WWE Hell in a Cell was the last PPV event to take place in front of the ThunderDome screens. The show gave us four women’s matches, two of which were championship bouts with one taking place inside the unforgiving steel structure.
Natalya vs Mandy Rose
The kick off show saw Natalya take on Mandy Rose in singles action. The match was a decent outing for both with Natalya acting as the ring general and controlling the flow of the match. Rose performed well and held her own against the WWE veteran. But Nattie’s experience prevailed and she caught Rose in the Sharp Shooter for the submission victory.
Bianca Belair vs Bayley for the SmackDown Women’s Champion
The first match of the main card saw a match that should’ve headlined the show. Belair and Bayley put on a fantastic contest full of innovative violence and creative destruction.
Bayley used all of her experience and conniving inside the cell, even bringing back the taped together Kendo sticks from last year’s event. Bayley tried everything to get the advantage over Belair from weapons, biting, and tying her braid to ropes.
Belair took everything that Bayley threw at her and began to dish out her own punishment. To prevent Bayley from avoiding the attack Belair tied her hair to the Role Model’s wrist before beating her silly around the cell.
Bayley especially took some brutal bumps in the match with the KOD on the ladder looking particulalry nasty.
This was a fun and entertaining match with both performers executing their respective roles perfectly.
Alexa Bliss vs Shayna Baszler
Alexa Bliss was at her maniacal best as Baszler tried to break her arm.’The Queen of Spades’ stomped on Bliss’ elbow as Reginald and Nia Jax applauded at ringside. Bliss’ screams turned into laughter before she used her hypnotic powers to distract Baszler and lay her out with a barrage of stiff offence.
Bliss then turned her mind control powers to Jax and made her smack Reginald. Bliss followed up by hitting Sister Abigail and Twisted Bliss to pin Baszler.
This was fun and hokey stuff that some will like but many won’t.
Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair for the RAW Women’s Championship
Rhea Ripley and Charlotte have great chemistry, which was on full display in this title match. The two warriors beat the hell out of each other with some great sequences and strong power moves.
Charlotte played the overt heel by using the title belt as a distraction to blindside the champion before the bell. ‘The Queen’ then targetted Ripley’s knee to set up the Figure Eight. Ripley fought through the pain and fired back with a lovely German Suplex and a big Superplex from the top turnbuckle.
This was a physical and intense fight but then the DQ finish happened and left a bad taste in the mouth of the viewer. ‘The Nightmare’ was disqualified when she hit Charlotte with a piece of the announce table.
A good, fun brawl but let down by the finish, plus the lack of heel/face dynamic made it difficult to fully invest into the match.
Let’s get to the winners and losers;
Winner: Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair performed incredibly well in her first time inside Hell in a Cell. She added an air of athleticism rarely seen in this stipulation while her braid brought intriguing ways of inflicting damage.
The EST of WWE showed a great deal of resiliance in her toughest challenge as champion to date. Not only did she pass it with flying colours but she beat Bayley at her own game.
Bring on the next challenger!
Winner: Bayley
Despite losing her second successive title challenge Bayley looked excellent. Her selling, heel antics and backchat were brilliant. She used all of her expertise and skill to make herself and Belair look great and put on the match of the night.
Now her championship challenge is over, it will be interesting to see where she goes and who will be her next feud.
Winner: Alexa Bliss
Say what you will about Alexa Bliss’ creepy character and supernatural abilities but her unwavering commitment to the role must be commended. Because of this role we haven’t got to see her in the ring that much as of late and in this match she reminded us just how good she can be.
Bliss is clearly loving playing this character and does it with such passion and devotion it hard not to like.
Loser: Shayna Baszler
Remember when Shayna Baszler owned NXT’s women’s division for over a year? Remember when she destroyed everyone at Elimination Chamber in 2020? Well, WWE is doing their best to make us forget it with months of bad booking. Hopefully, WWE will reward her with a decent run somewhere down the line.
Who were your winners and losers? Let us know in the comments below.
