Hell in a Cell

The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced at Badd Blood on October 5, 1997, at the Kiel Center, now known as Enterprise Center, in St. Louis, Missouri. The background to the inaugural match was built on The Undertaker's loss to Bret Hart two months prior at 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, a larger roofed structure was constructed instead of a normal cage enclosing only the ring, 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 and for cameras to be situated at ringside. At Badd Blood, Michaels defeated The Undertaker (with interference from The Undertaker's debuting half-brother Kane), becoming the number-one contender to the WWF Championship. The original concept for the Hell in a Cell structure was created by Jim Cornette. He described his concept as a combination of a cage surrounding the majority of the ringside area (the design, he stated, was popular in Memphis wrestling promotions) and the cage used in both the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling for their WarGames matches (which had a top on the cage).[1] On an October 2015 video podcast, Vince Russo said Cornette probably did come up with the concept, but the name Hell in a Cell came from him.[2] WWE credits the match as being based on the Last Battle of Atlanta.[3]

The 1998 Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind remains one of the most iconic matches of all time, with its level of extreme violence and dangerous spots, which led to Mankind getting legitimately knocked unconscious at the end of the match and suffering multiple injuries towards the end of the match. Despite the match's popularity, it remains controversial due to the wrestler's lack of safety. In 2011, this incident was named the number one "OMG!" incident in WWE history. Journalist Michael Landsberg called it "maybe the most famous match ever."[4][5] The first title defense in Hell in a Cell was at No Way Out in February 2000 with Triple H defending the WWF Championship against Cactus Jack. The first title change inside Hell in a Cell was in October 2009, when The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from CM Punk. The longest Hell in a Cell match was held at Bad Blood in June 2004 between Triple H and Shawn Michaels at over 47 minutes. The Undertaker has been involved in the most Hell in a Cell matches, having competed in fourteen and having the most victories at eight. All Hell in a Cell matches have been broadcast live on pay-per-view except for five matches, three of which were televised on Raw Is War, later Monday Night Raw, with two in 1998 and one in 2021 and one on Friday Night SmackDown also in 2021. The Hell in a Cell match on the June 15 episode of Raw Is War showcasing Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker against Kane and Mankind, ended with Austin and Undertaker winning after Raw Is War went off the air. On the August 24 episode of Raw Is War, Mankind fought Kane (his tag team partner at the time) in a Hell in a Cell match. This match went to a no-contest after Austin interfered and assaulted Kane. On the June 18, 2021, episode of Friday Night SmackDown, the first televised title match contested inside the structure took place between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio for the WWE Universal Championship which saw Reigns retain the title via submission. Three days later on the June 21, 2021, episode of Monday Night Raw, WWE Champion Bobby Lashley faced Xavier Woods in a non-title Hell in a Cell match which saw Lashley win via submission. Only one Hell in a Cell match was not televised, the match took place on the September 26 episode of Raw in 2011 as a dark match where John Cena retained the WWE Championship in a five-way match against Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, and CM Punk in a match that lasted only 5 minutes, making it the shortest Hell in a Cell match. Hell in a Cell matches have appeared at WWF/WWE's flagship event WrestleMania four times (XV, XXVIII, 32, and 39). In 2009, WWE debuted its first pay-per-view event to be named Hell in a Cell.

In 2016, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks became the first women to step inside the Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell in October 2016 when Banks defended the Raw Women's Championship against Flair, who won the match.

Ahead of Hell in a Cell in September 2018, the structure went through a significant overhaul. The fully crimson-red structure is smaller, with the wires being less pliable, making the structure stronger, yet lighter. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy faced off against each other in the first crimson cell, a match which Orton won.[6] The crimson cell would be swapped out for the standard gray one come WrestleMania 39 in 2023.

June 18–21, 2021 marked the following records: three shows featuring Hell in a Cell matches (SmackDown, Hell in a Cell PPV, and Raw), the first-ever SmackDown Hell in a Cell match, and the first-ever competitor to compete in 2 back-to-back Hell in a Cell matches (Bobby Lashley).

The first Hell in a Cell match in 1997 between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels was highly acclaimed, with Dave Meltzer giving it 5 stars, a feat that no other Hell in a Cell match would accomplish until the one between Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes in 2022.[7] Some critics claimed that the Hell in a Cell has been watered down during the later years, particularly during the 2010s, most notably the main event between Seth Rollins and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in 2019.[8] Former WWE producer Arn Anderson said that WWE overused the concept, as not many rivalries justified a match of that caliber.[9] Answering Anderson, Mick Foley said he did not think the Hell in a Cell had been overused.[10]

• Elimination Chamber

• Official website