WWE: Ranking all 40 Hell in a Cell matches from worst to best
25. WWE World Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contendership: John Cena vs. Randy Orton
When and Where: Hell in a Cell on October 26, 2014, in Dallas, TX
The second of two Hell in a Cell matches to feature John Cena taking on Randy Orton paid homage in a way to the original Hell in a Cell. This was only the second time that the winner of Hell in a Cell would get a shot at the WWE Champion. Unfortunately, that’s where the comparisons between this and the original between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels end.
While there were some decent spots between these two, the match didn’t need to be in the cell and turned out relatively underwhelming considering what these two superstars are capable of. Their rivalry never really worked, and while this was surely the better of their two Hell in a Cell matches, it just couldn’t become the kind of instant classic you’d expect these two to produce.
24. WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan
When and Where: Hell in a Cell on October 27, 2013, in Miami, FL
Less than six months before he’d main event WrestleMania 30 and give us “YEStleMania,” Daniel Bryan challenged Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. By this point, Bryan was a 2-time WWE Champion, but he’d only held the title for about 24 hours between both reigns. It was clear that Bryan was the one to go with, but WWE continued to have The Authority hold him down because it was “best for business.”
In this match, Shawn Michaels was chosen to be the Special Guest Referee. Despite the structure feeling superfluous, these two went on to have a really fun match. Daniel Bryan didn’t hold anything back, whether that meant doing a suicide dive into the cell or a superplex with a pile of chairs as a landing pad.
Ultimately, Triple H ended up forcing his way into the cell to check on a downed Shawn Michaels. Bryan took the opportunity to hit the running knee on Triple H but caught Sweet Chin Music from a frustrated HBK moments later that allowed Orton to cover him and capture the WWE Championship.
23. D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs. Mr. McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Big Show
When and Where: Unforgiven on September 17, 2006, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
This match was significantly better than it had any business being. At Unforgiven 2006, we saw the first glimpse of the “amplified” cell, which was four feet taller than the original 16-feet-tall version of the structure. While this is far from the best Hell in a Cell match, it’s surprisingly far from being the worst. Say what you will about Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon, but they were never afraid to get their asses kicked for our entertainment.
The story told during this match was really quite simple. Vince and Shane had the numbers and power advantage with Big Show on their side. Any time Big Show was active, he could dominate either Shawn or Triple H while Shane and Vince picked at the scraps. However, things shifted the second Big Show was neutralized.
Any time D-Generation X could temporarily nullify the impact of Big Show, they would start to just demolish the McMahons. Vince and Shane both started bleeding early and subsequently bled all over the place. Vince also got a face full of Big Show’s posterior, which was a nice cherry on top as DX picked up the win.
22. Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
When and Where: Hell in a Cell on October 25, 2015, in Los Angeles, CA
This wasn’t just a match that didn’t need to be inside Hell in a Cell, but one that no one ever really needed to see again in any form. It’s unfortunate how disappointing both this match and this rivalry were because there was plenty of reason to believe these two were capable of something great. You’ll hear about their epic clash in 2002 later on in this list.
Unfortunately, this match pretended that one never even happened. The pre-match video package labeled their WrestleMania 30 match as “Chapter 1,” which actively ignored something that could have made this match feel more special. This took place 13 years after their first Hell in a Cell meeting, but that didn’t mean these two were 13 years better.
There were some solid moments throughout, including good work with the steel steps and some creative work near the end by exposing the wood underneath the ring mat. There were a few spots on the wood, and Brock Lesnar ultimately hit an F5 on the exposed wood to pick up the win and end a match that could’ve been so much better.
21. World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Kevin Nash
When and Where: Bad Blood on June 15, 2003, in Houston, TX
I honestly expected this match to be much lower on my list. Going in, I’d figured this would land in the low 30s. There aren’t many glowing reviews of the 2003 run that Kevin Nash had, and this period for Triple H was widely criticized. With all of that in mind, along with Nash’s tendency towards injury, I expected this to be a bad match with a bad finish where Nash’s knees kept him from doing anything fun.
I was pleasantly surprised. Despite all of the negative factors that could have led to a trainwreck, this was a pretty enjoyable match. Mick Foley was there as the referee, and as such some Foley classics like the barbed wire 2×4 showed up. We also saw Triple H foraging through a small toolbox early on, grabbing a small hammer which he essentially used to kneecap Kevin Nash.
As things escalated, both men were bleeding all over the place, and the sledgehammer came into play as well. That barbed wire 2×4 even got wedged into the corner turnbuckle so that someone could be sent head-first into it. Things finally came to a conclusion with a sledgehammer shot and Pedigree finishing Nash in what was a really fun contest.