Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling cage-based match held in WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation). It features a large roofed steel cage structure or "cell" which encloses the ring and ringside area. While similar to the steel cage match in profile and structure, unlike the steel cage match wherein exiting over the cage results in a win, only executing a pinfall or submission will result in a win. As in a steel cage match, disqualifications do not apply. The original Cell was 16 ft (4.9 m) high and weighed over 2 tons but has since been replaced by an amplified version of 20 ft (6.1 m) and 5 tons. Twenty-four Hell in a Cell matches have taken place in WWE since its inception in October 1997.
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The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced at WWF Badd Blood on October 5, 1997 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The background to the inaugural match was built on Undertaker's loss to Bret Hart two months prior at the 1997 SummerSlam in a WWF Championship match which Shawn Michaels was assigned to referee. Michaels had deliberately interjected himself in the match and cost The Undertaker a win which resulted in a match between the two at In Your House: Ground Zero. That match was ruled a no-contest due to the two bypassing and attacking the officials. As a climactic end to the feud, their following bout was originally scheduled to be held as a steel cage match. However, instead of a normal cage enclosing only the ring, a larger roofed structure was constructed, enclosing not only the ring but also the surrounding ringside area. The wider space between the ring apron and the cell walls allowed for entering and exiting the ring. At Badd Blood, Michaels defeated The Undertaker and won the number-one contendership to the WWF Championship.
The cage's size also makes the use of weapons possible as well. Wrestlers usually use weapons in Hell in a Cell by taking them from under the ring.
Hell in a Cell matches are rare in WWE as it is designed to be the climax to most feuds. There have only been 21 such matches in WWE, 19 of which have been broadcast on pay-per-view events due to the logistical difficulty in setting them up and its perception as a special attraction due to the nature of the match. In 2009, WWE presented its first pay-per-view event to specifically feature the Hell in a Cell for its marquee matches. Despite the match's profile, prior to the first self-titled Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event, championships were rarely defended in these matches. The first time a title was defended in the match was at the 2000 No Way Out with Triple H retaining the WWF Championship in the seventh Hell in a Cell match. The first time a title changed hands in a Hell in a Cell match was in 2009, when The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship and Randy Orton won the WWE Championship from CM Punk and John Cena respectively in the 17th and 18th matches. The Undertaker has been involved in the most Hell in a Cell matches having competed in eleven and won five, while Triple H has competed in eight and won six, currently the most in WWE to date. Only two matches have been broadcast on television, both in 1998 on Raw is War. Both of those matches went to a no contest.
On September 26, 2011, the first-ever untelevised Hell in a Cell match occurred after the ending of Raw. Theodore Long announced that John Cena had to defend his WWE Championship in a five-man match against Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler. Cena retained the championship.[1]
| No. | Match | Stipulations | Event | Date and Location | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shawn Michaels defeated Undertaker | Singles Hell in a Cell | Badd Blood | October 5, 1997 St. Louis, MO |
30:00 |
| 2 | Undertaker and Steve Austin vs. Mankind and Kane went to a no contest | Tag Team Hell in a Cell | Raw Is War | June 15, 1998 San Antonio, TX |
10:38 |
| 3 | Undertaker defeated Mankind | Singles Hell in a Cell | King of the Ring | June 28, 1998 Pittsburgh, PA |
16:00 |
| 4 | Mankind vs. Kane (with Undertaker) went to a no contest | Singles Hell in a Cell | Raw Is War | August 24, 1998 Philadelphia, PA |
7:41 |
| 5 | Undertaker defeated The Big Boss Man | Singles Hell in a Cell | WrestleMania XV | March 28, 1999 Philadelphia, PA |
9:48 |
| 6 | Triple H (c) defeated Cactus Jack | Singles Hell in a Cell for the WWF Championship. If Mick "Cactus Jack" Foley lost, he would have to retire as an active wrestler in the WWF. | No Way Out | February 27, 2000 Hartford, CT |
23:59 |
| 7 | Kurt Angle (c) defeated Undertaker, Triple H, Steve Austin, Rikishi, and The Rock | Armageddon Hell in a Cell for the WWF Championship | Armageddon | December 10, 2000 Birmingham, AL |
32:26 |
| 8 | Triple H defeated Chris Jericho | Singles Hell in a Cell | Judgment Day | May 19, 2002 Nashville, TN |
24:31 |
| 9 | Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Undertaker | Singles Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship | No Mercy | October 20, 2002 North Little Rock, AR |
27:18 |
| 10 | Triple H (c) defeated Kevin Nash | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship with special guest referee Mick Foley | Bad Blood | June 15, 2003 Houston, TX |
21:01 |
| 11 | Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels | Singles Hell in a Cell | Bad Blood | June 13, 2004 Columbus, OH |
47:26 |
| 12 | Batista (c) defeated Triple H | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship | Vengeance | June 26, 2005 Las Vegas, NV |
26:54 |
| 13 | Undertaker defeated Randy Orton (with "Cowboy" Bob Orton) | Singles Hell in a Cell | Armageddon | December 18, 2005 Providence, RI |
30:31 |
| 14 | D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Big Show | 2-on-3 Handicap Hell in a Cell. This also marked the debut of the "amplified" version of the cell. | Unforgiven | September 17, 2006 Toronto, ON, Canada |
25:04 |
| 15 | Batista (c) defeated Undertaker | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship | Survivor Series | November 18, 2007 Miami, FL |
21:24 |
| 16 | Undertaker defeated Edge | Singles Hell in a Cell | SummerSlam | August 17, 2008 Indianapolis, IN |
26:43 |
| 17 | Undertaker defeated CM Punk (c) | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship; first time a championship has changed hands in a Hell in a Cell match | Hell in a Cell | October 4, 2009 Newark, NJ |
10:24 |
| 18 | Randy Orton defeated John Cena (c) | Singles Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship | 21:24 | ||
| 19 | D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) | Tornado Tag Team Hell in a Cell | 18:02 | ||
| 20 | Randy Orton (c) defeated Sheamus | Singles Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship | Hell in a Cell | October 3, 2010 Dallas, TX |
22:51 |
| 21 | Kane (c) defeated Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship | 21:38 | ||
| 22 | John Cena (c) defeated Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Jack Swagger, and Dolph Ziggler | Five-man Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship | Raw Dark match | September 26, 2011 Kansas City, MO |
5:03 |
| 23 | Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton (c) | Singles Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship | Hell in a Cell | October 2, 2011 New Orleans, LA |
15:54 |
| 24 | Alberto Del Rio defeated John Cena (c) and CM Punk | Triple Threat Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship | 23:58 |
On October 10, 2008, WWE released a three-disc DVD set entitled Hell in a Cell,[2] with 14 of the first 16 Hell in a Cell matches included in their entirety; the two matches that were excluded were Undertaker vs. The Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV and Edge vs. Undertaker at SummerSlam 2008; the latter match was too late to be included in the production of this DVD set. Before each match on the DVD, a short highlight video is shown detailing the events leading up to the match.