Match 1: Bad Blood 1997 - Hell in a Cell - Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
It's
nearly been 20 years since the first Hell in a Cell match. Put that in
your head for a second and let it sink in. It's incredibly difficult to
watch matches from 20 years ago and give them a proper rating. I've seen
this match tons of times and I try to rate every match as if it was my
first or second viewing. We all know how the match goes down. They truly
made The Undertaker look unstoppable and at the same time, beatable.
The look of sheer fear on the face of Michaels was awesome. He did his
best to stop The Deadman but not even a Sweet Chin Music could beat him
as Undertaker quickly sat up right after. The match really picked up
here when Michaels escaped the cage before leading The Undertaker to the
very top. Here, The Undertaker dropped Michaels off the top as he
landed through an announcers table. We tend to forget that Michaels fell
off it first. Back in the ring, Kane makes his legendary debut and
Tombstones Undertaker before Michaels pins him for the big win. What an
incredible debut for the match despite all the 1997 shenanigans. I'm
going to go ahead and give it a ****1/4 even though I probably had it
higher on my first or second viewings. But why should that even matter?
Never hurts to go back and relive this match.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ****1/4
Match 2: Raw 1998 - Hell in a Cell - Kane & Mankind vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Undertaker
This
is definitely one of the most forgotten Hell in a Cell matches of all
time. I always find it funny when people complain about booking in 2016
and claim how great it was back during The Attitude Era. They booked
some wacky stuff and this one was definitely a great example. Paul
Bearer is with Kane & Mankind as he decides to lock himself the cage
before The Undertaker could come out as Kane & Mankind work
together to take out Stone Cold Steve Austin. However, Undertaker
appears from under the ring and beats the living hell out of Bearer
while Austin turns the tides against Mankind after Kane climbs the cage
and tries to find a way inside the cage to help his dad. Just imagine if
they booked something like this in 2016. Austin climbs the cage and
beats the crap out of Kane as the footage stops there. If I'm correct,
Austin & Undertaker go on to win the match but I guess they didn't
feel the need to play the entire match. More of an angle than anything.
Winners: Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Undertaker
Rating: n/a
Match 3: King of the Ring 1998 - Hell in a Cell - Mankind vs. The Undertaker
Here
it is. Easily the most legendary match of The Attitude Era and quite
possibly, the most legendary match of all time. I could recall watching
this match as a kid on VHS and just being in complete awe of what I was
witnessing. As odd as it may sound, the violence was something that
captivated me. In 2016, I feel the same way. Such an incredible feeling
it is to go back and watch this match and reminisce about the yonder
days. When they Mankind challenged The Undertaker to start the match on
top of the cage, you knew shit was going to hit the deck. As nasty as
that first fall was, the second one through the cage may have been
worse. And as nasty as that was, it may even pale in comparison to the
two drops Mankind took on the thumbtacks. Let's also not forget the
commentary by Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler. The call has now become
famous and replayed tons of times throughout history. Undertaker hitting
a Tombstone on Mankind was one of the only times in wrestling where I
was relieved to see a ***** match come to a close. It was an insane
ride. Quite possibly the greatest match I have ever seen in my life.
Even at 24 years of age, this simply does not get old.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: *****
Match 4: Raw 1998 - Hell in a Cell - Kane vs. Mankind
It's
pretty remarkable to think how forgotten some of these older Hell in a
Cell matches are, especially this one. But for good reason. Again, The
Attitude Era featured some of the oddest booking decisions and this one
is a prime example. Like the tag match they had months ago, this Hell in
a Cell match was just used to promote an upcoming PPV. The Undertaker
made an appearance where he threw Mankind off the cage as he was
climbing it. Who remembers that? They also brought in some thumbtacks to
the party as Kane hit a Tombstone and looked to seal the win. Stone
Cold Steve Austin comes out and attacks Kane as the referee then calls
for the disqualification finish. What? Undertaker is locked outside the
cage and tries to enter inside as he climbs the cage and tries his best
to kick his way inside. But out of nowhere, the cage raises and a shot
of Vince McMahon raising the cage is shown. What did I just watch? This
wasn't even a match, just chaos. And not really in a good way. I guess
that's what was popular in 1998.
Winner: n/a
Rating *1/4
Match 5: No Way Out 2000 - WWF Championship - Hell in a Cell - Triple H (c) vs. Cactus Jack
After
an insane match at Royal Rumble, these two wage war in another epic
match inside the confines of Hell in a Cell. This was scheduled to be
Cactus Jack's last match if he lost to Triple H. Well, we all know how
that turned out. Either way, this match was another great one in the
lineage of Hell in a Cell matches. Although this one tends to get
overlooked because of Mick Foley's match against The Undertaker at King
of the Ring, this one definitely holds it down. At this point, however, I
started to get the feeling that they did the falls from the top of the
cage for the simple sake of just doing it. The spot of having Cactus
fall off when attempting to meet Triple H up there just seemed
unnecessary. Before that, the action in the ring was good and the
animosity between the two was felt before they broke open a side of the
cage. They brought the famous 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire into play and
took it a notch higher by lighting it on fire. Before making use of it,
Triple H back dropped Cactus through the top cage and through the ring.
Cactus got up to a Pedigree and lost the match. His career "ended"
there. Great match and although they tried to top past matches, it
didn't really hit that certain level of awe the Hell in a Cell match at
King of the Ring reached.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****
Match
6: Armageddon 2000 - WWF Championship - Hell in a Cell - Kurt Angle (c)
vs. Triple H vs. Rikishi vs. The Undertaker vs. The Rock vs. Stone Cold
Steve Austin
Incredible to look back at this match and realize
that all of these guys will one day become a hall of famer if they
haven't been inducted yet. Was this a bit of a chaotic frenzy? Sure. But
was it a lot of fun? Hell yeah. You knew shit was going to hit the fan
when Stone Cold Steve Austin came down to the ring and rung Kurt Angle's
bell to get things going. One thing that really stood out to me was the
amount of blood, they wanted to get over to us that this was going to
be a war. They certainly did that and it came across so clearly when you
see everybody shedding blood around. Kurt Angle's face looked like it
had been ripped off. It was pretty odd when Vince McMahon came out with a
truck and tried to end the match. His plan just seemed so odd, he
wanted to tear the whole cage down so he tore off the door. Anyway, they
spilled the action outside to the stage and finally, atop the cage.
This is the iconic moment where The Undertaker Chokeslammed Rikishi off
the top and onto the bed of the truck! That was certainly a sight. In
the ring, Angle was able to pin an unconscious Rock for the win to
retain the gold. Austin gave Angle a Stunner for his troubles
afterwards. That was certainly something and definitely a breath of
fresh air for the Hell in a Cell match. Another notch to its insane
lineage.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Rating: ****1/2
Overall Thoughts and Rating:
Disc
1 represents the advent and early days of the Hell in a Cell and really
displays how huge an impact this gimmick has had on the business. As
for my score? I mean, how could I give a DVD less than a 10/10 when it
features the greatest match in professional wrestling history?
Everything else was just icing on the cake. And damn, that icing was
good.
Rating: 10/10
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