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The 2018 WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view takes place in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday.
As of the time of writing, eight matches have been confirmed for the event, including Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman (Universal Championship match) inside the Hell In A Cell structure with Mick Foley as the special guest referee.
Both women’s titles will also be on the line, with Alexa Bliss challenging Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship and Charlotte Flair putting her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against former best friend Becky Lynch.
The tag titles from both brands will be represented, as Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose challenge Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler for the Raw Tag Team titles and The New Day defend the SmackDown Tag Team titles against Rusev Day.
Elsewhere on the card, Samoa Joe will get another opportunity at AJ Styles’ WWE Championship, the intense rivalry between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy will be settled inside Hell In A Cell, and Daniel Bryan will team with Brie Bella against The Miz & Maryse.
In this article, let’s take a look at five possible shocks that could happen at this year’s event.
#5 Shawn Michaels makes an appearance
Triple H’s response to The Undertaker on this week’s Raw, in which he promised to “put ‘The Deadman’ down” when they meet in Australia next month, failed to address one of the biggest talking points in wrestling right now: Shawn Michaels.
During a heated in-ring confrontation last week, Undertaker questioned whether HBK had stayed retired for the last eight years out of “respect” or “fear” for him, leading to lots of speculation that “Mr. WrestleMania” could lace up the boots again soon.
It has already been announced that ‘Taker will appear on Raw in Dallas, Texas next week, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Michaels could make a surprise appearance at Hell In A Cell, especially as it takes place in the city where he grew up, San Antonio, Texas.
Unlike recent WWE PPVs, which have had stacked cards including as many as 13 matches, only eight matches are currently scheduled for Sunday’s show, which gives plenty of time for HBK to make an impromptu appearance in front of his adoring fans to deliver his next retort in this "End of an Era" rivalry.
#4 Nikki Bella attacks Ronda Rousey
Barring a sports entertainment miracle, it looks like WWE is building towards a match between Nikki Bella and Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey at the first-ever women’s PPV, WWE Evolution, which takes place on 28 October.
Nikki rushed to the ring to celebrate with Ronda when she won the title from Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam and the reality TV star has since offered some nice (or patronising, depending on how you look at it) words of advice to the WWE newbie backstage on Raw.
The build-up to Evolution will really kick into gear once Hell In A Cell is over, so what better way to start the rivalry than with a surprise attack from Nikki after Ronda inevitably defeats Bliss on Sunday?
#3 AOP sabotage the Raw tag title match
On paper, there is no way Drake Maverick as AOP’s manager sounds like a good idea. In reality, however, the 205 Live GM is perfectly suited to the role, and his undoubted belief that Akam and Rezar will become Raw Tag Team champions suggests that they could enter the tag title picture sooner rather than later.
The match between new champs Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose at Hell In A Cell feels like it’s been thrown together at the last minute – the titles were being contested by The B-Team and The Revival just a week ago – so it would be a surprise to see the Shield members walk away as champions, especially as Rollins still has the Intercontinental title.
The B-Team and The Revival are seemingly out of the title picture now, so perhaps Sunday could be a chance for AOP to interfere and make their first major impression on the main roster.
#2 R-Truth pins Andrade “Cien” Almas
Andrade “Cien” Almas cheated to defeat R-Truth on this week’s SmackDown Live, while Zelina Vega (Almas’ business partner) and Carmella (Truth’s Mixed Match Challenge partner) brawled at ringside during the match.
It’s not yet been officially announced, but the two teams will surely face each other on WWE television soon, if not on the Hell In A Cell kickoff show then definitely on SmackDown Live next week.
When the match takes place, don’t put it past the rejuvenated Truth to spring a surprise by catching “El Idolo” off guard to pick up a pinfall victory.
#1 AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe becomes a Hell In A Cell match
Looking at the eight-match card for Hell In A Cell, it’s a little surprising that only two matches – Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman and Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton – will take place inside the steel structure.
Some fans have called for WWE to add the stipulation to Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch, which is one of the most heated rivalries on Raw and SmackDown Live right now, but wouldn’t it make more sense for AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe to take place in the 20ft cell?
The war of words between the two men has reached a new level in the last couple of weeks, and it could be argued that this rivalry is more worthy of being contested inside the cell than any other match on the card.
It's not like WWE to add cell stipulations this close to a Hell In A Cell PPV. But if ever there was a time to do it, that time is now!
