Hell in a Cell PPV was always a bad move

Hell in a Cell – Satan’s structure

Hell in a Cell – A name that sends shivers down a wrestler’s spine. Or at least, it used to.

There was a time when Hell in a Cell matches held relevance of their own. Not that they are irrelevant now, but they used to be something mammoth, something which was used to draw a curtain on a long standing rivalry.

Final nail in the coffin. The last stand.

It all began in 1997, at the WWF Badd Blood PPV, where The Undertaker faced Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell in a Cell match. This match also marked the debut of Kane in WWF, who was introduced to the spectators as Undertaker’s long lost brother who was looking for revenge.

In short, it was according to the ongoing storyline where Undertaker wanted to extract revenge against Michaels for costing him the WWF Championship a couple of months ago.

Then, there was the epic match between Undertaker and Mankind inside the Satan’s structure at King of the Ring 1998. It was a match that redefined the word ‘brutality’. The match had jaw dropping moments like Mankind falling from the top of the cell on to the Spanish announce table and still choosing to continue with the bout.

No wrestling fan can forget the picture of Mankind smiling after falling from the top of the 20 feet cell. Nor can anyone forget the determination in eyes of The Undertaker to finish the job he started. And finish he did with a skull crashing tombstone pile-driver.

But that was the ‘Attitude Era’, surely WWE cannot do the same in the PG Era, right?

Wrong! PG Era has seen some of the best Hell in a Cell matches.

If we jog our recent memory, the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28 comes to mind. The match proved that Hell in a Cell still has a potential to provide a conclusion to epic rivalries.

However, over the past few years, Hell in a Cell has been mocked, made fun of and taken lightly by none other than the WWE itself.

The logic behind making a PPV for Hell in a Cell matches is nowhere to be found. Hell in a Cell matches cannot be predetermined as they should be decided according to the intensity of the storyline.

So, when Ryback was pushed to face CM Punk at last year’s Hell in a Cell PPV, without having faced him ever before, hearts of wrestling fans around the world took a dive.

There was no story behind it as the match was made just to fill up the quota of being a Hell in a Cell match. That, in itself, is shame to the name of Hell in a Cell.

There have been many other similar instances since the formation of the Hell in a Cell PPV. Mark Henry against Randy Orton at 2011 edition of PPV comes to mind when one thinks about half-cooked storylines.

Same could be said about the feud between Randy Orton and Sheamus in 2010. The feud was not intense enough to deserve a Hell in a Cell match.

Hell in a Cell is the last stop. It will be better if WWE treats it the same way.

Luckily, for the wrestling fraternity, WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 will be the last installment of the PPV. WWE were knocked into sense after the numbers of PPV hit them in the head. People are not interested in watching half-cooked, partially-intense Hell in a Cell matches.

Using Hell in a Cell as a theme of the PPV was a wrong move since its inception. The fact that WWE decided to actually work on the idea and shatter the devilish image of Hell in a Cell will be a mystery for ages to come.

However, it is better late than never. Even though the aura of a Hell in a Cell match has been compromised, the wrestlers and spectators are still aware of the real meaning behind the idea. And it is now up to WWE to make up for all the wrong they have done with this demonic structure.

And as for the fans, just sit back and prepare to be thrilled, yet again!