Steven Conway will update this guide with the latest information all the way up until the start of Hell in a Cell.
When and where
Date: Sunday, June 5, 2022
Place: Rosemont, IL
Venue: Allstate Arena
Main card start time: 8 p.m. Eastern
The Card
Hell in a Cell Match: Cody Rhodes Vs. Seth Rollins
Triple Threat Match for WWE RAW Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) Vs. Asuka Vs. Becky Lynch
Handicap Match: Bobby Lashley Vs. Omos and MVP
U.S. Title Match: Theory (c) Vs. Mustafa Ali
No Holds Barred Match: Madcap Moss Vs. Happy Corbin
Mixed Tag Team Match: Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Liv Morgan Vs. Edge, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley
Ezekiel Vs. Kevin Owens
Supplemental content
WrestleMania Backlash was a good show that built to Hell in a Cell. Read my recap.
How we got here
Cody Rhodes Vs. Seth Rollins
After beating Rollins for the second consecutive major show at WrestleMania Backlash, Rhodes declared his intention to “move on” from Rollins. Rollins, on the other hand, had no intention of being moved on from, and attacked Rhodes in a fit of rage. The attack led Rhodes to want one more match with Rollins, with the Hell in a Cell show providing a handy stipulation.
Bianca Belair Vs. Asuka Vs. Becky Lynch
This one has had several twists and turns, although not all of it was part of the on-air storyline. It started off simply enough. Belair was left without a primary challenger after dispatching Sonya Deville.
Just as it looked as though the champ could put her feet up, Lynch came back to RAW after a short absence and said she wanted another title shot. She was surprised when Asuka returned from a much longer absence and began tormenting Lynch.
Originally, there was supposed to be a six-way match to determine a top contender for Belair’s title. That was thrown out when two of the participants in the match, Sasha Banks and Naomi, walked out. The plan was for Naomi to beat her WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion partner, Banks. Then Naomi would go on to lose to Belair, while Banks would challenge and lose to Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey.
Rather than fighting each other, then failing on the same night as challengers while putting the tag team title they were trying to re-establish on ice, Banks and Naomi stood up for themselves against bad creative and are now indefinitely suspended.
This forced the company to improvise, and they made the contenders match a one-on-one with Asuka and Lynch. Asuka got the win and was declared Belair’s challenger. Lynch, however, got herself a rematch with Asuka on May 23 and won it, thus putting herself in the match as part of a Triple Threat.
Becky with the big win!
I’m making my come back baybeeeee! #RAW
— Rebecca Quin (@BeckyLynchWWE) May 24, 2022
Bobby Lashley Vs. Omos and MVP
This is a slight deviation from a standard rubber match. Lashley won his match with Omos at WrestleMania. In doing so without MVP, he hurt is former manager’s feelings enough he turned on Lashley and aligned himself with Omos. At WrestleMania Backlash, MVP interfered leading to Lashley’s defeat. Now, Lashley wants a piece of both of them. The only way he was able to get it was to agree to face both enemies in a handicap match.
Theory Vs. Mustafa Ali
Ali has challenged Theory on RAW the last few weeks. Ali was able to score a victory over Tomasso Ciampa on the May 30 edition of RAW, with the stipulation that he’d receive a title match if he won. After a hard-fought win, Theory challenged Ali to the title match right then and there. Despite having taken a beating from Ciampa, Ali agreed and was beaten. Theory thought he’d cleared the Ali hurdle completely, but general manager Adam Pearce came out and said while Vince McMahon was impressed with Theory’s mind games, he wants to see Theory face Ali again when the challenger is fresh.
Why McMahon would care about justice here when he’s told Theory over and over again to win by any means necessary is what we call a gaping plot hole. Anyway, the match is set for HIAC.
Madcap Moss Vs. Happy Corbin
Corbin hasn’t been very happy since Moss turned babyface post-WrestleMania. These two have feuded since, with Moss getting a win at WrestleMania Backlash with a sunset flip. That finish was designed to give Moss the win but not finish the story. Corbin and Moss have continued to battle since and this No Hold Barred match was added to the card at the go-home edition of SmackDown on June 3.
.@MadcapMoss is UNLEASHED! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/fs6wyBd1Yr
— WWE (@WWE) June 4, 2022
Finn Balor, AJ Styles and Liv Morgan Vs. Edge, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley
Edge has been putting together his new version of the Brood (and WWE’s answer to the House of Black on AEW) a little at a time. First, Priest joined up at WrestleMania, helping Edge beat Styles. Then, Ripley helped him at WrestleMania Backlash, becoming the third member. Balor joined up with Styles because he’d been feuding with Priest in the first place. Morgan had been turned on by Ripley in a tag team breakup angle, so the three singles feuds have formed units that make sense in terms of teaming up to face one another here.
Ezekeil Vs. Kevin Owens
In a storyline that’s been oddly watchable over the last few weeks, the former Elias (or at least the wrestler who portrayed Elias) has shown up without a beard and a new outfit, saying his is Ezekiel, Elias’ brother. Kevin Owens is sure Elias and Ezekiel are the same person. Since then, Owens has gone through a series of complicated shenanigans to try to prove Elias and Ezekiel are the same man. Lie detectors and DNA tests have been roped into this, but Owens still hasn’t been able to prove his point.
In fact, we’re still not sure if this is supposed to be Elias in disguise or if this really is supposed to be a different character. Either way, Owens is completely exasperated and will finally face Ezekiel one-on-one at Hell in a Cell.
Podcasts
The WRAP: Hell in a Cell Preview, Riddle Promo, Cody Vs. Seth
The WRAP: The Sasha Banks and Naomi Conversation