WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 Review

Daniel Bryan has to face the machine again as he takes on Randy Orton inside Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels serving as the special guest referee. Will Bryan be able to get over the hump and regain the gold or does The Viper walk away with another big main event win?

Match 1: WWE Tag Team Championship - Cody Rhodes and Goldust (c) vs. The Usos vs. The Shield
While it feels like I have seen these teams face off about a thousand times, I really have no reason to complain considering how good the action usually is. This is a perfect way to start off the show and the crowd was eating up every second of it. It felt like every man in this match had a chip on their shoulder and just something to prove, you could feel the intensity from every step of the way. With both Cody Rhodes and Goldust being involved within the storyline against The Authority, they were certainly riding a big wave of momentum here as Cody was able to hit a Cross Rhodes on Seth Rollins while Roman Reigns and The Usos were out of the equation to pick up the win for himself and Goldust. Completely forgot about this match and very interesting to look back and see The Shield take a clean loss like this considering how high the company was on them. Regardless, great opening match with a hot crowd along for the ride.
Winners: Cody Rhodes and Goldust
Rating: ***3/4

Match 2: Fandango and Summer Rae vs. The Great Khali and Natalya
At this point, the hype behind Fandango had finally died down as he teams up with his lady to take on The Great Khali and Natalya. Also, this is Summer Rae's first match of her WWE career. As expected with a Khali match, very bland action whenever he was the legal person as Fandango struggled against the much larger opponent. Natalya at least made things interesting with her fight against Summer Rae. Summer Rae was able to roll up Natalya and sneak a win for her team. Poor Natalya, she is definitely one of the better female wrestlers on the roster and she gets jobbed out for someone's first match.
Winners: Fandango and Summer Rae
Rating: *

Match 3: WWE United States Championship - Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Big E Langston
With a very deflated crowd, these two had a tough task of getting in an exciting match that would wake them up. Unfortunately for them, the action in the ring was solid but not enough to get the crowd out of their seats. Dean Ambrose plays his role as a heel phenomenally as he has trouble going against the bigger Big E Langston. Eventually, Ambrose tries to escape the match but only gets tossed back in. However, Ambrose is still able to hit his DDT but is not able to score the win with it before Big E would then spear himself and Ambrose out of the ring. The referee counts out Ambrose as he then tries to walk away with his title but Big E pulls him back in the ring and gives him a Big Ending for his troubles. Decent match here with a crowd that just could not get behind the action. Still weird to see another match where The Shield takes a hit.
Winner: Big E Langston
Rating: **

Match 4: Hell in a Cell - CM Punk vs. Ryback and Paul Heyman
Funny enough, these two faced off in a Hell in a Cell match a year prior to this with the main difference being that their roles were completely reversed. CM Punk turned this match into a handicap match as he wanted to also get his hands on his arch nemesis in Paul Heyman. However, Heyman was atop the cell the entire match as Punk had to fight off the big Ryback. Like many Ryback matches, the action wasn't really the best but it was definitely interesting to watch the two go at it in a pretty stiff match. For the better part of the match, it was Ryback looking like he was going to easily gain the win but Punk was able to turn the tides before hitting an elbow drop on Ryback through a table and following it with a GTS for the win. Good story throughout the match with Punk fittingly playing the role of the underdog but finally being able to break through. Afterwards, Punk climbs the structure and beats down Heyman with a kendo stick and delivering him a GTS for the months of stress he had caused against Punk.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: **3/4

Match 5: Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans
I wonder how Zeb Colter's gimmick of defending our borders would go in 2018. Anyway, his team of Cesaro and Jack Swagger take on Los Matadores with El Torito at their side. Basic tag match with Cesaro really shining here as he hit his patented Cesaro Swing at one point for over 30 swings. The crowd ate it up and has easily become one of my favorite moves in all of wrestling. However, Los Matadores pick up the win as El Torito is able to fight off The Real Americans after the contest.
Winners: Los Matadores
Rating: *3/4

Match 6: WWE World Heavyweight Championship - Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena
Another John Cena return from injury, another title shot. If it makes money, it makes sense. Cena is coming back early from a tricep injury he sustained a few months back after Summerslam and is testing himself against the dangerous Alberto Del Rio. Solid match here with Cena doing what he does best as he nurses his left arm while Del Rio savagely works on it throughout the match. Don't you just love it when wrestling actually makes sense? Cena does a great job of actually making it look like he's ready to turn the tide before his opponent continues their onslaught. Seriously, remember when he used to just take a beating for the entire match and miraculously make that comeback? Well... I guess that still kind of happens here but definitely to a lesser extent. Cena is able to hit his Attitude Adjustment and win his 14th world championship. Solid match that puts the strap back on Cena to boost some viewership for television.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***

Match 7: WWE Divas Championship - AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella
With Tamina standing in AJ Lee's corner, Brie Bella had her sister to back her up in case things would get silly. Is there a more annoying entrance music out there than AJ's? Because damn, it is awful. And as for the match, it really wasn't any better. After Brie accidentally knees her sister on the outside, AJ capitalizes and submits her with her Black Widow. That was brutal to watch.
Winner: AJ Lee
Rating: 1/2*

Match 8: WWE Championship - Hell in a Cell - Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan
I always felt like these two had underrated chemistry with each other but then again, there really isn't anyone they can have a bad match with. With Shawn Michaels serving as the special guest referee, the vacant WWE Championship is on the line as Triple H presents the title to Michaels before the contest. With the crowd being a bit deflated from the last match, these two had a lot on their plate. Thankfully, the crowd was definitely a bit more energized as both Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan had themselves a bit of an old school type of fight with tons of chairs being tossed into the ring and used during the match. While the match itself was a bit underwhelming, the main story came when Triple H made his way to the ring and inserted himself in the match to check on Michaels who was inadvertently knocked out by Orton. However, Bryan knees Triple H in front of Michaels before Michaels would give a receipt to Bryan in the form of a Sweet Chin Music. Orton is able to capitalize and score the pin as Michaels reluctantly makes the count. Orton wins as Michaels walks away ashamed at himself for what he had done. Messy finish to a match that was going slowly in the right direction. It's almost as if the WWE said, "Okay, let's just get Bryan out of the main event picture and hopefully nobody will remember him after this." And you guessed it... they were right. Except the fact that Bryan would go on to main event the next WrestleMania because of how wrong the company was.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
2013 may have to be one of the company's weakest years in terms of PPV, possibly even worse than 2007. This event is a testament to that statement with a card full of forgetful matches and a main event that just simply left a bad taste in my mouth. I usually enjoy the Hell in a Cell shows but this was one you can pass.
Rating: 5.75/10