I am back for another ranking piece, I will be giving you my “Top 10 Best Hell In A Cell Matches”. I hope you all enjoy the list and my reasons for why I place them where I do.
No. 10 Spot
Six Pack Challenge for The WWE Championship from Armageddon (2000)
My explanation to why this falls at number ten. This match was fun and exciting, but the issue i had is that this match was all over the place. Though, all six men killed it and it was fun to watch.
The year 2000 was a banner year for storytelling in World Wrestling Entertainment. Triple H and The Rock feuded on and off. Kurt Angle rose through the ranks, becoming WWE champion just under one year into his career. Undertaker returned as the American Badass and Steve Austin successfully came back from a near-crippling neck injury to main event for the company. Most interesting was the evolution of Rikishi from fun opening match act to legitimate midcard star to main event villain.
In December, those stories and Superstars would come together for a huge Six-Pack Challenge match for the WWE Championship at the Armageddon pay-per-view.
Every bit as wild and chaotic as one would expect from a match involving those stars, the contest was an excellent way to cap off what may have been WWE’s greatest year.
All six Superstars bled buckets, Austin paired off with hated rival Triple H, Undertaker tossed Rikishi off the top of the steel structure and onto the bed of a pickup truck and the Texas Rattlesnake teased a future contest with The Rock.
No. 9 Spot
Batista vs. Undertaker from Survivor Series 07
Around the year of 2007. Both men faced off at WrestleMania 23, Backlash as Batista’s mission was to retain his championship at all coast. This Match was one versus one situation and this match was easily better than the six man Helena cell match Match was one versus one situation and this match was easily better than the six man Hell In A Cell match. A lot of people don’t put this match higher. Both Taker and Batista delivered. Batista and Undertaker had spent the majority of 2007 feuding with each other by the time Survivor Series approached in November. Their physical battles over the World Heavyweight Championship had been some of the bright spots of an otherwise drab year, but an injury to The Phenom had put a halt to their program.
They resumed their rivalry inside the steel structure that had been home to so many bloody, brutal and violent encounters over the years. Their Hell in a Cell match was no different. For over 20 minutes, the heavyweights delivered a high-impact, hard-hitting match that saw each man unleash their signature offense and even a few finishing maneuvers. Each determined to emerge from the event with the gold around their waist, kicking out of the moves and refusing to stay down. It took interference from the returning Edge and a shot to Undertaker’s face with a camera for Batista to be able to put away his opponent.
The finish set up a Triple Threat match the next month at Armageddon, but that match failed miserably to live up to the quality of the Hell in a Cell match, which ranked as one of the better and more intense matches of the year.
No. 8 Spot
Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch from Hell In A Cell 2019
Sasha Banks has delivered inside Hell In A Cell in my opinion. Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks easily put on the best Hell In A Cell match when it comes to the women’s matches. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch had great chemistry in their match. They tried new things which I appreciated. Typically, we as fans have seen every thing done inside Hell In A Cell. But they achieved in terms of giving us new spots we’ve never seen before. Both ladies put on one of the best women Hell In A Cell matches ever.
No. 7 Spot
Triple H vs. Batista from Vengeance 2005
This match was the two former Evolution teammates that worked a more bruising, physical style full of barbaric spots and stomach-churning violence. It was exactly what the Hell in a Cell match was originally intended to be. It was brutal and bloody and the perfect way for Triple H and Batista to end their rivalry. More importantly, it put Batista on the map and solidified his spot at the top of the industry. The strikes were stiff, the moves high impact and the weapon use bone-crunching. The competitors introduced a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire, Triple H grabbed hold of his faithful sledgehammer and Batista finished him off with a Batista Bomb onto the ring steps. Triple H put his protege over clean and Batista legitimized himself as the star of the next decade.
No. 6 Spot
Triple H vs. Shawn Micheals from Bad Blood 2004
Both men, who have been friends for years, became bitter enemies over Triple H’s jealousy. Michaels seemed to get all of the love when Triple H accomplished more. This made Triple H irate which was why he went after the Heart Break Kid. He knew the only way to end it was to end Michaels. He tried and tried and couldn’t seem to do it. So, he reduced to attacking him and costing him matches, especially for titles. So, Eric Bischoff told them that enough was enough, and that this rivalry would end at Bad Blood in a HIAC match.
Going into this match, Triple H has been in a few HIAC matches and never lost, well, never took the pinfall. Michaels had been in the first HIAC match ever and won it. So, two men, both undefeated in this match, were about to go at it. And go at it did they ever. This was the longest HIAC match on record at 47 minutes. So, the entire match was very well done because so much was done. I’m going to give you the highlight package, but I implore you to buy the HIAC DVD to watch this whole match or find it online. It is simply awesome and had some great spots that the two pulled off well.
No. 5 Spot
Undertaker vs. Edge from SummerSlam 2008
This bout is extremely important, because it came around soon after WWE had adopted their PG rating. It was assumed that as soon as the company went down this route, all forms of extreme violence would go the way of the dodo, thus defeating Hell In A Cell’s entire purpose. What Edge and Undertaker did was provide a great framework for how to make the stipulation work under those restrictions. Unfortunately, WWE haven’t always followed it since, but they proved the company’s most dangerous structure still worked on a family-friendly show. An underrated Undertaker Hell In A Cell match.
No. 4 Spot
Triple H vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania 28
After an epic brawl at WrestleMania 27 that saw Triple H come incredibly close to putting an end to Undertaker’s undefeated streak at the Showcase of the Immortals, The Game looked to finish what he started as he entered Hell in a Cell to do battle with The Phenom one year later at WrestleMania 28. With Shawn Michaels serving as guest referee, the industry icons delivered a dramatic contest full of heart-stopping near-falls and gasp-inducing spots. At one point, Michaels caught Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music, then Triple H followed up with the Pedigree. The crowd in Miami came unglued, thinking the most decorated streak in wrestling history was about to end. Then Undertaker shot his shoulder off the mat and the crowd erupted. No doubt one of Triple H’s best Hell In A Cell matches.
No. 3 Spot
Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker from No Mercy 2002
No Mercy would be the culmination of their feud, which had seen Lesnar break his veteran opponent’s hand and then be forced to deal with the fact that he would be allowed to wear a cast for the contest. Worse yet for the inexperienced champion, he would be forced to defend the top prize in the industry against one of the greatest Superstars of all time in a Hell in a Cell match.
Lesnar was bloodied and battered with the cast, showing more weakness than he had to that point. Showing great toughness, however, he withstood Undertaker’s onslaught, targeted the hand and ultimately busted The Phenom wide open. With blood pouring from the wound at an incredible rate, there was very little Undertaker could do to halt the momentum of his younger, stronger and more athletic opponent. Eventually, Lesnar countered a Tombstone attempt with the F5 and secured the pin-fall victory.
No. 2 Spot
Undertaker vs. Mankind from King of The Ring 1998
One of the most iconic feuds of the Attitude Era. Finally, at King of the Ring 1998, Undertaker and Mankind collided in a Hell in a Cell match which became one of the most violent matches in WWE history. “Good God. I think he’s dead.” – Jim Ross
No. 1 Spot
Mick Foley vs. Triple H from Royal Rumble 2000
The best of Mick Foley’s Hell in a Cell matches came in February 2000 when, as Cactus Jack, he challenged Triple H for the WWE Championship at No Way Out. This rivalry between the two had been so incredibly personal and so intense that the only suitable way to bring it to an end was in the most dangerous structure known to professional wrestling.
After a Match of the Year candidate at the Royal Rumble in January, Foley and Triple H followed it with a contest equally as great as its predecessor. Action spilled outside the squared circle, outside the cell and to the arena floor. There, they battle back and forth, Foley scoring with a piledriver through the announce table before heading to the top of the cell. There, a 2×4 was set ablaze, Triple H was blasted in his bloodied face and Foley appeared well on his way to capturing the heavyweight title. Unfortunately, a backdrop through the cell’s ceiling spelled the end of Foley’s night—and career. Triple H finished him off with a Pedigree, finally cementing himself as the undisputed top heel in the industry.
JORDAN TURNER
Podcaster and creative writer.
