6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Bad Blood (Results & Review)

1. A Methodical, Violent Build

For all the rhetoric about how much they hated each other with every fiber of their beings, Drew McIntyre and CM Punk certainly didn’t tear into each other at the beginning of their Hell in a Cell match.

They slowly walked toward each other and started with some punches and chops before spilling to the outside to brawl and retrieve plunder. But the muted opening would slowly build as Drew and Punk began using weapons, becoming increasingly violent. Punk busted McIntyre open hardway with a toolbox, leaving Drew’s hair blood-soaked and pasted to his head. They took turns grinding wrenches into their wounds. McIntyre suplexed Punk off the apron and through a table. Drew hit a White Noise on the steps.

But it was Punk who capitalized at the crucial moment, dodging a Claymore that carried Drew into a gruesome bump on the edge of the ring steps. A chain-wrapped knee provided the knockout power with a GTS, leaving Punk the winner in a violent Hell in a Cell match that fans haven’t seen in years. They avoided a lot of the showy ga-ga, and the match was all the better for it.

One of the best HIAC matches in years and maybe one of the best WWE bouts of the year. Great end to a feud that had peaked multiple times and needed to reach its climax. The fun will be seeing where each man goes from here.