Hell in a Cell means that it takes place inside a steel cell, but back in its first incarnation Hell in a Cell equaled brutality. Blood, guts, insane falls, the lot. Yes, entrenched as we are in the PG Era, a lot of the things that once made Hell in a Cell so great have fallen to the side.
Looking into the match between John Cena and Randy Orton at the show last month is a prime example. Sure, a few tables got broken and people got thrown into the cell, but it just doesn’t have the same joie de vivre that it once did. This could be because it was match 12,496 between the pair, but I don’t think so. The fact is that WWE cannot do the things that older wrestling fans grew to love about the spectacle.
There is no way that WWE could replicate classic matches such as Undertaker vs. Mankind or Cactus Jack vs. Triple H these days.
Let us rewind back to 1998, with the Undertaker vs. Mankind Hell in A Cell match at King of the Ring. The things that happened in and out of the squared circle that night bordered on brutality. Mick Foley was thrown 16 feet to the ground off the top of the cell, and then five minutes later, he went through the roof of it. He lost a tooth, and I’m pretty sure did himself permanent damage in so many ways, but he carved himself legendary status from doing so.
Now I’m not saying that taking these violent matches out of the system is a bad thing. Prolonging the careers of their superstars should be WWE’s main aim. Especially with characters such as Randy Orton, John Cena, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose; four of the biggest sports entertainers on the roster. In last month’s Pay Per View, Rollins and Ambrose managed to finish off their feud with one of the best matches of the night. It was reminiscent of the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels match back in 1997. It had someone falling off the cell into the announce table, there were weapons and there was even interference by an eery being. It was the best Hell in a Cell match WWE has produced in the PG Era.
Here is where the problem lies though. Hell in a Cell is known for the carnage that occurs inside and outside of the cage. But, when you dial down the carnage to just throw a couple of tables and chairs into the mix, is there a necessity to have a whole Pay Per View dedicated to it? My answer to that is No.
Not only that, since the Hell in a Cell PPV began, WWE has made it a point to have two of the hellacious matches on the same card. Not only does that lead to this match up being predictable, but it limits when else you can have a Hell in a Cell match.
Since they created the PPV back in 2009, WWE have featured only one Hell in a Cell match outside of its PPV on TV, and that was Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 28. Even then, 2012 was the only year since 2009 that WWE did not feature two matches inside the structure on the PPV; that year they left it on the shoulders of Ryback and CM Punk.
It’s a problem WWE have cornered themselves into. They’ve done it with TLC, Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank and Extreme Rules matches. All have gone from being spectacles, to being a regular occurrence. They were a regular occurrence before too, but there was the element of surprise to it. These days you see the feuds going into the PPV, and you can say “Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are going to be in Hell in a Cell.” It shouldn’t be like that by any stretch of the imagination. The way everybody marked out when Undertaker vs. Triple H was announced as a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania was fantastic. If WWE brought back the generic PPVs such as Armageddon, Backlash, No Mercy etc, the love would still be spread throughout the shows, but you just wouldn’t know what to expect.
Hell in a Cell is something we should associate with being a top match within WWE. But it’s not. Then we get to the PPV and find out that the WWE Champion – Brock Lesnar, isn’t even going to be attending. Nor will he be attending Survivor Series, or TLC.
The status of the Hell in a Cell match is plummeting. But what do you think about all this? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear them.
