Grudge Match Between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre Was a Massive Hit for WWE

WWE held a Premium Live Event over the weekend entitled Bad Blood. Kicking off the show in Atlanta was the Hell in a Cell match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.

While this match kicked off the show, it ended up being the high point of the entire program. It was such a success that many view this as one of the best Hell in a Cell match ever produced. At the very least it was the best in recent memory by a considerable margin.

The company has done a brilliant job in building up the rivalry between Punk and McIntyre. Two of the most gifted workers in the business when combining in-ring ability and the ability to speak on the mic, each play off one another exceptionally well. The juxtaposition of both wrestlers works even better. Punk is build akin to your average guy, whereas McIntyre is a hulking Scottish brute with a considerable advantage size-wise.

Punk has always been known as being excellent on the mic. He carries promos with a sense of authenticity. McIntyre has come into his own brilliantly in this capacity. He’s the type of heel fans actually like. It’s a tricky balance to manage, but behind the snarling grin comes elite energy and physical prowess.

In this case, this match was the third between the two. Punk had bested McIntyre during a strap match at Bash in Berlin. Before that, McIntyre took Punk out at SummerSlam. The manufactured hatred between the two had been carefully cultivated over months. Punk robbed McIntyre of holding the World Heavyweight Title, and McIntyre made constant references to Punk’s wife and dog. This included stealing a bracelet Punk was given from a fan, and routinely taunting him with it.

The match this past Saturday opened fast and furiously. McIntyre had the upper hand early, slamming Punk into the steel sides of the cage. Eventually, a toolbox was taken out from under the ring. With Punk busted open, McIntyre ruthlessly used a wrench to spike Punk’s head repeatedly. He then held it on the open wound with Punk writhing in pain.

Eventually, the tables were turned. Punk took the toolbox and bashed McIntyre in the head with it. This was no work from a color standpoint. Meaning, McIntyre didn’t blade himself to start bleeding. The box did the job, and McIntyre’s face was covered in blood. This was indirectly a throwback to older programs that were less kid-friendly. We hadn’t seen this amount of ‘color’ on a WWE PLE in quite some time. It got so rough to the point that the ref actually handed McIntyre a towel to wipe his face with.

The violence in this match was also dissimilar to what we’ve come to see. Punk broke off the legs from a table and began choking McIntyre with them, pinning him and his throat to the mat. Later in the match, after a strategically placed low blow, McIntyre went under the ring and brought out a black bag. Normally, you’d see shards of glass or thumbtacks. In this case, it was thousands of little bracelet charms — the same ones from Punk’s treasured bracelet featuring the names of his wife and dog.

The beads were poured all over Punk. With a set of metal steps in the ring and Punk seemingly lifeless in front of them, McIntyre set him up for his famed Claymore. Running up, McIntyre watched as Punk dodged the move — causing McIntyre to suffer a nasty bump on top of the steps. Punk pooled together a handful of beads and shoved them into McIntyre’s mouth. Taking a metal chain in the ring, he wrapped it around his knee, picked McIntyre up, delivered his finisher — GTS — and ended up winning the match.

The mark of a great match, or even show, is blurring the lines of fantasy and reality. When Punk left the ring, he collapsed out of exhaustion. Attendants rushed to him with an oxygen mask. Whether needed or not, it was a perfect touch in the wake of what happened. As for McIntyre, he was filmed after the match ‘seeing red’ with a tremendous promo in which they didn’t bleep out any of his swear words. In real life, he needed 16 staples to close the gash on his head courtesy of the toolbox shot.

Chris Parks, formerly known as wrestler Abyss, produced the match. Though he never wrestled in WWE, he was known for his time in TNA as a hardcore wrestler. The spots in this match were brilliantly crafted, and it makes all the sense in the world that Parks was involved given his history.

With WWE transitioning RAW to Netflix in January, we can only hope to enjoy matches at this level moving forward. There was real cinema in this performance, and the duo of Punk and McIntyre should be applauded greatly.