The next gimmick-themed WWE PPV is just around the corner, and fans are gearing up to see who will face Seth Rollins inside the demonic structure known as Hell in a Cell: John Cena or Dean Ambrose. If that is the only cell match on the PPV of the same name, then it will be the 29th HIAC match in WWE history, a storied past that reaches back 17 years. Hell in a Cell is supposed to be a rarely used gimmick in WWE that is an endpoint for feuds. Consider that before WWE implemented the Hell in a Cell PPV in 2009, there had been only 16 cell matches (over 12 years). That means the remaining 12 have taken place in the last five years (although one is a dark match). Ten have taken place at the five HIAC PPVs, and the outlier is the Undertaker-Triple H End of an Era match at WrestleMania XXVIII. The Hell in a Cell match is one of the most brutal types of matches in existence (at least, in major mainstream wrestling promotions). Throughout its history, the Hell in a Cell match has produced some iconic images that have become synonymous not just with the match, but WWE itself. The terms hardcore and bloodbath easily could be used to describe various moments. These violent, death-defying acts can all be relived thanks to YouTube and the WWE Network, but those are about the only places youll see them. Fans who tune in to watch the Hell in a Cell PPV later this month will not see any of these acts during the cell match involving Rollins and Cena or Ambrose. While these moves dont fit in with a company that has gone PG, several of them have been phased out due to concern for the wellbeing of the wrestlers competing and just plain common sense. So enjoy this stroll down a bloody Memory Lane, and wonder what havoc still can be wrought inside Hell in a Cell.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
