Bookended by a pair of memorable matches filled with dangerous high spots, the 2017 version of WWE Hell in a Cell on Sunday won't soon be forgotten when it comes to producing defining moments.

What happened in between was average at best and forgettable at worst as the  card from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit lacked consistency. That was overshadowed on this night by the cliffhanger of Sami Zayn's apparent heel turn and yet another hellacious Shane McMahon bump through a table.

Along with Kevin Owens' victory in the main event, the majority of conversations over the next 48 hours should also include just how great the opening match of the night was as The Usos defeated The New Day for the SmackDown tag team championship inside the cell.

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2017 WWE Hell in a Cell results

Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin def. The Hype Bros via pinfall (Kickoff Show): The dissolution of the Zach Ryder-Mojo Rawley team continued. In a high-paced match that nicely set the tone for the evening, the Hype Bros further teased an inevitable break up late in the match when Benjamin fought off Rawley to escape a Hype Ryder attempt, causing Ryder to argue with his teammate. Gable and Benjamin hit their own double-team finisher moments later as Ryder was lifted up by Benjamin, allowing Gable to hit a bulldog off the top rope for the finish. Grade: C+

Tag Team Championship Hell in a Cell -- The Usos def. The New Day (c) via pinfall to win the titles: Following a brutal exchange of weapons and pain high spots, The Usos secured a fifth tag team title reign by outlasting The New Day. More importantly, the two tag teams cemented their candidacy as the clubhouse lead for WWE feud of the year. This one was eye-popping and physical from the opening bell as both tag teams employed weapons from the jump. All four members of the match survived multiple and legitimate harrowing spots against the cage wall, including Big E hitting a running spear through the ring ropes and off the cage. Xavier Woods also found himself on the wrong end of the splash from Jey Uso while his head was pinned against the cage wall with a Kendo stick across his throat.

There were plenty of near-falls late as both New Day members escaped from handcuffs to momentarily save their titles, but Woods couldn't overcome a double teaming of Kendo stick shots. With a chair laid out across his chest, a prone Woods absorbed the Double Uce splash finisher to end the match. This was as good as it gets in tag team wrestling for 2017 in a likely blowoff match that was the cherry on top to an incredible feud. Grade: A

Randy Orton def. Rusev via pinfall: For a come-down match following a hellacious tag team war in a cage, this one wasn't lacking for physicality. But despite Rusev dominating the action throughout, Orton rallied. The finish was a series of reversals. After Orton hit an elevated DDT, his attempt to pound on the canvas (and go "to that place") was countered by Rusev, who set him up for the Accolade. But Orton slithered away to hit an RKO, quite literally out of nowhere, to get the 1-2-3. While this has been far from the most exciting or important feud, both competitors did well to add intensity. Grade: C+

United States Championship: Baron Corbin def. Tye Dillinger (via pinfall) and AJ Styles (c) to win the title: The late addition of Dillinger into the match during the kickoff show opened up the opportunity to protect the main protagonists from losing clean. Considering Dillinger played as big of a part in this feud as Styles or Corbin, it made sense. To his credit, the "Perfect 10" took the step-up opportunity and did well to help the match exceed expectations. Corbin hit the spot of the match when he intercepted a Phenomenal Forearm and reversed Styles into a chokeslam backbreaker from the top rope. Styles rallied late to hit a stunning 450 springboard splash on Corbin but saw his victory stolen when Dillinger broke up the pin. Corbin did the same moments later after Styles applied his Calf Crusher on Dillinger. In the end, Styles hit Dillinger with the Phenomenal Forearm but was literally booted out of the ring by an advantageous Corbin to steal the pin and the title. Whether the result extends the Corbin-Styles feud or releases AJ for something bigger, this was strong booking. Grade: B

Women's Championship -- Charlotte Flair def. Natalya (c) via disqualification: Chapter 1 of Flair's returning feud produced an incomplete ending as Natalya played her heel role well in taking a chair to Flair's injured knee to force the DQ finish. Flair sold a knee injury throughout the match after Natalya targeted her left leg early and eventually locked the challenger in the Sharpshooter. But Flair broke free and went on to sacrifice herself with a moonsault onto the floor that only added to her pain. That set up the finish due to Natalya's desperation. While the match was far from memorable, the finish built the foundation for the story that is yet to come. Grade: C

WWE Championship -- Jinder Mahal (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura via pinfall: It was thought that WWE had exhausted every possible distraction or devious finish in order to believably keep the title on Mahal's waist. As such, the promotion decided to put him over clean for the first time on Sunday as Mahal's underwhelming reign continued entering a scheduled tour of India. Rest holds and knee strikes were the predictable fare in this one, as were constant interruptions from the Singh Brothers, who were eventually ejected by referee Charles Robinson. But the official's expulsion of Mahal's sidekicks caused him to be late in arriving to a pinfall attempt from Nakamura, who hit his Kinsasha finisher. Given new life after grabbing the bottom rope and escaping the ring, Mahal avoided Kinshasa a second time with Nakamura running into the corner; Mahal took advantage of a dazed Nakamura by hitting The Khallas to finish him off. While the finishing sequence was better than expected, these two have remarkably poor chemistry for a WWE title feud, and the Mahal experiment is well past its expiration date. Grade: C-

Bobby Roode def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall: Relegated to popcorn match status ahead of the main event, Ziggler made a creative statement after weeks of mocking the entrances of others as he walked the aisle without music or video. The match that followed was decent at best in front of a dead crowd. Ziggler landed a Famouser but could only get two. After Ziggler escaped from Roode's finisher late, the two wrestlers traded multiple roll-up attempts for two counts, with each grabbing the tights of his opponent on every attempt. The final roll-up went in the favor of Roode, who recorded the pin, but an angry Ziggler instantly hit a Zig Zag and exited stronger in defeat. Grade: C

Hell in a Cell (Falls Count Anywhere) -- Kevin Owens def. Shane McMahon via pinfall: Swerve ending alert! Shane-O-Mac recreating his jump through a table off the top of the cage from WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker somehow wasn't the biggest moment of Owens' victory in a special "falls count anywhere" version of the Hell in a Cell match. Sami Zayn's late reveal turn proved to be the biggest moment of the show as he pulled his best friend turned bitter enemy Owens off the table just as McMahon came crashing down from 20 feet in the air with an elbow.

Zayn's likely heel turn literally lifted Owens to victory as he dragged KO's body on top of McMahon and shoved referee Mike Chioda into counting the fall. The finish capped a match filled with high spots, including Owens falling from the side of the cage through the Spanish announce table. The match also featured sustained action on top of the cage as Owens and McMahon brawled and traded suplexes.

Owens missed a running senton earlier in the match from the ring apron and McMahon went on to land his Van Terminator from the top rope across the ring into a trash can he placed in Owens' arms. The action then escalated considerably when McMahon found bolt cutters under the ring and cut the lock on the cage to bring the action outside.

The match also featured plenty of attention to detail in terms of psychology as Owens laid McMahon out on the announce table and climbed to the top of the cage but was unable to follow through on taking a leap. And while there were plenty of "This -- is -- awesome" chants from the crowd as both superstars scarified their bodes repeatedly, a small critique would be McMahon going back to the well for such a dangerous spot (typically reserved for WrestleMania) during an October pay-per-view. Still, the match retains huge kudos for the surprise finish and the cliffhanger element of what will likely be further explained on Tuesday's SmackDown Live episode. Grade: B+