WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 Throwback Review

Welcome back to the run-through of every important pay-per-view in the Bloodline saga. Last time, we looked at Clash of Champions 2020, which honestly held up a lot better than I ed, especially thanks to that Roman/Jey match. Now we’re here at Hell in a Cell 2020. And at the time, I’ll be real: I was cautiously optimistic.

WWE had started showing glimmers of compelling storytelling again on SmackDown, especially with Roman Reigns’ new persona taking full shape. But on the Raw side of things? Let’s not pretend—things were a mess. Otis had the Money in the Bank briefcase. Retribution was somehow still a thing. And Elias had returned to feud with Jeff Hardy over... attempted vehicular manslaughter?

Expectations were all over the place.

Let’s get into the show.

1. Roman Reigns (c) vs. Jey Uso in a “I Quit” Hell In A Cell Match for the Universal Championship

Winner: Roman Reigns

This match is storytelling in its purest, most emotionally raw form. Roman Reigns was in full Godfather mode here—methodical, calculated, and emotionally manipulative as hell. Jey Uso’s performance was incredible; he looked like a man fighting not just for pride, but for his damn family’s soul. The match wasn’t about flashy moves or false finishes—it was about escalating emotional stakes. From Reigns choking out Jimmy and weaponizing family guilt to the tearful ending, every beat hit hard. The Hell in a Cell was less about carnage and more about the prison Jey was trapped in, both physically and metaphorically.

The pacing was slow, but deliberately so, and for once, that wasn’t a flaw. It let the story breathe.

This was less a match and more a 30-minute family drama inside a steel cage, and I loved it. This solidified Roman’s Tribal Chief identity, and in hindsight, it was the true start of the Bloodline era.

Just incredible.

Rating: 4.75/5

2. Elias vs. Jeff Hardy

Winner: Elias via DQ

This was the kind of match you forget the moment it ends. Elias returned from injury blaming Jeff for the hit-and-run incident that we all know Sheamus orchestrated months prior, so the whole premise already felt dated. As for the match, it was TV-level at best. Jeff was clearly trying, but this had no spark and no real energy. It dragged in spots despite being under 8 minutes.

And then it ends in a DQ after Jeff smashes Elias with a guitar. Not exactly a PPV finish. Just another example of WWE being allergic to clean finishes even in throwaway feuds. This felt like filler and wasted both guys’ time.

Rating: 1.5/5

3. Otis (MITB) vs. The Miz for the MITB Briefcase

Winner: The Miz

Let’s be honest here: this match existed solely to fix the colossal mistake WWE made by putting the briefcase on Otis. There’s no sugarcoating it—Otis was never taken seriously as a world title threat, and the company knew they had to pivot. But this wasn’t the way to do it. Miz tried his best to carry the match, but it was short, uninspired, and booked like a Raw segment.

Tucker turning on Otis mid-match should’ve been shocking, but it fell completely flat. Zero build, zero crowd, zero interest. It was just a dud of a payoff to a dud of a story. The match did fix the MITB situation, but it felt like damage control, not satisfying storytelling.

Rating: 1.25/5

4. Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks in a Hell In A Cell Match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship

Winner: Sasha Banks

Absolutely phenomenal. Sasha and Bayley delivered a war here. This wasn’t just a culmination of a year-long build—it was a brutal, innovative match that earned its Cell stipulation.

They used weapons smartly, the pacing was airtight, and the psychology was top-tier. Sasha’s meteor shower of offense combined with Bayley’s mean streak created something special. There were spots here I’d never seen before—and in a Cell match, that’s rare.

And it was emotionally satisfying, too. Sasha finally got her revenge and won a title on PPV, which shouldn’t have been a storyline but weirdly was. This was a case of two elite wrestlers getting time to tell the story they wanted—and they nailed it. One of the best women’s matches in WWE history, hands down.

Rating: 4.75/5

5. Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Slapjack for the United States Championship

Winner: Bobby Lashley via submission

This wasn’t even a match—it was a squash dressed up as a title defense. Slapjack ( him?) got a couple of flurries in, but this was just Lashley running through him like a brick wall. MVP yelled from ringside, Slapjack flopped around, and the bell rang before anyone could blink. Even the Hurt Business couldn’t be bothered to act like this was meaningful.

This felt like it was booked solely to remind people that Retribution still existed... which, unfortunately, made the show worse. They were dead in the water by this point. I won’t pretend it was the worst thing ever—it was short and painless—but it was utterly pointless.

Rating: 0.75/5

6. Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton in a Hell In A Cell Match for the WWE Championship

Winner: Randy Orton

This was a very good match that suffered from bad placement and a weird finish. Orton and McIntyre went to war, and the Cell was used well throughout. It felt brutal, but not as emotionally gripping as Roman/Jey or as creative as Sasha/Bayley. These two had good chemistry, and you could tell they were laying it all out. Drew took a nasty bump off the side of the Cell that added some real spice to the match.

But the biggest problem here is that Randy Orton won. The guy had already lost multiple times to Drew, so the title change felt regressive. Drew was finally clicking as a top guy, and then they just take it off him so Randy can get his 14th reign in the middle of a pandemic? Weird call. Still, the match quality was strong and brutal, even if the ending didn’t sit right.

Rating: 4/5

Pros:

Roman vs. Jey – next-level storytelling.

Sasha vs. Bayley – best women’s Cell match ever.

Overall strong use of the Hell in a Cell stipulation.

Drew vs. Orton delivered as a main event workhorse match.

Production and pacing felt smooth.

Cons:

Elias/Jeff felt like a Raw filler match.

Otis/Miz was a creative dead end.

Lashley vs. Slapjack was nonsense.

Bad booking choice with Orton winning.

Raw’s build hurt the undercard.

FINAL SCORE: 8.25/10

This show was a rollercoaster. When it hit, it soared—two matches that could seriously be in WWE’s top 5 for 2020. Sasha vs. Bayley and Roman vs. Jey are the heart and soul of this event.

But everything else? It ranged from forgettable to actively bad. Still, the highs were so damn high, they pulled the entire show up with them. This is one of the most bipolar cards I’ve seen in years... but I can’t lie. It rules.