The Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is SmackDown's last major stop before Survivor Series, with four title matches and two contests held inside of the cage As the night rolls on inside of Detroit's Little Caesars Arena, Matt Wilansky will provide recaps of the action, match-by-match, in real time. ESPN Stats & Information's Sean Coyle will have in-depth ratings for each contest, on a one-to-five scale based on five different categories.
(c) - Denotes defending champion(s)
Randy Orton def. Rusev via pinfall
Coming into tonight on a four-pay-per-view losing streak -- the longest such streak of his career -- you could make a case that no one on the SmackDown Live roster needed a big win more than Rusev.
The match started off on a positive note, in that it was longer than their previous two matches put together (10 seconds each), but Rusev and Orton not only received the necessary time to tell their story, they did well with it from a performance perspective.
Following an early RKO attempt by Orton, Rusev secured the early advantage. Orton attempted a comeback, but Rusev used his power to maintain control, including a wonderful looking fallaway slam onto Orton outside of the ring into the barricade.
Back inside the ring, Rusev took his time, dissecting Orton with strikes.
After a spinning heel kick by Rusev to Orton, the two found themselves back on the outside of the ring, where Orton executed a belly to back suplex to Rusev onto the top of the barricade.
Again, in what was one of the themes of the match, Rusev found a way to fight off one of Orton's brief offensive flurries and illustrated his dominance. A missed splash into the corner by Rusev opened up the door for Orton to begin to show some signs of life.
Orton proceeded to hit his signature snap powerslam, but again, Rusev rebounded with a perfect superkick to Orton's jaw.
As they made their way to the outside of the ring for the third time in this match, Rusev nailed another, even more stiff looking superkick.
A missed headbutt from the middle rope by Rusev allowed Orton to set Rusev up for his elevated DDT, which he hit. Moments later, Rusev rolled from underneath Orton and nearly locked on his Accolade finishier, only for Orton to slither his way out and hit an RKO out of nowhere for the win.
As mentioned, Rusev needed this win badly. He didn't get it. It feels like curious booking here as it leaves Rusev without any direction, and doesn't do much for Orton, at least on the surface. Hopefully brighter days are on the horizon for Rusev, but it's hard to remain optimistic at this point, in the face of the evidence we have.
Hell in a Cell for the SmackDown tag team championships: The Usos def. The New Day (c) via pinfall
About 15 minutes or so before the start of Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, backstage cameras caught Xavier Woods donning a pair of boxing gloves and smacking photos of Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso, respectively.
Yes, it was amusing, but also fitting, because the physical nature of the SmackDown championship match to come would be far more intense than we ever could have imagined.
The recent history between these teams is unforgettable; between SummerSlam and their Sin City street fight, these two teams already put on aerial displays that might go down as two of the best matches of the year.
Now enter Hell in a Cell. The potential was limitless, especially when you consider the tag team titles were on the line inside of this structure for the first time ever.
It was announced at the start that Kofi Kingston would be locked out of the cell, making it a strictly two-on-two match. Both teams tried to get an early advantage as chairs, chains and kendo sticks were brought into a ring. The New Day struck the first blow when Big E dropped Woods, who was wearing a chain around his neck, into Jey.
Moments later, Jimmy and Big E put their bodies on the line. First Jimmy flew over the top rope into Woods, sending him into the cage. Then Big E speared Jimmy into the cage.
From there, things became even more violent. Xavier Woods unearthed not just one or two, but three Francescas (trombones) to beat down his opponents. There was also a gong and a golden cowbell involved. But The Usos would not be undone, as they found more kendo sticks, which they used to their advantage. The street fight found another level and continued to escalate, as The Usos almost incapacitated Woods, who was trapped in a corner of the cage and trapped with a kendo stick, as the villainous brothers jumped on him.
The first near-fall of the match took place when the brothers landed a double splash on Big E, who kicked out on two. It was the beginning of more brutality by The Usos, who chained and handcuffed Woods to the ring post and beat him senseless with, yes, more kendo sticks.
It wasn't long after that an enraged Woods, still in handcuffs, reappeared and started ripping Jimmy and Jey apart, but it didn't last long. The Usos laid out Woods in the ring and placed a chair on him before delivering another double splash. That was it.
The Usos prevailed in their second straight pay-per-view against the New Day to three-time SmackDown tag team champions, and five-time WWE tag champs overall.
Vicious and physical as this match was, and there's no doubt all four competitors will be feeling the residual pain Monday. Perhaps the physical nature of the match took away from some of the aerial theatrics they put on earlier this year. But what a way to start this pay-per-view. And there's still a mandatory rematch to come.
Kickoff show: Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable def. The Hype Bros via pinfall
As part of the Hell in a Cell Kickoff show, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin defeated The Hype Bros in an entertaining opener. Each performer got their moment to shine, but Gable stood out most after a double leg takedown -> overhead belly-to-belly suplex -> moonsault combination midway through. We didn't see the dissolution of The Hype Bros, but that may be coming on Tuesday or in the weeks to come.
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