WWE Hell in a Cell 2017 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections
By Luke Norris
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Natalya (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
What we learned: We learned here that the rivalry between Natalya and Charlotte Flair is just getting started.
This obviously isn’t the first time that Natalya and Charlotte Flair have locked up, and it certainly won’t be the last as this program is just starting to pick up steam. There were some wondering why this match didn’t take place inside Hell in a Cell as Charlotte and Sasha Banks was a year ago, but that type of match usually ends a program. This hasn’t had much time to get going with Charlotte just recently returning, so it makes sense to make this a typical one-on-one bout.
As for the match itself, I think these two have something much better in them, and I’m hopeful that we’ll see it as this moves along. These are two of the best in-ring performers in the women’s division, and it’s not that this match was bad by any stretch. It was a good match but nowhere near a great one. They told a good story in the ring with Charlotte’s knee (she did a great job selling that injury throughout the match), and Natalya played it up perfectly by continuing to attack it.
Charlotte got her share of offense in, even with the injury, and scored yet another majestic moonsault from the top rope to the outside, a move that always looks so spectacular coming from her. Frustrated and feeling the momentum shift, Natalya attacked the challenger with a chair and got herself disqualified to keep her title.
What’s next: The outcome obviously tells us that this feud will continue. While I’m never a big fan of screwy finishes on a pay-per-view, I understand the need for one here. They’re trying very hard to make Charlotte into this sympathetic babyface, something that’s very difficult given her history as an amazing heel, and this was another way to do it. In the same way, they’re trying to make Natalya into a sadistic heel and a brutal chair attack is a good way to do that. So while I know there’s something better coming, this was a decent start.