At this rate WWE are going to end up copying TNA's weekly pay-per-views if the gap keeps getting shorter between events. 3 weeks on from Breaking Point we're back with an almost identical card, but with a new gimmick for the main events - as this time around they were contested inside Hell in a Cell - a structure so fearsome and powerful it creates its own music by simply being lowered to the ground.
Surprisingly first up this evening was the match that headlined last time around, as Undertaker challenged CM Punk once again for the World Title. Disappointingly the match never seemed to get going and ended abruptly after 10 minutes with only fleeting attempts to bring the cage into play with the odd tame whip into the steel here and there. The Undertaker won cleanly and decisively, but god knows where they go from here with the lack of any real challengers to the title save the subtle hints towards another meddling McMahon storyline that fills me with dread.
Next up was the Intercontinental Title match with John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler actually getting the chance to have a match this time around, instead of messing around with Pat Patterson. The match itself didn't disappoint but if anything Morrison seems to be regressing charisma-wise, struggling to get a connection with a crowd he always seems to win them round with his in ring work - but seemed far more suited to an arrogant heel that he portrayed during his run with Miz. Morrison retained, leaving you wondering when on earth Dolph is going to the getting the title he seemingly looked set to win going in to most of the PPVs so far this year.
Mickie James also retained in a short women's title match against Alicia Fox, which was short enough and good enough to avoid getting crapped on by the crowd.
Despite my initial misgivings about teaming the returning Rey Mysterio with Batista, as I'd have liked to see them team up Rey with Evan Bourne to recreate the chemistry they showed on Raw - the unified Tag Title match was much more fun than it had the right to be. Rey and Jericho were reliably awesome, but Big Dave and the Big Show were excellent in their shorts bursts of action. Jericho and Big Show retained thanks to the knockout punch once again, and are now one of the highlights of WWE TV, raising the profile of the tag belts, working as a team and avoiding the usual superstars who can't get along as partners gubbins.
You wouldn't expect Triple H to stay out of the main event for too long so Orton/Cena was the second of the evening's Cell matches - and whilst not on the level of last time around it was an okay match and featured a ref bump from Mike Chioda that denied Cena retaining and hopefully doesn't lead to Chioda going all Tim White on the back of an injury suffered within the Cell. Which means that Orton is champ once again on the back of a punt that looked rubbish thanks to some shoddy WWE camerawork - and with an Ironman rematch on the cards it left me praying they start the clock on the entrances as there won't be any time for the other matches at the rate these two are going.
The two matches between this and the main event ended up coming across as filler despite the best efforts of those involved. First the re-debuting Drew McIntyre took on R-Truth and they actually gave the match quite the build with a nice video package and a promo from Mr Killings. It was a shame that when the match itself started the crowd wasn't interested in the slightest despite both men working hard in what was a good, but short match. WWE obviously have big things in mind for McIntyre, having him personally introduced by Vince on Smackdown and working with Ricky Steamboat on house shows - quite what they see in him leaves me slightly puzzled though - its not that he's bad, just he doesn't really bowl you over. I can understand looking at Brock Lesnar when they first saw him and going 'future of the business' but Drew McIntyre, I don't get how they can think that.
The penultimate match was the US triple threat title match and the highlight came during the entrances with a great promo form Miz referencing the surreal sight of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the crowd plugging their new video game. Kofi Kingston retained with a neat finish that looks to build up Jack Swagger for a one on one match as he was robbed of victory thanks to Kofi's athleticism and opportunism.
Main Event time and headlining the show was DX taking on legacy in the culmination of their feud that credit where credits due, really has raised the status of Rhodes and Dibiase. This was the only match of the three that made any use of the cage stipulations as after a heated brawl around the building, Legacy managed to lock Triple H out of the cage and beat down Shawn Michaels for the best part of the match. Legacy looked great here thanks to Shawn's super selling and Triple H's return was timed perfectly, reversing the tables for a 2 on 1 comeback that sent the crowd home happy and didn't kill the momentum built up by the 2 second generation superstars in previous weeks.
To sum it up, Hell in a Cell was a good pay-per-view, but the lack of those classic cell moments may hurt the drawing power of the name in the future - whilst I'm not fussed by the lack of blood that many others are, the lack of a big bump or spot for the highlight reel may make many punters think twice before forking over £15 pounds for a Hell in a Cell match in the future.
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