Roundtable: History Of Hell In A Cell

Do you like the Hell in a Cell concept?

Calvin Gibbon: I do. It’s a great way to end a feud. Some of the greatest rivalries have climaxed there. It’s better suited for contests with a lot on the line.

Juan Bautista: Yes, it’s great a great concept when used right: Two wrestlers who have this rivalry that has to be contained in this extra-large brutal cage or the scenario that multiple men need this setting to settle a fight for the championship.

David Gibb: Of course! Who doesn’t love a cage match?

John Corrigan: I used to, but in recent years, the Cell has simply housed a TLC match. If there is no blood and no brawling on the roof, what’s the point?

Steven Jackson: When it began, I thought the concept of Hell in a Cell was brilliant. It was a unique take on the steel cage match and the level of violence always helped create even more spectacle. In recent years, because of the gimmick-centric PPV, it has cheapened the concept (saying that…wasn’t Badd Blood just Hell in a Cell before Hell in a Cell?!). I’ve not enjoyed it as much. But certain matches still deliver in a big way.

Jack Goodwillie: I feel like I’m good for one of these on a weekly basis – yes and no. I love the idea of it (which Jim Cornette mostly came up with, by the way): Put a ceiling on top of the steel cage and let two bitter enemies settle their differences until one person’s body gives way to the steel structure. But too much of anything just ain’t a good thing…

Should Hell in a Cell have its own pay-per-view?

Gibbon: No. I was opposed to it from the very beginning. Let it be spontaneous and hidden – HIAC should only be brought out under the right circumstances.

Bautista: No, themed-PPVs shouldn’t take place at all. They ruin the value of the concept. Instead of taking place occasionally, when the situation calls for it, now the Cell happens at the same time every year…and it happens three times in one night!

Gibb: I think if you have a HIAC match, it should be the main event of a PPV (ask Steve Austin about following one). With that said, I’m not a fan of the “Gimmick of the Month” PPV format.

Corrigan: No, but if it absolutely must, then there should be only one HIAC match on the card. Make it special.

Jackson: I don’t think any gimmick match besides the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank should have their own PPV. I prefer the spontaneity of gimmick matches as part of PPVs rather than the predictability of the PPV schedule and feuds working around it.

Goodwillie: No, no and no. The person who thought of naming pay-per-views after gimmick matches should be drangled (drowned and strangled simultaneously). TNA Lockdown was a cool concept, because the pay-per-view WAS the gimmick, and it was really the only show of the year that acted as a full-gimmick show. Plus, you’d rarely find Six Sides of Steel outside of a Lockdown show. But the beauty of Hell in a Cell was that it used to be dictated by the feud and necessity, not the fact that October is right around the corner. All that said, it just so happens that we have two programs worthy of the match this year, so call it good timing. But I still think it’s incredibly superfluous to name a show “Hell in a Cell.” Just stick the match on a No Mercy or Unforgiven and call it a day.

What’s the greatest Hell in a Cell match?

Gibbon: “End of an Era” Hell in a Cell. I was captivated by the drama of the streak. HBK as the ref added another bit of intrigue. The match was brutal and a fitting end for the feud.

Bautista: It’s the most polarizing choice – Mankind vs. Undertaker. It set the bar so high that every HIAC was viewed differently afterward. Only one had taken place prior, so fans didn’t know what to really expect.

Gibb: Is this even a real question? Taker-Foley. It’s not what I’d call a “mat classic,” but it’s absolutely the definitive and most memorable/important HIAC match by a lot.

Corrigan: New Day vs. Usos. Having four men battle inside the Cell kept the action constant, allowing for others to sell high-impact offense. Plus, they managed to tell a great story with Xavier being tortured until making a last-ditch effort to overcome the odds, but ultimately falling short.

Jackson: Historically, it has to be Mankind vs. The Undertaker, but in terms of greatest, it still has to be Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker from Badd Blood. The psychology, the drama, the danger, the blood and the conclusion were all just fantastic. A rare masterpiece in pro wrestling.

Goodwillie: Undertaker-Michaels is going to be a popular choice, and probably even Undertaker-Lesnar. But the little kid in me has to say it was Batista vs. Triple H at Vengeance 2005. It marked the blowoff of one of my favorite rivalries, and was every bit as physical and sadistic as advertised. The beauty of it all was that when it ended, so, too, did the Triple H-Batista feud. There was no Hell in a Cell match to set up the TLC match at the TLC pay-per-view. This was it, and the marketing was special, because the match at the time was special. A lot can be attributed to the build, but can you blame me for thinking that?

Triple H: “You are going to go face to face with the devil himself.”

Batista: “At Vengeance, I am going to kick…the devil’s…ASS!”

Additionally, there’s a post-match video of both men receiving medical attention and stitches where they look at each other and you can kind of see the respect for one another written on their bloody faces. Chilling stuff.

What’s your favorite Hell in a Cell moment?

Gibbon: Any time someone comes off the cell or cell wall is exciting. The ending to Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens was pretty dramatic. I’m prone to popping for the big falls.

Bautista: Kane’s debut because you weren’t expecting it. Paul Bearer had teased it for weeks, but the timing was still perfect.

Gibb: If I never hear/get asked about a wrestling “moment” ever again, it will be a day too soon.

Corrigan: Undertaker tossing Mankind off the Cell put this match on the map. Consequently, nothing has been able to live up to that death-defying standard.

Jackson: The phrase “favorite Hell in a Cell moment” is quite awkward given the violence involved in the matches as some moments are very hard to watch. I’d prefer the phrase “most memorable moment” and for me, it is not actually Mankind falling off the Cell as I saw that retrospectively. My most memorable moment is from No Mercy 2002 when Brock Lesnar locked the Undertaker’s hand between the Cell walls and brutalized him with a steel chair. Even now that is one of the most graphic visuals I have seen in pro wrestling, heightened by the Undertaker crying out in pain.

Goodwillie: We just did a whole roundtable detailing Mick Foley doing his best Humpty Dumpty impression, so in the spirit of that, I have to go with the debut of Kane, also a Jim Cornette production, I might add! Yes, the first Hell in a Cell featured Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, two of the best big-match performers wrestling has ever known, but the match was less about them and more about a means of debuting Kane to set in motion the build to Undertaker’s next big WrestleMania match. Marching down to the ring, ripping the cell door off its hinges and laying out Taker is arguably the greatest debut in the history of wrestling.

Who is the MVP of Hell in a Cell?

Gibbon: HBK or the Undertaker, but I’d have to give the nod to the Phenom. His epic matches are legendary. I’m sure he’ll still be in the conversation for greatest Hell in a Cell competitor for generations to come.

Bautista: Undertaker. From his first HIAC against Shawn Michaels in 1997 to his most recent against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32, it’s been a large part of his storied career. It’s when he first interacted with Kane, the climax of his rivalry with Batista and where he helped establish Brock Lesnar as a monster. Throwing Mankind off the roof and later through it was shocking, and knowing what we know now, it hasn’t aged well.

Gibb: Undertaker. He helped define the match early in its existence, and even deep in his career, he’s always seemed to find an extra gear for the Cell.

Corrigan: Mrs. Foley’s Baby Boy not only put the Cell on the map in 1998, he tore the house down again two years later in his retirement match. It doesn’t get the same recognition as his battle with Undertaker, but the No Way Out match with Triple H is just as riveting.

Jackson: Mick Foley and Undertaker are the two MVPs of Hell in a Cell. What they did to one another and their opponents in other HIAC matches is unparalleled and both their lives were changed forever after King of the Ring 1998. One cannot be included without the other.

Goodwillie: There are two, and both men were made for the match. The Undertaker starred in the first Hell in a Cell and has multiple claims to the best match inside the structure. Plus, it just sort of fits the whole supernatural thing. Undertaker…. Hell… it just sort of works. The other? Triple H. The Cerebral Assassin was pure evil in his time, and true to his own words that I previously mentioned, he was the Devil. And in this type of match, you were not only paying to see the Devil get his ass kicked, but inherently, to see what he could be capable of doing to another human being. When you have a heel in the zone like that, as a little kid it’s sort of terrifying to think of him maiming one of your favorite wrestlers. I remember playing Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 GM Mode as a kid during a sleepover, and I mentioned to a friend of mine, “You know what would be the biggest match ever? If Undertaker and Triple H ever met in Hell in a Cell. Especially at WrestleMania.” Well that match happened, and it was strangely unfulfilling. I blame Michael Coulthard. “END OF AN ERA!!!” “WHAT A MOMENT!!!”