Ranking The 28 Greatest Hell In A Cell Matches In WWE History
5. Triple H Vs. Mick Foley (No Way Out 2000)
For anyone that believes that Shawn Michaels could come out of retirement to wrestle another match and it not significantly change the memory of WrestleMania 26, I point you to exhibit a) Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from 2000 with Mick Foleys career on the line. Foley lost and rode into the sunset for all of a few weeks before coming back to wrestle the WrestleMania 2000 main-event. Even then, the world did its best to rearrange the order of the February and April 2000 PPV bouts, putting the Fatal Fourway for the WWE Championship first in their minds. When Foley returned for a series of matches that did not stop until recent years, the legacy of No Way Out 2000 was forever tarnished. Yes, Foley gave us another spectacle the likes of which nobody else could match in his second and final Cell. No, however, it does not belong in the conversation anymore with the other ultra elite versions of Hell in a Cell. It is still top 5, but it is poised to be passed several times in a way that HBK vs. Taker and Foley vs. Taker will not be. Had Triple H vs. Foley maintained the stipulation that Foleys career ended, then this would be a totally different match. The finish, once the last gasps of life in a legendary career, now seems anti-climactic. Watched today, the bout appears structured only to get in Foleys crazy bumps and lacks the story of the Royal Rumble Street Fight from a few weeks prior. Foley vs. Trips was a great match, but it is a sinking ship. The only thing keeping it in the top 10 is the poorer quality of modern Cell bouts.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
