Grading all of the Hell in A Cell pay-perviews

Although Hell in A Cell is a perilous structure that has been around in WWE for more than two decades, it has become a regular pay-per-view in the annual WWE calendar since 2009. As the name suggests, the pay-per-view is a thematic one with at least one Hell in A Cell match taking place at the event.

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In 2009, The Undertaker and CM Punk faced off in a Hell in A Cell match with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, Randy Orton defended his coveted WWE title against John Cena inside the demonic structure. Triple H and Shawn Michaels joined forces to take on the duo of Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes inside the titular structure.

In 2010, Randy Orton put his WWE title up for grabs against Sheamus in one of two Hell in A Cell matches. The main event of the night saw The Undertaker, with Paul Bearer on his side, battle Kane in a Hell in A Cell match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

In 2011, Mark Henry put his World Heavyweight title on the line against a revengeful Randy Orton inside the brutal Hell in A Cell structure.Elsewhere on the card, Alberto Del Rio defended his WWE title against John Cena and CM Punk.

In 2012, only one Hell in A Cell match took place, i.e between the undefeated Ryback and CM Punk for the WWE Championship.

In 2013, CM Punk looked to exact revenge on Paul Heyman and Ryback inside the unforgiving structure known as Hell in A Cell. The vacant WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan took place inside Hell in A Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

In 2014, Randy Orton and John Cena wrote another chapter in their epic rivalry when they battled inside Hell in A Cell for a future world title opportunity. In the main event, Dean Ambrose looked to dismantle Seth Rollins in a structure that would suit his purpose fittingly,i.e Hell in A Cell.

In 2015, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt fought inside the gruesome structure in their personal rivalry. Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker wrote the final chapter in their epic rivalry inside Hell in A Cell.

In 2016, Roman Reigns defended his US title against Rusev in the opening match of the night. Seth Rollins continued his pursuit of the Universal Championship when he battled Kevin Owens inside the steel structure. Charlotte and Sasha Banks competed in the first-ever women's Hell in A Cell match.

In 2017, The Usos looked to capture the title from their arch-rivals, The New Day, in a solid match of the year candidate and Shane McMahon looked to sought revenge from the vicious Kevin Owens in a highly physical bout.

Now, let's grade all the HIAC pay-per-views in WWE history.

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#1 Hell in A Cell 2009

A great main-event to cap off a decent show.

The inaugural Hell in A Cell pay-perview was a decent and entertaining show, with a few disappointments.

First of all, The cell was seldom used and the matches weren't as brutal and gruesome as you'd expect. Undertaker and CM Punk were given less time and they could've had a much better match if they had been given more time. John Cena Vs Randy Orton was a good match but the fans had grown tired of the rivalry. The main event between D-Generation X and The Legacy was the best of their entire series in 2009.

Secondly, other than John Morrison Vs Dolph Ziggler, the under-card was extremely underwhelming. None of the matches were on par and time placement was a major issue. There was something off about the tag-team match and Batista and Rey Mysterio never clicked as a tag-team. The less said about the Divas match, the better and The US Championship match was pretty stale too.

All in all, Hell in A Cell 2009 wasn't that good, but it wasn't bad either.

Grade: C+

#2.Hell in A Cell 2010

A brutal contest.

In the eyes of many fans, Hell in A Cell 2010 was a colossal failure and a massive disappointment.

Firstly, The main-event between The Undertaker and Kane was utterly atrocious and horrendous to watch. Paul Bearer's betrayal was unnecessary and didn't do the rivalry much good. The match between Wade Barret and John Cena was overbooked with too much of outside interference. Barret winning was the right decision, but a clean victory would have solidified him as a main-eventer. Edge defeated Jack Swagger in a random match with no stakes and the women's match was definitely a bathroom break.

With the exclusion of the WWE Championship and United States Championship contests, the action was sloppy, plodding and underwhelming. Randy Orton and Sheamus put on the match of the night whereas Daniel Bryan, The Miz and John Morrison worked an acceptable match.

Overall, Hell in A Cell 2010 was one of the worst shows of the year.

Grade: D

#3.Hell in A Cell 2011

Miz and R Truth were arrested after HIAC went off

air

Hell in A Cell 2011 came at a glorious time for WWE. New faces were emerging in the main-event picture and it looked as if WWE has heading into a new era. The show was a decent show , but it could have been much better had WWE built the event up properly.

The main-event was arguably the match of the night and Del Rio winning was a good decision, in my opinion. R Truth and Miz's post-match hijack of the cell was a memorable moment and the act solidified the two as legitimate villains. Mark Henry had one of his best matches against Randy Orton inside the cell. Sheamus and Christian proved that they were the best of their era.

Aside from the three afore-mentioned matches, nothing much of note happened at the event. The under-card's insignificance was what brought the quality of the showdown.

Grade: B

#4. Hell in A Cell 2012

A terrible finish.

Hell in A Cell 2012 was a forgettable show and it was long forgotten a month after the event took place It was a night marred with lackluster action, indecisive finishes and questionable booking decisions.

The show featured only one Hell in A Cell match between CM Punk and Ryback, which was a disappointing and horrendous affair. The match shouldn't have taken place inside the steel structure as the rivalry wasn't good enough for the historic structure.

Moreover, the contest was cut short by a screw-job when the referee, Brad Maddox, hit a low blow and counted to 3 seconds within a blink of an eye. I understand that Ryback had to be protected but Punk should've done the low blow himself to get the victory. Nevertheless, the lone highlight of the match was Ryback's Shell-Shock atop of the cell.

Big Show and Sheamus went way longer than it had any right to be. The two didn't have good chemistry at all and this match was living proof of that. The tag-team match ended in disqualification and was doomed to fail from the get-go. The rest of the under-card was filler and disappointing.

The only savior of the show was the opening thriller between Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio, which was undoubtedly the match of the night.

Grade: D+

#5. Hell in A Cell 2013

Bryan Vs Orton inside HIAC.

Hell in A Cell 2013 was a very good show, in my opinion. It was a fun night filled with great action and high drama.

The main-event was a good match between two in-ring veterans. Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan showed that they had incredible chemistry in the ring. You could argue that Shawn Michaels' heel turn at the end wasn't needed, but it was a good twist. Paul Heyman finally got his comeuppance at the hands of CM Punk after Punk successfully fended off Ryback. The triple threat tag-team match was a great opener and John Cena's return match was a decent bout.

The sole disappointment was the US Championship match which was treated as a throwaway match on a random episode of Raw. The Divas Championship match was kept extremely short.

Aside from that, the event was a good show.

Grade: B+

#6. Hell in A Cell 2014

A wild brawl between two wild cats.

Hell in A Cell 2014 was one of those rare shows that didn't have a world championship match, owing to then-champion, Brock Lesnar's, part-time schedule. The show managed to do well without the champion, but there were still a few hiccups.

Firstly, the two Hell in A Cell matches were great matches. Although, Cena and Orton fought for the umpteenth time, they managed to put together a great match. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins had an all-out war, but Bray Wyatt's interference towards the end of the match wasn't a great decision.

They battled all around the cell, even at the top of the cell. Their fall, however, was horribly executed as it looked as if Ambrose fell through the announce table on purpose. The undercard wasn't that bad either, it was pretty good. Dolph Ziggler and Cesaro had an exciting two out of three falls of match whereas The Miz and Sheamus had a decent match.

There's a lot to complain about in the event. The divas matches were kept short and treated as afterthoughts even though there were high stakes involved in both bouts. Having a part-time world champion is never good and Lesnar's absence was conspicuous.

Grade: C+

#7. Hell in A Cell 2015

Seth Rollins took on Kane at HIAC.

Hell in A Cell 2015 was one of the best shows of the year, and part of the reason for that was the amazing prelude to the event. The event delivered in every way possible.

The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar had an old-school type brawl which reminisced memories of the Attitude Era. The action was gruesome and brutal, to say the least. Taker showed that he could still go in the ring and The Wyatt Family's post-match assault on Taker made for a fun re-union of the Brothers of Destruction.

Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt had a great encounter that put an end to their storied rivalry. Charlotte carried Nikki Bella to an acceptable match. Alberto Del Rio's surprise return was unexpected and his clean win over John Cena was even a bigger surprise. Kane and Seth Rollins had a good match which showcased each competitor's strengths.

However, Kevin Owens Vs Ryback wasn't an exciting match at all, in fact the crowd was dead for it. Moreover, Kane and Seth Rollins should have fought inside the steel structure.

Grade: B+

#8. Hell in A Cell 2016

Banks got injured early on in the match.

This event featured the first-ever women's Hell in a Cell match, but the event still left a sour taste in the mouth after it ended.

Roman Reigns and Rusev fought inside Hell in A Cell to cap off a terrible rivalry. The match went longer than it should have and the action inside the cell was slow. Charlotte and Sasha Banks had an underwhelming encounter after Banks suffered an injury early on in the match. The match could have been better had Banks stayed healthy throughout the match. Charlotte's win continued the hot-potato between the two stars.

Banks shouldn't have lost the title in her hometown. The tag title match was ruined by a disqualification match which made the match look like a joke. The cruiser-weight match had no one excited even though the in-ring action was great.

Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens had the match of the night and the two showed that they were world-class athletes, however, Chris Jericho's involvement proved that Owens couldn't beat Rollins clean.

Grade: C

#9. Hell in A Cell 2017

A rare sight in the modern era.

Hell in A Cell 2017 was SmackDown Live's best show of the year. It was a good show ,but a few booking decisions left fans baffled.

The event saw two great Hell in A Cell matches that redefined extremism and brutality in the WWE. The Usos and The New Day fought in an entertaining and thrilling bout that was brutal in every sense of the word. Randy Orton and Rusev finally had a proper match after their debacle at SummerSlam. The US title match was one of the best matches of Baron Corbin's career and Corbin's win gave him some much-needed momentum.

The main event between Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens saw Shane take his usual breath-taking risks. McMahon's crash through the table from the top of the cell was an OMG moment and Sami Zayn's heel turn was a huge shock for all fans watching the event.

However, the event saw Natalya Vs Charlotte that was a disappointing match. Jinder Mahal's tyrannical reign continued at Hell in A Cell. Moreover, watching Shinsuke Nakamura lose cleanly to Jinder Mahal was atrocious and spelled trouble for the King of Strong Style.

Grade: B