In 2016 at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, we saw the first-ever female competitors enter the Devil’s Playground. Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair entered and did battle over the RAW Women’s Championship in the main event of the show. We’ve only seen one more since then, again with Sasha inside but this time against Becky Lynch in 2019. We’re due to see our third all women cell match, once again including Sasha Banks, hopefully, she breaks the duck of losing the previous two and defeats Bayley. With Sasha being in all three, it shows we need to see some fresh blood in the cell to see what demonic things they can come up with. WWE, and NXT, in 2020 has the best array of female wrestlers and some of them would excel inside the demonic structure and would give us someone else to root for other than The Boss.
Rhea Ripley
The women’s song starts with ‘this is my brutality’, she would fit like a glove inside the cell. Ripley is a dominant and fear-inducing female superstar with a look that would just fit. She has the demeanour of that wrestler who would slam the cell shut and stare her opponent in the eyes. Obviously, Ripley is on NXT so would need to be called across to RAW or Smackdown to take part in the cell but she has been in a similar situation with War Games, participating in the first all-female match at NXT Takeover: War Games III. Not only did she impress inside the war games structure, but she was also on a team that won with a four on two disadvantage, alongside Candice LeRae against Team Baszler. Rhea has also shown her fantastic abilities in more hardcore stipulations recently on NXT against Mercedes Martinez inside a steel cage before Martinez became a part of Retribution. I can definitely see Ripley becoming a female version of The Undertaker in the cell, making it her match.
Shayna Baszler
Shayna is more dangerous on her own than most women with a lot of artillery, put her inside a cell where her opponent can’t escape and she has all the plunder under the ring at her disposal. Shayna is a cage fighter, a hell in a cell is a larger version of the cage, it’ll be her home away from home and I can’t wait to see what she can do inside it. Baszler is a main eventer waiting to happen who is currently waiting for that opening whilst holding one half of the Women’s Tag Championships, her inside the cell would be lethal and beautiful viewing. Not only is she a cage fighter but she has proven herself inside structures within WWE, losing in War Games at NXT Takeover: War Games III but most recently at Elimination Chamber this year, stomping through the whole field. Definitely thinking Baszler vs Rhea Ripley in the hell in a cell somewhere down the road for a championship is a five-star classic waiting to happen.
Dakota Kai
Unlike the prior two entries, Dakota doesn’t have the look of a person who’d excel in the cell nor has she really proven she can get hardcore, minus the match against Tegan Nox in NXT Takeover: Portland earlier this year. However, she is cunning and tactical which would help her in these situations to come out on top. Similar to how Triple H would survive the cell being cerebral before being ruthless. We all know Dakota would do anything to win, combining that with her brain and the environment she is in, we could see some absolute devious brilliance from the Kiwi wrestler. We didn’t get to see what she could do in the war games structure as that coincided with her heel turn and destruction of Tegan Nox and I’m glad of that, we wouldn’t have gotten heel Dakota inside the structure. We could follow that storyline for years, Dakota vs Tegan in the cell.
Bianca Belair
The EST of every single thing she takes part in so we might as well add hell in a cell to that list. Belair has had a weird time of it since being called over to RAW from NXT. She was featured in the feud between Andrade, Angel Garza and Zelina Vega against The Street Profits until it got silly and WWE didn’t want her involved. She then received promos about how good she at everything outside of wrestling but hasn’t really done much in the ring. We all know how good she is and I can see her doing absolutely fantastic things inside the cell. With her dominant stature and ability to make herself look stronger than anyone on the roster, she could make herself look absolutely unstoppable against the right opponent. If WWE matched her with someone who bumps like a hero, Bianca would look unstoppable and what she actually is, the EST of WWE.
Alexa Bliss
Before her recent turn into the twisted sister of The Fiend, I wouldn’t have put Alexa in this list. But, with her new demeanour and influence from Bray Wyatt’s alter-ego, she could do some serious damage inside the cell. Bliss has become a puppet for The Fiend, she does everything for him and to please him and it just makes for so many amazing storyline potentials. We won’t see a feud materialise after they attacked Andrade and Zelina since she was drafted to Smackdown but we can get something along those lines. Alexa inside the cell with another female competitor under the spell of The Fiend destroying her opponent as he looks on. This storyline has a lot of momentum and potential, getting Alexa in the cell at some point before it ends would create some incredible visuals. Even before her turn, when she’s a heel, she can be spiteful but this new edge just adds another level. Possibly get her inside the cell with her former tag team partner, Nikki Cross, who was also drafted over to RAW.
Hell in a Cell is a beautiful thing, it doesn’t need to be a PPV but WWE thinks it does. Getting the women inside is vital to show their talents are just as good, if not better than their male counterparts. I know two of the five are NXT stars but give it time and they may just come true.