WWE Hell In A Cell 2018: Star Ratings For All 8 Matches
5. Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre Vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose - RAW Tag Team Title Match
If the opening third of this match was half as good as the incendiary last seven minutes, we would find ourselves in elusive, undisputed, main roster ***** territory. Plagued by one too many rest holds and the odd lethargic save sequence, it was merely near-perfect.
That final act, though. It was a balls-to-the-wall firecracker of a sequence.
Strength vs. strength, speed vs. speed; both teams were a match for one another, and this total lack of give manifested as surge upon surge of immersive, unpredictable last-ditch drama that served the characters without once feeling like an excuse to get magnificent-looking sh*t in. Power; guts; speed; invention; technicality: this was a showcase for modern pro wrestling, but not self-consciously so.
No hyperbole: in those last seven minutes, Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler wrestled an elite, legendary exchange. It was pure magic that felt every bit as worthy as the great in-ring rivalries of wrestling's incredible past.
Drew McIntyre arguably needed this match to back up his locker room leader in waiting gimmick, and did he ever f*cking live up to it. He was enhanced significantly by this. He wrestled, finally, as the megastar he looks.
The post-match visual was pure poetry, too. In a grand moment of foreshadowing, Drew carried an exhausted Dolph across his back, much like he has carried, in storylines, the entire act - and when it implodes, he has the TitanTron footage to show it.
Star Rating: ****1/2