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Kester's WWE Hell in a Cell Rundown: Shawn Michaels superkicks Daniel Bryan, John Cena returns to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and CM Punk puts Paul Heyman to sleep

Posted in: Kester Editorials, MUST-READ LISTING
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Oct 28, 2013 - 03:05 PM

By Ryan Kester

Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton

Another month, another overbooked main event. From the beginning of this feud, WWE has added too many moving parts to the story, and it quickly got to the point that the waters were so muddy I could forgive someone for not knowing the actual wrestlers that were supposed to be feuding. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton showed promise early on in their story, but they've been background players since Night of Champions, and Hell in a Cell was no different.

I'm not upset about Randy Orton walking away from this PPV with the belt. I do wonder how many times WWE can pull the bait and switch with the crowd's chosen babyface before people become disinterested, but there is some mileage to be had in a heel Orton title run. That being said, the time to jump with Daniel Bryan appears to have passed, and WWE is going to need to do more than these unfulfilled promise builds if they hope to keep people cheering Bryan as he chases for the belt.

As far as Shawn Michaels and Triple H go, I am finding it difficult to get enthusiastic about the story of why HBK kicked Bryan. There's a few areas they can go with the story, but all of them are authority figure distractions for the winter when I would much rather have a hot champion taking on fresh challengers. That's the biggest tragedy of the last few months' worth of story. Be it Bryan or Orton, we could have a beloved or despised champion on our hands; instead we have two best friends that will be explaining their actions while the active wrestlers are kept on the back burner.

John Cena and Alberto Del Rio

Del Rio and Cena delivered a well thought-out match that told the story of Del Rio targeting a fresh injury in an attempt to retain his title, and Cena looked good by overcoming that injury and going ion to capture the title in spite of it. It's a fitting end for Del Rio's reign, which was built on targeting another wrestler's injury so ruthlessly.

I went into this match expecting the outcome that we got, but I wasn't expecting Del Rio to look so good in his loss. If WWE finds a way to get Del Rio away from Cena quickly, then they still have a strong heel on their hands.

CM Punk and Paul Heyman

The actual match between Ryback and Punk was passable, but the end to this story went out with a whimper when it should have gone out with a bang after so many months of buildup. Since Night of Champions, Punk's act has really cooled off, and a lot of that can be owed to the beating he was able to put on Heyman and yet he still continued to feud with the man.

In a lot of ways, I am worried that that trend with continue coming out of this PPV. It's obvious that WWE plans to pair Punk with Lesnar for the second leg of their feud, but I wonder how much excitement they will be able to drum up with how overexposed Heyman and Punk have become. Don't get me wrong, this was a very entertaining and enjoyable feud for months, but unless WWE has something new to offer the pairing, enough is enough.

Overall Show

Hell in a Cell was another disappointing WWE PPV effort. It started with a hot tag match, but everything that followed was either part for the course or overbooked. I'm sure WWE has a follow up to the main stories in mind for the coming weeks, but they are going to have to have something impressive up their sleeves if they hope for fans to continue to care.

If you have any questions or comments or just wish to chat with a fellow wrestling fan about whatever, then feel free to email me at ryan.kester@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter.

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