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WWE's most infamous structure will be making a return to Pay-Per-View this Sunday as WWE's Hell in a Cell comes to you live from the Yuengling Center in Tampa Bay, Florida.
WWE is without question looking to have a string of strong shows heading into their upcoming July live tour. WWE wants fans engaged and excited to pack arenas and venues throughout the United States for Monday Night RAW, SmackDown (and NXT if it tours), and WWE can only do that by providing quality programming in the lead up.
While WWE may have moved the advertised Universal Title match between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio to SmackDown, there are still a number of top quality matches planned for the event.
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With that said, let's jump right into the action with predictions for this high-stakes card for WWE's Hell in a Cell
#1. WWE's Twisted Alexa Bliss VS Shayna Baszler
If you are not the biggest fan of overly corny, hijinx-filled, and downright silly matches, then it may be in your best interest to simply not watch this match. As Alexa Bliss' doll Lily will surely be making her presence known throughout the bout.
WWE's resident voodoo doll princess Alexa Bliss is squaring off against the Queen of Spades herself Shayna Baszler. The feud began when Baszler blamed Bliss for her and Nia Jax's string of losses and the eventual loss of their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.
Baszler would eventually confront Bliss in her "Playground" and after stomping on Bliss' possessed doll "Lilly," the preverbal Pandora's Box was unleashed, causing a series of supernational events to fall on Baszler, including being chased by fire backstage. Even Nia Jax trying to help rid Baszler of Bliss' attacks on Monday Night RAW did nothing to help the situation
Projected Winner: Alexa Bliss
With the way the current storyline is going, it's pretty clear that WWE has eyed Bliss to pick up the win at Hell in a Cell against the former NXT Women's Champion. WWE has no real plans for Baszler or Jax at this time, and in reality it's more important for Bliss to gain some traction than for Baszler to tack on a win.
Since Bliss' involvement in the Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton feud, she hasn't done much on Monday Night RAW. WWE is possibly teasing for bigger things to come for Little Miss Bliss.
#2) WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley
As announced on last night's addition of SmackDown, WWE announced that Bianca and Belair's match will be held inside Hell in a Cell. Making this already highly anticapted match, even more hyped.
Since winning her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37, Bianca Belair has had to deal with Bayley as a continuous thorn in her side for many weeks
Belair did defeat the former Hugger at WWE WrestleMania Backlash but Bayley did not back down. The former multi-time world champion complained that Belair cheated during their bout, stating that Belair used her signature ponytail whip in the same way as one would use a weapon, thus Bayley lobbied for a rematch.
Tired of Bayley's complaints and continuous-horrifying laughter, Belair agreed to put her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship match at Hell in the Cell. Bayley would warn Belair that she, along with everyone else, would have the last laugh by the end of Hell in a Cell.
Projected Winner: WWE SmackDown Women's Champ Bianca Belair
Both women have the tools for this to be an absolute barn-burner of a match. Especially now with the bout being inside Hell in a Cell, look for this to be an absolutely brutal affair where the toughness of Belair is tested like never before.
With that said, Bayley has reached a level where she can lose a series of matches without losing too much star value. Belair, on the other hand, needs to continue the roll she is on and keep racking up wins as much as possible.
The SmackDown Women's division is slowly gaining strength and its champion has to be seen as the dominant force.
#3) WWE RAW Women's Champion Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair
This Sunday WWE RAW Women's Champion Rhea Ripley takes on the most decorated female competitor in WWE history in Charlotte Flair.
Ripley and Flair clashed as recently as last month, when the two took part in a triple threat match at WWE WrestleMania Backlash, alongside former champion Asuka.
Ripley would retain her championship at the event; however, since Flair was not involved in the finish, she felt that she had rights to a rematch for the championship. After defeating Asuka in a singles match on RAW, Flair earned a one-on-one contest with Ripley.
Projected Winner: Rhea Ripley
Ripley and Flair haven't competed one-on-one against one another since WrestleMaina 36, where Ripley would lose her NXT Women's Championship to then Royal Rumble Winner Flair. WWE's Hell in a Cell will provide a no-excuses type of environment for the two fierce warriors, and whoever comes out on top is the clear leader of the RAW Women's locker room.
With that said, WWE cannot make the same mistake as it did in 2020, and derail the progress of Ripley. While it's incredibly tempting for WWE to give Flair her 11th main-roster title, it doesn't need to happen right now. Flair is a mainstay of WWE, a walking future first-ballot Hall of Famer, and simply does not need this win.
Whereas a victory over Flair would do wonders for Ripley. She would avenge her loss at Mania, while also setting up a possible rubber match between the two down the line. As each would be 1-1 against each other. Stunting the growth of Ripley for the sake of tacking on a title reign for Flair's already impressive resume would be a disaster.
#4) WWE's Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
When WWE fans chant "Fight Forever," they should really understand the power they possess, as WWE's never-ending Love/Hate feud between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens continues this Sunday at Hell in a Cell.
The duo have clashed with each other for what feels like centuries. As their story ranges from their time in the indies, NXT, and of course their various battles on the main roster.
Whether bitter enemies, or the best of friends, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens always seem to find a way to top their previous encounters and keep fans entertained the whole way through. With WWE's "Liberator" and resident conspiracy theorist Zayn currently on a crusade to prove that (quite literally) everyone in WWE is out to get him.
After being denied support from his old frienemy in Owens, Zayn has made it a personal mission to take out Owens. While the duo just recently faced-off at WrestleMania 37, the breaking point came last night when Sami Zayn interfered in a tag team match involving Owens, causing him to lose and suffer a beat down from Commander Azeez.
This prompted Kevin Owens to seek out the authority figures of Sonya Deville and Adam Pierce and demand a match for Sunday.
Projected Winner: Sami Zayn
Honestly, this match could go either way. Logic dictates that Zayn has a win coming to him after he ate the pinfall at WrestleMania against Owens, however, the story that Zayn is currently telling is that "higher powers" are intentionally screwing his success, making a Zayn loss also a sensible booking decision by WWE.
#5) WWE's Cesaro vs Seth Rollins
WWE's Swiss Superman takes on the King of Drip this Sunday at Hell in a Cell, as the two have been at each other's throats since before WrestleMania.
Even though Cesaro defeated Rollins at WrestleMania, the feud has only escalated. Rollins upped the personal animosity between the two when he attacked Cesaro after he was already laid out by Roman Reigns and Jey Uso after his match against the Tribal Chief at WWE Backlash.
Cesaro returned to SmackDown last week when Rollins was a special guest on Bayley's Ding Dong Hello talk show, attacking Rollins and making it clear that he was out for blood.
Last night on SmackDown, Rollins and Cesaro would confront each other in a very frank and intense backstage interview, where their match for this Sunday was made official.
Projected Winner: Seth Rollins
A prediction from some is that this match will help shape the next opponent for Roman Reigns. With the Universal Champion defeating Rey Mysterio last night on SmackDown in a hellacious Hell in a Cell match, WWE is going to be looking for the next challenger for Reigns heading into Money in the Bank next month.
With Cesaro already having faced Reigns at WWE Backlash, and all of the teases that we have seen between Rollins and Reigns for months, it could be predicted that Rollins is the next credible choice. With that said, look for Rollins to come out on top and win this bout.
#6) WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
Hell in a Cell will serve as the backdrop of the Scottish Psychopath's final stand against WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. With their match stipulation stating that if Drew McIntrye cannot defeat Bobby Lashley, this will be McIntyre's last WWE Championship shot as long as Lashley is WWE Champion.
The lead-up to this match was fairly straightforward, as Lashley defeated McIntyre to win the WWE Championship in the opening match at WrestleMania. Lashley would later go on to defeat both McIntyre and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match at WWE's WrestleMania Backlash event.
McIntyre would eventually find himself on the winning side of a match with New Day member and former WWE champion Kofi Kingston on Monday Night RAW. Earning McIntyre a rematch for the WWE Championship in singles competition.
After a chaotic contract signing on the June 7th edition of RAW, it was decided that this would be McIntyre's final opportunity to defrone The Almighty Bobby Lashley and it'd be inside Hell in a Cell.
Projected Winner: Bobby Lashley
McIntyre was a valiant champion during the "Pandemic-Era" last year; bringing interest, excitement, and drama to the WWE Championship scene when not a single fan was able to sit or stand in attendance. WWE owes an immense debt of gradititude to McIntyre for his efforts, and he will sincerely have more opportunities and championship reigns in his future.
However, Lashey just won his first WWE Championship in March, and is currently doing a great job with the belt. Bringing a dominant heel persona to it that is both similar and still very unique compared to the likes of Roman Reigns and even Brock Lesnar.
Lashley's time in the sun is long overdue, and there is zero reason to take the belt off anytime in the near future.
