WWE 'Hell in a Cell' 2014 Match Card Comes Into Focus With Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins

Last week's Monday Night Raw at the Barclays Center was mostly subpar, except for the surprise segment featuring The Rock and Rusev. This week, we got a much more balanced show from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, one that brought the Hell in a Cell card into focus.

Dean Ambrose and John Cena had their scheduled match two weeks early, as they fought in a Contract on a Pole Match to determine who would face Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell two Sundays from now. Unfortunately, the match was a bit of a mess, as each member of The Authority took his or her sweet time coming down to the ring with individual entrances just to watch from ringside. Add in Cena and Ambrose's entrances, and the introduction was almost longer than the match itself, which began just before 11 p.m. Eastern.

Plus, the booking of the match was odd, as Ambrose had numerous chances to climb the turnbuckle and grab the contract, but he instead left the ring and continued to wail on Cena, Randy Orton or whoever else was in his way. For months, we've been shown that Dean Ambrose has the singular focus of getting his hands on Seth Rollins and ripping him apart. So he has the chance to do that by grabbing the contract, but he instead decides to beat up John Cena some more.

Then, when Orton makes fun of him for doing so, he clocks The Viper even though Rollins is standing three feet away from him. The announcers simply tried to sell this as "he's crazy," but he's not stupid. Much of the main event didn't make sense, but it was still entertaining as always to watch Ambrose work.

We also got a hint of a face turn from Orton, who had a magnificent match with Dolph Ziggler that was easily the best contest we've seen on Raw in weeks. Just look at this RKO! Look at it!

Orton got some cheers when he pinned Ziggler, and the tease continued when Rollins came out to Curb Stomp Ziggler and Orton stared at him as if he were about to coil up and strike. The Viper later returned the favor and RKO'd Jack Swagger just to prove a point. It looks like we could be headed toward a feud between Orton and Rollins that could turn The Viper back into a good guy.

Face Orton wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, although he works so much better as a heel. But to make it work, WWE would have to turn him into a tweener of sorts and just have him kick the ass of whoever's in front of him, much like Dean Ambrose. The last time Orton was a face, he was bland and boring as could be. The character just doesn't work as a stereotypical babyface; he needs to be unhinged, obsessed and violent.

Finally, we got a tease on the 15^th anniversary edition of SmackDown of a WrestleMania match between The Rock and Triple H. These two had one of the greatest rivalries of the last 25 years, but they never had a true WrestleMania blowoff match to settle the score other than the horribly overbooked WrestleMania 2000 Fatal Four Way main event. Perhaps we'll see it at WrestleMania 31.

Also, if you haven't seen the backstage segment, check it out here. It's absolutely hysterical.

What did you think of Monday Night Raw this week? Are you excited for Hell in a Cell? We'll break down the full card next week, but let us know your thoughts for now in the comments section.