Date: October 25, 2020
Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL

Show Recap — 

KICK-OFF SHOW 

The kickoff panel featured Charly Caruso, Jerry Lawler, Booker T, Jeff Jarrett, and Peter Rosenberg. 

Kayla Braxton interviewed Paul Heyman and asked what would happen if Jey Uso won. Heyman told her to take the hype out of her voice. He basically said Jey would become Roman Reigns’ indentured servant. He also mentioned Reigns’s having a quest to become the greatest superstar ever. 

Rosenberg and Lawler went down to the ring inside the cell to talk about the dangers of Hell in a Cell matches. Lawler recalled Mick Foley falling from the cell. 

Jeff Hardy told Sarah Schrieber that he has made plenty of mistakes but he’s owned up to every mistake and is proud of who he is. Hardy did not hit Elias with that car and hoped they catch whoever did. The only thing Elias should be worried about is the Twist of Fate. 

R-Truth interrupted the panel. He thought Jarrett was Road Dogg. Booker wondered if Truth thought he was Kofi Kingston. Truth knew who he was but still thought Jarrett was Road Dogg. 

Elias interrupted them next. He still thinks Hardy is the one who ran him down. Booker wanted to know when Elias was coming to perform in Houston. Jarrett noted how ridiculous Elias’ accusation of Hardy was. Elias did a quick performance where he claimed anyone named Jeff (including Jarrett) must be a junkie. Booker was amused. 

Miz and Morrison joined the panel to yell about Otis. Caruso asked them what evidence they presented JBL to sway his decision but they didn’t answer. 

R-Truth defeated Drew Gulak to retain the 24/7 Championship (5:23) 

The match started with “comedy.” Gulak pretended to high five little Jimmy before kicking him, so Truth attacked. Truth did John Cena’s comeback and eventually won with a jackknife cover. 

Akira Tozawa and Lucha House Party chased after Truth. Gulak went to the panel to say that Truth’s childhood hero John Cena sucks. 

Mustafa Ali cut a promo backstage with Retribution behind him. Ali had a challenge for Hurt Business: one of them against one of theirs. It was up to MVP to decide who would fall. 

Caruso announced that Reigns vs. Uso would open the show. 

HELL IN A CELL MAIN SHOW 

Between the show intro and opening match video package (which we just saw at the end of the pre-show) it was 7:08pm by the time Jey Uso’s music hit and 7:15pm by the time the match started.

Hell in a Cell “I Quit” match: Roman Reigns defeated Jey Uso to retain the WWE Universal Championship (29:09) 

Reigns wore a gold glove on his right hand (contrasting the black wrist band on his left arm). 

Reigns hit a shoulder block and Michael Cole said he established early dominance (one minute into the match). Reigns followed with a series of clotheslines but Jey came back with strikes and consecutive suicide dives into the side of the cell. Jey said “shit” as he rammed Reigns repeatedly into the cell. They tried to bleep it but missed the mark. 

Jey set him up for something in the ring but Reigns speared him. Reigns went to the outside where Jey caught him with a dropkick but Reigns clocked him with a right hand (with the gold glove) and hit another spear. 

Reigns tried another one but Jey gave him a superkick and consecutive Uso splashes. The referee checked on Reigns who did not quit. Jey grabbed a leather strap as Heyman pleaded with him not to use it. Jey whipped Reigns in the back three times. Reigns actually got up after the third shot and speared Jey for the third time. Jey said he couldn’t breathe but refused to quit. 

Reigns repeatedly whipped Jey with the strap. Reigns tied the strap to Jey’s arm and whipped him again as loud booing played. Jey came back with fists and a superkick. 

Jey wrapped the strap around Reigns’ neck and pulled back. Reigns seemed to pass out for a moment before waking up. Reigns passed out again as the ref checked on him. Jey asked the ref if he quit. Reigns shook his head. 

Jey grabbed a chair but Reigns nailed him with a superman punch. Reigns applied a guillotine and Jey passed out. Heyman implored Jey to quit. Jey was out so Reigns let go of the hold. The ref told Jey all he had to do was say the words but Jey didn’t acknowledge him. 

Reigns warned Jey what was coming. Reigns used a drive-by dropkick but Jey still wouldn’t say anything. Reigns then placed the steel steps beside Jey’s head before doing another drive-by. The ref was basically begging Jey to quit. Jey wouldn’t quit, not because he refused, but because he was basically dead. 

The ref was about to call the match over but Reigns grabbed him and chucked him out of the ring. Another ref ran down to check on the first ref. Adam Pearce, Jamie Noble, and a few other officials ran down to stop Reigns from doing any more. 

Reigns closed the cell door and chucked the steel steps in the ring, which caused all of the officials to flee the ring. 

Reigns taunted Jey before lifting up the steps to finally kill Jey. Jimmy Uso jumped in the ring to protect Jey. Reigns dropped the steps. Jimmy asked Reigns what was wrong with him and said they could work through this. As Jimmy pleaded with Reigns, Reigns become emotional and dropped to his knees. 

Jimmy thought he got through to Reigns, but Reigns put him in the guillotine choke. Jey tried to help before eventually saying “I quit” to save Jimmy. Reigns wins. 

Reigns made his way up the ramp where he was greeted by Afa and Sika. They congratulated him and embraced him. Reigns posed with the title as the Usos looked on. 

Elias defeated Jeff Hardy via DQ (7:50) 

Elias did a quick performance about Hardy being a drunk. 

Hardy set up for the Swanton Bomb but Elias rolled to the outside. Hardy was on top of the ring post and I thought he might do a senton to the outside but, fortunately, he didn’t. Unfortunately, he instead went outside, grabbed the guitar away from Elias and smashed him in the back with it for the DQ. 

Otis did a quick interview with Braxton. He’s angry with Miz. 

There’s a new (I think) video board behind the announcers that allows them to display sponsors. 

The Miz (w/John Morrison) defeated Otis (w/Tucker) to win the Money in the Bank contract (7:27) 

Cole said this was the second match ever where Mr. Money in the Bank could lose the contract. He didn’t mention what the first match was (Edge beating Mr. Kennedy). 

John Morrison was about to hit Otis with the briefcase but the ref saw him and tossed him out. Miz was distracted so Otis used a schoolboy for two. Otis followed with a discus clothesline for a nearfall. 

As Otis came off the ropes, Tucker nailed him with the briefcase. Miz was shocked. Miz covered Otis for the win. Miz is the new Mr. Money in the Bank. He celebrated with the briefcase. 

Braxton caught up to Miz and Morrison backstage. They were very happy. Braxton said he won at the expense of the friendship of Otis and Tucker. Miz didn’t care and spoke about the importance of the briefcase. He said he has cashed in before and will again. 

Tucker showed up. Braxton asked why he betrayed Otis. Tucker said they were supposed to be a team but he carried the workload. He treated Otis like a brother but felt like an afterthought. It was all about Otis getting the spotlight but Otis couldn’t function without him. 

Otis ran in and ran over Miz and Morrison. He briefly got his hands on Tucker who ran off. The post-match angle was pretty good. 

Hell in a Cell match: Sasha Banks defeated Bayley to win the Smackdown Women’s Championship (26:32) 

Bayley brought a chair with her to the ring and tried to use it on Banks as the cell lowered but Banks kicked it out of her hands which cause it to fall outside the cell. Of course, Bayley still has access to everything under the ring. 

Bayley introduced a kendo stick but Banks stopped her from using it and set up a table. Bayley tried putting the table away but Banks used it to drive Bayley into the side of the cage. Banks followed with a Meteora into the cell and a diving Meteora in the ring for two. 

They fought back-and-forth until Banks dropkicked Bayley into the steel steps. Banks suspended a kendo stick between the steps and cage but Bayley fought her off and used a drop toe hold to send Banks into the stick. Bayley also used a catapult into the sticks before sliding her into the ring for two. 

Bayley taunted Banks by saying, “Boss in the cell, huh? Boss my ass!” Banks gave her a sunset flip powerbomb into the side of the cell for a two count. Banks tried a crossface using the chair but Bayley dropped her face-first on the chair. 

Bayley followed shortly after with a running sunset flip powerbomb into a chair that was lodged between the ropes for a close nearfall. (This looked painful for Banks.) Bayley hit a flying elbow drop for two. Bayley put Banks between the ring and the ring skirt and nailed her with a kendo stick. 

Bayley grabbed duct tape and attempted to tape two kendo sticks together before placing them between the ring and cell. It didn’t look good. She seemed to complain to the announcers because it didn’t work. All that time spent allowed Banks to spray her in the face with a fire extinguisher. Bayley wanted to leave the cell but a referee wouldn’t let her. 

Banks attacked and drove her into the cell before using another running knee strike against the cell. Banks repeatedly hit Bayley with a kendo stick in the ring. Banks hit a frog splash but Bayley placed a chair between them, so they were both hurt. Bayley slammed Banks on the black mats which led to a two count. 

Bayley grabbed a ladder and suspended it on top of two chairs. She slammed Banks on it and spraypainted an X on her. Bayley came off the top with a chair but Banks moved and used a double knee strike in the corner followed by a Bayley-to-belly on the ladder for a nearfall. Bayley came back with a Bayley-to-belly of her own for a nearfall. 

Bayley tried another suplex using the chair but Banks countered into a crossface, with the chair wrapped around Bayley’s head. Bayley tapped out. Banks wins. Banks took a long look at Bayley before accepting the title belt from the referee. 

Very good match. This was also way more of a “Hell in a Cell” match than the opener, which could have just been an I Quit match without the cell. 

Backstage, Caruso asked MVP who he chose to represent them tonight. She was smart enough to notice that Bobby Lashley was the only one dressed to compete. She asked who they chose from Retribution to fight him. 

Shelton Benjamin suggested the guy with the funny mask. Cedric Alexander and MVP acted confused. Benjamin clarified that he meant Slapjack. MVP said it should be one-on-one with no cornermen. Lashley also offered to put the US title on the line. Lashley was tired of the talk and made his way to the ring. 

Bobby Lashley defeated Slapjack to retain the United States Championship (3:51) 

Slapjack got a fair amount of offense but Lashley retained with a Hurt Lock. 

T-Bar and Mace immediately attacked Lashley after the match as Ali directed. Lashley fought back which left Ali alone in the ring as the rest of Hurt Business ran down. Ali bailed. Retribution (including Mia Yim) left ringside as Ali stared down Hurt Business. 

They played the ominous cage/cell match music (with a pyro display) for the upcoming match as if we haven’t seen two cell matches already. 

Hell in a Cell match: Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntyre to win the WWE Championship (30:35) 

Even though the champions came out last in the previous two cell matches, McIntyre came out first here for some reason. That reason, of course, is they had an angle. 

Orton (dressed in black pants and hoodie) tried to sneak attack McIntyre during his entrance but McIntyre caught him and attacked him around ringside. McIntyre tossed him in the ring, closed the door, and they started the match. 

McIntyre was in full control early in the match, tossing Orton around and using a chair. McIntyre tried throwing the steel steps at Orton but he dodged it. (McIntyre would have missed worse than Kenley Jansen anyway.) McIntyre set up for a Claymore Kick but Orton moved and hit him in the leg with the chair before driving it into his previously injured jaw. 

Orton took over from there, targeting McIntyre’s jaw. Orton cut off a brief comeback attempt with a thumb to the eye and pushed McIntyre into the steep steps. They traded strikes in the ring but again Orton got the better of it and used a backbreaker. 

They traded strikes again and McIntyre fired up with clotheslines, overhead suplexes and a neckbreaker. Orton tried to fight back on the outside but McIntyre suplexed him through a table that was sitting against the cell. This prompted a “this is awesome” chant to be played. 

McIntyre was going back in the ring but Orton kicked the rope into his groin and used a draping DDT for just a one count. 

Orton grabbed bolt cutters and Byron Saxton said, “oh my god” like he was up to no good. Orton used them to cut the cage door open so he could leave. 

McIntyre went after him but Orton got the better of it and drove him into the cage. Orton looked around and decided to climb to the top of the cell. McIntyre followed. Orton kindly waited for him to safely climb to the top. 

Turns out, Orton had a plan. He grabbed a lead pipe that was on top of the cage but McIntyre ducked a strike and fought back. McIntyre posed which allowed Orton to hit him low with the pipe. 

Orton began climbing down the cell, so McIntyre followed. It was hard to tell with the camera angle but McIntyre tried something and ended up falling off the side of the cage and crashed through the announce table. They didn’t show a replay because it looked like McIntyre simply just fell off the cell. 

McIntyre came up bleeding from the mouth.  (This was visually similar to Finn Bálor at Takeover but probably fake this time.) They eventually made their way to the ring as McIntyre sold a lot. Orton went for an RKO but McIntyre countered and hit a Claymore. Orton fell out of the ring so McIntyre pushed him back into the ring. 

McIntyre went for another Claymore but Orton ducked and hit an RKO for the pinfall win. Orton is the new champion. 

This wasn’t as good as the two previous cell matches. It doesn’t help that we’ve seen these two wrestle a lot and this was the third cell match within three hours. Also, it felt like McIntyre simply lost this match fair and square. The Bayley/Banks match probably should have gone last.