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The next time the WWE is on PPV is Hell In A Cell, sounds good right? I’m trying to convince myself it’s going to be worth watching. Gone are the days of the ‘In Your House’ PPV’s with slogans such as ‘Mind Games’ and ‘A Cold Day In Hell’, now we are to be persuaded to purchase an event just because of one match stipulation over a storyline.
WWE Hell In A Cell sounds good on paper but when you consider that the company is in the ‘PG Era’, it’s hard to imagine we are going to see anything other than the ordinary. Whenever I think of the stipulation my mind always goes back to 1998 King of the Ring, Undertaker versus Mankind and how can I not?
That one match made the Hell In A Cell one of the most famous and unpredictable stipulations in history. The sight of Taker throwing Mankind off the top of the cell and through the table, Foley climbing back up to be chokeslammed through the top of the cell and the thumbtacks all over the canvas was shocking to watch. This was all at a time when the WWE (WWF) was competing with WCW and they had to go all out to win the war.
Times have changed though and even though the WWE isn’t competing with a major company (no disrespect to TNA), they are competing with themselves and every other entertainment outlet there is available. They need to shock every once in a while to keep people talking and it’s not only the WWE that needs to do this, every show on TV has to have an edge now and then to keep the viewers attention.
I’m not saying that the WWE should go as far as they did at King of the Ring ’98, it’s impossible now that they are PG. From now until the Royal Rumble there is only the Survivor Series which is one of the ‘big 4’ coming up to keep the fans excited so something has to be done to keep us hooked.
I think it’s a difficult situation the WWE puts themselves in by naming a PPV after a match stipulation. People expect violence when it comes to the Hell In A Cell and many get pissed off when we see a regular match with a steel frame hanging around the ring. Personally I don’t want to see anyone get thrown off the top again but I think something could be done so we don’t see anything mediocre.
For example, the first ever Hell In A Cell match had the debut of Kane. The way he entered the arena and tore off the door to the cell had people buzzing. It was a great storyline involving Kane, Undertaker and Paul Bearer but the way it was linked into the HIAC match was perfect and shocking.
Usually I would rather see pure technical, mat classic that tells a story but I don’t want to see it inside a cell. When it comes to these types of matches I want shocks and surprises and I don’t care if there is interference when it comes to the outcome. The Hell In A Cell stipulation should never be a PPV on its own where a storyline has to fit around a match, it should only be used when the time is right.
It’s quite simple, a stipulation of this magnitude in the WWE should rarely be used and when it is used it should be to end a, big long-standing feud where the fans feel anything could happen.
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