WWE: 7 Innovations Jim Cornette Did That Changed Wrestling

5. He Created The Hell In A Cell Concept

Cornette's done many interviews over the years with various wrestling shows from internet shows hosted by fans to the "YouShoot" series that the Kayfabe Commentaries crew does. Type "Jim Cornette" in youtube and you can hear hours of discussions from Cornette on a variety of topics. He's not shy about sharing his opinion. During one of his interviews, Cornette mentioned that he came up with the Hell in a Cell match concept because WWE needed something new and different. He was a part of the creative team in 1997 team, so he pitched the idea to Vince McMahon as a content to settle the Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker feud. Cornette came up with Hell in a Cell as a combination of a cage that surrounded the majority of the ringside area because it was popular in Memphis wrestling promotions. It was different from a regular cage because it allowed wrestlers to battle outside the ring instead of just inside it. The other aspect of the HIAC was to put a roof on it. That's something that came from the NWA/WCW match idea for War Games although in a War Games match there were two rings so it wasn't a direct copy of it. The Hell in a Cell match is regarded as arguably the best gimmick match in WWE. We've seen people like Mick Foley thrown off it, we also saw Foley thrown through it and there have been other instances with Edge and Undertaker where they broke the side of it as a way to get outside of it. They even created a PPV around it. If you're a fan of Hell in a Cell matches you should thank Cornette because without him we wouldn't have so many great memories from inside that ominous cage.