Alright, I did NOT want to give up what I had going on in an advantageous situation. Either way, something needs to be done because the debate closes at 2:00 today, and I'm going to at the very least, make sure I get credit for winning.
After having the time to review the two matches and really reflect on them, I'm very glad that I picked the Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell match as being the better match when paired up against the Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell in a Cell. The match truly was better, and it was a masterpiece between two of the greatest to ever wrestle for the WWE. If anything, this match also accentuates how well these two have aged. They had a classic match in a Hell in a Cell, and 13 years later, they were still putting on incredible matches.
Anyway, I digress. This match had it all. You all know how good both matches between these two at the last two Wrestlemanias have been. This match was basically on par with those matches, and just as good. It just incorporated a no disqualification atmosphere, which made the match upon another watch years later just as fun to watch as it was the first time, especially given how fresh in my mind the last two matches between these two at Wrestlemania have been.
First, I'm going to discuss why the Undertaker and Mankind match was inferior to this one, and I'll refer to the question at hand in doing so.
Which is the better Hell in a Cell match? Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (Badd Blood 97) or Undertaker vs. Mankind (King of the Ring 98)?
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Badd Blood '97 was a wrestling match. The match featuring The Undertaker and Mankind a year later was a snuff film disguised as a wrestling match.
Look, perhaps the KOTR Hell in a Cell provided more memorable monents. Sure, you had Foley getting thrown off the cell and then through the ring... with a steel chair landing on top of him. He also got slammed onto thumbtacks in that match. And that's all you can really say about it. The match as a whole was atrocious. There was a lull period in the match because Foley was unconscious, at which point the match should have been stopped. Mick Foley took two very big bumps in a short amount of time where he's lucky that he didn't get killed or suffer permanent injury. Those spots should never have been planned in the first place. And really, that's all you can say about the match. There were two big spots where Mick Foley was nearly killed and he got slammed into a bed of thumbtacks as well. It really isn't a good match, and the only people who would really find pleasure in watching it are sadists.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels HIAC, as I stated earlier, was a masterpiece. It's one of the top 10 WWE Matches of all time in my opinion. First off, the Hell in a Cell match by itself lived up to its name where the majority of the match happened INSIDE the Cell. The Foley/Taker HIAC is famous for what happened outside of the Cell. The Taker/HBK match truly lived up to the name though. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels went at it for a half hour, going back and forth, putting on a great match. They used the atmosphere to its full capacity as well. The majority of the match took place inside the cell, with them being resourceful, between slamming each other into the cage, including a great spot with The Undertaker repeatedly slamming HBK into the cage and the ringpost. Shawn Michaels put the ringsteps to great use. He utilized a chair, and most of the actual wrestling action inside the Cell was a pleasure to rewatch. When they went outside the Cell, the action was handled as tastefully as it could be. Nobody was getting thrown off the top of the cage or getting slammed through the cage. The spot where HBK fell off the cage (about halfway down) was very safely done, and JR still sold it like he may have been dead.
The end was as perfect as it got too. HBK got busted open. The Undertaker had HBK right where he wanted him, even cracking him with a steel chair, which was such a key element of HBK's offense throughout the match. And in the end, we had quite possibly the greatest debut in WWE history, when Kane, the Undertaker's long lost brother, ripped the door off the cage, where it was of course, designed to keep all interference out, and he Tombstoned The Undertaker, allowing HBK to retain the title in a brutal, bloody, grueling matchup, which didn't require spots where one of the participants was lucky to be alive after the match ended.
Now don't think I'm a pussy where I'm decrying the spots Foley took in this matchup. The spots were just unnecessary where they were hazardous to Foley's health. For god's sakes, when Foley got chokeslammed onto the mat, a chair fell on top of him, which caused one of his teeth to go into his nasal cavity. Foley said in his book that he forgot the entire match and had to watch tape of it in order to write about it. Foley tortured himself in this match for our entertainment... which is just wrong. It's also wrong that the Mankind/Undertaker match is considered one of the greatest matches of all time, when there wasn't any actual wrestling action for the most part.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell featured an entertaining back and forth matchup where there was actual ring psychology taking place, and the match told the story. It was the first Hell in a Cell match, and much like in the world of entertainment, you can't beat the original. The first in a series always sets the tone and often sets expectations. And with the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels Hell in a Cell match, those expectations have never been surpassed. None of the Hell in a Cell matches which have taken place in the last 13 years have even approached the masterpiece that was this match. It introduced the concept, a tremendous match took place, and one of the greatest debuts in history with Kane took place. Kane is still around thirteen years later, and he is currently the World Heavyweight Champion, and with the way things are going, it looks like another feud between Kane and The Undertaker is about to happen. The aftermath of this match is still being felt thirteen years later.
