WWE Hell In A Cell 2021: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best
A solid night of wrestling with some lousy finishes.
As a somewhat appropriate end to the "pandemic era" of WWE PPV events, this year's Hell in a Cell was a textbook holding pattern show, delivering little of true significance whatsoever.
No titles changed hands, two anticipated matches ended in ridiculous rollups - one of them being the main event, even - and there just wasn't much here fans are likely to remember for long.
Though there was thankfully only one stinker of a match to suffer through - and it's exactly the one everyone expected it to be - the strong in-ring performances were so often pitted against questionable booking decisions.
If WWE can't seem to put even basic effort into the storytelling, then why should fans care?
Thankfully the in-ring work still prevailed enough to make Hell in a Cell an entertaining - if frustrating - show.
However, it did seem to illustrate that the titular gimmick has basically lost its "specialness" at this point, and sadly just feels like another match.
It might be time to retire this themed PPV, at least for a few years, and try to give the match type its exciting edge back...
7. Shayna Baszler Vs. Alexa Bliss
Result: Alexa puts Shayna away with a Twisted Bliss for the win (7:00).
Rating: Alexa and Shayna tried their hardest to make this work, but it was a whole lot of nothing, and having Shayna eat such an unconvincing loss was a major mistake.
Supernatural shenanigans can be a lot of fun as WWE has proven in the past, but audiences have to invest in the character and what they're doing in the ring, neither of which were true in this case.
No amount of possession hooey could contrive a convincing Alexa victory over Shayna here, who just continues to be booked horribly despite her exceptional in-ring skills. At least it was fairly short, but it could've been even shorter.
It wasn't quite a total dud because there was at least an attempt to craft an actual wrestling match for some time, but the exterior silliness was mostly a bust. 4/10