8 Big Concerns Heading Into WWE Hell In A Cell 2017
So much could go wrong on October 9th.
WWE's Hell In A Cell pay-per-view returns this Sunday, October 9th, and while last year's event was a Raw exclusive, 2017's sees some of SmackDown's biggest stars go at it inside the imposing structure.
There are two HIAC matches this year, with The Usos challenging for The New Day's SmackDown Tag Team Championships in the opener, and Shane McMahon fighting Kevin Owens in the main event. These bouts take precedent, but each of the blue brand's singles titles will be contested throughout the night, with Jinder Mahal facing Shinsuke Nakamura, Natalya defending against Charlotte Flair, and Baron Corbin challenging AJ Styles.
The card looks promising on paper, but SmackDown is struggling at the moment. The blue brand's quality has nosedived throughout 2017, and none of these bouts have had a perfect build, particularly the WWE Title match. Hell In A Cell may well succeed, but the company's big PPV have been a regular source of disappointment this year, and SD's consistency issues increase the odds of another major flop.
Let's take a look at every that could go wrong this Sunday, starting with some lower-card quibbles, then working all the way to the top...
8. Prolonging The Inevitable
Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable will wrestle The Hype Bros on Hell In A Cell's Kickoff Show. It's a match we've already seen on SmackDown a few weeks ago, with Benjamin and Gable's victory spawning from more cracks in Rawley and Ryder's relationship, continuing the "split" teases the two lowly grapplers have been working for months.
It's time to move on. The story started shortly after Ryder's comeback in June, and was then shelved for a short while, before returning to television in recent weeks. WWE have now sapped as much life from these teases as they're going, so while this bout will unfold on the under-watched pre-show, it's the perfect place to pull the trigger.
There's no point in persisting with an angle when so few people are invested in the tag team in the first place. Splitting the duo will give WWE the opportunity to do something with both men, and while Mojo's long-term potential is particularly dubious, a Zack Ryder heel turn could be interesting. Really, though, we'd settle for anything that saves us from the tedium of more will they/won't they moments.