8 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE Hell In A Cell 2015

Lesnar and Taker settle the score, while Wyatt and Reigns close out this chapter.

Like it or not, Sunday€™s Hell in a Cell PPV represents a potential shift in WWE philosophy. The company is headed into a period where it will be without the services of two of its top superstars, John Cena and Randy Orton. The appearance of numerous legends, including €œStone Cold€ Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, etc., will not do much to move the ratings needle for the company. Sunday€™s PPV was cast against this backdrop. So Hell in a Cell represented an opportunity for WWE to not be afraid to try something different. Instead of the same handful of guys winning year in and year out, maybe some other guys could give it a try and see if they catch fire. At least, that€™s what you would think given the poor ratings right now. Sunday€™s PPV did not venture too far from the norm, although it left us with a couple shock moments (including something leading off the show). Overall, HIAC went pretty well, though WWE has to be more concerned about its top stars of the future languishing in multi-man tag matches on the pre-show. That philosophy is part of why ratings are where they are. With that in mind, what was launched into the stratosphere? What fizzled like a dud? Let€™s find out€

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.