411 PPV Roundtable Preview – WWE Hell in a Cell 2011

Introduction:

This Sunday, just two weeks after the controversial Night of Champions PPV, WWE raises the stakes with the Hell in a Cell PPV, where both the WWE and World titles will be defended inside the mammoth steel structure that is the show’s namesake. Mark Henry will try to extend his dominance by facing Randy Orton one more time for the World Heavyweight Championship, and John Cena will defend the WWE Championship in a never-before-seen Triple Threat Match inside Hell in a Cell against former champion Alberto Del Rio and the man who never got his rematch, CM Punk.

Meanwhile, Beth Phoenix will once again attempt to wrest the Divas Title away from real live Barbie doll Kelly Kelly, and Sheamus and Christian will try to settle their long-simmering feud. Plus, having finally figured out which Sin Cara is which, both men will face off across the ring from each other in their first one-on-one confrontation.

We’re burning the candle at both ends to keep up with a slew of WWE PPV’s, but we still managed to corral the 411 Staff and get their thoughts and predictions on this Sunday’s big event. So settle in and see what we think might go down at Hell in a Cell.

The Staff

Stephen Randle, The Wrestling News Experience

TJ Hawke, 411 Wrestling Interviews

Michael Bauer, 411 Alumnus

Wes Kirk, The Wrestling Sandwich

R.C. Sutton, 411 Instant Impact Analysis

Michael Weyer, Shining A Spotlight

Jack Bramma, Ring Crew Reviews

Chad Nevett, High Road/Low Road

Greg DeMarco, The Wrestling 5&1

“Good” Sin Cara (Mistico) vs “Evil” Sin Cara (Hunico)

Stephen Randle: Ordinarily I’d think that there wouldn’t be a long run for the gimmick of Cara vs Cara, but there is another PPV in two weeks and I can’t help but feel like Daniel Bryan is going to want to fight the winner. Actually, aside from Bryan, who can wrestle anyone, this is probably the best chance for a good Sin Cara match, so don’t be surprised if it’s watchable.

Winner: “Evil” Sin Cara

TJ Hawke: Mistico is where the money is in the long run (if there is any at all), so unless this is going to be a longer program, I don’t see any reason for Hunico to win. This match is not going to be good.

Winner: Mistico

Michael Bauer: This is going to be ugly, botchy, and down right confusing to watch. Thankfully, Humico is finally wearing different colors. I can’t see any reason for Mistico to win, because that kinda kills everything, doesn’t it?

Winner: Evil Sin Cara

Wes Kirk: okay, so basically we have a Mexican wrestler who botches moves and wears a mask facing another Mexican wrestler who botches moves and wears the same mask and wants the same gimmick as the original. We don’t yet know WHY the “evil” Sin Cara is doing what he’s doing and since the first one can’t speak English we may never know. My instinct tells me Daniel Bryan might get involved somehow but regardless I just hope nobody goes to the hospital when Botchamania runs wild!

Winner: Sin Cara – see what I did there?

R.C. Sutton: Ah Yes, the dueling Sin Caras. Quick side note, I was at Summerslam 1994 and if you ask me, this match need more Leslie Nielsen. Wait, he’s dead now. Oh well, then I’m just hoping this match doesn’t give enough material for its own Botchmania all by itself. I don’t think this story is going away yet, and if it’s not then I’m going with Evil here.

Winner: Evil Sin Cara

Michael Weyer: We actually have to pay money to see this? Really? Expect a really ugly bout, many botches and messes until the “good” guy wins to end this nightmare.

Winner: Mistico

Jack Bramma: I love how the build for this so far has been one guy showing up in the ring and staring at the other and both point to themselves while saying nothing. This will come down to which booking evil twins model they are stealing from: Kane’s May 19th Debacle? Underfaker? Fake Razor and Diesel? Stink? Based on the Smackdown report, it sounds like Hunico is cutting a promo and getting new gear. I’d say that puts him a leg up in the feud so I’ll take him (assuming of course it actually IS him and not Mistico doing the things I mentioned on Smackdown).

Winner: Hunico (Sin Carnate)

Chad Nevett: I’m oddly intrigued by this, especially how the match will work if both men look identical with their quicker style. It could be great… or it could be botch-tastic. Either way, expect some entertainment!

Winner: Hunico

Greg DeMarco: Good and Evil are a little better to tell apart thanks to Hunico’s revelation on Smackdown. I like this feud because it can really develop into something if given the proper time, and it could easily create two marketable wrestlers for the WWE. If the WWE wants to keep it going, Evil needs to come out on top this time.

Winner: Evil Sin Cara

Sheamus vs Christian

Stephen Randle: Sheamus might be next in line for Henry, or at least he would be if they could figure out something to do with Orton when he’s not wrestling for a title. Either way, he’s clearly on the rise.

Winner: Sheamus

TJ Hawke: These two would probably have a better match if the face/heel dynamic was reversed, but this may still end up being the best match on the show. I think they are going to put Henry over in the World title match, which means Smackdown needs a strong face challenger for Vengeance…

Winner: Sheamus

Michael Bauer: Christian and his whiny bitch routine is really getting old. Meanwhile, Sheamus has become the new hot act on Smackdown and is clearly being setup to face Henry after HIAC. Easy winner here.

Winner: Sheamus

Wes Kirk: Sheamus has been on a major roll lately and kicked serious ass while Christian has been put purposely on a downward spiral to accentuate his whiny new heel character. Sheamus is demolishing just about everybody and frankly, if you have a guy who is introduced as 199 lbs defeating a massive Irish brute cleanly the way these two have been booked lately Sheamus would lose a lot of his heat. Sorry Christian, but I hope you like the taste of Sheamus’ boots.

Winner: Sheamus

R.C. Sutton: I think this match has some real potential. Realistically it will probably be about 7 minutes, with Sheamus kicking Christian’s ass for 5 of it. Poor Captain Charisma, where does he go from here? Sheamus stock is being bought, and right now Christian stock is sinking like a rock.

Winner: Sheamus

Michael Weyer: Sheamus has been doing really good here while Christian is sinking bad. Would like to see Christian win but Sheamus is the one with all the momentum and hard to see that ending. They should put on a pretty good match still, plenty of hard-hitting moves before Sheamus gets the win at the end.

Winner: The Celtic Warrior

Jack Bramma: Christian seems to be well on his way to continuing his whipping boy push. He has been FANTASTIC the past couple weeks in dueling promos with Triple H (and for much longer than that in the ring this year). It’s a shame that you can win TWO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in one year and still be viewed as a virtual nonentity. It seems they are intent on using him as a stepping ladder for the main event. Here’s hoping this gets a lot of time and plenty of false finishes for Christian to make him look competent before Sheamus puts him to bed with the Razor’s Edge after 15 minutes or so.

Winner: Sheamus

Chad Nevett: This could be a fun match. Christian always delivers and Sheamus has been great in the ring lately. Christian has been working as the chickenshit heel and Sheamus seems to be getting the big face push.

Winner: Sheamus

Greg DeMarco: Sheamus has been on fire since his face turn, and I think he could make for a great challenger for Mark Henry down the road. Christian is now cemented as a top notch talent in the WWE’s eyes (in my opinion). Meaning that he might get another world title run, he might not. But he’ll always be in the mix, and he’ll always be entertaining. I think this match is the start of something for Sheamus.

Winner: Sheamus

Kelly Kelly © vs Beth Phoenix
WWE Divas Championship

Stephen Randle: Remember what I said last month about fooling me once, then twice? Well, fool me three times, and what the hell was the point of Beth’s heel turn and this entire storyline in the first place? Arguably, I’d just be happy if they didn’t have the same damned finish to the match for the third show in a row. At a certain point, a shocking rollup finish is no longer shocking.

Winner: Beth Phoenix

TJ Hawke: At this point, the Divas of Doom have lost so much momentum that I have once again lost all interest in the women’s storylines. The matches between the two have been watchable so far, so I guess there is no reason for this match to not also be fine.

Winner: The Glamazon

Michael Bauer: So, if the rumor is true and the WWE did not want a face reaction to Beth winning in Buffalo, then why in the hell did they make that match then? Natalya couldn’t get a title shot? Beth finally takes the belt and maybe makes the division interesting again… but I doubt that.

Winner: Beth Phoenix

Wes Kirk: Kelly Kelly enters the contest 2-0 against Beth in the last two PPV matches, which means that whatever I choose will automatically be the wrong prediction as it was the past two weeks. Frankly, the Divas of Doom are getting off to a bad start to say the least and I’m going to just go with the pick I’ve gone with because hey, if she can’t win tonight that’s strike three for Beth. Also, Beth vs. Natalya would be a good match…

Winner: Beth Phoenix

R.C. Sutton: I picked Beth Phoenix 2 weeks ago, so I may as well pick her again. If we’re still running with the whole Divas of Doom idea, they actually have to become a force at some point.

Winner: Beth Phoenix

Michael Weyer: Kelly retaining last month was a surprise but I don’t see it happening again this time around. They need Phoenix back as the monster heel to smash up the other Divas and hopefully reignite some interest in things.

Winner and NEW Divas Champion: The Glamazon

Jack Bramma: I can’t pick my nose when it comes to women’s matches. KK has retained the past two PPVs, why take it off her now? Because I am predicting they won’t, that’s why.

Winner: Kelly Kelly

Chad Nevett: Maybe heel wins this time?

Winner and NEW WWE Divas Champion: Beth Phoenix

Greg DeMarco: Yet another title shot for Beth Phoenix. What has Natalya actually gained from her association with Beth? I think Kelly Kelly is a much better in-ring competitor than she’s given credit for, and it’s shown in the past few weeks. That said, I think they finally put Beth over in this feud at HIAC.

Winner: Beth Phoenix (new Divas Champion)

Mark Henry © vs Randy Orton
Hell in a Cell Match
World Heavyweight Championship

Stephen Randle: If they were smart, Henry destroys Orton here and maybe puts him out for a month or so, getting around the problem of having Orton on a show not wrestling for the title, while allowing other people to challenge Henry. Hey, it’s their problem, not mine. I could write a dozen Orton storylines without the title involved, but they don’t ask for my input.

Winner: Mark Henry

TJ Hawke: Mark Henry has been the best built heel in a long time for the WWE. If the WWE keeps this up, the fans will eventually be very interested in watching someone slay him. I really hope they don’t cut the legs out from under Henry here, and hot shot the title back to Orton. Match should be passable. I can see some shenanigans happening that lead to Cody Rhodes costing Orton the match to start a feud between those two.

Winner: Mark Henry

Michael Bauer: No way Mark Henry loses here. He has been too dominant lately to lose, even with Randy Orton’s experience in Hell in a Cell. Henry wasn’t given the belt to lose it a month later, like some token reign that some people are given. It’s going to be lengthy reign and Randy Orton is just the beginning.

Winner: Mark Henry

Wes Kirk: Hell is an apt word to describe the master of the chinlock taking on the ruler of the bearhug. I would expect to see Henry get hit with some powerful offense early on and towards the end but shake it off and then out of nowhere the RKO seals the victory just that fast, possibly on a World’s Strongest Slam reversal and then Henry beats the ever loving hell out of Orton to continue the feud.

Winner: AND NEW WORLD CHAMPION, RANDY ORTON

R.C. Sutton: Mark Henry has been beating the hell out of everything in his sights for awhile now. Randy Orton has had his hands full just trying to beat Cody Rhodes. I’m thinking the beat down on Cody recently on Smackdown was to set the table that the Viper has regained some of his take no prisoners’ attitude. Just like Gold doesn’t get too far away from Cena at any given time, the same has become true for Orton.

Winner: Randy Orton

Michael Weyer: We all know Henry’s win was a reward for his years of loyalty. He’s been surprisingly dominant as the monster champion, really selling himself as a threat so hard to believe they’ll give it back to Orton so quickly.
But they’ve done this before and this is Orton’s match. A chance for Cody to interfere and cost him but I just can’t commit to that. So, hope you enjoyed the great reward, Henry because the Viper is getting the belt back here after overcoming great odds to win it.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton

Jack Bramma: Mark Henry is the best thing going on all of the shows right now, especially since CM Punk has had his meteoric rise curtailed by esoteric-heavy feuds with too many runs ins. Henry is getting the old school monster push that Vader and Andre would be proud of and should have went to Big Show for the majority of his career. His promo after winning the title to Josh Matthews and his attack on JR were perfect. Whereas there has been such a push for “reality” and worked shoots due to CM Punk’s success with them, the fed’s slow but steady program with Mark Henry has proved that traditional storytelling can still create compelling television. Judging by a lot of the commenters, I’m a bigger fan of Orton than most. I think his destruction of Cody Rhodes played nicely into his on-edge character that could snap at any moment almost like Ken Shamrock. But I still think his job here will largely be to get his ass kicked outside of a few comebacks and eat the pinfall to put over Henry again.

Winner: Mark Henry

Chad Nevett: The safe money is to predict Orton gets his title back. But, Henry has been so good and built so well that I can’t see the WWE stopping that now. This could be the brutal ‘career killing’ HIAC match of the night and that suits Henry well. I think Orton puts up a good fight and, ultimately, Henry kills him.

Winner and STILL WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Mark Henry

Greg DeMarco: Mark Henry is one of the best acts in all of the WWE. I do believe that Randy Orton will be the World Heavyweight Champion come WrestleMania 28 (or he’ll be the challenger). But I think the belt stays on Henry here. Hell, Henry might actually move on to someone else for now—hopefully Sheamus.

Winner: Mark Henry (still World Heavyweight Champion)

John Cena © vs CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio
Triple Threat Hell in a Cell Match
WWE Championship

Stephen Randle: And cue the overbooking on a level with that awful Six Man Armageddon Hell in a Cell way back when. I expect so many people to run in here, the match may not even have an actual finish. Which is stupid for a Hell in a Cell match, but I can’t shake this image of Awesome Truth and Nash (and maybe Del Rio) standing over Cena and Punk as we go off the air. Arguably, that would set up two Survivor Series teams pretty nicely, but we’ve (sigh) still got a PPV between then and now. In any event, no chance Cena leaves here without the belt, because now that he’s got it again, WWE can stop switching the title every other week.

Winner: John Cena

TJ Hawke: Del Rio lost on the go home show, so WWE Booking 101 dictates that he is gonna win the title here. Match should be pretty fun if the fans care about it at all. I wonder if Johnny Ace, Kevin Nash, The Miz, and R-Truth are going to start an invasion here or whatever the hell is going on with them.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Michael Bauer: Ugh, why on Earth is Cena champion again? Del Rio may not have been perfect as champion, but it was something fresh and different. It’s like CM Punk has been preaching, nothing ever changes in the WWE. I have no reason to pick Del Rio to get the title again. So, I’m just going to pick for the sake of picking and knowing how poorly built this has been…

Winner: CM Punk

Wes Kirk: So nice to see the HIAC set is being used as a prop for a bloodless battle which is likely more to promote the eventual HHH power struggle against McMahon than a contest for the WWE title. I’m going to go ahead and choose the one choice that nobody, including myself, wants to see because it is kind of obvious from the poster alone that there is only one guy WWE wants holding this title long term. Expect another overbooked finish to this one, likely involving the usual suspects from the previous PPV.

Winner: John Cena

R.C. Sutton: What direction do we go here? I think CM Punk is destined to be part of this whole conspiracy/HHH/Johnny Ace saga that is going to continue on. Actually, it wouldn’t shock me if they didn’t find a way to get some schmoz ending here. Maybe Punk hits the G2S on Cena, gets leveled by one of John Laurinaitis’s guys (somehow they will get in) and Del Rio sneaks off with the Championship.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Michael Weyer: Hard to pick here. Cena is…well, Cena, Del Rio just lost the title and Punk has been mired in his personal politic battles. So much can shift things up and it’s tempting to say Del Rio regains. But, what the hell, I’ll go out on a limb and think Punk manages to take advantage of interference and such to regain the belt for hopefully a real run.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: CM Punk

Jack Bramma: It feels like there is no logical way to predict this which is both a good and a bad thing. As a fan who’s been watching a long time, I enjoy being tricked but there’s a difference in a good surprise and being jerked around. The WWE has been so scattershot with the WWE championship lately that it’s more like being jerked around haphazardly. Even though it’s probably too early to be thinking like this, Cena will be teaming up with the Rock at Survivor Series, so I could easily see him dropping the belt here to free up a champ to defend it or compete against Rock/Cena’s team (even if 8 weeks and a PPV between is too far ahead for the current writing team to plan for the world title). At the same time, having Cena as champ while feuding with and teaming with the Rock would increase his profile and mitigate any interference from a heel champ. However, you’ve obviously got the X factors of Awesome Truth getting involved and also Kevin Nash who hasn’t been mentioned since interfering at Night of Champions. All of the X-Factors are anti-Triple H but does that mean they’ll be on Cena’s side, Punk’s side, or ADR’s? ADR is the closest thing to a heel in the group so booking says they’d err on the side of helping him rather than Cena or Punk. Honestly, I just don’t see ADR winning the belt again, at least for a while. What was the point of taking it off him if just to give it back here? I’ll go with Punk if for no other reason than it’ll set up ANOTHER war to settle the score between Punk and Cena at Vengeance, where Cena finally goes over clean and that propels him as the top face and allows him to have the RAW main event by himself to verbally spar with Rock.

Winner: CM Punk

Chad Nevett: Now, this could be good. And all three guys would make good choices to put the belt on. I just hope that they don’t go for another TNA-esque finish with this match and realize that HIAC and three guys is enough spectacle to deliver. I think, for once, I won’t bet against John Cena, though. What the hell…

Winner and STILL WWE Champion: John Cena

Greg DeMarco: This match is being hyped as the first ever Triple Threat Hell in a Cell Match, which bugs me. The gimmick is supposed to be a feud ender—not just for any feuds, either. Not it’s just a rest-stop for the WWE’s top two feuds. Del Rio was made to look strong on RAW, Punk got a big win on RAW, and Cena was in “angry mode” on RAW. Unfortunately, Angry Cena’s slingshot will be powerful in this cell, and he’ll be blowing up two pigs in the form of Del Rio and Punk. Cena gets the pin on Del Rio to win.

Winner: John Cena (still WWE Champion)

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