almost always just fed to the wolves despite being so over with the crowd.
#TheRealestGuysInTheRoom@WWEAaLLday21 & @BigCassWWE have one very REAL message for @KarlAndersonWWE & @LukeGallowsWWE! #HIACpic.twitter.com/1YlI2732FS
— WWE (@WWE) October 31, 2016
Universal Championship (Hell in a Cell) -- Kevin Owens (c) def. Seth Rollins via pinfall to retain the title: WWE put this match on fourth, saving the women's title match for the main event. Owens spent the early portion of the match straight dominating Rollins by working on his supposedly injured back and using all parts of the cell -- and every weapon inside it -- to his disposal. Rollins appeared completely beaten down and executed very little offense for most of the match. It wasn't until Owens attempted a Pop-Up Powerbomb that Rollins reversed it and mounted a bit of offense, though Owens snuffed that out rather quickly. It was at that point, with a table set up at ringside between the apron and the cell, Owens angled another table diagonally with the bottom on the apron and the top set of legs through the cell.
Looks like @WWERollins may have just gotten #TheKevinOwensShow CANCELED! #HIAC@FightOwensFightpic.twitter.com/bm6jrpu6Nv
— WWE (@WWE) October 31, 2016
Rollins suplexed Owens on the apron and dove outside the ring to knock him out, but Owens quickly took charge again. He pulled a fire extinguisher from under the ring, hit Rollins in the stomach with it and then sprayed it in the referee's face, leading to the opening of the cell door so a new referee could officiate the match. That's when Chris Jericho ran down to ringside and locked himself in the cell. Rollins quickly knocked Jericho out for a bit with a Pedigree and then picked Owens up in a powerbomb and tossed him outside the ring through the two aforementioned tables. Rollins hit a frog splash on Owens after rolling him back in the ring, but Jericho interfered by pulling the referee out as Rollins was about to register a pinfall victory.
It was at that point that Rollins concentrated on Jericho outside the ring, powerbombing him into the cell in an attempt to make the match a one-on-one affair again. Owens was waiting when Rollins reentered the ring and hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Rollins kicked out after two. Owens and Jericho then teamed up on Rollins with a steel chair, and Owens powerbombed Rollins into a pair of set-up chairs to finally win the match. It was a tremendous and well-told match even with the planned interference, and considering Jericho hit Rollins with a Code Breaker after it was over, it sure looks like that is the next planned rivalry. Whether that means Owens moves on to another challenger for Survivor Series remains to be seen.
Cruiserweight Championship -- Brian Kendrick def. TJ Perkins (c) via submission to win the title: A fun back-and-forth match that featured plenty of action and a solid finish. Kendrick sold a left knee injury after he appeared to land awkwardly when being pushed off the ring ropes. When Perkins went to pick him up, Kendrick blindisded him with a headbutt and locked in the Captain's Hook to earn a submission and take home the belt.
Tag Team Championship -- Cesaro & Sheamus def. The New Day (c) via disqualification: The forced-together team of Cesaro & Sheamus had its issues, which came to a head when Sheamus accidentally hit Cesaro with a Brouge Kick while aiming for Big E. Sheamus broke up the resulting pinning attempt and then launched himself out of the ring into all three members of New Day to give Cesaro time to recover. Cesaro soon locked in a Sharpshooter on Xavier Woods inside the ring as Sheamus used a trombone to knock out Big E outside of it. The referee saw Kofi Kingston respond to the trombone hit by kicking Sheamus at ringside as Woods tapped out to Cesaro in the squared circle, leading to a disqualification victory instead of a submission win. As a result, New Day retained their titles. (We'll call this a push on the prediction of a win and new champion.)
Women's Championship (Hell in a Cell) -- Charlotte def. Sasha Banks (c) to win the title: Charlotte was carried to ringside on a chair by four men, while Banks rolled up in an Escalade limo draped by four security guards. Charlotte blindsided Banks before the cell was lowered and bell rung with the two going right into the crowd. When they returned, the cell was lowered and they began climbing it, but Charlotte pulled Banks down and powerbombed her into an announce table. Banks spent five minutes stumbling and laying on the ground, unable to stand due to a lower back injury as referees called out a stretcher; she was put in a neck brace while crying at ringside. All this time, Charlotte stood in the opened cell screaming for the title to be awarded to her, despite the match never officially starting. Just as Charlotte was about to be awarded the title due to forfeit, Banks jumped off the gurney, ran into the cell and began attacking Charlotte. The bell rang and the match was finally underway.
THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! This match hasn't even STARTED... #HIAC@MsCharlotteWWE@SashaBanksWWEpic.twitter.com/1aDBZHSyoX
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 31, 2016
Banks was aggressive inside the cell, diving out of the ring and attacking Charlotte, reversing the momentum of the pre-match activities. Charlotte got the upper hand back by dropping Banks onto an opened chair in the ring, continuing her work on Banks' lower back. Banks later found herself having climbed the cell outside the ring, repelling off it for a double knee into Charlotte that was one of the highlights of the match. Back inside the ring, Banks honored the late Eddie Guerrero by hitting the Three Amigos string of suplexes followed by his signature frog splash. She then locked in the Bank Statement, but Charlotte crawled out of the ring to break it up; even a couple chair shots could not get Banks a fall.
#TheBoss@SashaBanksWWE and @MsCharlotteWWE have brought their own brand of VICIOUS to this historic match inside #HellInACell! #HIACpic.twitter.com/1trXq73tmt
— WWE (@WWE) October 31, 2016
Charlotte set up a table at ringside and looked to suplex Banks off the top rope into it, but Banks kicked her off and Charlotte fell into the table in what looked like an unplanned miscue. Charlotte then locked Banks in the Figure Eight back inside the ring, but Banks broke it by grabbing a chair and delivering multiple shots. Three backbreakers knocked Banks out, which gave Charlotte the chance to place her atop a table set up inside the ring. Banks would jump off, break up a moonsault attempt and then set the table elevated in the opposite corner of the ring. She attempted to throw Charlotte into it with a running powerbomb, but her back gave out and Charlotte threw her into the table twice before hitting Natural Selection to earn the 1-2-3. This marks the fourth time in the last 98 days (second time in October alone) that the title has changed hands.
Prediction record: 4-2-1
Congrats to @MsCharlotteWWE the NEW @wwe Raw Women's Champion and for an incredible classic! @SashaBanksWWE you also should be very proud!
— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) October 31, 2016
Full card
Match | Title on the line |
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte | Women's Championship (Hell in a Cell) |
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Seth Rollins | Universal Championship (Hell in a Cell) |
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Rusev | U.S. Championship (Hell in a Cell) |
TJ Perkins (c) vs. Brian Kendrick | Cruiserweight Championship |
The New Day (c) vs. Cesaro & Sheamus | Tag Team Championship |
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson | |
Bayley vs. Dana Brooke |