Best Hell In A Cell

[The Brain]

I would have thought this thread had been done, but I searched through several pages in the old school section and didn't find it. With the Hell In A Cell ppv coming up the timing is appropriate for this thread. Pretty simple question. What was the best Hell In A Cell match? I believe every ppv cell match involved either The Undertaker or Triple H. Strangely the never fought each other in the cell. I guess that would be the ultimate Hell In A Cell. Anyway which was the best?

I am going to say the first was the best. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Bad Blood 1997. This match had the magical big fight atmosphere. It combined great wrestling with brutal brawling. It was awesome to see the two fighting on the top of the cell. Sure we've seen others do it since, but there's something special about being the first. Shawn's bump of the cell was pretty big for it's time. It looks like nothing compared to what Foley did less than a year later, but it was a big spot at the time. The match itself was great and we also got the debut of Kane.

There have been a lot of good Hell In A Cell matches, but to me the first is still the best.

 

[The Viper]

Great thread! I would have to say my favorite would have to be the HHH HBK HIAC match. It was the end of a great feud and it was i believe the longest HIAC of all time. Over 40 minutes of fast paced action, and the end was perfect! seeing trips have to hit 3 Pedigrees on the showstopper to keep him down. GREAT MATCH!

 

[dman1373]

I would have to agree that the best hell in the cell happend at badd blood
but which one?
Well i have to go with the very first hell in the cell
It was full of great spots and great wrestling all in one

 

[coonerty1]

IMO the best ever HIAC match was the 6 man HIAC. 6 of the top superstars in the business then were all in the match and i just love that match. Rock, Austin, Rakishi, Triple H, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker were awesome in this.

 

[TakeAdooKie]

The first one was awesome, hell a lot of them were awesome but I have to go with the 45 minute blood bath between Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the Title. That match was a mixture of a technical in the ring classic and an extreme rules match.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

So many great ones. For the sheer importance of being etched in memory forever, Mankind vs. Undertaker. But in my opinion, and I might be biased since I was there, I would vote for Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels from Bad Blood 04. I didn't even realize 47 minutes 26 seconds had gone by. A truly great match. You feel exhausted along with the wrestlers after watching it. If I were to choose another one, I'd go with the aforementioned Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker match. The one that set the bar for all the other ones to follow. If you need to put a gimmick match over, you couldn't have started with two better athletes than Shawn and Undertaker.

 

[jamesland77]

I really like the modern HIAC matches, the cell being taller adds so much more potential for aerial maneuvers. DX vs. mcmahons was just fun. However for sheer entertainment, Edge vs. Taker. Legendary match with a perfect finish

 

[flyguy71122]

there was no title on the line in that match...the title match was kane vs benoit

 

[Ronin]

Going to have to agree with the majority about the HHH vs Michaels being the best. The emotion both put into that match was perfect. I loved every moment of it. Two of my favourite wrestlers leaving nothing behind.

I do think that Undertaker in any hell in a cell is a good thing. I mean him throwing Rakishi off the cell was pretty cool, and then of course the famous moments with Foley.

 

[ronalddeo]

My all time fav is between UT and brock lesnar and NO MERCY 02. this feud had real emotions. Taker nursing a broken hand and using the cast as a weapon until lesnar takes it off. Great storytelling between a freakish rookie and a vetran . Taker hit the chokeslam and last ride, while doing the tombstone, lesnar does a impressive reversal to hit the F5. Its one of thoses that goes unnoticed under the rader. Check it out to tube to find out how good this match is

 

[pyrusane]

As far as PPV HIAC matches that didn't involve Triple H or the Undertaker, there sres only two that I can think of at the moment. Just a few months ago Batista squashed Randy Orton in the cell to win the WWE Title for a day. And of course Big Boss Man and Al Snow had the Kennel from Hell match that was technically a HIAC match, although I don't know if you would count it.

That being said, while the Undertaker/Mankind match is the one that will be remembered the longest, my personal favorite is also the original between Taker and Michaels. At the time it was very innovative, and that image of Kane ripping the door off of the cell is still fresh in my mind after all this time. It was just a great match.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Just a few months ago Batista squashed Randy Orton in the cell to win the WWE Title for a day.

That was just a cage match, it wasn't HIAC, and no the Kennel From Hell doesn't count either.

My favourite would be Taker vs Foley, mainly because it's the very first match i ever watched and the match that got me hooked on pro-wrestling, and subsequently Foley and Taker, but my favourite in terms of in-ring quality would be the original HBK v Taker HIAC in '97. The two had an awesome match the month before, and this just propelled the whole fued to another level and was the starting point of Glen Jacobs in the ME/upper mid-card until this very day.

 

[SwimminInIndy]

It's gotta be either the first one with HBK and the Undertaker, or Undertaker and Mankind.

The match with Undertaker and Mankind was just unbelievable. When he threw him off the cage that was crazy, and will always be remembered.

I agree with the comment about Taker + HIAC = Gold

 

[The Rob]

The original Hell in a Cell match will always stand-out, as it was such a revolution at the time. It was brutal, bloody, and down right dangerous. Shawn and Taker put on two of their best ever performances, and after reading about this match in Shawn's book, he went as far to say that was probably his best ever match.

But in terms of sheer replayability, Undertaker v.s Mankind is the greatest Hell in a Cell match of all time. In 50 years time, that clip of Mankind getting thrown off the top of the cell, through the spanish announce table will still be getting shown and it will still take people's breath away. It's a timeless moment and it displayed to everyone just how damn nasty these matches can become.

However my favourite Hell in a Cell match is actually Brock Lesnar v.s Undertaker at No Mercy 2002. I've watched this match alot, and every time I see it, it shocks me. Sure, it was one of the first Hell in a Cell matches that didn't involve a wrestler getting out of the cell during the match, but this match didn't need any antics on the roof. What it had though, was blood. And a fucking ton of it. I remember watching this when I was 11 year old, and getting a bit freaked out about the sheer amount of blood that Undertaker was losing.

Theres one shot I remember of Taker sat up against the cell on the outside, with Lesnar sticking his boot into Taker's throat, and Undertakers face was almost unreconisable due to the blood. Sick, sick stuff. This was the match that made Brock Lesnar. We all knew he was tough, but no-one knew he could be that tough. It was his best gimmick match by far in his 2 year WWE career and one of the best of his career, period.

 

[The Todd]

No one else seemed to enjoy it but my favourite will always be the 6 man Armageddon hell in the cell. Why? It was the first one I actually really remember watching and the build had me more excited than anything else.

It was the end of 2000, one of my favourite years for wrestling, and it pitted five of the top superstars, and Rikishi, against each other. If Kane was in instead of Rikishi it would have been perfect, though Rikishi fit in with the storylines more. He ran over Austin and had a feud with The Rock. HHH told Rikishi to run over Austin, Rock and HHH had a massive feud at the start of the year. Undertaker had been screwed by Angle. ANgle had beaten The Rock, due to Rikishi. The plot lines were endless.

As it was the match was a bit of a clusterfuck, but I still enjoyed it. There was always something happening and all six guys looked absolutely fucked by the end of it. Everyone was bleeding. The chokeslam off the Cell looked cool. The ending was pretty weak, but Angle winning shocked everyone. If HHH only just broke up Austins pinfall attempt as the ref was counting three the whole ending would have ran more smoothly. I loved it. No one else seemed to. Works for me.

 

[The Rob]

No one else seemed to enjoy it but my favourite will always be the 6 man Armageddon hell in the cell. Why? It was the first one I actually really remember watching and the build had me more excited than anything else.

It was the end of 2000, one of my favourite years for wrestling, and it pitted five of the top superstars, and Rikishi, against each other. If Kane was in instead of Rikishi it would have been perfect, though Rikishi fit in with the storylines more. He ran over Austin and had a feud with The Rock. HHH told Rikishi to run over Austin, Rock and HHH had a massive feud at the start of the year. Undertaker had been screwed by Angle. ANgle had beaten The Rock, due to Rikishi. The plot lines were endless.

As it was the match was a bit of a clusterfuck, but I still enjoyed it. There was always something happening and all six guys looked absolutely fucked by the end of it. Everyone was bleeding. The chokeslam off the Cell looked cool. The ending was pretty weak, but Angle winning shocked everyone. If HHH only just broke up Austins pinfall attempt as the ref was counting three the whole ending would have ran more smoothly. I loved it. No one else seemed to. Works for me.

That one is a hidden gem of a Hell in a Cell match in my opinion. It's certainally the biggest Hell in a Cell match to date, simply down the big names involved in the match. But the think that stops this match from being a classic is that because there was so much going on, you couldn't keep up with it all. If I'm watching a Hell in a Cell match (or any match in general), I wanna catch everything that happens. In this match, you just couldn't. Plus, like you said, it was a bit of a clusterfuck... which dosen't always help at the best of times, but when theres a clusterfuck inside a small, confined space, that's not good.

The chokeslam was good but it was never gunna match up to the last time Undertaker threw someone off the top of the cell. The ending was a bit shit, with Angle randomly getting the 3 count out of no-where, when everyones attention was fixed on The Rock and Triple H. And the 5 minute section of the match where the props under the titantron came into the play was good, if a little unnessercary.

Still a good match, and a good choice Todd.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

for me its the one between HHH and HBK....... it was so bloody.... so violent.... so BRILLIANT.... i mean 47 minutes..... apart from the RR and iron man matches what matches go for that long..... and the best part is you didnt felt 45 minutes had gone by.... besides this guys TORTURED each other...... there is a point in the match where HBK takes out the ladder he sees hhh and he has a devilish smile in his face..... and the end was priceless.... i mean 3 PEDIGREES to finally put shawn down for good..............

the second one is the UT Lesnar HIAC....... it was one of the bloodiest matches i ve ever seen..... i mean even Paulie bled.... and the last 5 minutes with the chokeslams and last rides and F5 were amazing.... you didnt know what those guys had to do to put the other away.......

honorable mention for the original hiac and the one with UT and foley.... and the HHH and nash HIAC...... this has been overlooked because it was a bit slow thanks to nash but it got brutal sometimes and it was in the middle of HHH s longer heel title reign and everyone wanted him to lose it.... i mean steel chair.... then nash dropped him on the barbwired 2x4 and then gave HHH the jacknife..... i truly believed that HHH was done but he kick out.....I was there and nobody could believe it.....

 

[King Patrick Star]

IMO the best ever HIAC match was the 6 man HIAC. 6 of the top superstars in the business then were all in the match and i just love that match. Rock, Austin, Rakishi, Triple H, Kurt Angle and The Undertaker were awesome in this.

No one else seemed to enjoy it but my favourite will always be the 6 man Armageddon hell in the cell. Why? It was the first one I actually really remember watching and the build had me more excited than anything else.

It was the end of 2000, one of my favourite years for wrestling, and it pitted five of the top superstars, and Rikishi, against each other. If Kane was in instead of Rikishi it would have been perfect, though Rikishi fit in with the storylines more. He ran over Austin and had a feud with The Rock. HHH told Rikishi to run over Austin, Rock and HHH had a massive feud at the start of the year. Undertaker had been screwed by Angle. ANgle had beaten The Rock, due to Rikishi. The plot lines were endless.

As it was the match was a bit of a clusterfuck, but I still enjoyed it. There was always something happening and all six guys looked absolutely fucked by the end of it. Everyone was bleeding. The chokeslam off the Cell looked cool. The ending was pretty weak, but Angle winning shocked everyone. If HHH only just broke up Austins pinfall attempt as the ref was counting three the whole ending would have ran more smoothly. I loved it. No one else seemed to. Works for me.

That one is a hidden gem of a Hell in a Cell match in my opinion. It's certainally the biggest Hell in a Cell match to date, simply down the big names involved in the match. But the think that stops this match from being a classic is that because there was so much going on, you couldn't keep up with it all. If I'm watching a Hell in a Cell match (or any match in general), I wanna catch everything that happens. In this match, you just couldn't. Plus, like you said, it was a bit of a clusterfuck... which dosen't always help at the best of times, but when theres a clusterfuck inside a small, confined space, that's not good.

The chokeslam was good but it was never gunna match up to the last time Undertaker threw someone off the top of the cell. The ending was a bit shit, with Angle randomly getting the 3 count out of no-where, when everyones attention was fixed on The Rock and Triple H. And the 5 minute section of the match where the props under the titantron came into the play was good, if a little unnessercary.

Still a good match, and a good choice Todd.

I’m going to have to go with the Armageddon 2000 Hell In A Cell match. The Undertaker and Triple H are Hell In A Cell. This match type unofficially belongs to these two. Kurt Angle is my number 3 favorite of all time and currently my number 2 favorite among active Superstars. Steve Austin and the Rock are tied at my number 2 favorites of all time. Rikishi, well, if Jericho was in it instead, it would have been perfect for me on paper, but we can’t have everything we want all the time, I guess. I sure didn't see Angle walking in and walking out with the Title.

 

[the troop]

Hands down for me it has to be hhh vs hbk. Almost two years of bitter rivalry, what a perfect way to settle it. There was so much emotion to this feud. Backstabbing, betrayal all that good stuff.
As for the match itself, it was the ultimate endurance test. 50 minutes of pure hell, and add blood loss to that, I pass out just thinking about. Also the perfect ending with hhh hitting 3 pedigrees to keep shawn down. They didnt have to do high spots in the match. (except for the table spot, if i recall)It was just HELL in a cell.

 

[Proof]

I am amazed that people think Triple H vs HBK HIAC was actually good. It was slow paced and extremely boring. I remember watching it live and I couldn't wait until it was over. Edge vs Taker was awful and boring. The best HIAC was Brock Lesnar/Taker, mostly because of the way Lesnar dominated Taker. Taker coming into the match with a broken arm and no selling was bad though. Lesnar did a good job carrying Taker to a classic match.

 

[GameOver]

I would have thought this thread had been done, but I searched through several pages in the old school section and didn't find it. With the Hell In A Cell ppv coming up the timing is appropriate for this thread. Pretty simple question. What was the best Hell In A Cell match? I believe every ppv cell match involved either The Undertaker or Triple H. Strangely the never fought each other in the cell. I guess that would be the ultimate Hell In A Cell. Anyway which was the best?

I am going to say the first was the best. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Bad Blood 1997. This match had the magical big fight atmosphere. It combined great wrestling with brutal brawling. It was awesome to see the two fighting on the top of the cell. Sure we've seen others do it since, but there's something special about being the first. Shawn's bump of the cell was pretty big for it's time. It looks like nothing compared to what Foley did less than a year later, but it was a big spot at the time. The match itself was great and we also got the debut of Kane.

There have been a lot of good Hell In A Cell matches, but to me the first is still the best.

Agreed totally the first between HBK and Taker and the King Of The Ring matchup between Mankind and Taker were the best, purely cause they were new/fresh and pushed the envelope beyond levels that were not surppassed, after that point nothing anyone could do as far as big spot moves could compare to what HBK and Mankind put there bodies through.

And ofcourse Taker has been in most of them

between the two of them i'd say HBK/Taker was the better matchup as it was an actual match,

wheras Mankind/Taker had a huge leadup with Mankind being the only person to regularly beat Taker prior to that point but then the match was 3 huge bumps within the first 10mins that put Foley onconscious and broke Takers ankle followed by a series of lesser hardcore bumps and then an ending that alot of people including me were wishing would happen sooner for the safety of Foley.

It definately defined Mick Foley and the attitude era in general as the sick ass that would do annything including almost killing himself to win a match and get ratings

That bump Shawn took may have looked alot les sintense in comparison but he actually landed on the corner of the table with his spine b4 it broke which was the biggest contributing factor to him leaving wrestling for over four yrs soon after with an injured back.

 

[666_The_Game_666]

HHH and HBK this was the best way to end their near 2 year feud you HHH his character his no conciense or no remorse and HBK or in this case the reborn HBK who would feel remorse and what not. Put 2 of the 3 main guys involved in HIAC other being Taker then you get WAR this was just epic that they could go for over 40 minutes.

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

I'd have to say my favorite Hell In A Cell Match was:

Mankind vs. The Undertaker - King Of The Ring 98'

This is the most gutsiest performance I have ever seen. Watching this live was one of the most exciting moments in wrestling history. JR was so over the top he really gave it such suspense and made you realize how serious it all had become. Him pleading with Foley not to go back? Classic or should I pull a lame ass Michaels Cole quote........"Vintage, Foley!"

This really was one of the greatest rivalries of All-Time and this match was their best. It toook the whole feud to new heights (no pun intended). The match just kept building and building. Just a tremendous match, that never gets old. When I think of the words Hell In A Cell, I think of:

"My god Foley is a human pin cushion" or "Thumbtacks. Thousands and thousands of thumbtacks." or "My god they've killed him."

JR's commentary in that match is legendary. Plus Terry Funk getting knocked out of his shoes, that cracks me up.

 

[SAVE_YOURSELVES_111]

I'd have to say my favorite Hell In A Cell Match was:

Mankind vs. The Undertaker - King Of The Ring 98'

This is the most gutsiest performance I have ever seen. Watching this live was one of the most exciting moments in wrestling history. JR was so over the top he really gave it such suspense and made you realize how serious it all had become. Him pleading with Foley not to go back? Classic or should I pull a lame ass Michaels Cole quote........"Vintage, Foley!"

This really was one of the greatest rivalries of All-Time and this match was their best. It toook the whole feud to new heights (no pun intended). The match just kept building and building. Just a tremendous match, that never gets old. When I think of the words Hell In A Cell, I think of:

"My god Foley is a human pin cushion" or "Thumbtacks. Thousands and thousands of thumbtacks." or "My god they've killed him."

JR's commentary in that match is legendary. Plus Terry Funk getting knocked out of his shoes, that cracks me up.

As a moment in time, with Foley's stunts, the match is fine, but it's a three spot match (counting the thumbtacks). Hardly a great wrestling match!

The first one is the best, becaue it told a great story, and had such a fine build and flow to it! Shawn & Taker, gave the world what they wanted, and quite frankly needed to see at this time period, something innovative, something fresh! And to me how perfect it was, without any flaws, or screwups, is also what makes it great! It showed the world, just how good a wrestler 'Taker really was! Sure the Kane interference, might draw the ire of some, but somehow it seemed to fit, it wasn't "just anothter run-in".

 

[OWEN-ing It All]

As a moment in time, with Foley's stunts, the match is fine, but it's a three spot match (counting the thumbtacks). Hardly a great wrestling match!

The first one is the best, becaue it told a great story, and had such a fine build and flow to it! Shawn & Taker, gave the world what they wanted, and quite frankly needed to see at this time period, something innovative, something fresh! And to me how perfect it was, without any flaws, or screwups, is also what makes it great! It showed the world, just how good a wrestler 'Taker really was! Sure the Kane interference, might draw the ire of some, but somehow it seemed to fit, it wasn't "just anothter run-in".

I'll agree with you, if you can name me any match that had 3 better spots in it and that had the same emotion. No match in WWE ever set the bar that high. Those weren't just great moments they were mindboggling moments. The first bump could've ended the match or killed him, same for the second, but "the show must go on." And they continued to beat the shit out of one another. How much more suspense could've been built up? You really got the feeling that they were out to destroy one another and their rivalry was far more heated than Taker and HBK.......we're talking 3 years of feuding culminating in one of the most amazing matches of All-Time. It wasn't technical, and I'm a huge technical wrestling fan. But I also can appreciate heart, pride, and determination. You knew watching this match that everyone was breaking character, except Taker and Mankind - it made seem even more brutal that way. The refs, Funk, JR, everyone broke......but they kept going.

It was truly HELL In A Cell.......