Hell in a Cell


Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation. It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fencing which encloses the ring and ringside area. Unlike the steel cage match, only an in-ring pinfall or submission will ordinarily result in a win and there are no disqualifications.
The original Cell was high and weighed over two tons, but has since been replaced by a more robust version of and five tons. The first match took place at in October 1997 and a total of 40 Hell in a Cell matches have occurred ever since. The match type spawned its own pay-per-view event in 2009, WWE Hell in a Cell, since which the event has been held annually in October and occasionally September. This event generally features one to three Hell in a Cell matches on the same card.

History

The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced at 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. That match was ruled a no contest due to the two bypassing and attacking the officials. As a climatic 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, 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 and the cage used in both the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling for their WarGames matches. 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. WWE credits the match as being based on the Last Battle of Atlanta.
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 with the exception of three matches, two of which were televised on Raw Is War in 1998. 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 in a Hell in a Cell match. This match went to a no contest after Austin interfered and assaulted Kane. 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 and 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 three times. 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.

Other appearances and variations

The structure itself has made four additional appearances, although WWE does not consider them to be Hell in a Cell matches. During the first-ever First Blood match which was between Kane and Stone Cold Steve Austin at King of the Ring in May 1998, the cell used earlier in the night was lowered. The second featured Big Boss Man challenging Al Snow for the WWF Hardcore Championship in a Kennel from Hell match at Unforgiven in September 1999. The match consisted of a standard steel cage with the cell placed atop it and the object was to escape from both the cage and cell while trying to avoid guard dogs that were placed between the ring and cell door. Snow, the first competitor to escape the steel cage and the cell, was declared the winner. The third time was on the September 28, 2009 episode of Raw during a gauntlet match with John Cena against Chris Jericho, Big Show and Randy Orton. The cell was lowered after Cena defeated Jericho and Big Show by disqualification when Orton's turn came. Cena ordered the cell to be lowered and then brawled Orton on top of the structure. The match was declared a no contest. The fourth time was on the October 20, 2014 episode of Raw when the Hell in a Cell structure was lowered on orders from Kane during a handicap street fight involving Kane, Orton and Seth Rollins against Cena and Dean Ambrose which Kane, Orton and Rollins won. At Hell in a Cell in October 2017, Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens competed in the first Hell in a Cell match contested under a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation.
In the World Championship Wrestling, the Hell in a Cell match is seen as the structural successor to the Thundercage match type seen in WCW which was virtually identical in basic construction. However, the Thundercage was rarely used by WCW and thus fans had little to no knowledge of its existence. The Thundercage actually precedes Hell in a Cell by roughly two and a half years as the Thundercage was used in the match between Ric Flair and Big Van Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl IV in February 1994. It was also used in matches between Sting and The Great Muta.

List of Hell in a Cell matches

Dallas holds the record for hosting the most Hell in a Cell matches with five. Miami is in second place with four Hell in a Cell matches. Newark, Boston, and San Antonio are in third place as all three of which have hosted three Hell in a Cell matches.
NumberMatchStipulationsEventDateLocationLength
1Shawn Michaels defeated The UndertakerSingles match to determine the number one contender for the WWF Championship at Survivor SeriesOctober 5, 1997St. Louis, Missouri29:55
2The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Mankind and KaneTornado tag team matchRaw Is WarJune 15, 1998San Antonio, Texas10:38
3The Undertaker defeated MankindSingles matchKing of the RingJune 28, 1998Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania17:10
4Mankind vs. Kane ended in a no contestSingles matchRaw Is WarAugust 24, 1998Philadelphia, Pennsylvania7:41
5The Undertaker defeated Big Boss ManSingles matchWrestleMania XVMarch 28, 1999Philadelphia, Pennsylvania9:48
6Triple H defeated Cactus JackSingles match for the WWF Championship
Since Cactus Jack lost, he had to retire as an active wrestler in the WWF		No Way OutFebruary 27, 2000Hartford, Connecticut23:57
7Kurt Angle defeated The Undertaker, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rikishi and The RockSix-man match for the WWF ChampionshipArmageddonDecember 10, 2000Birmingham, Alabama32:12
8Triple H defeated Chris JerichoSingles matchJudgment DayMay 19, 2002Nashville, Tennessee24:06
9Brock Lesnar defeated The UndertakerSingles match for the WWE ChampionshipNo MercyOctober 20, 2002North Little Rock, Arkansas27:18
10Triple H defeated Kevin NashSingles match for the World Heavyweight Championship with special guest referee Mick FoleyBad BloodJune 15, 2003Houston, Texas21:01
11Triple H defeated Shawn MichaelsSingles matchBad BloodJune 13, 2004Columbus, Ohio47:26
12Batista defeated Triple HSingles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipVengeanceJune 26, 2005Las Vegas, Nevada26:54
13The Undertaker defeated Randy OrtonSingles matchArmageddonDecember 18, 2005Providence, Rhode Island30:31
14D-Generation X defeated Mr. McMahon, Shane McMahon and Big ShowTwo-on-three handicap match
This also marked the debut of the amplified version of the cell		UnforgivenSeptember 17, 2006Toronto, Ontario, Canada25:04
15Batista defeated The UndertakerSingles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipSurvivor SeriesNovember 18, 2007Miami, Florida21:24
16The Undertaker defeated EdgeSingles matchSummerSlamAugust 17, 2008Indianapolis, Indiana26:43
17The Undertaker defeated CM Punk Singles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 4, 2009Newark, New Jersey10:24
18Randy Orton defeated John Cena Singles match for the WWE ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 4, 2009Newark, New Jersey21:24
19D-Generation X defeated Legacy Tornado tag team matchHell in a CellOctober 4, 2009Newark, New Jersey17:48
20Randy Orton defeated SheamusSingles match for the WWE ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 3, 2010Dallas, Texas22:51
21Kane defeated The UndertakerSingles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 3, 2010Dallas, Texas21:38
22John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler and Jack SwaggerFive-man match for the WWE ChampionshipRaw
September 26, 2011Kansas City, Missouri5:01
23Mark Henry defeated Randy OrtonSingles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 2, 2011New Orleans, Louisiana15:54
24Alberto Del Rio defeated John Cena and CM PunkTriple threat match for the WWE ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 2, 2011New Orleans, Louisiana24:07
25The Undertaker defeated Triple HSingles match with special guest referee Shawn MichaelsWrestleMania XXVIIIApril 1, 2012Miami Gardens, Florida30:52
26CM Punk defeated RybackSingles match for the WWE ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 28, 2012Atlanta, Georgia11:22
27CM Punk defeated Ryback and Paul HeymanTwo-on-one handicap matchHell in a CellOctober 27, 2013Miami, Florida13:48
28Randy Orton defeated Daniel BryanSingles match for the vacant WWE Championship with special guest referee Shawn MichaelsHell in a CellOctober 27, 2013Miami, Florida22:07
29John Cena defeated Randy OrtonSingles match to determine the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 26, 2014Dallas, Texas25:52
30Seth Rollins defeated Dean AmbroseSingles matchHell in a CellOctober 26, 2014Dallas, Texas14:00
31Roman Reigns defeated Bray WyattSingles matchHell in a CellOctober 25, 2015Los Angeles, California23:08
32Brock Lesnar defeated The UndertakerSingles matchHell in a CellOctober 25, 2015Los Angeles, California18:10
33The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahonSingles match
Had Shane McMahon won, he would have gained control of Raw and Undertaker would have been barred from competing at WrestleMania again		WrestleMania 32April 3, 2016Arlington, Texas30:08
34Roman Reigns defeated RusevSingles match for the WWE United States ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 30, 2016Boston, Massachusetts24:35
35Kevin Owens defeated Seth RollinsSingles match for the WWE Universal ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 30, 2016Boston, Massachusetts23:15
36Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 30, 2016Boston, Massachusetts22:25
37The Usos defeated The New Day Tornado tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 8, 2017Detroit, Michigan22:00
38Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahonFalls Count Anywhere matchHell in a CellOctober 8, 2017Detroit, Michigan39:00
39Randy Orton defeated Jeff HardySingles matchHell in a CellSeptember 16, 2018San Antonio, Texas24:50
40Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman ended in a no contestSingles match for the WWE Universal Championship with special guest referee Mick FoleyHell in a CellSeptember 16, 2018San Antonio, Texas24:10
41Becky Lynch defeated Sasha Banks by submissionSingles match for the WWE Raw Women's ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 6, 2019Sacramento, California21:50
42Seth Rollins vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt ended in a match stoppageSingles match for the WWE Universal ChampionshipHell in a CellOctober 6, 2019Sacramento, California17:30

Participant list

Males

WrestlerVictoriesLossesAppearancesPCT
The Undertaker8614.571
Triple H639.666
Randy Orton437.571
Shawn Michaels314.750
Batista2021.000
Brock Lesnar2021.000
Kevin Owens2021.000
Roman Reigns213.666
John Cena224.500
CM Punk235.400
Kurt Angle1011.000
Mark Henry1011.000
Jey Uso1011.000
Jimmy Uso1011.000
Stone Cold Steve Austin112.500
Alberto Del Rio112.500
Seth Rollins123.333
Kane123.333
Big Boss Man011.000
Rikishi011.000
The Rock011.000
Chris Jericho011.000
Kevin Nash011.000
Mr. McMahon011.000
Big Show011.000
Edge011.000
Cody Rhodes011.000
Ted DiBiase011.000
Sheamus011.000
Dolph Ziggler011.000
Jack Swagger011.000
Paul Heyman011.000
Daniel Bryan011.000
Dean Ambrose011.000
Rusev011.000
Big E011.000
Xavier Woods011.000
Jeff Hardy011.000
Braun Strowman011.000
Ryback022.000
Bray Wyatt/"The Fiend"022.000
Shane McMahon033.000
Mankind/Cactus Jack044.000

Females