Whenever there is a feud that is so bad, there’s only one way to settle it and that is in a cell. The surprising thing about this year’s event is that there are three different main events. These three events all take place in the roofed cage, so let’s see what happens in my recap of the next Raw Pay-Per-View (PPV).
United States Championship
Rusev vs Roman Reigns
Winner: Roman Reigns
Because there are three main events that take place in the cell, they might as well spread them out and start with one out of the gate. Roman already dethroned Rusev at the previous PPV, so it might be a little soon to swap owners. The match started pretty standardly, until they started fighting outside the ring to implement the cell and weapons. There was a bit of color from Rusev, but I assume that it was an accident, because WWE usually avoids blood nowadays. Near the end of the match, Rusev looked like he had the match with a chain assisted Acolaid, but after a sloppy transition, Roman was able to deliver a spear for the 3-count.
Bayley vs Daina
Winner: Bayley
The Club vs Enzo & Cass
Winner: The Club
WWE Universal Championship
Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens
Winner: Kevin Owens
It’s time for the second main event in the cell. Right off the bat, KO was aiming at Seth’s injured back. He even went to rip off the medical tape that Seth had on. At one point, KO accidently used a fire extinguisher on the ref, so the staff had to open the cell to tend to him. At that time, KO’s best friend snuck in and it turned into a handicap match. When KO was thrown through 2 tables, it looked bleak, but the number game was too much for Seth. After a powerbomb onto a chair, it was KO’s win.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
TJ Perkins vs Brian Kendrick
Winner: Brian Kendrick
WWE Tag Team Championship
New Day vs Cesaro & Sheamus
Winner: New Day
WWE Raw Women’s Championship
Charlotte vs Sasha Banks
Winner: Charlotte
It’s only fitting to end the show with the first ever HIAC with women. They even had specialized entrances. Charlotte entered Egyptian style, while Sasha came out in a car like Eddie Guerrero. When the cell was being lowered, Charlotte scored a cheap hit on Sasha, almost having her crushed by it. This led to the only match of the night to bring the fight outside the ring. After climbing some obvious holes in the cell, Sasha was dropped onto an announce table, possibly ending the match. When almost being called off, Sasha jumped off of her stretcher and ran into the ring to officially start the match. Some spots worked, like a double knee off of the cage, but some didn’t. Near the end of the match, Sasha set up a table that led her to being thrown on it twice, both times failing to break it. This might have been a botch, but it it ended with a 3-count for Charlotte’s win.
This PPV was okay. The idea of three main events was sort of pushing it and ultimately giving us cell fatigue. Sloppy botches also brought down the fun of the matches. The matches outside of main events didn’t really feel like PPV material and was just there to fill out time. Hopefully Raw can produce some better content if they hope to reclaim their place as the flagship show.