Photo credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio in an enjoyable opener to the show. Smart choice to get the event going with with this largely solid match up. As standard Del Rio targeted Orton's left arm for most of the bout, but 'The Viper' managed to battle back and applied an impressive RKO as Del Rio came over the ropes after his signature head kick for the one-two-three. Unfortunately there were a few sloppy moments here and there but on the whole I enjoyed the match.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) won via disqualification versus Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) (c) with the WWE Tag Team Titles on the line in a decent tag bout. I was expecting more here to be honest, with the nice build up and talent involved. I'm certainly not saying it was bad by any means, just not outstanding. All four men gave worthy displays throughout. The DQ came when Kane refused to stop beating on Sandow and Rhodes after he lost his temper with his team mate Bryan when he accidentally applied a flying knee to him on the outside. Bit of a poor ending, and the crowd in Atlanta agreed.
Kofi Kingston (c) bested The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship in a fair contest, with decent efforts from both men. Kofi was the right choice to win here, loosing the strap that quickly would've set him back big time. Although it wasn't as exciting as their title bout on Main Event it's still worth a watch.
Antonio Cesaro (c) best Justin Gabriel to retain the United States Championship in a passable match up. Unfortunately just like on Raw the fans in attendance seemed to be largely indifferent to the two wrestler's efforts here. I felt this was harsh treatment as Gabriel and especially Cesaro looked solid here, the US strap holder has been on great consistent form lately.
Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeated The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a mostly solid tag contest. If I'm honest I wasn't going into this one expecting anything that special, but once it got past the first initial few minutes it was actually quite fun to watch. Sin Cara and Mysterio gave good efforts (Sin Cara has proven to be better suited to a tag team environment for me) while Young and O'Neil were okay, you don't normally get much more than pedestrian displays from them anyway. Pleasant surprise.
Big Show defeated Sheamus (c) to obtain the World Heavyweight Title in a match that started off quite slow but had an edge of your seat ending. Show dominated for the majority of the contest, slowly taking the Irishman out and even hurling him over the announce desk. Of course as any good face does Sheamus managed to battled back, and in the final few minutes both men exchanged their signature finishers for great near falls. But it wasn't to be for 'The Great White' as Big Show applied a nice looking WMD as he came running in for a second Brogue Kick for the winning pinfall. Well this certainly turned out better than I'd predicted, with respective efforts from both men.
Eve (c) bested Layla and Kaitlyn to retain the WWE Divas Title in a surprisingly okay Triple Threat contest. Compared to most women's bouts we witness in WWE this one was above standard, with some real effort by the competitors to make it feel a bit different. Kaitlyn also gave her best performance to date here (although she still needs work) and pleasantly surprised me with some of her work. Eve grabbed the win after an overhit swanton onto Layla and Kaitlyn. Eve was the top choice to win here as the most interesting female performer in the company right now.
CM Punk (c) defeated Ryback to retain the WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell match. The bout itself was dramatic and enjoyable at parts, and I'd say successful and memorable on the whole. As expected Ryback used his strength for some nice moments, especially after the match (but we'll get to that soon) and Punk worked hard as usual as he attempted to thwart his dominant foe. For the surprise finish, which certainly got a healthy response from the fans, the referee low blowed Ryback as he attempted a Shell Shock on Punk and then made a very fast three count.
As CM Punk and the referee attempted to make a quick getaway Ryback managed to recover and began taking out his frustration on the crooked official, which included a very nice military press slam from inside the ring into the outside cage. It looked awesome. The champ almost made it out but Ryback pounced on him too, which led to a chase up to the top of the cell structure. Once at the top Ryback applied a Shell Shock to Punk as rightful retribution. It was an exciting end to the event, and one I won't forget anytime soon. The end of the match also makes sense for their feud (give me a chance) people will still claim that Punk has to prove himself and Ryback will surely receive a rematch of some kind at next month's Survivor Series.
Overall it was a decent pay-per-view, with most matches above average and providing worthy action, although unfortunately the crowd in attendance were apparently asleep for most of the night. The World Heavyweight Championship contest was pleasantly better than expected, with an exciting and well executed finishing sequence. The HIAC match was also enjoyable enough, with Punk's hard work and playing to Ryback's strengths. Still split on the finish but it at least makes sense for the Ryback/Punk feud to continue. Now on to Raw tomorrow, wooo...
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