Hell in a Cell
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Hell in a Cell (sometimes referred to as Hell in the Cell) is a type of professional wrestling match seen in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in which the ring and ringside area are surrounded by a roofed steel cell which stands 16 feet off the ground. However, a new design now puts the cell 20 feet off the ground.
Hell in a Cell matches are rare; there have been only fourteen such matches in WWE since the first in 1997. Due to the logistical difficulty in setting them up, their dangerous nature, and their perception as a special attraction, Hell in a Cell matches are generally seen only at pay-per-view events and only two matches have been shown on live television.
The match is said to have been the most gruesome match possible by then SmackDown! commentators Michael Cole and Tazz. In fact, RAW commentator Jim Ross was the one who coined the nickname for the cell, the "demonic structure".
The cell differs from the cage used in a normal steel cage match, having a roof (cages in traditional cage matches have no roof) and a wide space between the ring apron and the cell (cage match cages hug the ring closely). To win, the participant must defeat their opponent by pinfall or submission. There are no disqualifications in the match.
Generally, the cell door is locked during the match. Despite this, many Cell matches have featured wrestlers fighting out of and even on top of the Cell:
- In the first Cell match, the door was unlocked to allow the removal of an injured cameraman, which led to Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker fighting on top of the cage.
- In the Mankind / Undertaker match, the competitors began the match on top of the cage, both climbing on top of the cage and fighting.
- In the Triple H / Cactus Jack match, Cactus Jack threw steel steps at Triple H, but missed and damaged the wall, then charged the Cell wall until it broke enough for the two to get through.
- In the six man Cell match, Vince McMahon used a truck to pull off the door of the Cell while attempting to destroy the Cell and stop the match.
- In the Triple H / Chris Jericho match, the door was opened with bolt cutters to allow the removal of legitimately injured referee Tim White.
Two notable participants in the Hell in a Cell match are The Undertaker and Triple H. To date there has not been a Pay-Per-View Hell in a Cell match (if one ignores the Kennel from Hell match) that did not involve either of the two superstars. The Undertaker and Triple H have been in seven matches each. The Undertaker's win-loss record is 3-2-1. Triple H's win-loss record is 5-1-0. (The Undertaker and Triple H were both in the Armageddon Hell in a Cell, but neither man was pinned and technically did not lose).
[edit] Match history
Note: The cell itself was used during a First Blood Match between Steve Austin and Kane at King of the Ring 1998, but the match itself was not a Hell in a Cell match. The cell was still lowered after the Hell in a Cell match between the Undertaker and Mankind. It was also used in a Kennel From Hell match between Al Snow and Big Boss Man at "Unforgiven 1999."
[edit] In Your House: Badd Blood 1997
The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced by the Undertaker at the Badd Blood pay-per-view event on October 5, 1997 in St. Louis, Missouri, when he challenged Shawn Michaels for the number one contendership to the WWF Championship. The Undertaker had been feuding with Michaels since SummerSlam 1997, where Michaels was a special guest referee in a match between the Undertaker and Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. In the match, Michaels swung a steel chair at Bret Hart, but missed and hit the Undertaker instead, costing him the match. Out for revenge, the Undertaker devised the Cell not only to prevent Shawn Michaels' D-Generation X allies from interfering, but also to create an environment that would cause Michaels the most pain.
From the beginning the Undertaker dominated, though Shawn Michaels was able to fight back several times. At one of Michaels' most offensive points in the match, he had managed to tangle The Undertaker in the two top ropes, immobilizing him. Michaels then proceeded to charge the subdued man, only for The Undertaker to flip him over the top ropes and onto a cameraman. Frustrated that this wasn't the first time that that cameraman has gotten in his way, Michaels proceeded to beat the cameraman while he laid on the ground. After several more minutes of Michaels having the upper hand, Sgt. Slaughter came down to ringside and ordered the cage door unlocked to bring the cameraman out for medical care. At this time, Shawn Michaels hit his finisher, Sweet Chin Music, on the Undertaker, but instead of Michaels covering for the pin, the Undertaker did his signature sit-up (a move he does when it seems an opponent has him beaten, only for him to sit back up, revitalized, in accordance with his Deadman gimmick) and went back on the offensive. With the door now open, Shawn forced the referee aside in an attempt to escape the Undertaker, leading to both men battling outside of the cage. The Undertaker started by ramming Michaels head first into the cell several times, leaving his face a bloody mask. Michaels escaped by delivering a low-blow to the Undertaker and climbing to the top of the Cell. Naturally, The Undertaker followed, and once on top, he bodyslammed and backdropped Michaels on the roof. Again trying to outrun the Undertaker, Michaels began to climb back down the Cell. He was left hanging off the side when the Undertaker stomped on his hands, causing him to fall through the Spanish announce table at ringside from a height of around 10-12 feet. This spot is seen as a precursor to a far more famous fall taken by Mick Foley from the very top of the cell. Despite this, Jim Ross yelled, "My God, he may be broken in half! Michaels may be broken in half!"
The Undertaker climbed down the cell and continued his assault, dragging Michaels back into the cage and the ring ("Back into Purgatory," as Jim Ross stated). After giving Michaels a clothesline, a chokeslam from the top turnbuckle, and a chair shot, it seemed that the Undertaker was bound for victory. However, when he gave his signature throat slit signal (indicating his finisher, the Tombstone), Paul Bearer and Kane entered ringside to interfere in the match. This match was the first appearance of Kane, the Undertaker's on-screen half-brother. Kane ripped the door of the Cell from its hinges and confronted the Undertaker in the ring. After a brief stare-down, Kane performed his own version of the Tombstone Piledriver on the Undertaker and exited. Michaels then, with great effort, crawled out of a pool of his own blood and onto the unconscious Undertaker for the pin, gaining the contendership that would set the stage for the infamous Montreal Screwjob one month later.
[edit] RAW (June 1998)
The second Hell in a Cell match was booked as a build up for King of the Ring 1998, where Steve Austin was booked to face Kane for the WWF Championship, and The Undertaker was booked against Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match. Paul Bearer was inside the Cell with Kane and Mankind by his side and challenged Austin and The Undertaker to fight Kane and Mankind inside the Cell. Stone Cold came out and waited for The Undertaker on the ramp, but Undertaker never showed. Kane, Mankind and Austin fought outside the cell, and Paul locked himself inside the cage to protect himself. However, The Undertaker came out from under the ring and began to brutalize Paul Bearer. Kane noticed and tried to get in, but the cage door was locked. Austin continued to beat up Mankind while Kane tried to save Bearer. Kane eventually climbed to the top of the cage trying to get in to help Paul Bearer, but he could not, and The Undertaker continued to beat up Paul Bearer. Austin eventually got a chair and nailed Mankind with it a couple of times, then made his way to the top of the cage and attacked Kane as The Undertaker continued to work on Paul Bearer. The match became a no contest.
[edit] King of the Ring 1998
The Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring 1998 between The Undertaker and Mankind (Mick Foley) has since become one of the most famous professional wrestling matches in history. In preparing for the match Mick Foley asked longtime mentor and friend Terry Funk for his advice on how to top the first Hell in the Cell, which Foley considered a great match. Funk's fateful advice was to start the match on top of the cage. In his autobiography, Have a Nice Day, Foley jokes (after a previous Funk suggestion had caused both men serious burn injuries in Japan) that "You'd think I would know better by now than to listen to Terry Funk."
When the match started, both men climbed on top of the cage before the bell had even rung. As the two walked on top of the cage, one of the caged sections buckled and broke through under their weight. After a short battle, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the top of the cage through the Spanish announcers' table 16 feet (5 metres) below, narrowly avoiding monitors and other A/V equipment. Emergency medical technicians and other staff quickly rushed to his aid, while announcer Jim Ross screamed "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him! As God as my witness, he is broken in half!" Foley was lifted onto a gurney, and the technicians started to wheel him up the aisleway. Meanwhile, Undertaker remained atop the cage, which had begun to rise back towards the ceiling to allow room for the EMTs to wheel Mankind away on a gurney. Even though the fall from the cage was planned and well executed, Terry Funk and Vince McMahon broke kayfabe — at the time, both were involved in feuds with Mankind — to come down ringside and check on Foley's condition. Later, Foley would claim that he had introduced the idea of the throw from the top of the cage earlier in the day; the wrestler portraying Undertaker, Mark Calaway, at first resisted, asking him, "Mick, do you want to die?", but reluctantly agreed.
As he was being wheeled up the aisle, Mankind got off of the gurney, and, despite having a dislocated shoulder, walked back towards the ring and climbed back on top of the cage, much to the delight of the fans. The match continued, even though the roof of the cage was buckling under both of them with every step they took.
During the ensuing fight, The Undertaker chokeslammed Mankind on the roof of the cage. Unlike the throw from the top of the cell, what happened next was not planned or even anticipated by either Foley or Calaway, as the section of the cage roof that Foley landed on gave way and Foley fell hard into the ring where he suffered a concussion and was knocked out cold for around a minute and a half. Power Slam wrestling magazine claims that this second fall was also planned, and in Have A Nice Day, Foley does not specifically claim that this was unplanned, and he also states that he and Calaway hoped that it might cause a slight break in the cage. The weight from the two wrestlers (almost 600 pounds) on top of the cage both before and after Foley's fall was said to be a key reason for the collapse of the cage. Making matters worse, the ring was one of the older style rings used by the WWF, which had less give to its surface so as to make the matches more realistic looking on television. In addition to the fall, a steel chair lying on the roof of the cage fell through and struck Foley in the face, dislocating his jaw and knocking out one and a half teeth as well as creating a large cut beneath his lip (Calaway has since stated in interviews that after the fall, he thought for sure Foley was dead). Upon seeing the fall, Jim Ross yelled out, "Good god, good god!" whereas Jerry Lawler simply stated, "That's it, he's dead." Ross continued by pleading, "Will somebody stop the damn match?! Enough's enough!" Terry Funk and other personnel immediately ran into the ring to aid Foley.
A famous picture taken a few minutes after the fall through the cage depicts Mankind apparently smiling while one of his broken teeth, which he had aspirated into his sinus cavity, protrudes from his nostril. In his first autobiography, Foley claims that he was trying to show off the hole below his lips by sticking his tongue through it, but because of his thick beard and excesses of blood, the hole was not seen and this was misinterpreted as a sick smile.
The Undertaker jumped down through the new hole in the cage roof (despite a broken foot which he suffered before the match, which nearly caused him to lose his balance when he landed) and improvised a bit with Funk to give Foley a few minutes to recover. Despite suffering from a head injury, Foley was able to continue and finish the match (Calaway would continue by deliberately over-selling Foley's offensive moves in order to work at a pace more conducive to Foley's heavily injured state), which ended when The Undertaker backdropped and chokeslammed him onto a pile of thumbtacks and followed up with a Tombstone Piledriver, winning by pinfall. Despite his injuries, Mankind managed to go ahead with his planned interference in the main event later that evening, a First Blood Match between Kane and Steve Austin (in which The Undertaker also interfered).
In the end, the match left Foley with a dislocated jaw, a dislocated shoulder, a bruised kidney, 2 broken ribs, one and a half missing teeth, a concussion, and 14 stitches for the cut beneath his lip. He took 2 months to recover, and the match almost certainly helped shorten his active wrestling career. In one of Mick Foley's autobiographies, he said he could only remember bits and pieces of the 1998 Hell In A Cell match up until the second fall, and absolutely nothing of the match after that, and had to rewatch the entire event in order to write about it in any detail. Additionally, he wrote that his wife frantically tried to call him immediately after the match, and pleaded with him to never do anything like that ever again. Vince McMahon even reportedly gave very serious thought after the match to never holding another Hell In A Cell, due to the severity of the injuries that Foley had sustained. By Foley's own admission, some of those injuries never fully healed.
A humorous anecdote Foley has shared several times, including his first autobiography, was when he and the Undertaker were receiving medical attention backstage shortly after the match. Still rather dazed, he reportedly turned to the Undertaker and asked "Did I use the thumbtacks?" (the use of thumbtacks had become something of a trademark of Foley's during his time in Japan), to which The Undertaker replied, "Mick, look at your arm." He did so, only to discover numerous thumbtacks still lodged in his arm, in addition the ones lodged in his back and legs. Foley also wrote that The Undertaker was extremely concerned during the match. Undertaker thought that the first time he threw Foley off the top of the cell that he had paralyzed him and ended his career, and that the second time that he had killed him, but continued the match without breaking character (a testament to Undertaker's professionalism in the wrestling business). He was also understandably quite relieved when Foley was able to get back up both times and continue the match, especially since he and Foley are very good friends in real-life.
Many elements of this match, including the fall through the roof of the cage, were reused in Foley's retirement match against Triple H at No Way Out 2000. Video clips of the two falls have been some of the most replayed clips on WWE television.
[edit] RAW (August 1998)
This little remembered match between Kane and Mankind occurred in August 1998 on an episode of RAW is WAR, a mere two months after King of the Ring 1998. It is often forgotten due to its lack of hype and the fact that it occurred on broadcast television rather than pay-per-view.
The most notable part of the match once again involved Mankind falling from the cell. The Undertaker, still somewhat involved in a feud with Mankind, pulled him off the side of the cage whilst he was paused at the halfway point of the structure. However, the landing was botched, with Mankind's lower body destroying the Spanish announcers table that was supposed to break his fall, and his head, back and shoulders directly hitting the concrete floor from a height of fourteen feet. In his second autobiography Foley says that this fall actually hurt him more than his infamous bump from the very top of the cage in the previous cell match.
Mankind pulled a bag of thumbtacks from beneath the ring, and executed a modified piledriver than cause Kane to land on the tacks. However, Kane looked set to win the match after hitting Mankind with a steel chair three times, followed by a chokeslam and two tombstone piledrivers, the second onto the steel chair. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin then burst from underneath the ring and attacked Kane. The Undertaker, watching from outside the locked cage, attempted to break into the cage through the roof, but was thwarted by Vince McMahon who used the controls to raise the cage. The match was declared a no contest.
[edit] WrestleMania XV
This contest took place at WrestleMania XV and featured the bodyguard of The Corporation, Big Boss Man, against the leader of the Ministry of Darkness, The Undertaker. It is the shortest pay-per-view Hell in a Cell match to date (lasting 9:46), and is noteworthy mainly for its bizarre ending. After the match was over (which ended with Big Boss Man receiving a Tombstone Piledriver and being pinned by The Undertaker), The Brood was lowered from the ceiling to the top of the Cell, where they lowered a noose to The Undertaker. The Undertaker proceeded to hang Boss Man from the cell as it rose to the rafters. Bossman returned to action a few weeks later, with no mention of the hanging spot (it was suggested during the match, however, that the hanging was the "symbolic" hanging of The Corporation by the Ministry of Darkness).
[edit] No Way Out 2000
After defeating Cactus Jack in a bloody Street Fight at the 2000 Royal Rumble to retain the WWF Championship, Triple H would find himself challenged by Foley once again for the title, this time inside the dreaded Hell in a Cell, at No Way Out 2000. While Foley had survived the Cell before, this was Triple H's first step inside the demonic structure. But much more than the title was at stake here. Additional stipulations were that if Cactus Jack won, he would "achieve his dream" of headlining WrestleMania. However, if Triple H won, Foley would be forced to retire.
Things got violent quickly, both men beating each other bloody, with the action eventually spilling to the outside of the Cell. After brawling near the announce tables (including Triple H being piledriven into one), Foley pulled out his patented barbed-wire 2x4, striking Triple H several times in the forehead. Soon after, Triple H managed to climb on top of the Cell, with Cactus trying to do the same. However, Triple H stomped his hands, and Foley fell approximately 12 feet off the Cell and through the Spanish announce table.
However, Foley had not been beaten yet. He managed to climb to the top, and his battle with Triple H continued. After much back-and-forth action, including both competitors coming very close to plummeting off the edge of the cage, Cactus Jack then pulled a new trick. He took a lighter, picked up his barbed-wire 2x4, and set it alight. After Triple H got back to his feet, Foley struck Triple H in the face with the weapon. Foley then tried to piledrive Triple H onto the 2x4, but Triple H countered with a back body drop.
The cage roof broke under Foley's weight, causing him to fall twelve feet into the ring, the impact breaking the ring canvas which had been rigged to collapse to make the fall safer for Foley. Commentator Jim Ross summed the moment up with "Oh my God! For the love of God!! The cage broke! The ring broke! And Cactus Jack has been broken in half!!" After the fall, a shocked Triple H re-entered the Cell. After a few moments of lying motionless, Triple H poked Cactus Jack's arm with his foot to see if he was still alive, and Cactus Jack rose his arm with the fans cheering and Triple H in shock. Cactus Jack began to stir. He began to crawl out of the hole in the ring, and tried to get to his feet. Ross then said in disbelief; "Somehow, someway, the crazy son of a bitch is moving!!" Triple H then hammered Cactus with several punches, before finally nailing his finishing move (the Pedigree), to win the match by pinfall, and retain the World Wrestling Federation Championship.
As a result, Mick Foley was forced into "retirement". However, he would return one month later to headline WrestleMania 2000 along with Triple H, The Rock, and The Big Show. Triple H often credits this match as being the match that made him a superstar, and from there was the Hell in a Cell match considered to be "Triple H's speciality match" from the fans' viewpoint.
[edit] Armageddon 2000
The second Hell in a Cell match that does not feature one-on-one action occurred at Armageddon 2000. It featured six men, The Rock, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Triple H, and Rikishi, and was for the WWF Championship. In the weeks preceding Armageddon, Vince McMahon had tried to convince the six superstars to step down from the match (he claimed to be concerned for the health of each man), only to receive a Stunner from Austin, a Rock Bottom from The Rock, and finally a Last Ride from the Undertaker in response. The match started on a brutal note, as each man chose another to assault, often leading to rather gruesome attacks (including Steve Austin dragging Triple H's face against all four sides of the Cell). Each competitor would also hit their respective finishing moves on one another.
About ten and a half minutes into the match, Vince came out with a truck and demolition crew with the intent on destroying the Cell and ending the match. The truck ripped the door to the Cell off its hinges, but Commissioner Mick Foley would come out and have Vince removed by security guards, and the match continued. The six men then headed out of the now open cell and fought among and utilized several demolished cars set-up as decorations for the event (notable bumps include The Rock receiving a pedigree from Triple H on the roof of a car, and Triple H being sling-shot onto a windshield). The Undertaker and Kurt Angle would eventually brawl their way to the announcer's tables. Shortly after, Triple H began to climb to the top of the Cell to escape from Steve Austin, who climbed after him (Jerry Lawler is amusedly quoted as saying, "Bad things happen when people go to the top of that Cell!"). While the two fought on top, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker began their way to the top of the Cell, and finally, as Triple H and Stone Cold began to make their way down, Rikishi started climbing up to escape The Rock. The Undertaker managed to obtain a steel chair by threatening a timekeeper (saying that if the timekeeper didn't give him a chair, he would "Come down and rip his head off"), but it was ultimately utilized by Rikishi. Angle climbed down as Rikishi and the Phenom brawled, which resulted in the most brutal bump of the match, Rikishi being choke-slammed off the Cell into the bed of the truck.The truck was full of hay and the suspension very loose as to break his fall.
Now back in the Cell, the remaining four wrestlers continued their fight in the ring. After a brief bout, a series of finishers and attempted pins led to The Rock lying unconscious from the Stunner, with Triple H and Stone Cold fighting each other. While the two were distracted, Kurt Angle, who had received a Rock Bottom from The Rock, crawled his way onto the unconscious man for the pin and, against the odds, won the match and retained the WWF Championship.
Triple H would later proclaim that he had never lost a Hell in a Cell match, due to the series of Hell in a Cell wins against Cactus Jack, Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, and Shawn Michaels. This ended after he failed to regain the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista in a Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance 2005.
[edit] Judgment Day 2002
After defeating Chris Jericho at WrestleMania X8 in 2002 for the WWF Undisputed Championship, Triple H would hold on to the title for a mere month before losing it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash 2002. Part of the reason for Triple H's loss was the interference from Chris Jericho (who was still angry about WrestleMania). It was decided that the next month, in May, Triple H and Chris Jericho would face in the Hell in the Cell in a WrestleMania rematch. The match would end after Triple H nailed Chris Jericho in the head with the barbed-wire 2x4, followed by the Pedigree on the top of the cage. This is the only Hell in a Cell in which the pinfall was made (by Triple H) on top of the cage and the last Hell in a Cell match to date where the wrestlers would make their way to the top.
This match is also noted as the Hell in a Cell match where referee Tim White was accidentally shoved into the cell's wall. White has only reffed one match ever since.
[edit] No Mercy 2002
Brock Lesnar's rise to the top of WWE in 2002 was so rapid that he won the King Of the Ring and won the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2002. This all led to a match between him and The Undertaker at Unforgiven 2002. It ended in a double disqualification leading to Lesnar retaining the title. The next month, at No Mercy 2002, in what some say is the Thrilla in Manila of wrestling and the match that "made" Brock Lesnar, he faced The Undertaker again in the Cell. Hype leading up to the match (for the WWE Championship) was tremendous and intense as Lesnar with his manager Paul Heyman broke the Undertaker's hand with a propane tank. Despite Heyman begging Stephanie McMahon, then general manager of SmackDown!, not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied and the match would go on as planned. It was a brutal match with both wrestlers "donning crimson masks" - their faces covered in thick blood (Undertaker's blood loss was particularly memorable, as he never stopped bleeding after he had bladed). Even Paul Heyman, who was outside of the cage, felt the Undertaker's wrath as Undertaker beat him up through holes in the cage. Sometime during the match Undertaker had grabbed Paul and pulled him back and forward into the cell. In return, Brock got Heyman to take his belt and tie it around the cast of the Undertaker and hold it against the cell while Brock hit the cast numerous times with a chair until Heyman's belt broke. At a certain point, after Undertaker had taken advantage of his cast, Lesnar gained control and removed the cast, leaving Undertaker's broken hand at the mercy of the Next Big Thing. This would prove to be the turning point of the match. The match ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone into his signature F-5 for the win. After the match, Lesnar climbed to the top of the cell and held his title up high for all to see.
[edit] Bad Blood 2003
The return of Triple H's former friend Kevin Nash sparked tension as Nash was stuck between the feud of Triple H and Shawn Michaels (also former friends). However, Triple H had enough, and turned on Nash leading up to the brutal Hell in a Cell match at the Bad Blood 2003 pay-per-view.
This is the only Hell in a Cell match with a special guest referee (Mick Foley). The storyline explanation for a special referee to be introduced was because no referee wanted to officiate a Hell in a Cell match. Highlights of the match include Triple H hitting Nash in the head with a hammer and Triple H being slingshot into the corner where a barbed-wire 2x4 was positioned on the top turnbuckle pad. Triple H retained the World Heavyweight Championship after nailing Kevin Nash with the sledgehammer, followed by the Pedigree.
[edit] Bad Blood 2004
This was the ninth Pay Per View meeting in the feud between Triple H and Shawn Michaels that lasted from 2002 in a Street Fight (Summerslam), the first ever Elimination Chamber (Survivor Series), a Three Stages Of Hell Match (Armageddon), a six-man tag team match with their partners being Chris Jericho and Ric Flair and Booker T and Kevin Nash respectively (Backlash 2003), The Second Elimination Chamber (Summerslam 2003), a Last Man Standing Match (Royal Rumble 2004), as part of the main event at WrestleMania XX, and a rematch from WrestleMania a month later at Backlash. The match went on for three-quarters of an hour (47 min), with both men bleeding heavily. Michaels gave Triple H a diving elbow through a table (pictured at the right), and the two made frequent use of the ring steps, and ladder. Shawn Michaels tried to finish the match with the Sweet Chin Music but he missed. Triple H got the pin after three Pedigrees. After the match, Triple H was assisted by his fellow Evolution members Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton to leave the cell leaving Shawn Michaels out cold. After a few minutes, Shawn Michaels, barely on his feet, was given a show of respect from the audience.
[edit] Vengeance 2005
This heated rivalry began as the two former Evolution team-mates squared off at WrestleMania 21 after the 2005 Royal Rumble winner, Batista, turned face and turned on Triple H. This Hell in a Cell bout followed Batista's two victories over The Game. Triple H demanded a Hell in a Cell match thinking that Batista was no match for him since Triple H was undefeated in Hell in a Cell matches (Triple H was never involved in the finish of the Armageddon 2000 match). This was the first match to introduce a barbed-wire chair. In the end, Batista became the very first man to defeat Triple H in a one-on-one Hell in a Cell match, after a brutal spinebuster on the steel steps, followed by a Batista Bomb. As to date, this would be Batista's last match under the RAW Brand.
[edit] Armageddon 2005
In early 2005, Randy Orton sought to make an impact at WrestleMania 21 by ending The Undertaker's winning streak. However, the search for popularity saw him become arrogant and jealous after his defeat by The Undertaker at WrestleMania. After back and forth wins and losses by the two from March to December, which saw Orton twice leaving the Undertaker for dead, including once after a Handicap Casket Match at No Mercy where the Ortons trapped the Undertaker in the casket to win the match before setting the casket ablaze, just as Kane had done to his brother some years earlier, they ended their rivalry at Armageddon 2005 inside Hell in a Cell.
A series of countered moves between the two wrestlers, plus interference from Cowboy Bob Orton (who snuck into the cage while personnel were aiding an injured referee), led to a wild match ending. It seemed to be over when Randy Orton countered a Tombstone attempt by The Undertaker by leaning backwards and reversing the maneuver, giving The Undertaker himself a Tombstone Piledriver; Orton even attempted to pin him by using the Undertaker's signature style of crossing the arms across the chest. But Undertaker kicked out with his signature "zombie" sit-up. Orton beat him back down several times, but each time, Undertaker sat back up. Undertaker then attempted a chokeslam on Orton, but he switched his attention to Cowboy Bob when he tried to interfere. While Undertaker was distracted, Randy Orton attempted an RKO -- but was shoved away before he could execute the maneuver. Undertaker then hit both Ortons with his urn and followed up with a Tombstone Piledriver on each man, winning by pinfall.
[edit] Unforgiven 2006
At the start of 2006, Shawn Michaels became involved in a feud with Vince McMahon when he told McMahon to put the Montreal Screwjob behind him. This set off a heated feud between the two that would only intensify as Michaels reunited with old tag team partner Triple H to reform D-Generation X. After DX beat Vince and his son Shane at SummerSlam, McMahon was hungry for revenge.
At Unforgiven 2006, Mr. McMahon, Shane O Mac, and Big Show, the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, were pitted against D-Generation X in the first-ever Hell in a Cell handicap match.
This match also marked the debut of a brand-new design of the Hell in a Cell; the new 30-by-30 structure stands at 20 feet tall, runs for 3,500 square feet, and is made of steel mesh and support beams. The new structure addressed problems with the older structure, which made it difficult for top-rope maneuvers to be executed.
DX won the match when Triple H broke a sledgehammer over Vince McMahon's head after he and Michaels shoved McMahon's face into Big Show's exposed rear end (giving Vince a taste of what it was like for others to join his "Kiss My Ass Club"). Other highlights included Michaels hitting his signature elbow from the top rope on Shane while he had a chair around his neck, giving him internal injuries. Big Show was the only man not to leave bleeding at the end of the match.
[edit] Variations
The Hell in a Cell match is seen as the structural successor to the Thundercage (originally called the Caged heat match) match type seen in WCW, which was virtually identical in basic construction; however, Thundercage was rarely used by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and thus fans had little to no knowledge of its existence. The Thundercage actually precedes Hell in a Cell by roughly two and a half years, as the Thundercage was used in the match between Ric Flair and Big Van Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in February 1994 at SuperBrawl IV. It was also used in matches between Sting and The Great Muta.
A variation of the Hell in a Cell match used in the World Wrestling Federation was the Kennel from Hell match, held at Unforgiven 1999. The match was "conceived" by wrestler Al Snow during his short-lived feud with The Big Boss Man in mid-1999; the feud started when Boss Man kidnapped, cooked, and served Snow's dog, Pepper, to him. The match was a spin-off of this event, where the cell was placed over the ring, which was already equipped with a standard Steel Cage. Two dogs that had been "starved for weeks" were placed in between. The object was simply to escape from the structure, which was designed to be very difficult, however the match turned out to be something of a disaster, as the dogs spent the duration of the match snapping at each other and urinating on the floor, and the whole spectacle looked ridiculous. Snow won the match, which ended the feud. Due to the ludicrous nature of the match (which pertained to Al Snow's "madman" gimmick) and the critical mauling it received, this has been the only such match to be held (it's likely never to be held again), and the match is rarely spoken of anywhere due to the fact that it was awful.
Hell in a Cell is also seen as the "older brother" (in terms of cage-style bouts) to the Elimination Chamber and the Punjabi Prison Match.
[edit] Trivia
- No championship have changed hands in a Hell in the Cell match.
- Following the first Hell in a Cell match, every match has included at least one veteran of a previous Hell in a Cell.
- Both of the Hell in a Cell matches which featured Kane were on live television and have ended in no-contests.
- 1998 was the year which featured most of Hell in a Cell match. It had 3 Hell in a Cell match in that year.
