World Heavyweight Championship
John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio (c)
Cena's emotional pay-per-view comeback absolutely ignited the WWE Universe. From the early moments of the subsequent
matchup, however, it quickly became apparent that Del Rio’s vicious aggression would threaten that homecoming and,
in fact, the very career of his celebrated opposition.
Indeed, the treacherous titleholder would target the injured arm of his heroic No. 1 contender from the word go.
And despite Cena’s resilience and ability to roar back from his opponent’s unrelenting assault, it seemed for
a time as if the 13-time World Champion had indeed reemerged too early and was not 100%. With each passing moment,
Del Rio executed a calculating attack, designed to wear down his prey.
The resilient challenger would soon build a solid offense, catching Del Rio with a drop kick as his opponent came off
the top rope and following up with the Five-Knuckle Shuffle for a near near-fall.
But, as the two determined warriors battled back-and-forth with growing intensity, the fans couldn’t help but wonder
just how much punishment Cena would be able to take.
Then, in a critical moment, Cena avoided a Del Rio charge, sending the Mexican Champion directly into the unforgiving
steel post and allowing his iconic foe to hit a follow-up high cross body.
Regaining the advantage, Del Rio would try the Cross Armbreaker, only to have that attempt countered with the feared STF.
Still, the champion managed to persevere by getting two fingers on the ropes and forcing the referee to break the hold.
At wasn’t long before Del Rio would return to his signature maneuver, this time successfully locking in the Cross
Armbreaker. But even as he rolled down Cena’s protective pad to expose the injury, the incredible strength of
the Cenation Leader allowed him to pick up the reigning champion and miraculously drive him down into the canvas.
And when the stunned Essence of Excellence regained to advantage and went for his dreaded submission hold yet again,
Cena would be ready for him – countering with an incredible Attitude Adjustment to grab the monumental three-count
to earn Cena the World Heavyweight Title amidst a standing ovation!
Returning from elbow surgery to repair a torn triceps, the determined Leader of the Cenation stepped back into action
with 13-time World Championships to his credit – including a record 11 reigns as WWE Champion as well as a two
World Heavyweight Titles.
But, in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view showdown created by SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero,
the 4-time World Champion, Alberto Del Rio set out to prove that Cena’s best days were in fact behind him
– vowing to destroy his celebrated opponent by locking him in the Cross Armbreaker and never letting go.
As vicious as the intent of the Mexican titleholder was, though, it would not be enough to deny the intestinal
fortitude of a true WWE institution. And now that Cena had left WWE Hell in a Cell a 14-time World Champion,
one thing is for sure, The Champ is definitely here!
WWE Championship Hell In a Cell Match w/ special guest referee Shawn Michaels
Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan (c)
Why, exactly, “Mr. WrestleMania” acted against his student remains unclear. On the surface, there didn’t appear to be
any sort of fix in against the bearded rebel who has defied The Authority at every turn. However, it was clear something
was amiss from the very beginning, when Triple H – who had a heated discussion with HBK moments earlier – made a
grand show of parading the abeyant WWE Title before the match, offering handshakes to both Orton and Bryan.
Even as The Viper seemed smug and confident in his patron’s presence, Bryan’s rebuke of the handshake was repaid with a
knowing wink from the COO, as if he knew the tenacious grappler’s fate was already sealed.
The two rivals wasted no time on pleasantries once the steel came down, using everything from the ring ropes to the Cell
walls to their fists as weapons. Bryan attacked The Apex Predator with the force of a bullet train, but The Viper
picked his spots carefully, absorbing his opponent’s attacks and cutting Bryan off each time the submission master
neared critical mass. The early patience paid off almost immediately when Orton sent the winded former WWE Champion
flying into the Cell, leaving the “Yes!” man splayed and dazed outside the ring.
Exploiting the full lawlessness of Hell in a Cell, Orton attempted to use the steel steps as weapons, yet he seemed to
have underestimated Bryan’s capacity for ruthlessness. The “Yes!” man reversed Orton’s attempts to dismantle him,
slamming him into the steps and sending an ominous message to his clearly rattled opponent: Hell ain’t a bad place to be
for Daniel Bryan.
Proving the Cell really does make monsters out of the noblest Superstars, Bryan brought Orton to the ring and trapped him
in the Tree of Woe, chopped away with a sequence of rib-rattling kicks and a baseball slide that turned The Viper into
a human bobblehead. As his momentum built, the “Yes!” man threw Orton outside the ring and struck with two suicide dives.
Once again, however, The Viper proved the more patient of the two and calmly dodged an attempted third.
Bryan’s momentum carried him headfirst into the chain link, knocked him into a stupor and handed The Viper the upper hand.
Orton took the fight back in between the ropes, though Bryan’s tenacity again proved more than he anticipated.
After suffering a barrage of headbutts from The Apex Predator, Bryan finally found his rhythm and hammered Orton with
European uppercuts, then pulverized the reeling Viper with a diving headbutt and a “Yes!” Lock that The Apex Predator
only barely managed to escape.
Orton staggered to the outside but found no mercy, as Bryan ground his head against the chain links before producing a
chair from beneath the ring and putting the implement to work. Not only did the submission master play a tune on
The Apex Predator’s exposed back, but Bryan also tossed about a dozen steel chairs into the ring. Sensing that his
old student was, perhaps, getting out of hand, HBK tried to talk some sense into the two-time WWE Champion.
But the fuming Bryan only had one response for his onetime sensei: “Get out of my way, Shawn.”
For the second time, Shawn Michaels attempted to intervene by talking The Viper down, and for the second time his words
fell on deaf ears. Orton tossed the chairs into a macabre pile and sent Bryan tumbling onto them with a top-rope superplex,
though the ensuing two-count briefly turned The Viper’s rage toward HBK instead of Bryan. The Apex Predator
all but demanded that The Showstopper give him a three-count, and HBK’s protests – his insistence that the contest be
decided fair and square – brought Triple H storming out of the locker room.
The King of Kings’ presence, understandably, took Michaels’ eye off the action at hand, and while the COO chastised his
best friend for putting his own interests in jeopardy, Orton regained the advantage by hurling Bryan through the air with
a devastating T-bone suplex. With Michaels’ time otherwise occupied by Triple H, though, Orton’s attempted pin
went unrecorded. The Viper didn’t take kindly to the oversight and joined Triple H in berating “Mr. WrestleMania”
for his evidently shoddy officiating. However, with all his attention focused on the bout’s referee,
Orton committed the one unforgivable sin of Hell in a Cell: He forgot about his opponent.
Bryan sprang immediately into action and “Yes!” Locked Orton again, bringing The Viper to the brink of submission.
Although Orton escaped the hold, the WWE Universe sensed the end was near and roared its approval. In the same arena
where the “YES!” chants first took life, Bryan fed off the crowd’s energy and found his groove again.
While the Universe roared and The King of Kings literally rattled the cage of a conflicted Michaels,
Bryan countered the RKO by shoving The Viper into a distracted HBK, leaving the WWE Hall of Famer down and
robbing the steel house of pain of its lone peacekeeper.
Unsurprisingly, this was the moment when all hell broke loose.
Seeing his best friend laid out threw The Game into a panic, and WWE’s COO demanded that the Cell door be unlocked so
Michaels could be attended to. While Triple H and WWE medical staff fumbled with the padlock, however,
Bryan made his move and leveled Orton with the Running Knee Smash. With Michaels unable to count,
Bryan attempted to rouse his mentor to fulfill his promise and bring the bout to a fair conclusion.
Triple H unceremoniously threw Bryan away from his Michaels and, with Orton indisposed and The Game’s defenses down,
Daniel Bryan saw his opening.
Granted, it wasn’t a WWE Title win, and given what happened afterward, it’s likely Bryan may end up regretting it.
But the second Triple H left himself exposed, the “Yes!” man hit The Game with another Running Knee Smash with
such enthusiasm you’d have thought he had waited for it his whole life. “YES!” chants erupted from the WWE Universe ,
though the euphoria was sadly short-lived.
Perhaps it was seeing his best friend knocked out . Perhaps it was something The Game had said to Michaels before the match,
or maybe he just thought it was best for business. Whatever the reason, HBK staggered to his feet,
took stock of the situation and hit Bryan with Sweet Chin Music, toppling the would-be titleholder to the mat.
Michaels, for his part, didn’t seem to believe what he had just done, especially when Orton regained consciousness and
slithered into the cover. With no choice left , Shawn Michaels counted three and left the arena in disgusted silence as
The Game celebrated alongside Orton, crowed again as his chosen champion and the Face of WWE.
Why did Shawn Michaels do it? The answer is likely not simple. A previous issue with Bryan?
The need to side with his best friend, Triple H? Money? Sometimes it just takes the right combination of circumstances to
bring out the devil in us all. The only question that has been answered is who is the WWE Champion.
The answer is The Viper, Randy Orton.
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