WWE Hell in a Cell 2009

Date: 4th October, 2009
Venue: Prudential Center
City: Newark, New Jersey
Attendance: 16,186
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World Heavyweight Championship – Hell in a Cell match
C.M. Punk (c) vs The Undertaker
There were a number of things wrong with this match. Why is it opening the show, why was it so short and what was the point of having it inside the cell. This match was too short to really get going and was fairly formulaic for what there was anyway. The only use of the cell was the typical throws into the side or knocked off the apron.
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion, The Undertaker (10:24)
Via Pinfall (Tombstone Piledriver)
**3/4


Intercontinental Championship
John Morrison (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
Really solid match wrestled at a great pace between two decent wrestlers. It started off fairly slowly actually but the last 5 or so minutes with Ziggler piling on the pressure were fantastic. The ending sequence was really good with Ziggler going for the Zig Zag but crashing to the mat as Morrison held the ropes, before Morrison hit a hard kick to the head and finished with Starship Pain. This match both managed to put over Ziggler but make Morrison appear a strong champion at the same time.
Winner and STILL Intercontinental Champion, John Morrison (15:41)
Via Pinfall (Starship Pain)
***1/4


Divas Championship
Mickie James (c) vs Alicia Fox
Standard divas match, that being a fairly disjointed dull affair. The only moment of note was the brutal looking MickieDDT for the win.
Winner and STILL Divas Champion, Mickie James (05:20)
Via Pinfall (Mickie DDT)
*


Unified Tag Team Championships
Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs Batista & Rey Mysterio
Surprisingly good match here. They managed to work it very well, balancing out the great wrestling of Jericho and Mysterio and power of Batista and Show. Even the moments when it was Show and Mysterio in the ring together managed to work, showing off the incredible strength of Big Show on occassions, such as when he managed to lift Rey into the ring from the arena floor by his head! The end came when Rey went for a springboard crossbody on Big Show but was met with the knockout punch to the head.
Winners and STILL Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho & Big Show (13:41)
Show pinned Rey (KO Punch)
***1/2


WWE Championship - Hell in a Cell match
John Cena (c) vs Randy Orton
I think these two have seen enough of each other now, everybody knows what to expect and this was more of the same. And again, it was completely pointless having it inside the Cell, why could that not have just been reduced to the main event? Nothing much special happening here, Orton picked up the win following a punt kick to the head, which pretty obviously actually made no contact at all.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion, Randy Orton (21:24)
Via Pinfall (Punt Kick)
**3/4


R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre
OK, why was this on PPV? This time could have been spent on the to come US title match or perhaps an ECW championship match. Anyway, this was pretty much just a squash match to get McIntyre over. The crowd didn't care and I don't blame them. McIntyre got the win via the Future Shock DDT.
Winner: Drew McIntyre (04:38)
Via Pinfall (Future Shock)
*1/2


United States Championship - Triple Threat match
Kofi Kingston (c) vs The Miz vs Jack Swagger
What could have been a very good match if it was given the extra 5-10 minutes wasted on the previous match, ended up a much shorter but still fairly entertaining affair. Typical triple threat type stuff really. Kingston retained after Swagger hit the Doctor Bomb on Miz and then got taken out by Trouble in Paradise.
Winner and STILL United States Champion, Kofi Kingston (07:53)
Kingston pinned Miz (Trouble in Paradise)
**1/2


Hell in a Cell match
D-Generation X vs Legacy
Good lord, a Hell in a Cell match that actually uses the structure! Whatever next? Legacy attacked DX during their entrance and after an initial brawl outside the cage, Legacy got the upper hand and locked themselves along with Shawn Michaels inside whilst Triple H was knocked out on the entrance ramp. Legacy then began to beat on Michaels, taunting HHH all the while. Eventually, Trips disappeared and Legacy went for the win with their Million Dollar Dream/Figure Four combination. However, Triple H returned with boltcutters, made his way in and kicked some ass. DiBiase then himself got locked out while DX finished Rhodes off with a Sweet Chin Music/sledgehammer shot combo. Not a great technical match, but it had a good story to it.
Winners: D-Generation X (18:02)
***1/4


Overall Thoughts:
Even though there weren't any terrible matches (diva and squash filler aside), the entire concept of basing an event around a gimmick match is incredibly flawed. Especially when the gimmick is billed as being brutal and sadistic, and your product is aimed at a PG audience. The two title matches absolutely didn't need to be inside the cell, and time wasted on pointless matches could have been distributed among matches that needed more time (namely Punk/Taker).

Final Rating:

5.0 / 10.0

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