100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
33. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (Badd Blood 1997)
Nobody quite knew what to expect from Hell In A Cell when the gimmick match took its first bow at In Your House: Badd Blood in October 1997. On paper, it just seemed like this would be a standard steel cage match with a roof overhead. No escapes possible - The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels would have to beat the other man senseless to win.
The result was a match so powerful it became the last WWF/WWE clash given 5 stars by Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer until John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money In The Bank 2011. A Cell war didn't get the 5 star treatment again until Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins in 2022, for the record. That's how special the original proved to be. Even Mankind vs. 'Taker and others failed to top it on Meltzer's bespoke scale.
Anyone worried that this would be a confined, possibly even dull brawl inside the structure would've been giddy when a kayfabe cameraman injury forced the door open. That let both wrestlers fight out of the Cell, and it led to Shawn's memorable bump through the Spanish announce table. Mick Foley would be watching, and he'd raise the stakes on big bumps in HIAC matches the following summer!
Kane's debut was another highlight. He ripped the door (which had been locked again) off its hinges, stuck his storyline bro with a Tombstone Piledriver, then Michaels pinned 'Taker to score the unlikely win. Two legends were born that night: Kane and the Hell In A Cell match itself.
People wanted more. Much more, and they'd get it.