WWE News: Vince McMahon Places Blame For Finish To ‘Hell In A Cell’ Main Event

Prior to Monday Night RAW‘s last brand-exclusive show, Hell In A Cell, there was a lot of backstage debate over which match should headline the pay-per-view. Coming down the home stretch of the buildup, the WWE was billing it as having three main events. In reality, of the three Hell in a Cell matches on the card, only two could make the claim that they were deserved of closing out the night.

Roman Reigns and Rusev opened Hell In A Cell, quickly quelling any thoughts that the United States Championship match would have the honors. But in fact, it was reported earlier that day that Charlotte and Sasha Banks earned the main event slot instead of the Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins bout for the WWE Universal Championship.

As it turned out, most of the WWE officials were pushing for the women to get the nod, with Vince McMahon alone in the fight to continue with the tradition of closing out pay-per-views with the world title match. And at the conclusion of Hell In A Cell, Vince might have felt that, ultimately, the wrong decision was made. Sure, Charlotte and Sasha made history twice in one night, but the finish to their match left a lot to be desired.

And according to a report from Daily Wrestling News, Vince is placing the majority of the blame for the finish to the Hell In A Cell main event squarely on the shoulders of Sasha Banks. Vince felt that the finish fell flat because of Sasha’s performance, not because Charlotte won the match in Sasha’s hometown of Boston, which left many of the fans disappointed.

The planned finish was supposed to see Charlotte put Sasha through the table that was set up in the ring, hit her with the Natural Selection and cover her for the pinfall. They tried the table spot twice, but it didn’t work either time, and they just went ahead with Charlotte’s finisher to end the match awkwardly.

The feeling among many backstage (aside from Vince) was that it was neither performer’s fault. There was one camp that felt because the table spot didn’t work, they should have improvised a new finish, but others believed Sasha would have garnered more heat from the Chairman had she kicked out of the Natural Selection. Furthermore, there were several WWE officials and performers backstage that felt the referee should have helped them call an audible and instructed them to create a new finish, either by Charlotte rolling Sasha up with the tights or by some other means.

Charlotte clearly looked somewhat agitated after the victory and some felt that she should have celebrated her championship victory more instead of being so stoic. The decision for the women to main event the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view was only made in the week leading up to the show, but the call to put the belt back on Charlotte was only finalized the night before.

And according to reports, Vince had no regrets about his final decision to take the title off Sasha and put it back on Charlotte. He only felt that the match lacked the necessary finish worthy of the main event spot he gave them. Their place on the Hell In A Cell card goes down in history with the hope that it opens the door for other women to headline, compete in gimmick matches, or both, in the future.

However, considering the fact that Vince wasn’t in favor of Sasha and Charlotte headlining Hell In A Cell to begin with, and his feelings coming out of the match, it might be a while before that opportunity comes along again. Or at least, a lot more convincing argument from the main champion of the cause, Triple H.

[Featured Image by WWE]