HIAC Results

WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

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Hell in a Cell for the Universal Championship: Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend

The culmination of The Fiend Bray Wyatt's terrifying rampage on the WWE roster culminated Sunday night inside Hell in a Cell as he challenged Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship.

The arena stayed bathed in red as the bell rang and The Fiend launched himself at the champion. Rollins landed some rights and lefts but the masked challenger appeared unfazed, amused even as he stood tall inside the squared circle.

Rollins retrieved a kendo stick and smacked The Fiend with it twice, only to have his opponent no-sell it. Wyatt sent The Beastslayer into the cell, achieving great pleasure in his punishment of the titleholder. Wyatt continued to dominate Rollins until the champion grabbed hold of the steel steps and blasted The Fiend with them.

Rollins scored on a tope suicida but Wyatt recovered and delivered Sister Abigail into the cell. Back inside the squared circle, the heel eyed the table Rollins had set up. He teased a uranage but Rollins fought out. The champion delivered a superkick that left his opponent prone on the table. A frog splash through it did The Fiend no damage.

Nor did the stomp, from which the challenger stood right back up. A second Sister Abigail, this time in the ring, earned only a two-count. The Fiend snapped Rollins' neck, leaving him limp in the ring. He tossed the champion to the floor, where he retrieved an oversized mallet. He attacked the champion's midsection with the weapon but Rollins fought back with a desperation superkick.

He seized an opening and delivered a stomp onto the mallet. Back inside, he delivered a springboard knee on two occasions, then a series of superkicks. Rollins unloaded a series of stomps but The Fiend still fought back to his feet. A pedigree and a fourth stomp followed. Rollins went for the cover but the challenger kicked out at one.

Rollins continued to assault Wyatt with stomps as boos rained down from the stands. He produced a chair from under the ring and inched toward his opponent. He blasted The Fiend with a chair, only to have him kick out at another one-count.

With the chair lying on his opponent's face, Rollins drove a ladder into it. Still, a two-count.

Rollins laid the ladder and chair on top of Wyatt's face, grabbed a toolbox and crashed it into the weaponry. The frustrated champion pulled out a sledgehammer, harkening back to his days as a member of The Authority under Triple H.

After the official begged and pleaded with Rollins, he bashed the pile of weapons with the sledgehammer and the referee called for the bell.

As officials hit the ring to check on The Fiend, the masked maniac recovered and applied the mandible claw. He dragged Rollins to the floor and laid him out with Sister Abigail. A second, this time on the concrete, left the champion motionless as chants of "AEW" filled the arena.

Another mandible claw, this time complete with blood, ended the assault as the boos continued.

Result: The Fiend defeated Rollins via disqualification
Grade: F
Analysis:

This was an overbooked atrocity that Vince McMahon and WWE should be embarrassed to present its fans after the week that was in wrestling.

On the heels of a highly successful Fox debut, and a Wednesday night that proved there is an audience for the alternative, the idea that the old man presided over a creative meeting where this was the finish that was pitched and he was all for it is ludicrous.

WWE had on its hands a rare character that completely captivated the audience and left them wanting more. Instead of paying it off with the short, sweet and dominant victory that would serve as its coronation, it overthought the scenario and sought to drag things out for another pay-per-view rather than pay it off.

A year ago, ironically at the same event, WWE pulled the proverbial trigger on Becky Lynch when it realized it had lightning in the bottle. She went on to become the biggest thing in the industry and is, arguably, the biggest star in the industry at this point.

Instead of learning from that moment, the company failed its fans and the man behind the mask, to the point that whatever aura The Fiend had built for himself has been extinguished.

Why?

Because WWE didn't want to take the universal title off Rollins so shortly after he won it. Or, to get another month of matches out of the program.

Either line of reasoning is deeply flawed the outcome was horrendously damaging.

Good luck recapturing that, WWE. Sometimes, giving the audience the obvious and desired outcome is not a bad thing.

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