WWE: Has The Hell In A Cell Match Lost Its Aura?

For a few big HIAC matches after this, extreme was the port of call, with memorable encounters between Cactus Jack and HHH at No Way Out 2000 and the 6 man HIAC match at Armageddon in the same year both providing big bumps that the fans loved. After this however, the way the matches were booked focused on brutality in the ring rather than the extremities of somebody taking a massive fall from the top. It could be seen that this has taken something away from the matches, but on the flip side of the argument what more can you do once you have seen a man thrown from the top of the structure onto the announce table? Arguably this would not be seen at all in today's WWE product due to the age rating on it's programming, but even before this the general booking format was altered for these matches. It would not be until 2002 that the next Hell In A Cell match would take place, when HHH faced Chris Jericho at the Judgment Day PPV of that year. This was followed later in the year by a memorable match inside the structure between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, in which The Undertaker had his head split open and poured blood for the final stages of the match. After this, we would continue to see a Hell In A Cell match each year, with the match type headlining the PPV named after it in 2009, 2010, 2011 and now we are again heading to another in 2012. Perhaps the scheduled yearly event has killed the anticipation that once surrounded the match type? In 2010, the Hell In A Cell Main Event matches contested in the match type were Randy Orton vs Sheamus and Kane vs The Undertaker. It could certainly be argued that fans remember the details of these contests far less than the earlier HIAC matches mentioned, but was this down to lack of a memorable 'moment' or the fact the match type has become stale? Did the metal structure add anything to these matches to make them special? If failing in it's role, has the WWE ever replaced the Hell In A Cell as a match designed to end feuds and settle rivalries? In 2002, the year when arguably the HIAC match type began to decline due to losing the big talking points, the Elimination Chamber was introduced. Also billed as the 'most brutal structure in WWE', this match also had a similar focus on violence and pain infliction that the Hell In A Cell had previously been touted as. However, with the fact that this match would always need to involve 6 men, the HIAC still had the advantage in that it could be used in a 1 on 1 situation. The Punjabi Prison match, with a structure made from bamboo, was brought in at the Great American Bash in 2006, but this seemingly did not receive the reception from fans and critics that WWE would have liked, with it being universally panned at the time.
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A watcher of Professional Wrestling since 1989, in that time has filled up too much of his mind with knowledge of the subject. Tries to see Wrestling from the viewpoint of all types of fan, once refereed an event during his teenage years and got a grazed chin from a Superkick to the face. Follow his daily musings on Twitter - @lmheir