As previously reported by The Inquisitr , WWE’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view ended in controversy last Sunday, when the titular main event match between Seth Rollins and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt ended via referee stoppage, depriving the match of a decisive finish and allowing Rollins to hang on to his Universal Championship a little longer. Several fans were noticeably upset over the fact that neither man was declared the winner and reacted by shouting “AEW!” — a nod to WWE’s latest major competitor — and demanding refunds.
As it seems, it wasn’t just ordinary fans who were up in arms over what happened at Hell in a Cell . In a recent appearance on WWE’s new show The Bump , former NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa aired his thoughts on the pay-per-view and expressed that such endings wouldn’t be considered acceptable booking on his brand. As quoted by WrestlingNews.co , he explained that this would especially be true in the case of marquee matches, such as his well-received battles against Johnny Gargano.
“From a performer standpoint, if Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: New Orleans ended by a ref stoppage, it’s something that just doesn’t fly in NXT.”
Ciampa then put over the black-and-gold brand, saying that the lack of such unsatisfying finishes is what makes NXT — and not Monday Night Raw or Friday Night SmackDown — the real “A-show” of WWE.
During his appearance on The Bump , Ciampa also made it clear that he’s planning to resume his quest to become a two-time NXT Champion now that he’s officially returned from injury, as reported separately by Pro Wrestling Sheet . The 34-year-old grappler was forced to drop his title in March after undergoing neck surgery, but as he related, his surprise appearance on last Wednesday’s episode of NXT proved that he’s ready to reclaim “Goldie” — his nickname for the brand’s top title.
Tommaso Ciampa is not the only wrestler to have openly criticized WWE’s ending of Hell in a Cell in recent days, as WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray (aka Bubba Ray Dudley) pointed out earlier this week that it isn’t ideal if the referee in a match — and not the heel wrestler — gets all of the heat from the fans. He was also quoted by WrestleZone as saying that Rollins was placed in a situation where it was “almost impossible for him to look good,” given how the fans were largely rooting for Wyatt to win the match — and the Universal title — despite his heel alignment.