Hell in a Cell 2009: DX Finally Makes the Cell Feel Dangerous

The opener is efficient, but efficiency is exactly the problem. CM Punk attacks The Undertaker’s leg and sneaks in a chair shot, yet the match never develops the claustrophobic menace implied by the stipulation. Undertaker’s comeback is direct: Last Ride, chokeslam, Tombstone, title change. There is little wasted motion, and the crowd responds to the championship switch, but the cell barely shapes the action beyond containing it. As a television-style title match it is perfectly competent. As the first Hell in a Cell match on the first Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, it feels conspicuously small and leaves the concept needing redemption later in the night.

John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler deliver the cleanest wrestling match on the card. The pace stays high without becoming frantic, and both men get meaningful counters rather than trading empty near-falls. Ziggler’s German suplex and efforts to cut off Morrison’s aerial offense give the challenger credibility, while Morrison’s DDT counter and eventual Starship Pain feel earned. The match also benefits from not carrying a gimmick it cannot satisfy. It simply asks two athletic wrestlers to build a championship contest for more than fifteen minutes, and they do. The finish protects the title while letting Ziggler look closer to breaking through than he had in previous challenges.

Mickie James and Alicia Fox are given barely enough time to establish a rhythm. James supplies urgency and Fox looks game, but the match reaches its finish before the audience can invest in a real escalation. The bridge counter into the Mickie-DDT is clean and decisive, which keeps the segment from becoming messy. Still, five minutes on a pay-per-view is a difficult ceiling for a championship match, especially when the rest of the card receives far more room. Nothing here is offensively bad. It is simply underdeveloped, functioning more as a title defense checkpoint than as a match with its own shape, stakes, or memorable middle act.

Jeri-Show against Batista and Rey Mysterio is a smart example of four wrestlers using obvious contrasts instead of overcomplicating the layout. Jericho can be isolated and bumped around, Big Show changes the geometry whenever he enters, Batista provides explosive power, and Mysterio supplies the speed. The near-falls escalate naturally, especially around Batista’s spinebuster and Jericho’s Codebreaker. The finish is excellent: Mysterio lands the 619 on Big Show, launches for the follow-up, and gets erased by the Knockout Punch. That ending protects everybody while reminding the audience that Show’s size can end a match instantly. It is polished, purposeful tag wrestling with a memorable final image.

John Cena and Randy Orton wrestle with more intensity than the opener, but the cage still feels secondary to the feud. The match builds around heavy shots, chair use, the STF, an RKO, and repeated survival rather than around the structure itself. Cena making Orton tap while the referee is down is a useful false finish because it gives Cena a moral victory before the actual decision. Orton’s punt then lands with real finality and gives him the championship back cleanly enough. The crowd is invested throughout, and both men understand how to pace a long main-event match. It is very good rivalry wrestling, just not a particularly imaginative Hell in a Cell match.

Drew McIntyre versus R-Truth is short, direct, and almost entirely functional. R-Truth gets enough offense to keep the match from becoming a squash, including the dropkick and leg lariat, while McIntyre repeatedly looks for the Future Shock. The eventual finish comes after Truth has escaped the move twice, giving the pin a little more satisfaction than a simple first-attempt finisher would have provided. Still, fewer than five minutes leaves no room for a deeper story, and the crowd never treats the match as especially important. Its primary purpose is obvious: establish McIntyre as a rising heel who can win decisively on pay-per-view.

The United States Championship triple threat is compact but lively. The Miz and Jack Swagger briefly cooperate against Kofi Kingston, then turn on each other exactly when individual ambition demands it. That keeps the match moving and lets Kingston operate as the resilient champion rather than dominating long stretches. The electric-chair crossbody combination is a good multi-man spot, and the final sequence smartly cycles through each wrestler’s major offense. Swagger’s gutwrench powerbomb appears to create his opening, only for Kingston to hit Trouble in Paradise and steal the pin on Miz. It is not long enough to become exceptional, but it uses its time well and protects all three participants.

The final match is where Hell in a Cell 2009 finally understands its own name. Legacy attack before the bell, injure Triple H, lock Shawn Michaels inside the cage, and turn the structure into a tactical advantage rather than background scenery. Michaels fighting two-on-one gives the middle of the match real desperation, while Triple H’s attempts to break the lock create a second story outside the ring. The pliers, chain, locked door, and eventual reversal of the isolation all matter to the finish. DX ultimately trap Cody Rhodes and finish him with the sledgehammer and Sweet Chin Music combination. It is violent without becoming chaotic, smartly structured, and easily the night’s best use of the stipulation.