WWE Hell In A Cell 2019 Preview & Predictions

The eleventh Hell In A Cell event takes place Sunday October 6, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA. The Golden 1 Center has a capacity of around 18,000 for WWE events. This year, Hell In A Cell feels almost like an afterthought capping off a historic week of season premieres of RAW (now headed by Paul Heyman), NXT (headed by Triple H), AEW (headed by Tony Khan & The Elite), & SmackDown on FOX (headed by Eric Bischoff). Only four matches have been announced for the event after SmackDown aired on Friday which is the most incomplete card for a major WWE event with 24 hours to go. It's unclear as to why so few matches have been announced for the show aside from making the assumption that creative has spent all its time on the season premieres of its TV programming this week. Below is a preview of the matches on the card and predictions based on recent booking. In the comments below, share what you want to see from Hell In A Cell.

WWE Universal Championship (Hell In A Cell)
Seth Rollins (c) vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt first resurfaced in May with his new segment, Firefly Funhouse. Wyatt assured us that the man we used to know as Bray Wyatt was no more and that he had his previous violent tendencies under control. Over the next several months Wyatt's alter-ego, The Fiend, started to make appearances in Firefly Funhouse. The segments became a hit on the internet as WWE has successfully invested in a genuinely frightening character impervious to pain. WWE most successful characters in this vane are some of its most timeless: Kane, Mankind, and The Undertaker. The reboot of Wyatt's character as The Fiend is most similar to the initial roll-out of The Undertaker. Undertaker ran through all competitors until he lost to The Ultimate Warrior in a body bag match. This didn't hinder Taker's ascendance to the main event, though: Undertaker became the youngest WWF Champion ever (at the time) when he defeated Hulk Hogan (with the help of Ric Flair) for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series on the one year anniversary of his debut. The Fiend has only had one match on record, a dominant victory over Finn Balor at SummerSlam, but The Fiend will get a shot at Seth Rollins' Universal Championship at Hell In A Cell.

The Fiend's moveset is identical to Wyatt's previous moveset with a new finishing move added to his repertoire: The Mandible Claw. The Fiend seemingly has the power to manipulate the video feed of WWE programming and lighting in addition to being virtually impervious to pain. Rollins and The Fiend have had several dark matches over the past few weeks with Rollins getting in multiple Curb Stomps on The Fiend showing the audience that Rollins can take The Fiend down. However in these matches, The Fiend has shown that he has the ability to recover quickly from big moves similar to The Undertaker. Rollins is going to have to pull out all the stops to be able to take down The Fiend, but it seems like Rollins' time as Universal Champion is up. WWE has inserted frames of The Fiend in recent ads for SmackDown's debut on FOX suggesting that it's possible The Fiend will be on the blue brand making us wonder if he'll do double duty.
With all of the build to this match in mind, it's hard to imagine Seth Rollins emerging from this match victorious. Although Rollins was able to defeat Brock Lesnar, The Fiend looks unstoppable. The WWE has a legitimate horror-based character that can become champion during Halloween season. This is generally a down time for WWE, but having a horror story to carry the company through Halloween is a fantastic strategy to bring new eyes to the product while keeping current fans engaged. It's hard to say who will be able to defeat The Fiend and what the WWE will look like with The Fiend as Universal Champion, but we can just sit back and enjoy this terrifying ride.

WINNER
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt via referee stoppage

WWE RAW Women's Championship (Hell In A Cell)
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks returned to RAW with new hair and a steel chair attacking Becky Lynch and bringing her friend, Bayley in on the attack. Sasha is determined to take the RAW Women's Championship from Becky and reclaim her spot on top of the WWE Women's division. Banks and Lynch have clashed eight times on TV since leaving NXT. Banks has four victories (five if you count her DQ victory at Clash of Champions 2019) to Lynch's one victory but Banks and Lynch also have three draws via double pin, double count-out, and time limit. This will be Becky Lynch's first Hell In A Cell match and Banks' second. The Boss lost to Charlotte Flair via pinfall in the first-ever women's Hell In A Cell match in 2016.

Sasha and Becky had a fantastic match at Clash Of Champions in spite of not having a decisive winner. Their match at Hell In A Cell will likely have a great opportunity to showcase how truly aggressive these two can be. Hell In A Cell fits both Lynch and Banks individually just as well as the match fits this aggressive feud. This match will likely be the best match between these two and they'll put together an exciting match that will use the cell in a creative way while being nothing like the men's match.

Banks said in her WWE Chronicle that it hurt her feelings when fans painted her as unsafe after Paige was injured while wrestling Sasha. Expect Banks to show more aggression than we've seen from her since her NXT days. Sasha seems rejuvenated in her return but it's hard to see Becky Lynch losing the title just yet. Lynch still has so much more to give and the promos between these two have energized RAW throughout the month. Hopefully this isn't the end of their feud.

WINNER
Becky Lynch via submission

WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
Bayley (c) vs Charlotte Flair

Bayley has had quite the personality change over the past two months, she has found her aggressive side and is acting almost like a heel. She managed to defeat Charlotte Flair at Clash of Champions in Charlotte's first attempt to get her Championship back and now must defeat Charlotte again. The set up for this match is based on the pst between theses two women, this will be their 9th singles match on the main roster with Bayley still holding the advantage in wins over Charlotte. Charlotte got Bayley to tap out to her Figure 8 leg lock on SmackDown in a tag match to set up this match for the SmackDown Women's Championship. Bayley won the title from Charlotte at Money In The Bank in May and it feels like her time as champ may be coming to an end.

WINNER
Charlotte via submission

Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper

One of the most convoluted stories in WWE history continues with this match as Roman Reigns tags with Daniel Bryan in an unlikely pairing, bonded by Daniel Bryan's "hatred for liars" (Erick Rowan) and Roman Reigns looking for revenge on Erick Rowan for trying to kill him. After a five month break from television, Luke Harper showed up at Clash Of Champions and attacked Reigns to help out his friend and former Wyatt Family Member/Bludgeon Brother.

Luke Harper is absolutely amazing for a big man and will shine in his return to WWE major events. Erick Rowan has continued his growth to become significantly more well-rounded since getting more mic time working with Daniel Bryan. Harper alone could make this match amazing against Daniel Bryan & Roman. It feels like this feud is building towards Roman Reigns feuding with Daniel Bryan, but right now this is a tremendous opportunity for Rowan and Harper to make a statement against two of the top guys in the company. Harper and Rowan will work as a cohesive unit and frustrate Reigns & Bryan into making a mistake to pull off the upset here.

WINNERS
Rowan & Harper via pinfall