Since WWE started the Hell In A Cell PPV concept, there's been incessant complaining about the matches that have taken place inside The Cell not being important or personal enough. In the HIAC PPV era, the first match to take place was CM Punk vs. The Undertaker. While it was a decent match, there was no heat behind it. There was nothing personal behind it, simply Undertaker kidnapping Teddy Long after Long had screwed him over in his submission match with CM Punk. Punk hadn't screwed Taker, a non-wrestler/General Manager did. Undertaker demanded a rematch inside Hell In A Cell, and a scared Teddy Long acquiesced. No personal issue between Punk and Undertaker, it simply fell inside the Cell because the PPV demanded it. The other two HIAC matches actually made sense, as Cena vs. Orton had become quite the rivalry, and Legacy vs. DX had become so as well. However, it was after 2009 that things fell off the wagon.
In 2010, we were given Sheamus vs. Randy Orton inside Hell In A Cell. Orton had won the six-pack challenge the previous month at Night of Champions to win the WWE Title, and this was simply Sheamus' rematch. No feud, nothing personal. It was simply the heel cashing in his rematch clause on the face champion. It wasn't brutal, it wasn't personal, and Orton retaining was a foregone conclusion. All that was left was to see if the two would have a good match, and it was slightly above average.
The other match that year was Kane vs. The Undertaker, which was actually quite personal. Kane had attacked Undertaker during the summer, taking him out for months. In the meanwhile, he began a ferocious search for Undertaker's attacker, and also won MITB in the process. When Undertaker had returned at Summerslam to attack Kane, he was tombstoned instead. The feud extended several months, and while it felt personal coming in, the match was awful. Quite simply, it was an embarrassing debacle, an insult of a main event for those who ordered the show.
2011 gave us Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton, and a triple threat match between Cena/Punk/Del Rio. Both matches were for the major championships, and both lacked heat. Henry had beaten Orton for the World Title the previous month at Night of Champions, and this was Orton's rematch clause. It fell inside Hell In a Cell not because it was personal, but because Orton needed his rematch and this was the PPV for it. The same could be said for the triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Cena had beaten Del Rio for the WWE Title the previous month, and Punk had not yet received his rematch. The addition of De Rio took all the personal aspects of what could have been Punk vs. Cena, which could have been very personal. So rather, we got a triple-threat match that was nothing more than two ex-champions cashing in their rematch clauses.
2012 almost worked, as there was only one Hell In A Cell match. However, it failed to work. Ryback was only filling in for an injured John Cena, who was truly the one in line for the shot. We've yet to get Cena vs. Punk in the Cell, and Ryback vs. Punk, which we just got again, was overshadowed by a heel turn by a referee. Again, a non-wrestler getting involved in the main event.
2013 was hit or miss. If Heyman had truly been inside the Cell with Punk, it would have worked. Instead, we got Ryback, a surrogate for Heyman. We also got a forgettable match, as the chemistry between the two was just not there. Conversely, it's hard to argue against Bryan vs. Orton in the Cell. The two had been feuding for months, and the feud got quite personal at times. And while it was a decent match at times, the finish was an overbooked mess, with another non-wrestler being the reason for the finish.
Why do I recap all of these? To show that Hell In A Cell is a poor concept, and like Undertaker vs. HHH at Wrestlemania, it's the timing and the personal nature of the feud that demands Hell In A Cell, not just because it's that "time of the year. For me, there have been two major, money feuds that could have worked inside the Cell, and it baffles me that WWE never went there.
2008: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels: The feud of the year, easily, and they left this outside the Cell altogether? Jericho threw HBK through the Jeritron, beat Michaels to referee stoppage at the Great American Bash, then puched his wife at Summerslam. How does this not work for inside the Cell. Granted, the two had a great, match-of-the year Ladder Match, but there's nothing personal in a ladder match. The Cell? That's another story altogether.
2009: Randy Orton vs. HHH: How did this match, which main-evented Wrestemania, not make it inside the Cell? Orton had kicked Vince in the head, punted Shane on multiple occasions, and RKO'd and DDT'd Stephanie. With the latter, he also placed a kiss on Stephanie with HHH handcuffed. Instead, they went for single's match as the main event of Wrestlemania 25, one that absolutely bombed. This match would have been perfect inside the Cell, perhaps even moreso than Jericho vs. HBK. What's more? It would have had to be a better match than the one we got at Wrestlemania.
These are just two examples, as I'm sure that there's quite a few more matches that should have gone inside the Cell, and failed to. Keeping in mind that the Cell was only introduced in 1997, go from 97' to present with your choice.
What match(es) belonged inside Hell In A Cell, and for some reason, didn't make it?Why?
What's the match that deserved the Cell the least, but got it anyway, and why?
In 2010, we were given Sheamus vs. Randy Orton inside Hell In A Cell. Orton had won the six-pack challenge the previous month at Night of Champions to win the WWE Title, and this was simply Sheamus' rematch. No feud, nothing personal. It was simply the heel cashing in his rematch clause on the face champion. It wasn't brutal, it wasn't personal, and Orton retaining was a foregone conclusion. All that was left was to see if the two would have a good match, and it was slightly above average.
The other match that year was Kane vs. The Undertaker, which was actually quite personal. Kane had attacked Undertaker during the summer, taking him out for months. In the meanwhile, he began a ferocious search for Undertaker's attacker, and also won MITB in the process. When Undertaker had returned at Summerslam to attack Kane, he was tombstoned instead. The feud extended several months, and while it felt personal coming in, the match was awful. Quite simply, it was an embarrassing debacle, an insult of a main event for those who ordered the show.
2011 gave us Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton, and a triple threat match between Cena/Punk/Del Rio. Both matches were for the major championships, and both lacked heat. Henry had beaten Orton for the World Title the previous month at Night of Champions, and this was Orton's rematch clause. It fell inside Hell In a Cell not because it was personal, but because Orton needed his rematch and this was the PPV for it. The same could be said for the triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Cena had beaten Del Rio for the WWE Title the previous month, and Punk had not yet received his rematch. The addition of De Rio took all the personal aspects of what could have been Punk vs. Cena, which could have been very personal. So rather, we got a triple-threat match that was nothing more than two ex-champions cashing in their rematch clauses.
2012 almost worked, as there was only one Hell In A Cell match. However, it failed to work. Ryback was only filling in for an injured John Cena, who was truly the one in line for the shot. We've yet to get Cena vs. Punk in the Cell, and Ryback vs. Punk, which we just got again, was overshadowed by a heel turn by a referee. Again, a non-wrestler getting involved in the main event.
2013 was hit or miss. If Heyman had truly been inside the Cell with Punk, it would have worked. Instead, we got Ryback, a surrogate for Heyman. We also got a forgettable match, as the chemistry between the two was just not there. Conversely, it's hard to argue against Bryan vs. Orton in the Cell. The two had been feuding for months, and the feud got quite personal at times. And while it was a decent match at times, the finish was an overbooked mess, with another non-wrestler being the reason for the finish.
Why do I recap all of these? To show that Hell In A Cell is a poor concept, and like Undertaker vs. HHH at Wrestlemania, it's the timing and the personal nature of the feud that demands Hell In A Cell, not just because it's that "time of the year. For me, there have been two major, money feuds that could have worked inside the Cell, and it baffles me that WWE never went there.
2008: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels: The feud of the year, easily, and they left this outside the Cell altogether? Jericho threw HBK through the Jeritron, beat Michaels to referee stoppage at the Great American Bash, then puched his wife at Summerslam. How does this not work for inside the Cell. Granted, the two had a great, match-of-the year Ladder Match, but there's nothing personal in a ladder match. The Cell? That's another story altogether.
2009: Randy Orton vs. HHH: How did this match, which main-evented Wrestemania, not make it inside the Cell? Orton had kicked Vince in the head, punted Shane on multiple occasions, and RKO'd and DDT'd Stephanie. With the latter, he also placed a kiss on Stephanie with HHH handcuffed. Instead, they went for single's match as the main event of Wrestlemania 25, one that absolutely bombed. This match would have been perfect inside the Cell, perhaps even moreso than Jericho vs. HBK. What's more? It would have had to be a better match than the one we got at Wrestlemania.
These are just two examples, as I'm sure that there's quite a few more matches that should have gone inside the Cell, and failed to. Keeping in mind that the Cell was only introduced in 1997, go from 97' to present with your choice.
What match(es) belonged inside Hell In A Cell, and for some reason, didn't make it?Why?
What's the match that deserved the Cell the least, but got it anyway, and why?
