Ah, Hell In A Cell. The place where blood is split, feuds reach a climax and other breath-taking action. Well, at least that’s what you would hear from a WWE promo. Despite that, Hell In A Cell has become one of the more attractive stipulations fans look forward to every day. Since its inception in 1997, there have been 30 official Hell In A Cell matches, with The Undertaker having been involved in the most matches with 12 appearances (soon to be 13) and is tied with Triple H for the most victories inside Hell in A Cell (6). I plan on doing the ten best Hell In A Cell matches I’ve seen as well as the 10 worst. However, I thought it would be better to give you guys the good news first. Good news is always fun. First, let’s look at some honorable mentions that just missed the cut. How do you make the top 10? I consider how the cage is utilized, storytelling, who goes over, atmosphere, everything.
Honorable Mentions:
Randy Orton vs. Undertaker – Armageddon 2005
Wow, Randy Orton looked like a college frat boy ten years ago. What a difference ten years make. That’s one wicked tan he got. Anyways, this match started out as a stock 2005 RAW match; the kind with arm drags, back body drops and all that good stuff. But things got really going once they started to utilize the cage. It got really violent rather quickly, and for Orton, who was about to enter his fourth year in WWE, and as young as he was in a Hell In A Cell match with a tested veteran in the Undertaker, he did rather well for himself. It doesn’t make the top 10 because I thought it was kinda slow paced and I didn’t think Undertaker didn’t necessarily need to win, as he could elevated Orton to a new level, like he did with Brock Lesnar three years prior. He got a win over him at WrestleMania that year. Orton would fall in obscurity until late 2007. That’s just me, though.
Shawn Michaels and Triple H vs. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and The Big Show – Unforgiven 2006
The feud leading up to this match was kind of childish, with DX pulling pranks high schoolers would do, so having this feud culminate with Hell in A Cell was kind of weird. But, I was really interested in seeing how a handicap match would work inside Hell In A Cell, and for the most part, the action was pretty good. They played up the story of how DX had no chance to win because it was two on three with no way of escape, but eventually, they used teamwork to win the match. It doesn’t make the top 10, because of the childish “Show a fat man’s ass crack” shtick they pulled with The Big Show towards the end of the match. Not needed.
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose – Hell In A Cell 2014
Ask anyone what the best feud of the 2014 was, and if they said anything other than Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, you’d think they would be clinically insane. Now, despite the fact that the feud was one sided (Rollins beat Ambrose at Battleground (forefit), Summerslam, a RAW falls count anywhere match, and Hell In A Cell), but it doesn’t change the fact that this was the perfect temporary ending to their feud. The action had a different pace to it, as it started at the top of the cell, and Rollins and Ambrose took a dive off the top early in the match. When they got back inside the cell, the action really had my heart pounding, and it would make the top 10. That is, until a recording of Bray Wyatt speaking backwards and him magically appearing inside the Cell ruined the whole thing. Not to mention this brought us the Ambrose/Wyatt feud. *shivers*
Well I’ve done about a week worth of research, now hold on to your computer seat, here is my top 10 list. Get ready, it’s gonna be kinda long.
10. Kurt Angle (C) vs. The Rock vs. Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker vs. Rikishi vs. Triple H – Armageddon 2000 (Hell In A Cell)
Look at those names. Kurt Angle has eternal bragging rights in this one. I don’t know why, but for some reason I just love matches involving a lot of men. Seeing six of the top the stars in 2000 fight inside Hell In A Cell over the richest prize in the business, the WWF Title, was a sight to see. You had crazy action all over the place, great near falls, and incredible visuals. Who could forget Undertaker throwing Rikishi off the top of the cell into a haystack? I’m surprised he didn’t pop into a billion pieces. Had more spots within the Cell be used, and less time outside, it could have pushed it over the top. Kind of a wasted opportunity for me, but I’m just a college nursing student. What do I know?
9. Survivor Series 2007 – Batista (C) vs. Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship)
Remember the good old days when Smackdown had its own separate focus from RAW? Peppridge Farm remembers. Batista and Undertaker had quite the rivalry in 2007. Batista looked unstoppable and nearly ended Undertaker’s streak with the World Heavyweight title on the line, but Undertaker prevailed. Batista and Undertaker would then have a battle of wills in a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash that ended in a no contest and many more confrontations. So, naturally Hell In A Cell was in their future. Each men just keep pounding away at each other until one would give in. None of them did, but Undertaker did have Batista beat for the three count until Edge, posing as the camera man (brilliant), stopped it and helped Batista retain his title. I just loved the physicality in the match as they really showed perseverance, both physically and mentally here. Great performance.
8. Edge vs. Undertaker – Summerslam 2008
So, Undertaker is going to be featured on this list quite a bit. Edge was a different character than Batista. Batista can hold his own in a power game against the Undertaker. Edge didn’t have that gift, but, rather, he was a tactician. A crazy tactician at that. During their great feud in 2008, he momentarily sent Undertaker away from WWE after he defeated him in a TLC match at One Night Stand. However, Vicky Guererro placed the two in a Hell In A Cell match due to Edge getting it on with Alicia Fox while being married. So, naturally, Hell In A Cell comes after. Now, I always disliked how WWE had Edge fight like a cowardly heel and not pick up a win that could make people take him seriously. I liked the change in this match, though, as Edge had Undertaker running for his money. He pulled out all the stops, started to reverse nearly all of Undertaker’s moves and speared him, not just through the cell, but through the announcer’s table as well. I was sold that Edge was winning the match, but once again, the Undertaker used his acumen in Hell In A Cell to overcome this. Chokeslams through tables, stealing Edge’s finisher with a spear, a con-chair-to and a tombstone is what it took to defeat Edge. I thought it was perfect storytelling, and with the exception of the cartoony aftermath to the match with Undertaker choke slamming Edge from the top of the ladder onto a burning ring below him could have been left behind, but then again, I believe 2008 was the beginning of the PG era.
7. Batista (C) vs. Triple H – Vengeance 2005 (World Heavyweight Championship)
During Batista’s face push in 2005 which culminated in main eventing WrestleMania 21, I still wasn’t completely sold on him. I believe that he needed a performance to push him over the top and validate his standing in WWE. Up to that point, he had eliminated John Cena and won the Royal Rumble, had a good showing at the Elimination Chamber and defeated Triple H at WrestleMania and Backlash. However, they weren’t stand out performances. He needed to show that he was a legit main-event player and this match certainly did the trick. Out of all the matches that will be on this list, I’d say this one is arguably the most barbaric. With perfect integration of the steel and a barbed wire steel chair brought in for good measure, these two went the whole nine yards. Triple H in his wrestling days was an egotistical narcissist, but I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit for putting certain guys over. I thought he did a masterful job of putting Batista over as a formidable monster, and the two showing respect to each other backstage after the match ended what was the feud that put Batista on the wrestling map.
6. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels – Bad Blood 2004
A lot of people I saw didn’t like this match because of the fact that this match is the longest Hell In A Cell match ever, clocking in at just around 47 minutes. Now sure, it was a tad long, and may have been better if it was shorter, but I loved this match for the sheer fact that this was a battle of attrition. Shawn was selling his bad back throughout the entire match and Triple H took advantage with a bunch of small, but effective measures to limit him. The rivalry between Shawn and Triple H was one of my personal favorites, and I couldn’t think of a better ending to a feud that lasted approximately 2 years up to this point. This was a matter of who can take more damage and who would be left standing. Triple H during his Evolution days was accustomed to having Batista, Randy Orton and Ric Flair interfere on his behalf, but within the Hell In A Cell structure, there would be no entering in. So the two men settled their business in solitude and only one man would have the strength to finish their opponent off. Unsurprisingly, Triple H reigned victorious and Shawn remained in the ring for his ovation. Certainly not the best performance, but I thought this played perfectly to the strengths of both men.
5. Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Undertaker – No Mercy 2002 (WWE Championship)
If you suffer from hemophobia, you’d best not continue from this point. I find it hard to believe that Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker will be fighting inside the cell 13 years later from their initial feud. While you can most certainly count on their rematch inside the Cell being limited in blood, they did set a pretty high standard for themselves in this match. Brock Lesnar was running rough shot over the entire roster with notable names that included the likes of Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy and The Rock. The Undertaker proved to be an entirely different challenge though, and the feud got personal when Undertaker’s wife got involved. A no contest finish at Unforgiven led to this rematch inside the Cell, and I thought Lesnar, much like Batista, needed a signature performance to validate his reign. Now, when you’re working with a veteran inside the Cell such as The Undertaker, it’s kind of hard to not have at least a decent match. Needless to say, this was really impressive, with the hatred being almost palpable with the story they told. Lesnar attacked Undertaker’s hand prior to the match and Lesnar made sure to torture it until Undertaker couldn’t fight anymore and Lesnar, in a bloody battle, emerged victorious. They may not be able to replicate this match in three weeks in their rematch, but if you’re in to blood and gore and all that, this may be for you
4. Triple H vs. The Undertaker – Wrestlemania 28
When you think of Hell In A Cell, these are the two men that should come to mind at first thought. These two men share the record for most Hell In A Cell victories at the moment, and at a show that needed a memorable moment, this was certainly it. At the moment, Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania was still intact, and he came off of a gutsy performance against Triple H the year prior in a No Holds Barred match. However. The Undertaker was salty that he couldn’t get up on his own power and that needed assistance. This surely struck his ego and he demanded Triple H for a rematch, unlike his partner in crime Shawn Michaels, who approached Undertaker for a rematch. Initially Triple H punked out and denied, but once The Undertaker brought up Shawn Michaels, the line was crossed and the match was set. The naughty Shawn Michaels as special guest referee only furthered the drama. The match was more or less the same as their match last year, with spots with the Cell being integrated. However, I think we all know the moment that our collective breaths were taken from us. The moment we thought The Undertaker’s streak was done for. After Triple H reversed a Tombstone Piledriver, Hunter shoved him into a Sweet Chin Music from HBK right into a Pedigree, but somehow The Undertaker managed to kick out of it. At that moment, Triple H knew that he was done for, and The Undertaker let him know. These were two major figures in the Attitude Era and two icons in WWE. They let their bodies do the talking, as Undertaker’s scars after the match will show you, and with both of them being helped to the back with Shawn Michaels, this was truly signaling the end of an era, and what a way to accomplish it
3. The Undertaker vs. Mankind – King of the Ring 1998
I’ll be prepared to take any heat for this ranking. I was looking all across the Internet as to what others thought the best Hell In A Cell matches were, and this match was number 1 for most of the lists, and I wasn’t shocked. Now, the crazy spots from Mankind, what with him being thrown off the top of the cell, chokeslammed back into the Cell, and chokeslammed onto thumb tacks for good measure is enough to warrant top 3 induction automatically. Mankind was just an insane spot monkey who just put his body and very life on the line every single time he went out there. You had to think for a moment that Mankind may have actually died as his motionless body laid at the bottom of the announcer’s table. It was truly an iconic moment in WWE history and surely one that will never be forgotten. It just goes to show you the risks that some people are willing to take for the sake of entertiainment. I would rate this match higher, but I don’t think it would be fair to the other three I have on the list. The match after the crazy spots was kind of pedestrian and I’m not the type to proclaim this match the best just because there were 3-4 insane spots in the match. I like to grade it as a whole, and while it wasn’t bad, it didn’t have the best consistent action. Mankind’s antics push this over the top, nonetheless.
2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – Bad Blood 1997
There isn’t anything quite like the original, huh? The very first Hell In A Cell match really set the standard for what a Hell In A Cell match should be. What I appreciated most about these two was that the action between them didn’t seem scripted as much as it seemed spontaneous. Shawn was selling the beating he took from Undertaker beautifully and I also loved the near perfect use of the cage around them as a weapon. Shawn did what he could and was able to take advantage during some portions of the match, but it was all in vain. Of course, I believe that Shawn and Undertaker had better matches at WrestleMania 25 and 26, but this was damn near perfection for a Hell In A Cell match. Once the action got taken outside, Shawn was viewed as the helpless guy who couldn’t defeat the larger Undertaker, and who could forget the bump Shawn took dangling from the Cell, into the announcer’s table (similar to what Ambrose and Rollins did at Hell In A Cell 2014). All that was great to see, but I think we all know what the most memorable moment of the match is. Towards the end, when The Undertaker has Shawn beat, Kane debuts by tearing the cage door off of its hinges and tombstombing the Undertaker in the middle of the ring, giving HBK the victory. This was what the first Hell In A Cell match needed to be, and it was fantastic. However, there is one match that I feel takes the cake.
1. Triple H (C) vs. Cactus Jack – No Way Out 2000 (WWF Championship)
Let me save all of you the trouble. “Richard you asshole, go have sex with yourself. THIS IS NUMBER 1?!” Sorry, but this is the match of matches for me. When you think of Hell In A Cell, you think of extreme torture, agonizing pain, and a battle of wills. This is precisely what we have here. I wasn’t completely sold on Triple H when he first won the WWF Championship back in 1999, so he needed a feud to solidify himself as a main event player. I’ve felt like I’ve said that numerous times in this piece. Just goes to show that careers can be propelled in this type of match. Now, these two already had a spectacular match at the Royal Rumble in a street fight, which I believe is one of the best matches in WWE history. Then, we got to see them again, but this time, in the cell. This gets the number 1 spot for me because it has the best balance of incredible spots and consistent storytelling. I also appreciated that they didn’t rush any of the action and they allowed time to have each portion of the match play into the finish. Throughout the match, Cactus was portrayed as a man who would take any sort of barbaric moves Triple H can dish out. Steel chair shots while being pinned by steel steps being the most prominent move of choice. However, Cactus then demonstrated his ruthless attitude with his no holds barred style which then began the transition into the outside portion of the match. At this point, the sky was the limit in regards to what they would do to each other. This felt like an actual fight for a while. When they got to the top of the cell, where we saw a fiery barbed wire bat being used, and Mankind being back body dropped into the cell, Cactus had another memorable moment to add to his career. Of course, it would take more than that to defeat someone as crazy as him, and Triple H finally put him away with a pedigree. This was a masterful use of the cage, a star was confirmed in Triple H, and the standard was raised even higher for this match. Contest with me all you want, but I’m convinced this is the best Hell In A Cell match ever.
I’ll return soon with my 10 worst Hell In A Cell matches. Let me know if you wish I should ingest some poison if you disagree with this list. Until next time.