WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 DVD Review

     

 WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray on 19th January, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk and elsewhere. Broadcast live on Pay-per-View (and the WWE Network) from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, USA on 26th October 2014, the show features John Cena and Randy Orton going at it inside Hell in a Cell for a shot at Brock Lesnar's World Heavyweight Championship, a feud ending Hell in a Cell bout between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler defending the Intercontinental Championship against Cesaro in a Two Out of Three Falls match and five other matches. The special features include the debut edition of Mizdow TV with The Miz and an extra match from the Hell in a Cell Kick-Off show, as well as two Home Video Exclusive interviews. The commentary is provided by John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler.

The Show

       The show kick's off with an enthralling Two out of Three Falls Match, between Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro over the Intercontinental Championship. The match is filled with sound storytellling, partnered with some sound wrestling and cool spots. A backstage segment featuring Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane and Randy Orton, continues the discension between the Authority members, whilst also working nicely to build towards Orton's match with John Cena later on. The Bella Twins explode in a match that is surprisingly not awful, in which the loser is forced to be the winner's personal assistant for 30 days. The Usos chase Gold & Stardust's Tag Team Championships in a solid tag team encounter, although it's perhaps not as strong as their match at the previous Pay-per-view, Night of Champions. 

Orton and Cena battle inside Hell in a Cell

     John Cena and Randy Orton's Hell in a Cell match is curiously placed at the beginning of the second hour, given it's WWE main event style of wrestling. The two put together a number of interesting sequences and use the Hell in a Cell gimmick well. The storytelling in the first three quarters of the match are strong, with Orton attempting to get the pinfall at every opportunity and Cena fighting from underneath, it's a shame that most of this hard work is lost in closing stages of the match. Whilst the bout is also harmed by the lack of crowd involvment, it is still a good Hell in a Cell match and more than worth a watch. 

      Big Show and Mark Henry's backstage pep talk is untentionally hilarious, especially when you shut your eyes and just listen to the audio. A United States Championship match between Miz and Sheamus is a match that happened, not a bad match by any stretch of imagination but Damien Mizdow at ringside is perhaps the only highlight. More backstage antics with Nikki and Brie Bella are included, further showing up the duos lack of acting talent. Big Show is the Patriot of the Month taking on Rusev, in another surprisingly enjoyable match, even if Rusev's story is beginning to become a little formulaic. 

Dean Ambrose about to twat Seth Rollins with a chair.

      Dean Ambrose pulls out a terrific promo on Seth Rollins on the big screen, if this doesn't get you hyped for their clash later on nothing will. Paige challenging for AJ Lee's Diva's Championship as their never ending feud continues, is a decent match, although it lacks any real substance or anything resembling malice. Ambrose and Rollins close the show with an enjoyable Hell in a Cell match, chock full of big spots, storyline call backs and brutal weapon shots. However, the finish is questionable for such a big match, and doesn't quite feel like the satisfying end to ATPW's Feud of the Year.

Special Features

       The trend for talking segments on the Kick Off show continues as Mizdow TV is included here, The Miz and Mizdow are great to watch and there's some nice coverage for Miz's match with Sheamus. Mark Henry's bout with Bo Washingston is a classic squash match, although Washington's mic work is the highlight. Two home video exclusive interviews are also included as Tom Phillips interviews Gold & Stardust, in which Stardust continued to develope his character nicely and Byron Saxton speaks to The Miz and Damien Mizdow with the pair putting in another entertaining performance.

Finally...

Oh Miz, you cunt.

 
     This a decent enough PPV, with both Hell in a Cell matches and Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler's Two Out of Three Falls matches both being worth watching, whilst the Tag Title match presents the strongest effort from the undercard. The rest of the undercard though is completely missable, with not a whole lot of effort put into how it was put together and paper thin feuds. Not a must-watch PPV, but not a bad effort either.