The WWE are due to\u00a0announce subscriber figures for the WWE Network again at the end of this month, so you might have thought that this\u00a0show would have\u00a0some sort of priority for them. \u00a0By all appearances from the card, it doesn’t – to the extent they have a direction going for the main event, it seems to be looking past this show to the next one.<\/p>\n
The latest tactic to try and boost\u00a0Network subscriber numbers is to roll it out internationally. \u00a0Intriguingly, it has yet to be made available in the UK (leaving aside the obvious methods that can be used to avoid regional limitations – and a potential nightmare scenario for the company is that it turns out that\u00a0a large chunk of the\u00a0potential international audience are already using them,\u00a0so that the potential for further growth is much less than thought). \u00a0The WWE only recently signed a renewed multi-year deal with Sky, so\u00a0it would be surprising if they hadn’t allowed for the proposed\u00a0Network launch in its terms. \u00a0Another possibility is that they’re trying to\u00a0launch it in the UK as an actual broadcast channel, something which has worked unexpectedly well in Canada.<\/p>\n
At any rate, this month we have the annual\u00a0Hell in a Cell<\/em> pay-per-view, named after the\u00a0glorified cage match that used to be a really big draw until they destroyed its aura of special-ness by, um, making it an annual C-list pay-per-view. \u00a0On top of that,\u00a0we are (unusually) missing\u00a0a WWE Title match. \u00a0Brock Lesnar retained the title against John Cena last month (after getting DQ’d, which doesn’t trigger a title change). \u00a0That would normally prompt a rematch, but Lesnar is on a very limited dates contract, so the approach has simply been to not use him and largely gloss over that fact.<\/p>\n What does that leave?<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0No 1 Contender for WWE\u00a0World Heavyweight Title – Hell in a Cell: John Cena v Randy Orton.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Oh, this again. \u00a0The booking here is very strange. \u00a0For one thing, since he actually won the last match by disqualification, Cena ought to be getting his rematch automatically. \u00a0For another, Cena ended up in this match\u00a0after losing a match\u00a0against Dean Ambrose for the right to face Seth Rollins\u00a0(who had been feuding with both guys\u00a0– the idea being to position Ambrose as the antihero who won’t co-operate with the child-friendly babyface star). \u00a0So\u2026 Cena\u00a0winds up in a number 1 contender match by\u00a0losing<\/em> a\u00a0qualifying match. \u00a0That doesn’t make very much sense, does it?<\/p>\n Rollins and Orton are both allied with the Authority, but they’ve been doing a slow build to friction between the two of them. \u00a0In a frankly weird move,\u00a0this week’s\u00a0Raw<\/em> had Rollins actually turn on Orton at the end – thus building up an Orton\/Rollins match, which, obviously, is not on this card.<\/p>\n Cena\/Orton has been done to death – to the point where they did a “last match ever, honest” deal a couple of years ago, to no discernible long-term effect. \u00a0Doubling back to this match yet again, even on a C-show like\u00a0Hell in a Cell<\/em>, suggests the company is still locked in panic at the thought of doing the sensible thing as pairing them up with new opponents who could then be elevated to join the much-thinned ranks of the main eventers. \u00a0The match will be fine, but it will also be very familiar.<\/p>\n Lesnar’s contract is reportedly on such favourable terms that the winner of this match won’t actually get his title shot until January. \u00a0They could do Cena\/Lesnar again but, again, that’s been done twice, and Orton\/Lesnar does seem like the more interesting match, particularly\u00a0as Orton\u00a0seems to be turning babyface anyway. \u00a0On the other hand, Orton is plainly headed towards a feud with Rollins – but with Lesnar as an absentee champion, there’s time to deal with that first, or (since Rollins has yet to cash in his\u00a0Money in the Bank title shot) simultaneously. \u00a0Rollins has made\u00a0it pretty clear that\u00a0he wants Orton to win this match,\u00a0since he thinks\u00a0either Orton will get killed, or he’ll be a soft target for a MITB cash-in – so\u00a0interference by\u00a0Rollins in this match wouldn’t make a huge amount of sense, even if there wasn’t the bloody great cage ostensibly there to keep people out. \u00a0Personally I’d go with Orton winning, but I won’t be at all surprised to wind up with Cena\u2026 again.<\/p>\n 2. \u00a0Hell in a Cell: Dean Ambrose v Seth Rollins.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0This has actually got some build behind it. \u00a0Ambrose\u00a0and Rollins were both members of the Shield; Rollins turned on the group; Ambrose has been after his revenge ever since. \u00a0They were booked on a show a couple of months ago, but didn’t actually do the match.<\/p>\n As at least the semi-main event, this ought to be seriously good. \u00a0Ambrose and Rollins are both usually\u00a0excellent, and Ambrose’s anti-hero loose cannon\u00a0persona\u00a0seems to be working well. \u00a0This actually does look like a\u00a0match that might be worth paying for – except of course that I said that last time, and they didn’t deliver it.<\/p>\n Since Rollins has\u00a0his aforementioned Money in the Bank\u00a0title shot and is firmly ensconced in a feud with Randy Orton, he doesn’t really need the win here. \u00a0If they’re serious about pushing Ambrose as one of their top babyfaces – as well they should be, given his talent and the frankly limited options – he ought to win here.<\/p>\n Another point of interest is the running order, and which of the two Hell\u00a0in a Cell matches goes on last. \u00a0A conservative case can be made for Orton\/Cena, since they’re the bigger stars and they’re fighting for a title shot. \u00a0But the\u00a0WWE\u00a0is long, long overdue to start\u00a0establishing\u00a0a new generation of main eventers, and part of that process\u00a0has to be putting new matches in the main event slot in order to send a message. \u00a0Plus,\u00a0I’d say Ambrose\/Rollins is the more heated match, even if on paper they’re the lesser stars. \u00a0Again, WWE Kremlinologists will be watching this decision closely, to see\u00a0how much weight the company is really\u00a0prepared to throw behind its\u00a0newer stars.<\/p>\n 3. \u00a0WWE Tag Team Titles: Goldust & Stardust\u00a0\u00a9 v Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso.<\/strong>\u00a0 Generic build, here. \u00a0Goldust and Stardust won the titles at\u00a0Night of Champions<\/em> last month. \u00a0The Usos won the obligatory re-match on free TV, but by disqualification, so the titles didn’t change hands. \u00a0And that’s pretty much that;\u00a0they’ve otherwise been trading wins in six-mans and so forth. \u00a0The Usos have generally come out ahead there.<\/p>\n Common sense says the\u00a0Dust Brothers retain, since otherwise we’re just trading back to the Usos, and that’s not particularly gripping. \u00a0Admittedly, it’s not obvious\u00a0what babyface team they move on to next, but forward planning has never been the WWE’s forte. \u00a0Probably a good match.<\/p>\n 4. \u00a0WWE Intercontinental Title – Best of\u00a03 Falls: Dolph Ziggler\u00a0\u00a9 v Cesaro.<\/strong>\u00a0 More win-trading here. \u00a0Ziggler already successfully defended his title on\u00a0TV, but\u00a0(presumably in light of the number of times Cesaro had previously beaten him) accepted\u00a0the challenge for this rematch, like a good fighting babyface. \u00a0On paper, this ought to be an excellent match, at least if it’s given enough time. \u00a0The reality is that both guys are under-utilised and are stuck floating around the mid card fighting over a secondary title that nobody particularly cares about, and to that extent it doesn’t greatly matter who wins here. \u00a0In theory a win for Cesaro could start building him\u00a0towards the upper mid card if not the main event, but in practice the company shows so little interest in doing anything with its minor title holders that anyone with serious ambitions to be pushed up the card is actually better off losing here.<\/p>\n 5. \u00a0WWE United States Title: Sheamus\u00a0\u00a9 v The Miz.<\/strong> \u00a0Considering how much the WWE could use major stars, it’s striking that we have two former world champions now firmly relegated to the mid card and fighting over another of the belts nobody cares about. \u00a0Sheamus, despite being a jovial Oirish stereotype, has consistently good matches and could certainly be rehabilitated into a main eventer with a bit of effort. \u00a0As for Miz, he was once in the main event at Wrestlemania – but that was the year that they were relying on a guest appearance by the Rock as the real draw, and I don’t think anyone’s seriously crying out for him to be back in the title picture.<\/p>\n He does have a solid mid card comedy act at the moment, though, in a gimmick that amounts to a ceremonial burial of the WWE’s movies division. \u00a0On the strength of his appearance in one of the company’s direct-to-video action movies, Miz is convinced that he is a major movie star. \u00a0In practice, this manifests in (1) an entrance video which has removed all footage of him actually wrestling in favour of showing him doing publicity appearances (and opens with a trailer graphic and a “quiet on the set” announcement), and (2) him being accompanied everywhere by his “stunt double”,\u00a0Damien Sandow. \u00a0Sandow, who had\u00a0bumping along in\u00a0comedy segments at the bottom of the card for months, is singularly unqualified for the task of impersonating the wholly dissimilar\u00a0Miz, but gamely attempts to fulfil his job description by dressing identically to him, and standing next to him copying\u00a0everything he does\u00a0(slightly behind). \u00a0Occasionally he wrestles in Miz’s place. \u00a0Otherwise, he\u00a0stands outside practising his art by enthusiastically copying everything Miz does. \u00a0The sight of Sandow gamely wrestling an invisible opponent outside the ring\u00a0turns out to be perversely entertaining, and may actually be dragging him back up the card again by force of audience reaction.<\/p>\n It’ll be a comedy match,\u00a0and WWE comedy is rarely funny, but\u00a0Miz and Sandow often are (if more by fluke than design). \u00a0Personally, I’d have them win,\u00a0which frees up Sheamus for something more important and leaves the US title in the hands of an act that’s doing fairly well. \u00a0But there’s\u00a0a case for Sheamus retaining,\u00a0which I’ll come to.<\/p>\n 6. \u00a0WWE Divas Title: AJ Lee\u00a0\u00a9 v Paige.<\/strong>\u00a0 A feud that\u00a0seemingly will not die. \u00a0AJ\u00a0and Paige have been trading the women’s title back and forth since the spring, the\u00a0angle having broadly evolved from “they unconvincingly\u00a0claim to be friends” to “they screw one another over repeatedly”. \u00a0AJ is notionally the babyface here, though she doesn’t really act it, having seemingly managed to\u00a0blithely alienate every other\u00a0woman on the roster. \u00a0The matches have been okay by the standards of the WWE’s women’s division, but not really up to the standard you might have expected from these two. \u00a0It’ll be fine; but\u00a0it has a distinct risk of being put in the death spot\u00a0on the card to give the crowd a breather between the two main events, since there’s no other obvious candidate (the other women’s match has\u00a0a\u00a0bigger storyline behind it).<\/p>\n The main reason why we’re getting two women’s matches on the shows these days is that the company has apparently decided that, on the one hand, it wants to promote its\u00a0reality show\u00a0Total Divas<\/em> by giving prominent storylines to the women who are\u00a0appearing in the show, but on the other hand, it doesn’t want\u00a0any of those women to hold the\u00a0title,\u00a0because\u2026 well, nobody seems entirely sure of the thinking, but it seems to be something to do with a concern\u00a0about\u00a0synching up with the long-since-taped reality show<\/p>\n At any rate, Paige is\u00a0joining the case of\u00a0Total Divas<\/em> in the next series, so if the WWE is sticking with this policy – and\u00a0it’s not like the company doesn’t have a reputation for changing its mind on a whim\u00a0– it seems unlikely that this feud ends with her getting the title back. \u00a0My guess would\u00a0be that AJ wins here and we\u00a0finally<\/em> move on to something else.<\/p>\n 7. \u00a0Rusev v Big Show.<\/strong>\u00a0 This month’s match for the as-yet-undefeated\u00a0Russian (who’s actually Bulgarian, but whatever). \u00a0He already had a TV match with Big Show that was reportedly okay. \u00a0The result here is entirely predictable – Rusev will win, because there’s no point doing this much build of an undefeated streak and then having him lose to somebody like the Big Show who\u00a0is surely approaching the twilight of his career. \u00a0When Rusev loses, it\u00a0has to matter, and it will not matter here. \u00a0Nobody seriously thinks otherwise.<\/p>\n The bigger question is precisely\u00a0why<\/em> Rusev wins; he can either win clean, or Big Show can lose thanks to Mark Henry turning on him as part of a\u00a0feud that’s been fairly obviously set up on TV. \u00a0That will lead to the uninspiring\u00a0prospect of a Show\/Henry super heavyweight match, but we’re evidently going there whether we like it or not.<\/p>\n 8. \u00a0Loser must be the winner’s personal assistant for 30 days: Brie Bella v Nikki Bella.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Continuing an excruciatingly protracted feud between the twins from\u00a0Total Divas<\/em>. \u00a0This is a very old school stipulation and\u00a0an entirely unpromising one, since it guarantees a month of skits that, to judge from the feud to date, will vary in quality from\u00a0unwatchable to\u00a0nearly unwatchable. \u00a0It also renders the result entirely predictable, since\u00a0justified babyface vengeance can’t be dragged out for that long; the only purpose of\u00a0doing this stip is to have the heel (Nikki) win in order to put more heat on the feud for the rematch in a month’s time. \u00a0I don’t want to see it now and I don’t expect I’ll want to see it any more in November.<\/p>\n Worth getting?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As is increasingly common with WWE cards, the matches look solid enough on paper, but the booking is fairly uninspiring. \u00a0Most of these matches at least have a\u00a0vaguely coherent set-up, which is an improvement on some months, but I don’t think they’ve done anything that’s really going to\u00a0prove a big draw. \u00a0Ambrose\/Rollins is the strongest match here, but\u00a0is it really\u00a0enough to get people to buy an otherwise underheated card?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The WWE are due to\u00a0announce subscriber figures for the WWE Network again at the end of this month, so you might have thought that this\u00a0show would have\u00a0some sort of priority for them. \u00a0By all appearances from the card, it doesn’t – to the extent they have a direction going for the main event, it seems 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