By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Hell in a Cell 2012 put WWE in a precarious position. With John Cena on the injured list, they had to put another babyface inside the big cage with CM Punk. Thankfully, fate was smiling on them. One wrestler in particular has been gaining momentum like a speeding train: The destructive Ryback. Hell in a Cell is unquestionably the biggest night of Ryback’s career. But WWE is also asking a lot of him, considering he has literally no experience in big money ball games (the main event of Summerslam 2010 doesn’t count). He could lose a lot of momentum if he screws up, but a good performance could cement his status as WWE’s next big babyface. Let’s hope fate will smile on him as he steps into the cage…

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR WWE DIVA’S TITLE:
Eve Torres (c) vs. Kaitlyn vs. Layla El

Ugh. You know what? Full disclosure: I’ve completely lost interest in the WWE women’s division since Layla won the title from Beth Phoenix awhile back. Things have been looking up lately with the belt going to Eve, and Kaitlyn being inserted into the picture. But from a verbal standpoint, I simply find Layla revolting. She’s got some skills in the ring, but if you put her in front of a microphone she’s annoying as all hell. Just one man’s opinion. WWE used this to their advantage when she was teamed with Michelle McCool. But as a babyface? It just doesn’t work for me. Either way, I see Eve retaining here, and then eventually moving on to face Kaitlyn in a one-on-one match, where the belt will likely change hands.

Rob’s Prediction: Eve Torres
WINNER: Eve Torres

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH:
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. The Miz 

As I’ve said before, I like this pairing. Kofi and Miz have a nice hero/villain dynamic going on. Obviously, they had Kofi beat Miz for the belt on WWE Main Event to make the show seem more important. WWE seems to be giving Kofi another shot as a singles star, so it would therefore make sense to keep the title on him for the time being. He’ll be hard pressed to find a rival with the heat that Miz has, though. What Miz does from here may depend on what WWE decides to to with Sheamus and the World Heavyweight Title. They could easily move Miz into a program with Sheamus, whether he’s champion or not. He would also be fine where he is on the midcard, possibly helping to build up some of the babyfaces at that level. In truth, Miz can find success no matter what they do with him. He’s that awesome.

Rob’s Prediction: Kofi Kingston
WINNER: Kofi Kingston

WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Team Hell No (c) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars

For the record, both these teams have stupid names. But on the plus side, the tag team division means more now than it has in years. So I’m willing to live with it. I’m interested to see what kind of character interactions we see in this match. Kane’s character has taken an unexpected comedic turn since he’s teamed with Daniel Bryan, and quite frankly I’m loving it. Throw Damien Sandow between the two of them, and we’ve got the potential for some great in-ring action with a comedic flair to it. I see Kane and Bryan holding on to the belts here, with Sandow and Rhodes hopefully splitting up to take runs at singles gold. For my money, Team Hell No hasn’t gotten stale. So let’s see if we can get a little more mileage out of this duo.

Rob’s Prediction: Team Hell No
WINNERS BY DISQUALIFICATION: Team Rhodes Scholars (titles stay with Kane & Bryan)

Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio

I’ve enjoyed Del Rio’s work with Orton more than I did his stuff with Sheamus. I’m still not a huge fan of his mic work, but his wrestling talent can’t be denied, and this pairing with Randy Orton could make for a good match. It’s also nice to see Del Rio face someone with a bit more of an edge. Sheamus and John Cena are both so smiley and kid friendly, whereas Orton is just bad ass. Given that Del Rio spent most of the summer jobbing to Sheamus, I’d say he’s due for a win here. Let him weasel his way into a victory, with Orton like making poor Ricardo Rodriguez pay the price. That poor guy never gets a break, does he?

Rob’s Prediction: Alberto Del Rio
WINNER: Randy Orton

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH:
Sheamus (c) vs. The Big Show

I’ve enjoyed Sheamus’ rivalry with the Big Show more than any other program he’s worked since he turned face. As a good guy, Sheamus is usually such an upbeat character. He’s even been known to try his hand at some corny John Cena-type humor. But they created a nice good guy/bad guy chemistry by putting him with Big Show, someone who in addition to being deadly serious, is bigger than Sheamus. Thus, when Show says he’s going to knock Sheamus out with the W.M.D., we know his threat is legitimate. Sheamus has never faced an opponent like Show before, and they’ve played that up tremendously in the build up. Ultimately though, Sheamus will prevail. However, whether a certain Mr. Money in the Bank will allow him to leave with the title is a different story…

Rob’s Prediction: Sheamus
WINNER: The Big Show

HELL IN A CELL MATCH FOR WWE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:

Before we get into this one, I’d like to mention two things:

1. MAJOR props to WWE for only giving us one cell match this year, and not overdoing it the way they’ve done in years past.

2. Is it just me, or is something off about Ryback’s face in that picture?

This should be a hell of a main event. Not only do we have the cell, not only are both guys over big time, but there’s a lot of uncertainty as to who the winner will be. Something’s got to give here. Either Punk is going to lose the WWE Title before he can hit the one-year mark, or Ryback is going to lose his first match. The stakes are very high. I’ve talked about my theory for how they can pull this match off without having someone actually lose. But if someone has to take the fall in this match, it needs to be Ryback. Not only is he in no way ready to be WWE Champion, his whole “food chain” persona isn’t necessarily based on him being undefeated anyway. And if you’re going to take your first loss, losing to the WWE Champion inside Hell in a Cell is hardly a shameful defeat. Who knows? A loss might even add a little bit of depth to the Ryback character. Granted, the character’s depth isn’t exactly its drawing point…

Rob’s Prediction: CM Punk
WINNER: CM Punk

Images courtesy of WWE.com.