Brie Bella wrestles Maryse in the Smackdown Live main event before Hell In A Cell. Can The Miz and Daniel Bryan remain separated at ringside?
Hell In A Cell rivalries reach a boiling point in this episode of Smackdown Live. Charlotte falls victim to a fan attack while Brie Bella is involved in an unspeakable altercation during the main event.
As WWE Smackdown Live comes to us this September 11th, 2018, we remember the victims of a tragedy and the brave souls who fought to preserve life on this day 17 years ago.
Hardy Battles His Demons
Tonight The Charismatic Enigma seems more enigmatic than usual. It seems as though his recent encounters with Randy Orton have drawn him inward to his own hell. Hardy alludes to the fact he must continue to exercise his demons, tonight facing Shinsuke Nakamura. The two continue to feud for the United States Championship while Orton remains a threat to their matches.
Hardy falls victim to the tricky tactics of Nakamura and is injured early in the match. This allows Nakamura to gain the advantage for most of the contest. Feeding off of the WWE Universe, Hardy finally mounts a comeback. Setting up for a Swanton Bomb, Hardy is attacked by Orton which ends the match.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEzHwOCIr24]
Orton drags Hardy around ringside, slamming his head into steel steps. However, Hardy once again turns the tables on his opponent. After dodging an RKO, Hardy procures a chair and rips into Orton with multiple shots. Orton retreats as Hardy seems to have triumphed yet again.
This rivalry is getting stale. The only interesting thing at this point is what craziness Orton and Hardy can create at Hell In A Cell within the steel structure. Nakamura has barely been allowed to wrestle on TV and while this fits the elusive heel champion, he contributes little to this triangle which also diminishes interest in his title.
Queen Under Siege
Before defending her title against former friend Becky Lynch, Charlotte must fend off Sonya Deville. While the champion is the clear favorite against a newer Superstar, Deville takes a lot out of Charlotte in this match. The ground and pound style of Deville provides a challenge for the beautiful wrestling moves of Charlotte.
After Charlotte misses a moonsault it seems as though that Deville can pull this out. However Charlotte rebounds and clamps on the Figure Eight. Deville submits after wrestling a solid match and she certainly still has great things in her future.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQBze7ZlLwI]
Charlotte celebrates with a young fan and attempts to take a selfie at ringside. A hand from out of the crowd grabs a handful of the champ’s hair and a seemingly random fan delivers a punch to the back of the head of Charlotte. While the champion is stunned the fan reveals herself as none other than Becky Lynch.
This is brilliant.
Lynch continues to become more vile in her vitriol for her former friend. The WWE Universe continues to be firmly behind Lynch who is taking back her stolen opportunity and championship. Lynch applies an arm bar to a helpless Charlotte, sending a message that she is not to be overlooked at Hell In A Cell.
New Number One Contenders
The culmination of weeks of large tag team matches yields The Bar challenging Rusev Day for an championship opportunity at Hell In The Cell. The New Day await the winners and will defend their Smackdown Live Tag Team Championships.
Aiden English initially puts up a decent fight against The Bar but the size and power of Sheamus and Ceasaro prove to be too much for the singing Superstar. English eventually tags in Rusev who goes on a rampage. Rusev powers through double teams with ease. The Bulgarian Brute seems unstoppable until Sheamus attacks him from behind and sets up for a Brogue Kick.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKMvteaVr_o]
Before Sheamus can connect with his signature move English pushes Rusev out of the way, absorbing the kick. This enables Rusev to hit the Machka Kick and pin Sheamus for the win.
The New Day as well as the rest of the WWE Universe are genuinely shocked and excited for the upset victory. This was certainly the right move to achieve a unique and intriguing pay per view title match. The New Day continually prove themselves in combat while Rusev Day has reinvented themselves. Rusev has dominated all opponents as of late and English proves to be a useful sacrifice during matches.
Will The New Day be able to prevent English from sacrificing himself and costing them their titles?
Despicable Act
Brie Bella looks to finally get her hands on Maryse. The Daniel Bryan half of this feud have yet to obtain any significant retribution against The Miz and Maryse. Tonight Maryse furthers these frustrations by essentially refusing to participate in the match. After the bell rings Maryse continually exits ring just before Brie can lock up with her. This prompts Brie to get on the mic and call Maryse a coward.
An enraged Miz also grabs the mic and belittles Brie, defending Maryse. The Miz proclaims the match to be over but Brie drags Maryse into the ring. Minutes later Brie clamps down the Yes! Lock.
In a gross display, The Miz pulls Brie out of the ring who lands at ringside with a sickening thud. Daniel Bryan sprints to assault The Miz who attempts to run. Both Brie and Bryan beat up on their enemies. Finally Brie punches The Miz square in the face before the A-Listers retreat.
Could this be a taste of things to come at Hell In The Cell? While on paper this looks to be an easy victory for Bryan and Brie, do not underestimate how low The Miz is willing to sink to one up his foes. He shows through his actions tonight he is not above putting his hands on Brie. Whereas classic professional wrestling would not think anything of it, this more than crosses the line in today’s product.
One can only imagine how the heels here will attempt to top tonight’s atrocious behavior on the part of The Miz. It has the potential to be awesome.
