Referee explains his actions.
Fans were angry at the end of WWE Hell in a Cell when referee Rod Zapata stopped the main event Hell in a Cell match between 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins. Zapata called for the bell after Rollins smashed a sledgehammer into a pile of metal laid on top of Wyatt's head. Fans initially thought the match was ruled a disqualification, but WWE later clarified that it was a "match stoppage."
On WWE's The Bump, Zapata offered an explanation as to why he stopped the bout.
“With Bray motionless, and Seth clearly doing whatever it was going to take to win that match…I had to think of the competitor’s safety and at that moment, I did what I thought was best.”
Hell in a Cell referee Rod Zapata explains why he stopped The Fiend vs. Rollins pic.twitter.com/dgz7v3NaAW
— Fightful Wrestling (@FightfulWrestle) October 9, 2019
Fans in the arena immediately turned on the finish as boos rained down and chants of "AEW" and "refund" were heard on the broadcast and after the show went off the air.
WWE barely followed up on the match on Monday's Raw, choosing to show a highlights package but not addressing the actual finish. Rollins and Wyatt were not on Raw, though Wyatt did appear in a dark segment after the USA broadcast.
