5 Points to Note from WWE's Hell in a Cell 2021
Last Sunday, WWE put on their 13th annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. The match itself is one of the most brutal in professional wrestling history.
There have been just under fifty Hell in a Cell matches since its inception back in 1997. Even though WWE has matches like the Elimination Chamber and War Games, the Hell in a Cell match still holds up as a spectacle.
This year’s event featured two different Hell in a Cell matches, and both of them did not disappoint. The first Hell in a Cell match was for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Bianca Belair defended the championship in a hard-fought battle against Bayley.
The main event of the show saw WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre in the Cell. If Drew McIntrye loses, then he is no longer allowed to challenge Bobby Lashley for the championship.
There were many other matches on the card that helped fill up the 2021 Hell in a Cell card.
Rey Mysterio was supposed to challenge Roman Reigns for Universal Championship a Hell in a Cell match, but that match took place on last Friday’s SmackDown. Reigns dominated Mysterio throughout the entire contest to retain the championship.
The decision drastically changed the card of Sunday’s event, but it made for a great main event for SmackDown. This was the first time a Hell in a Cell match had taken place on the show.
Even though this major match-up was no longer on Sunday’s event, this show was still a decent card. If you have not seen Hell in a Cell, here are a few things to note from the pay-per-view.
#5 WWE Hell in a Cell started off with an intro inspired by The Warriors
During the WWE Hell in a Cell Kickoff show, Natalya defeated Mandy Rose in a very athletic match. Dana Brooke joined her tag team partner Mandy Rose at ringside. Tamina Snuka also joined her fellow Women’s Tag Team Championship partner Natalya.
This match is a perfect setup for the continuation of WWE's Women’s Tag Team championship storyline. If anyone was worthy of a championship opportunity, it would be Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. So expect Rose and Brooke vs Tamina and Natalya for the championships soon.
With Natalya being a seasoned veteran of the roster, she is the perfect opponent for anyone that WWE plans on pushing. Mandy Rose has been a spotlight star for WWE for quite some time now, and her tag team with Dana Brooke is on the rise.
Mandy Rose was able to keep up with Natalya for the whole match, and at many points, it seemed like she was going to win.
After the Kickoff show, Hell in a Cell started with an allusion to the famous 1970’s movie The Warriors. Of course, the film has no ties to the WWE, but it was a cool tribute.
The Warriors is about a Coney Island gang on the run through New York after being framed for a crime they did not commit. Throughout the movie, a radio show host narrates and comments on the events going on.
Hell in a Cell started with a radio host similarly breaking down the show to the radio host from the movie. She breaks down each match with a specific tone that fits the character and even has a very similar sign-off phrase.
In the movie, the phrase cuts directly into a song, much like it did on Hell in a Cell. WWE used Ozzy Osbourne’s “Straight to Hell” as the show's theme. It started to play, and the show officially began.