The Piledriver Report 10.06.11: Hell in a Cell Review

SIN CARA

There was actually only one match that I was interested in. That match was the battle of the two Sin Caras. Unfortunately, the match I saw was not what I expected. It was kind of boring. When I first heard that the WWE signed Mistico, I was very intrigued. I never saw him perform before, so I decided to look him up on YouTube. I pulled up a video of Mistico’s Top Ten Moves. WOW! To say I was impressed would be a huge understatement. I couldn’t wait for Mistico to make his debut. However, ever since he first stepped foot in the WWE, I’ve been disappointed. Aside from the botch fests that normally fill a Sin Cara match, there is that annoying yellow light that appears throughout his matches. I think the yellow light distracts from what is going on in the ring.

Despite Mistico’s slow start, I was disappointed when it looked like he might be released following his Wellness policy failure. I was hoping that the WWE would give him another shot. I’ll be the first to admit that Mistico has not been what he was advertised. However, I don’t think it’s all his fault. Mistico has worked in a lucha libre style throughout his career. Now, he is basically expected to forget everything that he learned, and instead work the WWE style. You can’t expect him to be able to change over light. Look at John Cena. He made his WWE debut a little over nine years ago. Now, imagine if Cena left the WWE and signed with a company in Mexico where his was forced to work the luchadore style. He would fail miserably. With more time, Mistico will learn the WWE style, and then Sin Cara will take off.

Another thing that I think is holding Sin Cara back is his lack of command of the English language. How can the fans relate to him if they can hear what he has to say? Again, this will come in time. If Sin Cara wants to become a top star in the WWE, he will take the time to learn the English language. From what I read when the WWE signed Mistico it was said that he wanted to take lessons to learn the English language. I don’t know if he is or isn’t doing it, but that is a necessary step to succeed in the WWE. If the WWE wants Sin Cara to be the heir apparent to Rey Mysterio, he needs to be able to speak to the fans.

THE BELT

One of the best moments on the show for me was the in ring promo with Cody Rhodes. When Cody unveiled the new “old school” Intercontinental championship belt, it was a true mark-out moment for me. My favorite WWF title belt of all time was the Intercontinental Championship belt that Randy Savage wore. When the WWF decided to change the style of the belt in the late nineties, I was very disappointed. To me, the day the WWE changed the design was also the day that the Intercontinental championship started to lose its luster.

I love the new belt. The WWE took the classic look of the Savage Intercontinental championship, and modernized it just a touch to make it look even better. Hopefully, the WWE will now put the same effort into making the Intercontinental championship a meaningful title once again. Now, if they can only do something with the WWE World singles and Tag Team championship belts.

THE CAGE MATCHES

When you think of Hell in the Cell, what do you think of? I remember the five star classic match that Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker had in the inaugural Hell in the Cell match on the night where the world found out that Brian Pillman passed away. I think of Mick Foley playing crash test dummy in the second Hell in the Cell contest against the Undertaker. What I don’t think of is a pay per view that is built around the gimmick match without having it be the blow off to the feud.

I think that is one of the things that hurt the Hell in a Cell pay per view show. By not building up the feuds to the point where only a Hell in a Cell match can settle the score, the WWE seems to just throw the matches together because it’s the first week in October. This makes the promotion of the matches suffer, because we can’t believe the motivation of the combatants to battle it out to the death in the most “unforgiving” structure in the WWE. Not to mention that the WWE gave us a whopping two weeks between the Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell pay per views. There is no way that you could possibly do a solid build up to a pay per view in that short amount of time. With that being said, let’s look at the matches.

Over the last couple of months, I really enjoyed the latest Mark Henry main event push. It’s been a long time coming, but Henry finally has found his niche, and is a great character. Despite Henry’s recent success, there is one thing that is holding Henry back. He isn’t the best technician in the middle of the ring. Randy Orton, despite his in-ring style that screams psychology, isn’t one of my favorites. Randy Orton’s slow methodical pace is a little too boring for my tastes. Mix the two men together, and you get an underwhelming match in the first Hell in a Cell contest of the night.

I liked the John Cena/Alberto Del Rio/CM Punk match a lot better than the Orton/Henry contest. I thought the match had a nice pace to it. Each man looked strong, and none of the three were made to look like the weak link in the match. The one thing that I didn’t like about the match was the result. Don’t get me wrong, I am sick of John Cena holding the WWE World title. However, my main complaint is that if you were going to put the belt back on Del Rio so quickly, why take the strap off him after only a few weeks as a first-time WWE World title holder? It makes no sense from a booking standpoint, and the lack of logic took away from a pretty good match.

THE ENDING

As much as I thought this was a lackluster pay per view, I loved, loved, loved, loved, and loved the ending. Before I get to the ending, I just want to go back to the beginning of the show. The Miz and R-Truth show up in the front row, and display their tickets for all to see. What happens next? Triple H’s lackey throws the two out of the building. When John Cena was fired, he pulled the same stunt and was allowed to stay. From a continuity standpoint, this really irritated me. However, from a storyline standpoint, this only added to The Miz and R-Truth’s case of being held back due to a conspiracy.