WWE Hell in a Cell will be remembered for the results of two major WWE title changes. Randy Orton defeated John Cena and the Undertaker defeated CM Punk in Hell in a Cell matches to become new champions. For those keeping record, that marks fifteen WWE major title changes in 2009, and we still have close to three months to go!
Randy Orton defeated John Cena via punt to regain the WWE championship. This marks the eighth time this title has changed hands this year, and Orton’s fifth reign with the belt overall. The change was a bit of shocker in my opinion. Orton has pretty much dominated the last six months as champion. A change was well overdue. Cena wasn’t exactly what I’d call a change, but he beat Orton last month. Apparently it was a very short change.
[adinserter block=”1″]The quick switch really is odd to me. For John Cena, this was Cena’s second WWE title reign this year. However, both of Cena’s reigns with each title were each under one month. I can see it once, but two short title reigns in a short timeframe is not what I would expect for Cena. Cena waited out his time to get the title back, and I just assumed that he would be rewarded with a lengthy reign, possibly through WrestleMania.
In my opinion, I don’t think Randy Orton has been a successful champion. He isn’t resonating as a heel. Listen to the crowd and most of the people cheer whenever Orton punts a babyface. There is something in my opinion too “robotic” about Orton’s promos. They don’t come across as natural and I think subliminally people can see right through it. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but the bottom line is that WWE RAW has lost fan interest since WrestleMania. A big part of that is Randy Orton and the stale main-event picture.
Conversely, WWE SmackDown has been anything but stale. To some, CM Punk has been a breath of fresh air. Punk has spent the least amount of time on top as compared to the other top WWE stars. Personally, I am not a big Punk fan yet he seems to connect with the audience. As a heel, he has done a better job of playing the part than Randy Orton in a sense. The timing couldn’t be any worse for CM Punk. Punk was just starting to hit his stride and needed the title more than anyone. A second win over the Undertaker could have done big things for his credibility which is the big problem with Punk.
The Undertaker’s win gives him his seventh WWE major title, with three of those reigns being with the WWE world title. It was expected from the start that Undertaker would regain the belt as soon as he returned to SmackDown. Yet things change and according to f4wonline.com, the company had been wavering all day on the decision to switch the belt. This was the problem with CM Punk’s first run with the title. He only held the belt for a few months and came off more as a fluke than a serious main-event wrestler. Once again WWE got cold feet on pulling the trigger and officially making the call to push a new guy consistently in the elite level of the company.
[adinserter block=”2″]So now we sit after WWE Hell in a Cell with two champions that happen to be wrestlers that we have watched a million times before. Granted, you have a fresh program with Punk-Taker, but where is the draw without the title chase? For Orton, we are stuck with another Orton-Cena match and nobody on the horizon to freshen things up with the champion. The WWE better hope that the plan to turn Ted DiBiase on Orton and turn DiBiase into a huge babyface works. Otherwise, we will be watching Orton-Cena or Orton-Triple H at WrestleMania 26, 27, and 28.
Full WWE Hell in a Cell Results…
The Undertaker defeated CM Punk for the WWE world title
John Morrison defeated Dolph Ziggler
Mickie James defeated Alicia Fox
Chris Jericho and Big Show defeated Rey Mysterio and Batista
Randy Orton defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre defeated R-Truth
Kofi Kingston defeated Jack Swagger and The Miz
DX defeated Legacy
Order the WWE: Hell in a Cell DVD compilation by clicking here.
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