With the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view right around the corner, here’s a look back at the 10 greatest Hell In A Cell matches in WWE history.
In 1997, the World Wrestling Federation, obviously now know as WWE, introduced a structure never before seen in the company. For years, WWE fans had been treated to steel cage matches (remember the blue cage) but Hell In A Cell not only had a top to it, but it also covered the ringside area as opposed to just the squared circle itself.
Promotions in Memphis had used a similar structure, as had NWA and WCW for their WarGames matches, but this was something completely new to WWE. Jim Cornette is believed to be the creator of the Hell In A Cell structure and Vince Russo takes credit for the name.
The structure debuted in 1997 in a match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels (more on that match in a bit) and since its inception, there have been 33 Hell In A Cell matches with three more to take place this Sunday at the now-annual WWE pay-per-view, one of which will feature the first Hell In A Cell match between two women as Sasha Banks vs Charlotte will probably close out the night.
While many of them have been fantastic, they haven’t all been winners. Who can forget the train wreck between The Undertaker and Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV or either of the confrontations between CM Punk and Ryback? But for the most part, these matches, usually designed to be the end of a feud, have been pretty solid with a select few being some of the most memorable matches in WWE history.
Here’s a look at the top 10 Hell In A Cell matches.
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10. John Cena vs CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio – Hell In A Cell 2011
Triple threat matches are usually a bit difficult to pull off but at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in 2011, John Cena, CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio put on quite a show.
The months leading up to the match were quite entertaining as well. If you remember, this was the summer that CM Punk delivered his epic “pipebomb” before “leaving” the company, only to return a short time later with his WWE Championship that he had won from John Cena. The problem was that Cena had already won the replacement title. This led to a classic match between the two at SummerSlam in which Punk emerged victorious to become the “real” champ only for Del Rio to cash in his Money in the Bank contract to steal the title away. Naturally, Cena would then beat Del Rio for the title meaning that all three men were involved in the title picture, which led to this matchup.
There were some great moments early on in this match between the three men, including a great bit with the steps in which Punk mocked Cena at one point, only to have Del Rio slash his back open a few moments later. However, the greatest moment came when Del Rio actually tricked Cena into leaving the cell, making it a one-on-one match between he and Punk with Cena looking on with no way to save his championship.
A steel pipe became the deciding factor in the match as Del Rio was able to recapture the WWE Championship and solidified his place as one of the top heels in the company. The chemistry between these three men throughout the entire feud was excellent and the match itself was very fun to watch … even if what happened with The Miz and R-Truth afterwards was a bit ridiculous.
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9. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – Bad Blood 2004
No matter what the circumstances, whenever Shawn Michaels and Triple H were in the ring against one another you knew you were going to see something spectacular, and their Hell In A Cell match from the Bad Blood pay-per-view in 2004 was no different. Starting with their epic battle at SummerSlam in 2002, the two former best friends engaged in some fantastic matches with one another (and others at times) and this one took things to great heights.
Now, on a top 10 list you might think that a match between HBK and HHH would be a little bit higher and the only reason that it’s not is because they really didn’t use the actual cell all that much. With that being said, that really didn’t make this match any less brutal as both men laid everything on the line and really got after one another. You have to remember that this is back when chair shots to the head were still a thing and both men took full advantage of that and busted each other open in that manner.
This match essentially turned into a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match inside Hell In A Cell as one of the high spots saw Michaels leap from a ladder to drop an elbow on HHH who just happened to be on his back on a table in the middle of the ring. However, Trips would pick up the win with a Pedigree after more than 47 minutes, making this encounter the longest Hell In A Cell match in history.
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8. Batista vs Triple H – Vengeance 2005
The Hell In A Cell match from Vengeance in 2005 between Batista and Triple H has to be considered one of the more brutal HIAC matches in history. This is one of Batista’s best feuds during his time in WWE and it’s no surprise that Triple H was his running mate for it. The best confrontations in wrestling usually stem from the “friends turned enemies” model and this one was done extremely well.
Given their history as part of the Evolution stable, The Game and The Animal would feud for months over the World Heavyweight Championship that Batista had won at WrestleMania 21. After successfully defending the Big Gold Belt at Backlash, the Hell In A Cell match at Vengeance was Trips’ last chance to win back the title and would go to great lengths to do so. The problem for him was that Batista would also do anything to retain and that led to a great match to finish this program.
While weapons are usually the standard for Hell In A Cell matches, these two took it to the next level with a wild assortment of unorthodox choices. Sure, HHH would use his trademark sledgehammer in this contest but there was also a large steel chain that would be used as a whip and somewhat of a noose. And while the WWE Universe had been treated to a bat wrapped in barbed wire in the past, a chair wrapped in barbed wire came into heavy play during this match, which made this one of the bloodier matches inside the cell — and that’s saying something. In the end, Batista would retain his championship and solidify his status as one of the biggest stars in WWE.
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7. Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker – No Mercy 2002
Younger WWE fans may only remember the Hell In A Cell match that took place at last year’s pay-per-view event between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, but the reality is that the better HIAC match between the two actually took place 13 years earlier at No Mercy.
At that time, Lesnar had catapulted into the spotlight by taking out Hulk Hogan in one of his most memorable WWE moments and had beaten The Rock to capture the WWE Championship mere months after his debut. In what was then the ultimate rookie vs veteran battle, he engaged in some great battles with The Undertaker, including battling to a no-contest at Unforgiven, and this feud would culminate inside the unfriendly confines of the cell.
Back then, only eight HIAC matches had taken place and ‘Taker had been in five of them, meaning Lesnar was going in as the underdog. However, The Next Big Thing would gain an advantage by breaking The Undertaker’s hand prior to the match, meaning that The Phenom would be wearing a cast for this marquee matchup.
Once the two finally entered Hell In A Cell, all bets were off and these two beat the hell out of each other. The Undertaker would use the cast to his advantage and busted Lesnar open very early on, but Lesnar would fight back (remember when Lesnar actually had to fight back) and turn the tables by focusing in on the injury, which included a great spot when he continually bashed ‘Taker’s arm against the cell using a chair. If he wasn’t already, Lesnar confirmed that he was now the guy to beat in WWE by turning a Tombstone into an F5 to pick up the victory and climbed on top of the cell to celebrate with his title. Simply great stuff in this one.
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6. Six-Pack Challenge – Armageddon 2000
In one of the most star-studded matches in WWE history –and certainly the biggest Hell In A Cell match of all time– Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H and Rikishi all stepped inside the cell to take on WWE Champion Kurt Angle in a six-pack challenge for the title. It’s crazy to think of how much talent was involved in this match and all six men certainly delivered in this high-profile match at Armageddon in 2000.
Angle had amazingly captured the title less than a year after his debut with the company and was truly tested in his first Hell In A Cell match. Rikishi and The Rock were also making their respective debuts in the cell, and while some still think that Rikishi didn’t belong in this match, he had taken his place as one of the most hated villains in WWE after being a dancing mid-carder at best for quite a while. The Rock, also in his first HIAC, had feuded with Triple H off and on for a while and Stone Cold also had his problems with The Game. Throw in The Undertaker, who had participated in four of the first six HIAC matches, and you knew you were going to get a great match and that’s exactly what happened.
For more than half an hour, the six men were in the ring, out of the ring, on top of the cell, including a great spot where ‘Taker tossed Rikishi off the top of the cage into the bed of a pickup truck. All six men were busted open at one point or another and they put each other through absolute hell. The finish left a bit to be desired as Angle pinned The Rock, who was on the losing end of a Stone Cold Stunner, but everything else was very solid.
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5. The Undertaker vs Mankind – King of the Ring 1998
No matter how many Hell In A Cell matches end up taking place throughout WWE history, the matchup between Mick Foley’s Mankind character and The Undertaker at King of the Ring in 1998 will always be the most popular. And there’s certainly plenty of reasons for that.
At this point, there had been only a single one-on-one Hell In A Cell match (more on that later) so Mankind and ‘Taker wanted to make this a sight to see and they accomplished that pretty quickly. The match didn’t even start in the ring as The Undertaker followed Foley up to the top of the structure, and within just a few minutes, in perhaps the most breathtaking spot in wrestling history, Mankind was hurled off the top of the cell onto the announce table at ringside. And let’s be honest here: Jim Ross’ call made the spot that much better with his legendary call. But even after nearly 20 years, this is hard to watch knowing what could have happened.
However, what’s even more uncomfortable is that, despite being thrown off the top of the cage, Foley decided to continue and climbed back up, which led to the second big spot of the match. Now, while the first big spot was completely planned, the second one when Foley fell through the cage onto the mat was not and it honestly could have killed him. But Foley being Foley, he once again decided to continue and actually got a little bit of offense in before being thrown onto the bag of tacks that he himself had brought into the ring. Throw in a Tombstone at the end and the match was mercifully over.
Foley became a wrestling god because of this match and he certainly deserves it. With that being said, it actually wasn’t much of a match as opposed to being a nice highlight reel. That’s why it’s only ranked here at number five.
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4. The Undertaker vs Edge – SummerSlam 2008
The 2008 feud between The Undertaker and Edge may be one of the most underrated in WWE history. The two engaged in a huge confrontation at WrestleMania XXIV for the World Heavyweight Championship, obviously won by The Undertaker using his Hell’s Gate submission hold, which Edge attempted to get banned after ‘Taker used it again on multiple occasions to defeat him. Edge’s onscreen partner and Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero would go on to strip The Deadman of the title and put it up for grabs at ECW’s One Night Stand in a Table, Ladders and Chairs match, which was won by Edge after some outside interference. Edge would later lose the title to CM Punk.
However, things weren’t done between Edge and The Undertaker. After Edge was caught cheating with Alicia Fox, Guerrero vowed vengeance and booked Edge in a Hell In A Cell match at SummerSlam against a returning Undertaker, whom she had “banished” from WWE for a couple of months.
Even after multiple pay-per-view matches against one another that year, this match still had a fresh feel to it, which is difficult to achieve, as the two battled back and forth for nearly half an hour in a very physical contest. Naturally, tables, ladders and chairs were involved in the match and even more weapons became involved after Edge speared ‘Taker through the structure and onto the announce table, bringing one of the television monitors into play. In one of the high spots of the match, Edge was thrown from the top rope onto a stack of tables and would ultimately lose the match. To make matters worse, Edge was chokeslammed through the ring to close things out. Great match. Great program.
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3. The Undertaker vs Triple H – WrestleMania XXVIII
A lot of people might not put this “End of an Era” match from WrestleMania XXVIII this high on the list, but this was an absolute classic that actually made you think that The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania might actually come to an end. After two previous epic WrestleMania encounters, the two men who had participated in the most Hell In A Cell matches in history went at it one more time. Throw in Shawn Michaels –whom The Undertaker had retired two years earlier– as the special guest referee and this was destined to be an instant classic.
Yes, there were a lot of things that happened in this match that were expected. There were a ton of two-and-a-half count nearfalls (that happens in all recent Undertaker WrestleMania matches), plenty of brutal spots, and of course the inevitable involvement of HBK in the match. But it was done to such perfection that it really didn’t matter, did it? Just Michaels’ facial expressions alone are enough to make this dramatic, but throw in some Sweet Chin Music that Trips turns into a Pedigree, and any wrestling fan, especially those from the Attitude Era, was marking out like crazy.
This wasn’t just one of the best Hell In A Cell matches in history but one of the best matches in The Undertaker’s storied WrestleMania career. In the end, The Deadman was able to overcome the odds and hit a Tombstone on HHH to seal the victory and move his WrestleMania record to 20-0. Some may not like what happened following the match, but watching Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Undertaker walk up the ramp together was one of the coolest moments that a wrestling fan could witness. Amazing. And that’s not the last that you’ll see any of those three names as we move on to the top two.
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2. Cactus Jack vs Triple H – No Way Out 2000
While Mick Foley’s Hell In A Cell career will always be defined by his encounter with The Undertaker at King of the Ring in 1998, his best match HIAC match came against Triple H at No Way Out in 2000. Just a month earlier, Triple H and Foley had a great match at the Royal Rumble and the feud continued into this event. The two put on a great show with some added drama thrown into the mix. Not only was the WWE Championship up for grabs but Mick Foley’s career was on the line as well.
This match had it all. From the outset, everything seemed to be perfectly timed out and calculated. Nothing seemed rushed at all and things just happened when they needed to happen. Everyone knew that the match would be barbaric and it certainly was that. There was no rushing to the outside as the two battled inside for a while and beat the hell out of each other. When it was time to go the outside, they went. But even the way they got outside was great as Foley attempted to throw the steps at HHH and instead went through the cage.
There was piledriver on the announce table before the action moved to the top of the cage where Foley not only used a two-by-four wrapped in barbed wire but actually lit it on fire to boot, hitting Trips’ bloodied face with it before the tide turned in the match. While not as dramatic as the original (and not as unexpected this time), Foley was backdropped through the cage onto the mat. This time around, there was a crash pad to break his fall, but even hitting the exact spot he needed to just shows how perfectly crafted this match was. Foley tried to continue the match and his career but was stopped by a Pedigree for the 1-2-3 and the main stretch of his career was over.
Foley would have more matches throughout his career but none, even the match with Edge years later, would reach the greatness that this one did.
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1. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker – Badd Blood 1997
To end this list of the greatest Hell In A Cell matches in WWE history, we’re going all the way back to the beginning when Shawn Michaels battled The Undertaker at In Your House: Badd Blood on October 5, 1997. Not only was this a great match and a great scared heel performance from HBK, it’s part of a timeline that changed the course of WWE forever. And it featured an amazing debut in the process.
At SummerSlam that year, Michaels was a special guest referee in the WWE Championship match between Bret Hart and The Undertaker, which Hart would win due to HBK inadvertently hitting ‘Taker with a chair that was meant for The Hitman. This essentially turned Michaels heel in the process and he was constantly being helped in his matches by Triple H and Chyna. So when The Undertaker squared off with the man who had cost him the title in a No. 1 Contender’s match for the title, Hell In A Cell was introduced to make Michaels face The Deadman one-on-one with no chance of outside interference and he played it up beautifully upon entering the cell for the first time. He looked believably frightened prior to the bout, and once the match started, it was easy to see why.
HBK took an absolute beating, bumping around the ring and into the cell as only Shawn Michaels can do. He did eventually get some offense in before the action spilled to the outside and to the top of the cage. From there, we were treated to the iconic spot of Michaels hanging onto the cage with one hand before crashing into the announce table, leaving the audience in awe.
However, there was more awe to come. As The Undertaker seemingly had everything under control and was about to pick up the victory, a debuting Kane ripped the door off of the cage and entered the ring to encounter his brother and lay him out with a Tombstone, allowing HBK to pick up the victory in the process. With the victory, Michaels would go on to face Bret Hart at Survivor Series in Montreal (I think we all remember how that turned out) and Kane and The Undertaker would start their famous feud.
Everything about this match was great, and even without a clean ending, it was something that we hadn’t seen in WWE and it was a crucial part of wresting history.
And there you have it, the top 10 Hell In A Cell matches in history. What’s your favorite?
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