Sunday night’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view ended on a confusing and frustrating note for many. After hitting Bray Wyatt with nearly a dozen Curb Stomps, WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins buried “The Fiend” under a pile of weapons in a desperate attempt to keep him down for more than a one count. He then pulled out a sledgehammer, a weapon that had often been used by his former mentor Triple H in Hell in a Cell matches, and smacked the pile with it to imply he was hitting Wyatt underneath. The referee suddenly called for the bell to stop the match, much to the outrage of fans in attendance and at home.
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At first glance the decision seemed to be a disqualification, which doesn’t make sense given the rules of Hell in a Cell and the many, many more violent acts that have occurred inside the structure in the past. Even the folks watching via the WWE Watch Along on YouTube were dumbfounded, with Sean “X-Pac” Waltman shouting, “how the hell do you get DQ’d in a freaking Hell in a Cell match?” The commentary team didn’t provide many answers, but WWE.com attempted to clear up what happened in their recap after the show.
According to the article recapping the match, the referee ended the match due to stoppage, not disqualification.
“For all the nightmarish tenacity with which ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt has pursued Seth Rollins over the last few months, the otherworldly Superstar was kept from the title due to a match-stoppage ruling that led to Rollins retaining the title — a decision that proved to be instantly controversial at the end of the pair’s grisly Hell in a Cell Match,” the article read.
“… Clearly sensing that a line was about to be crossed, the referee tried to stop Rollins from using the hammer,” it continued. “But The Beastslayer did it anyway, bringing the tool straight down on the whole pile, causing the ref to wave off the match while a crew of medics tended to Wyatt.”
The crowd inside the Golden 1 Center loudly booed the decision and chanted for their money back and for All Elite Wrestling after it was made clear that the match wouldn’t be restarted. Wyatt ended the show by jumping back to life and leaving Rollins in a bloody mess, but it did little to help with the reaction.
Two segments have been announced so far for this week’s Monday Night Raw — an appearance from heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury and a Last Woman Standing match between Natalya and Lacey Evans.
