History of Hell in a Cell:

With The Randy Orton/Undertaker HIAC match at Armageddon being chosen to close out 2005 for WWE, I thought it would be nice to take a look back at all previous Hell in a Cell matches in WWE history.

Hell in a Cell has been referred to as the most violent, barbaric, and demonic match that the WWE has to offer. Careers have been shortened and ended in this type of match. The ominous structure has been the battleground of some of the most violent matches in wrestling history, and has showcased some of the most amazing moments that have ever been seen in this business.

1) The Undertaker vs. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels at Badd Blood October 1997

It is usually the case that whenever a gimmick match is created, the first one is usually considered the best. The Razor/HBK ladder match from WMX was the first of its kind on a WWE PPV, and is usually regarded as the best Ladder match. The same goes for the Elimination Chamber, as most people consider the first one at Survivor Series 2002 to be the best.

The same can be said for Hell in a Cell, as most people look back on this match as being the best of all Hell in a Cell matches. I remember the first time I saw this ominous structure. It was a 16 ft high steel mesh cage that surrounded the ring area rather than attached to the sides of the ring and it had a roof on top. I knew we were going to see something special and we got it. The Undertaker obliterated Shawn Michaels and beat up and down every side of the cage. The brutality went back and forth for a while until Shawn Michaels beat up a camera man, and the cage had to be opened to the injured camera out of the cell. Then the fun began!

Both men exited that cell and The Undertaker rammed Shawn’s face up against the wall the cage. Shawn did probably the nastiest blade job of his career as he was bleeding buckets. To the shock of everyone, Shawn climbed up the cage to get away from Taker, but The Dead Man followed. The crowd watched in amazement as both men were on the very top of this grand structure and I personally will never forget the visual of The Undertaker slamming Shawn Michaels on top of the steel mesh roof of the cell. It was amazing. Shawn tried to run away and climb back down on the other side, but Taker kicked him off the side of the wall, and HBK went crashing down through the announce table (I believe this was the first time a spot like this had ever been done before)

The fight spilled back into the cell where The Undertaker nailed Shawn with a steel chair and literally left him laying in a pool of his own blood. The Undertaker then signaled for The Tombstone when the lights suddenly went out and Kane made his debut. The Undertaker’s brother stormed down to the ring ripped the cell door off its hinges and gave The Undertaker the Tombstone. Shawn then crawled out of the puddle of blood he was in and then crawled on top of Taker for the winning pinfall.

Violence, brutality, an amazing debut, and some of the most memorable visuals in wrestling history: Is it any wonder that this match is considered a classic. This match set the standard for Hell in a Cell matches, and in my opinion, it’s never been topped as far as match quality goes, and it still stands as the best of its kind.

2) The Undertaker/”Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Mankind/Kane on Raw June 1998

Contrary to popular belief, the second Hell in a Cell match was not the famous King of the Ring 1998 match between Mankind and The Undertaker, but this match that was held on free TV just a few weeks prior. This encounter wasn’t very memorable and was merely a teaser for the big matches between Austin/Kane and Taker/Mankind at the King of the Ring PPV. No team was declared victorious as Austin brawled on top of the cage with Kane and Undertaker beat and bloodied Paul Bearer inside the cage.

3) The Undertaker vs. Mankind at King of the Ring June 1998

Taker vs. HBK might be the best Hell in a Cell match, but this one is the most famous. In a very surprising move, Mankind climbed to the top of the cell before the match officially began. Undertaker made his entrance and was more than happy to meet Mankind up there. Both men brawled for a while up on the roof when out of nowhere, the unbelievable happened. The Undertaker gabbed Mankind and threw him off the very top of the cell and through the announce table below. HBK had been knocked off the cell through the table before, but he was about half way down the wall of the cell when he took the fall. Mankind was at the very top and was sent crashing down. Almost as amazing as the fall was the crowd reaction as they erupted with excitement. EMTs came down to put Mankind on the stretcher, and after a few minutes, people began to think that the match was indeed over.

But it wasn’t! About half way up the aisle, we got a shot of Mick Foley (Mankind) actually standing and fighting off the EMTs as he climbed back up the cell. The Undertaker once again climbed up after him. Foley’s night only got worse as The Undertaker grabbed him around the throat and chokeslammed him on the roof the cell. As Foley’s body hit the steel it was like a knife through butter as Foley’s 300lbs body broke right through the roof of the cage and he went crashing down to the ring mat below. In interviews since the match occurred, The Undertaker has said that when Foley’s body hit the ring mat, he thought for sure he was dead.

Foley was somehow able to finish the match, even though it looked as if he was barely able to walk, and he even admitted in his book that he doesn’t remember all of what happened after the second fall. That it probably a good thing, as the match ended with The Undertaker slamming Foley on a bed of thumbtacks twice, and the finishing him off with The Tombstone Piledriver.

At the time many said that this was the greatest match of all time, but I disagree, and even Foley and Taker would disagree with that as well. However, I have never seen such brutality in wrestling before in my life. Mick Foley’s body was pushed to the limit, and suffered many injuries in the match. I still have no idea how he was even able to finish that match, and I am not surprised that it is the most famous match of both men’s careers.

4) Mankind vs. Kane on Raw August 1998

The Undertaker/Mankind Hell in a Cell match had become an instant classic among the fans. To capitalize on all this hype, the bookers decided to give away a Hell in a Cell match on free TV. Mankind and Kane battled it out on an episode of Raw inside the devilish structure. The funny thing about this particular match is that Foley took the bump of the side of the cage that Shawn took in the first match in 1997. Foley often jokes that this spot gave him a worse injury that the hellacious fall that he took from the top of the cage two months earlier, but nobody remembers it. Well because it was given a way for free with no real hype, people are more likely to forget that it happened. The match ended with both Undertaker and Steve Austin interfering and no official winner being named. Austin was able to bust Kane open with a steel chair. Mankind also knocked Kane rump first into a pile of thumbtacks. It’s a shame that nobody really remembers this match as it was actually quite entertaining.

5) The Undertaker vs. The Big Bossman at Wrestlemania XV March 1998

This match was put on Wrestlemania for the sole purpose of jacking the buy rates with promises of a Hell in a Cell match. Well unfortunately, The Undertaker was injured at the time, and The Big Bossman was passed his prime and unable to bump like HBK or Foley, so I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I was right. The match stayed entirely inside the cell, both men bled, and at one point Bossman handcuffed Taker to the cell wall and beat on him with a nightstick, but the chain broke. Undertaker came back and won the match with The Tombstone. More memorable than the match itself, The Brood dropped down on safety harnesses from the top of the arena, and dropped a noose down from the roof of the cell. The Undertaker then took the noose, wrapped it around Bossman’s neck, and Paul Bearer took the remote control and raised the cell up, which resulted in Bossman being hung from the cell! Realistically, this should have killed him, but as bad as the match was, it was nice to get a scary visual out of it. However, that visual doesn’t change the fact that this match was boring, and I would say the worst out of all Taker’s Wrestlemania matches.

6) Al Snow vs. The Big Bossman in The Kennel From Hell for The Hardcore Championship at Unforgiven September 1999

The legacy of Hell in the Cell was dragged through the mud with this crappy encounter. Technically this wasn’t a Hell in a Cell match, but the Hell in a Cell structure was involved and what a horrible way to use it. A regular steel cage was set up around the ring and then the Hell in a Cell was put on top of that. In between the two cages was a group of rabid dogs. Bossman and Snow started off in the ring and the crap ensued. Not only was the match horrendously boring, but the “rabid dogs” seemed to be more interested in having sex and leaving little turds around ringside than they did in attacking any wrestler who tried to leave the cage. After one of the worst matches in wrestling history, Al Snow emerged victorious when he escaped The Hell in a Cell.

The saving grace of this match is that Mick Foley put it on his “Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops” DVD with his own special commentary. I can honestly say that Mick’s commentary for this match made it worth sitting through again as it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in my life. However, after this match, I thought that the Hell in a Cell match was dead. Thank Goodness I was wrong.

7) Triple H vs. Cactus Jack for the WWF World Championship at No Way Out February 2000

Mick Foley, now using his most famous persona Cactus Jack, put his career on the line in this match, vowing that he would retire if he did not win. Triple H had really stepped up his game over the last year, and this match was almost certain to be a classic. After some intense brawling inside the cell, Cactus was able to bust Triple H open and hit an amazing elbow drop on Triple H from the top rope to the floor outside the ring. Once again, the match spilled out side the cage, this time after Cactus broke a hole in the wall of the cell by throwing the steel ring steps at it. Cactus then brought out his favorite weapon of choice, a 2X4 wrapped in barbed wire. The weapon came into play and both men bled because of it. Once again, Mick Foley was knocked of the side of the cage and through the announce table, but he fought his way back up and brawled with Triple H on top of the cell. In a sick and shocking “Hell in a Cell Moment”, Cactus took the Barbed Wire 2X4 and lit it on fire and hit Triple H with it! He then went to piledrive Triple H on the roof the cell, but Triple H flipped him up and in a repeat of King of the Ring 1998, Foley went crashing through the roof of the cell and hit the ring mat, this time breaking through the ring itself (unlike last time, Foley was heavily protected, thank heavens) Triple H then climbed down to the ring, and then gave Cactus Jack The Pedigree. In one of the most heartbreaking moments in wrestling history, Mick Foley’s career was ended by Triple H.

This match brought back my faith in the Hell in a Cell as Foley and Triple H were able to put on a great and brutal match. This match was also a good swan song for Foley’s amazing career.

8) Kurt Angle vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Rikishi for WWF World Championship at Armageddon December 2000

The firsts ever 6-Pac Challenge inside the demonic Hell in a Cell turned out to be a great way to close 2000 for the WWF. Will all of the different feuds between the six men, it made for an explosive encounter. It started with a wild brawl inside the cell as Triple H was busted open early by the combined efforts of The Undertaker and Steve Austin. Men then started to hit finishing moves left and right adding to the craziness.

Vince McMahon came down to the ring on a flat bed truck which he used to try and tear the cell down, fearing that the match would harm six of his top superstars. Commissioner Mick Foley put a stop to that after Vince was able to use the truck to rip the door off. Because the door was ripped off, the insanity soon spilled outside the cell and on the stage. The stage was decorated with cars from the Briscoe Body Shop, and wrestlers were getting slammed on those things left and right. Eventually, Triple H, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and Kurt Angle all climbed up to the top of the cell and continued the madness. At this point all six men were bleeding, even Angle who had never bled in a match before. Rikishi went up to the cell and attacked The Undertaker while everyone else went back inside the cell. This allowed Taker to make yet another HIAC highlight as he grabbed Rikishi around the throat and shoved him off the top of the cell with the 400lb Rikishi landing in the flatbed truck that Vince had brought down earlier. Inside the cell, the match continued as the fans got a teaser for their Wrestlemania main event as Austin and The Rock went one on one. Austin eventually hit the Stone Cold Stunner on The Rock, but Triple H prevented the pin from being made, and in all the confusion, Kurt Angle was able to sneak in the winning pinfall on The Rock.

This wasn’t really much of a match, but it was insane and wild brawling for half an hour and for that it was a highly entertaining bout. It would be the last Hell in a Cell match for about a year and a half.

9) Triple H vs. Chris Jericho at Judgment Day May 2002

In one of the least memorable Hell in a Cell encounters, Triple H took on Chris Jericho in a rematch from Wrestlemania X-8. The match was not bad by any means, but the feud between Jericho and Triple H had already flopped with the less than stellar match at Wrestlemania, and nobody really cared about this match. It seemed as if they were trying to add some new dimensions to the match, including making it falls count anywhere and introducing weapons like ladders and sledgehammers. The match was very violent with even the referee Timmy White taking a nasty bump on the wall of the cage (he would retire after this match) Like most previous Hell in a Cell matches, the match went outside the cage and on top of the cell. Triple H then hit The Pedigree on Jericho while on top of the cage and scored the pinfall.

This match was quite good, but it didn’t seem to capture the same magic that most of the previous Hell in a Cell matches had. When they left the cell, I got the feeling like “I’ve seen this before” and there is no way that anybody is going to be crazy enough to try and top Mick Foley from King of the Ring 1998, so nobody is going to go flying off of it like he did. I enjoyed this match, but I felt that this needed to be the last Hell in a Cell for a while.

10) The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at No Mercy October 2002

Triple H and Chris Jericho tried to do the same formula for HIAC that we had seen before and find someway to add something new to Hell in a Cell, and they didn’t really succeed in doing that despite their efforts. Undertaker and Brock went a different route. Instead of trying to top what has already been done, they decided to try something different and that was they did not leave the cell at any point in the match. The end result was an awesome and violent brawl for the championship. At one point, Brock hit Taker with the ring steps and the blood was POURING out of Taker’s head. I have never seen Taker bleed like that. Another cool part of the match is that in the build up to the match, Taker had his hand broken and was wearing the cast. This added an extra psychology aspect to the bout as Taker sold the injury very well, and when the cast was ripped off his hand looked limp. Brock was bleeding as well as the match settled down to a knock down drag out fight. It turned out to be an amazing match, and I think WWE even had it listed as the 2002 match of the year (it was certainly a contender) At the end of the match, The Undertaker went for the Tombstone, but Brock flipped him over, threw Taker up on his shoulders and hit the F-5. In a major shock, Brock Lesnar had cleanly defeated The Undertaker in The Hell in a Cell, the match that Taker made famous. It was an excellent match, and I would say the best Hell in a Cell behind the original. After this match, all future Hell in a Cell matches stayed entirely inside the cell and thus the match was reinvented.

11) Triple H vs. Kevin Nash for the World Heavyweight Championship at Bad Blood May 2003

People seem to remember this match as being one of the worst if not the worst Hell in a Cell. I will admit, it is in no way a classic, but I didn’t think it was bad by any stretch of the imagination. I actually enjoyed the match, and it was certainly better than the other matches on that card, including the disappointing HBK vs. Flair encounter. Mick Foley was the special guest referee for this match.

Like most of the previous Hell in a Cell matches, we got some big time violence. The most notable spot is when Triple H emptied out a tool box and attacked Nash with a hammer and a screwdriver. And like the Cactus/Triple H Hell in a Cell in 2000, we got to see the Barbed Wire 2X4. Needless to say there was a good amount of blood in this one. We got a pretty good brawl out of it and even Mick Foley took some bumps and got busted open. Triple H kicked out of the Jackknife Powerbomb, and eventually hit The Pedigree for the win. I think this is probably the most underrated Hell in a Cell match, and I really don’t think it’s as bad as everyone seems to think it is.

12) “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H at Bad Blood May 2004

When he returned in 2002, Shawn Michaels began a bitter rivalry with Triple H that resulted in several classic matches, some of them ending indecisively. It was only natural that this bitter feud be settled inside the Hell in a Cell, the match that Shawn initially made famous and Triple H had dominated in recent years. The match capped off the Bad Blood PPV in a major way as the bout went close to 50 minutes. The brutality was dragged out and paced perfectly as both men took a tremendous beating. The spot of the match came when Shawn brought in a ladder, climbed it, and gave his trademark elbow drop onto Triple H through a table. Both men took each other to the limit, but it would be Triple H who would emerge victorious as he hit HBK with 3 Pedigrees for the win.

This match was not only an excellent Hell in a Cell match, but it also capped off the Shawn/Triple H feud perfectly. This was arguably the best match that these two had together.

13) “The Animal” Batista vs. Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Vengeance June 2005

Up to this point, Triple H had been involved in 4 one on one Hell in a Cell matches, and had never lost. Batista has already defeated Triple H twice in their previous encounters, and he planned on ending The Game’s undefeated streak inside the Hell in a Cell. A new weapon was introduced to Hell in a Cell in this match, and that was a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire, which Triple H used to hit Batista’s bare back and Batista used to grind the flesh from Triple H’s face. After the use of this weapon, the blood of both men was all over the place. Triple H’s trademark sledgehammer came into play as both men used it to their advantage. Triple H also took a nasty spinebuster on the steel steps, and Batista finished him off with The Batista Bomb. Batista went 3-0 over Triple H and ended his undefeated streak inside the dreadful Hell in a Cell.

This has been considered to be one of the best matches of 2005 and I have to agree. It was very brutal, and it was Batista's first classic match.

- At Armageddon 2005, we will be getting the 14th Hell in a Cell match as The Undertaker, the man who along with Triple H has been defined as one of The Kings of Hell in a Cell, takes on The Legend Killer Randy Orton who will be stepping inside the Cell for the first time.

Hell in a Cell has been the one the trademark matches of the WWE since 1997. The brutality that has been showcased inside, outside, and on top of this structure have been unequaled by any other match that the WWE has had to offer.

My HIAC Ranking from Best to Worst

1) Taker vs. HBK
2) Taker vs. Brock
3) Foley vs. HHH
4) HBK vs. HHH
5) Taker vs. Foley
6) Batista vs. HHH
7) HHH vs. Jericho
8) HHH vs. Nash
9) 6 Pac Challenge
10) Mankind vs. Kane
11) Taker vs. Bossman
12) Austin/Taker vs. Kane/Mankind
13) Snow vs. Bossman