100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)

WWE billed this Hell In A Cell encounter as the 'End Of An Era'. It was supposed to be complete closure on the 'Attitude' boom, but there was next to no chance the company would stop talking about one of their most critically lauded periods. Why should they? However, everyone tuning in went along for the (last) ride between Triple H and The Undertaker, and WWE execs had the sense to include Shawn Michaels as a special guest ref and Jim Ross on commentary.

Both helped hugely, because they added so much credibility to the spectacle without ever threatening to chip any of the focus away from Trips striving to end 'Taker's legendary 'Mania winning streak. That'd still be intact for a few years yet, so WWE heaped on the drama by alleging that Hunter would never get another shot at proving his worth vs. 'The Deadman'.

Some of the near falls in this one were agonisingly close, so much so that the big crowd in Miami were tricked and seduced by the thought that D-Generation X pals Trips and HBK would screw Undertaker over in the end. That had to happen, right? Wrong, 'Taker survived until getting his undead balls booted black and blue by Brock Lesnar in 2014, and all three men posed on the ramp with a sense of finality.

They'd completed the 'Attitude Era'.

This bout easily could've headlined the entire show. Nothing else, including Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk or The Rock vs. John Cena could come close to topping it. Triple H couldn't quite better what Michaels achieved with Undertaker, but he came eerily close.