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- Credit: WWE
Welcome to WWE Hell in a Cell 2022’s Bleacher Report.
The HIAC stipulation was used only once in Sunday’s show, but was given to what could be considered the biggest feud: Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins.
Only two titles were to grab pay-per-view: the theory put the United States championship on the line against Mustafa Ali, while Bianca Bellar defended the women’s Raw title against Asuka and Becky Lynch in Triple Threat.
The feud between Ezekiel and Kevin Owens culminated in a meeting, as did a program involving Happy Corbyn and his former best friend Madkapp Moss.
We also saw The Judgment Day face Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Liv Morgan, and Bobby Lashley face a tough battle against Omos and MVP in a handicap match.
Let’s see what happened during Sunday’s show.
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The first match of the evening was Triple Threat with Bianca Bellar, who defended the women’s Raw title against Asuka and Becky Lynch. Thanks to the intro and promotional video for this match, the first bell does not ring until about 15 minutes after the start of the show.
After sending Big Time Becks out of the ring together, WWE’s The EST and The Empress of Tomorrow stood up and closed respectfully. In the first few minutes, Belair has individual sequences with both opponents before we see all three women fight at once.
The most impressive part of this performance was how well balanced it was. All three had ample control, but it never felt like one was in the ring less than the other two.
The audience was hot from start to finish because the Superstars never gave them a reason to look away. It’s hard to find something critical to this one because it felt like everything was working just right. Even moments that seemed unplanned did not slow things down.
After Lynch hit Asuka with Manhandle Slam, Belair kicked her out of the ring and covered the Empress for the victory to retain the title.
Rating: A +
Remarkable moments and observations
- This match was to take place inside the cage. He had already been lowered around the ring during the preliminary show, so he would be perfect. Having only one race in the cage feels like a loss when that’s the name of PPV.
- Although Asuka received a good reaction, there was a feeling that the crowd was firmly in the corner of Belair. Immediately after the first bell, the chanting “EST” erupted.
- Asuka is so smooth when she jumps on someone to take him by the arm.
- At one point, the Empress struck a series of strikes and a German Lynch suplex, which seemed incredible. Each blow seemed connected. Big Time Becks sold everything perfectly.
- It was fun to put both opponents in the ankle at the same time.
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Bobby Lashley against MVP and Omos was next.
The Nigerian giant went to the apron so that his teammate could start against his former colleague, but the MVP withdrew before they could make contact.
Omos tried to take control, but The All Mighty didn’t make it easy. In fact, it took some help from the MVP to keep him in the corner to get Lashley to the defense.
At one point, Omos sent Lashley through the barricade with a run, but the former WWE champion managed to beat the number back in the ring.
Cedric Alexander tried to intervene on behalf of The All Mighty after the MVP pushed him backstage and gave him the opportunity he was waiting for. He sent Omos out of the ring and placed the MVP in Hurt Lock for the win.
No one really expected much from this match, but in the end it was decent. It wasn’t great or memorable in any way, but it wasn’t bad on any level. The audience looked quite happy for Lashley as he celebrated with a copy of the WWE title to a ring fan.
Rating: C +
Remarkable moments and observations
- WWE released a music video before the match, which was a long disc track from MVP to Lashley. There were some funny remarks, especially when comparing WWE’s ECW version with New Coke.
- It’s kind of weird how some handicap matches use labels and others don’t. It seems that WWE decides on a case-by-case basis.
- It will be interesting to see if Alexander is really trying to form another alliance with Lashley or it was a one-time thing to return to the MVP.
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The third match on the map was the clash between an angry Kevin Owens and his calm brother Ezekiel. KO looked as if he were ready to tear off someone’s head as he walked to the ring.
Ezekiel caught Owens with a knee jump in the face and was immediately followed by an elbow jump for nearly two. Prizefighter left the ring to reunite, but his opponent followed him to continue the fight.
After the KO took over, he began to mock Ezekiel and the crowd, while doing as much damage as possible. The momentum changed from one player to another several times and this helped make this match feel more competitive than some might have expected.
It was nice to see Ezekiel get a chance to play a suitable match with a great performer like Owens. Most of what he did as Elias seems to have been too deceptive, and the same can be said for some of his matches like Ezekiel. This match allowed him to show what he really can do.
After hitting Zeke with several super-strikes, Owens finished it off with a stunning win to win. It may not have won awards for the match of the evening, but it was still a lot of fun.
Rating: B +
Remarkable moments and observations
- Ezekiel gave a great sitting interview during the preliminary show. It didn’t add much to the plot, but it allowed him to shine without Owens for once.
- It’s always fun when KO takes his moonflip from the second rope out of his trick bag. He looked perfect when he hit Zeke.
- The way Owens turned when Ezekiel stabbed him in the corner was wild. He crashed hard on the mat.
- Popup Powerbomb KO’s shot was perfect for a picture.
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Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Liv Morgan formed an alliance for this match to face Edge, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest. And the crowd gave a great reaction to the babyfaces for each of their entries.
A fight broke out between all six contestants, which led the good boys to send Edge and Priest out of the ring. Balor and Stiles shot Morgan in Ripley to hit a hurricane before The Eradicator shot down her former teammate with a stiff head.
Ripley continued to disassemble Morgan for a while, but she couldn’t stop her from pinning. Doomsday strengthened their grip on the match, as different members from both teams took part.
The crowd jumped out when Styles received the hot label and began taking down Edge and Priest with his wide range of distinctive moves. After Priest and Ripley helped him regain the upper hand, Edge punched Balor with a spear to win.
It was a solid match that had a good combination of storytelling and racing. We didn’t get a new member of The Judgment Day, as some predicted, but the result was still the right choice.
Rating: B +
Remarkable moments and observations
- All three members of The Judgment Day looked as if they had received some fantastic new equipment for this match. Ripley looked the coolest of the three.
- Although Morgan wasn’t that heavy, Ripley considered her a vertical suplex, and as much as she did, she was still impressive.
- Balor spent a little too much time in defense when he was in the ring. There is always someone who plays this role in matches like this, but it seems to last longer than it should in this case.
- WWE had the perfect camera angle for the sliding knee that Stiles hit Priest with from his apron.
- The phenomenal can go down in history as one of the most precise performers.
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Happy Corbyn came out for this match and looked much less happy than usual, but he was still wearing that stupid little hat. Madcap Moss didn’t smile either, but he looked much more excited than his ex-boyfriend.
They circled for a moment before striking. There was no blocking or exchange of statements. It was a fight from the moment the bell rang.
They used several chairs, steps, a notice table, a barricade, and anything else they could find to damage themselves.
Since this was more about weapons and fighting than traditional wrestling, it’s a little harder to judge than a regular duel. The things he did looked good and the audience had fun, but it was a relatively standard hardcore match for WWE until the end.
Moss placed a chair around Corbyn’s neck and then slammed more than half of the steel steps onto him before pressing him to victory. It was a brutal place for a baby face, but it worked.
This was easily the most impressive thing Moss was allowed to watch in the WWE ring, so this match was a success.
Rating: B
Remarkable moments and observations
- Moss seemed more confident as he seemed to distance himself from Madcap’s character.
- Corbyn slammed the chair into the corner, throwing everything he had, both figuratively and literally.
- Some people will complain about the lack of blood in a match with so many weapons, but this match didn’t really need it, as most of the tools were used to hit the fighters in the back.
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Theory was the first for his match of the United States Championship against Mustafa Ali. They were both dressed in red, white and blue, but the latter had the Chicago flag as part of it in front of Allstate Arena fans in the city.
These are two guys who are known for their fitness and athleticism, so it didn’t take them long to start trading fast takedowns and counters.
The theory plays his part by talking rubbish to …
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