Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend at WWE Hell in a Cell: 4 reasons why it was so controversial

Seth Rollins and The Fiend were part of an underwhelming contest

Seth Rollins is one of the best wrestlers in the world today. When he steps into the ring, fans expect good things to take place. He has lived up to said expectations more often than not and has given fans several memorable matches over the years.

But no one is perfect, and Seth Rollins is no exception. Throughout his WWE career, there have been a couple of lows for all the highs as well. One of those low points is the now-infamous Hell in a Cell match he contested against 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt in 2019.

Of course, fans would remember Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend at Hell in a Cell. This match is part of wrestling history for all the wrong reasons. In fact, it is a credible contender for the most underwhelming WWE match of the modern era.

But how, you ask? How did a match between two top performers become unfavorable for the fans? With Hell in a Cell scheduled for this Sunday, we'll refresh your memory as we recall why Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend at Hell in a Cell was such a controversial contest.

#4. On our list of reasons why Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend at Hell in a Cell 2019 was underwhelming: The red lighting

Red means stop, and that's what they should have done from the beginning

We'll start off with a minor reason that fans are still annoyed with. Why in the world would you have a bout take place under red light?

That is precisely what WWE initially did for The Fiend's matches. Fans unanimously panned the idea, but the company persisted with it for a while. If you watched this particular match and called your streaming platform to complain about visibility quality, we don't blame you.

The fact that WWE eventually gave up and binned the red lighting for good a couple of weeks later is reason enough for this to be on this list.

#3. The Fiend took countless finishers

Seth Rollins probably wondered if life was a simulation while he was inside the cell with The Fiend. The reason for that is the latter kicking out of the gazillion stomps he delivered and no-selling his offense at every turn.

Let us make this clear. If you think the top difficulty AI with Reversals set to 100 in WWE 2K games is bad, you should probably rewatch The Fiend fight, Rollins. Bray Wyatt's alter-ego was said AI turned up to the max, and it felt like watching a video game contest where one player is just broken.

The then Universal Champion's finisher would be greeted with a kick out every single time, and the fans started turning off the match as each one went by. We get that WWE wanted to make the former Wyatt Family member look invincible, but nerfing your top champion's finisher beyond belief is not the way to go.

#2. Seth Rollins was disqualified despite it being a No Disqualification match

What will it take for @WWERollins to defeat "The Fiend" @WWEBrayWyatt?! #HIAC https://t.co/Y3shRDPQQN

Okay, have you noticed how WWE has its commentators explain the rules of every kind of match to you around a thousand times before it begins? Well, they should probably read the said rules themselves because how can you call for a stoppage in a Hell in a Cell match, a contest whose first rule is 'anything goes'?

Not one fan approved of the finish, which saw Seth Rollins hit a motionless Fiend with a sledgehammer and get disqualified by the referee. This is despite the fact that The Fiend used a much bigger hammer to attack his opponent a few minutes earlier. It was an awful piece of booking and one that led to the fans in attendance chanting, "We want refunds!" "restart the match" and "AEW!"

To put it into perspective, Rollins was disqualified in a No Disqualification match for using a legal weapon when a bigger weapon was used earlier in the match. It didn't matter one bit when The Fiend got up and attacked The Architect after the disqualification. The damage had already been done.

#1. The Fiend's momentum evaporated in the blink of an eye

This match was the wrestling equivalent of a red flag

We are not exaggerating when we say that in 2019, The Fiend was the hottest character in pro wrestling. It was such a genius and novel idea that WWE presented perfectly but then completely bottled in one match.

Hot-shotting The Fiend into the Universal Championship picture was not the worst idea, but it should have been done only if the plan was to make him win the title immediately. Instead, WWE booked him against Seth Rollins, the face of the company and someone they wanted to present as a fighting champion. No one could afford the loss, making it a booking nightmare.

The bout was subsequently slammed and ruined every shred of momentum Bray Wyatt had generated. WWE meekly had him defeat Rollins and take the title later on, but that just made the entire Hell in a Cell debacle completely pointless.

No one came out of this looking good. The Visionary ended up being booed by fans and was forced to turn heel. Wyatt, meanwhile, left the company in 2021. It remains one of the most controversial matches in WWE history, with barely a positive to take away.