Seven Former WWE Champions Who Will Ride the Bench at Hell in a Cell
Hell in Cell will be 2018's fourth co-branded pay-per-view not named WrestleMania or SummerSlam. [...]
Former Universal Champion: Finn Balor
Despite growing in popularity, WWE seems hesitant to promote Finn Balor to a pivotal place on their card. While the Summerslam return of the Demon was a nice spike in excitement, Balor is still trying to rid himself of an inconsequential storyline with Baron Corbin.
There have been rumors that Vince McMahon doesn't see Balor as a main event talent. Balor will likely never sniff the Universal Championship again, but hopefully Hell in a Cell is the last pay-per-view he skips for a while.
prevnextFormer Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
Considering he "quit" WWE just two weeks ago, we can't complain that he's off the Hell in a Cell card.
His omission is probably the most circumstantial of anyone on this list as KO is one of WWE's most important employees. Look for him to not miss another pay-per-view until 2023.
prevnextFour-Time Raw Women's Champion: Sasha Banks
Now that Becky Lynch is in the spotlight, we can safely declare Sasha Banks as the most underutilized Superstar in all of WWE.
Her year-long feud has gone from on to off to on to off again and this lack of direction has put her at the bottom of Raw's totem pole. While WWE could heat her up in just a few weeks, Banks is in a booking funk that few would have predicted. After missing getting a DNP for SummerSlam, Banks will miss her second consecutive pay-per-view this Sunday.
prevnextFormer WWE Champion: Bray Wyatt
Considering Wyatt has been on hiatus for nearly a month, him missing Hell in a Cell isn't a surprise. That said, no one would be shocked if he ends up hijacking one of the show's bigger matches via hologram.
Wyatt should be back soon. Possibly Sunday. But until further notice, he's on WWE's bench.
Former SmackDown Women's Champion: Natalya
While Nattie's days as a WWE Champion are likely done, her missing Hell in Cell underlines our point: Talented and accomplished Superstars are missing the pay-per-view cut.
The good news is she'll likely play a role in the Rousey/Bliss match. Which is probably better than an arbitrary singles match with Alicia Fox on the pre-show if this were a Raw-exclusive show.
prevnextFormer WWE Champion Jinder Mahal
This time last year, Jinder Mahal was your WWE Champion. While many would like to erase that time period the record will alway say that Mahal was once a top WWE.
The Modern Day Maharaja has done well since losing the title though. After winning the United States Championship at 'Mania, Mahala jumped to Raw to bolster their heel locker room. Soon after, he was feeding with WWE's prize possession, Roman Reigns.
Since that rivalry, Mahal has been a little aimless, and thus left off the HIAC show.
Former Raw Women's Champion: Bayley
It may feel like it never happened, but Bayley once won the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33. Ever since though, she's endured one of the steeper declines in the company and her being left off the Hell in a Cell menu isn't too surprising.
But we will not give up on Bayley. She'll have to fight her way back into relevance, but it's going to be a lot hard with WWE's Darwinistic pay-per-view slate.
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