Ranking All 30 WWE Hell in a Cell Matches
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8) Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker – WWE Championship Match, No Mercy 2002
Believe it or not, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar fought prior to WrestleMania 30.
The build for this match started earlier in the fall around the Unforgiven pay-per-view. These two destroyed each other in the weeks leading up to this match, throwing each other into the stages and equipment. Lesnar even broke Undertaker’s arm at one point. This also featured Undertaker allegedly cheating on his wife, which was a bit ridiculous.
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These two immediately began trying to tear each other apart with hard punches and shoulders to the gut. Lesnar would even get bloodied early on by ‘Taker’s cast. The Dead Man continued his viciousness by continuously rubbing Lesnar into the steel and throwing him into it. The pain Lesnar was in and the blood he kept losing only kept getting worse.
A turning point of this match would come when Paul Heyman handed Lesnar a belt. He tied it to Undertaker’s injured hand, and gave it to Heyman, who held it as Lesnar bashed ‘Taker with a chair. He then tried ripping the cast off but Undertaker fought back. Lesnar eventually ripped the cast off.
These two continued to beat each other up. ‘Taker hit a dive through the ropes and smashed Lesnar into the cell. Lesnar kept responding, though, especially with the sickening thud of the steel steps he used.
Undertaker would finally work a comeback while covered in blood. He stomped away on Lesnar and hit a few big clotheslines. He followed this up with a devastating chokeslam and Last Ride, which Lesnar kicked out of.
Lesnar would eventually reverse a Tombstone into an F-5 for the win.
This match was a bloodbath. SummerSlam 2002 may have really put Lesnar on the map but this match solidified his status as “The Next Big Thing.” It’s also a reason why after being gone for so many years, Lesnar was able to come back and be booked as this monster that we know him as today. The former Minnesota Gopher really is one of the few people who WWE has booked properly over the years.
Next: No. 7