10/3/10 Hell in a Cell

Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison (Submissions Count Anywhere; U.S. Title): I marked HUGE when DB used Cattle Mutilation on Miz. of course, Striker referred to it by name because he's the teacher. Tremendous opening match, as expected. Morrison is trying to fill the void Jeff Hardy left behind; he's doing all the crazy stuff in matches now. Lots of various submissions, and it went all over the arena. Awesome stuff. ***3/4

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus (Hell in a Cell; WWE Title): So I guess Miz is not cashing in MITB on this match because he just got nuked in the U.S. Title match. Great match here. I liked the use of the steps, chairs, and cell. In the PG era, anyway, it was physical. A few false finishes here. ***1/2

Edge vs. Jack Swagger: So this match just came about mainly from what we saw on TV the last couple weeks. Whatever the case, this was a good match. Edge's face turn is pretty much going full-force now. **1/4

Wade Barrett vs. John Cena: The evolution of John Cena continues. He seems more comfortable employing a ground-based mat wrestling game in long matches, and he continues to use the dropkick and leapfrog in matches -- getting serious height on it as well. Barrett also showed a vast array of moves in this one...he definitely has a future here. Wade Barrett, you have become a star tonight. The stunned crowd says it all: this was a captivating match that breathes new life into Nexus. See my comments at the end regarding the interference at the end. Excellent match all around that told a great story. ****

Michelle McCool vs. Natalya (Unified Divas Title): And this is what happens when you actually put two divas in the ring that can wrestle AND you give them time. Very well done here. The Sharpshooter countered into the Mad-T -- and then back to the Sharpshooter -- was very cool. It was the right outcome to further the feud. *3/4

Kane vs. The Undertaker (Hell in a Cell; World Heavyweight Title): It was physical, but the match really suffered for three reasons. First, it happened in the PG era. Honestly, HIAC matches are usually pretty junk without the blood to highlight how demonic the match really can be. Second, Undertaker's age really showed here. Both guys are already slow, but Kane working on Taker's leg just made things worse. Third, the ending was hella confusing. So Paul Bearer is back with Kane now? I just threw my hands in the air on this one and wanted to eat dinner. Anyway, it's been rumored that WWE wants a Buried Alive match between Undertaker and Kane, so we'll see how this unfolds. **1/4

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MVPs: There are several nominations here, but the one person who really impressed me was Wade Barrett. Not only did he have a career-making match against John Cena, Nexus stays alive and Cena has to be a part of a now-rejuvenated stable.

Overall Rating: This was a good PPV, although it obviously could have been better. The Hell in a Cell match was being talked about by Cole, Lawler, and Striker as being so demonic, it's only happened 21 times in WWE history. Yeah, more like 21 times since 1997. It's bad enough that the PG era has made this match too tame for me. The fact that we have a PPV devoted to this really lessens the awesomeness of the entire gimmick match, period. I really miss blood in HIAC matches.

On the positive side, the right people won their matches, in my book. Stars were created (Barrett), and stars shone (Bryan, Miz, Morrison, Cena). Heck, even the divas match was quite good. I truly am interested to see how Cena/Nexus works out now. I'm glad WWE is trying to breathe life back into this stable, as they have totally dropped the ball up to this point. I'm reading that the two guys helping Barrett win were Husky Harris and Mike McGillicutty. I think those are the right two remaining guys to take from NXT Season 2. McGillicutty impressed me at times, and Harris has the look to be an enforcer. **3/4