The 5 best Hell in a Cell Matches

On the 5th October 1997, WWE debuted the Hell in a Cell gimmick match to resolve the escalating feud between The Undertaker and his antagonist, Shawn Michaels.

Michaels had inadvertently cost Undertaker the WWF Championship at Summerslam 1997, but instead of showing remorse, decided to antagonize "The Phenom" repeatedly.

After their first-ever meeting in September 1997 at the Ground Zero event had ended in a No Contest after a wild, chaotic brawl in which there was a bagful of outside interferences. The only way to settle the score was to create a new type of match, one which would lock out outsiders and lock in the two combatants.

Over the past 20 years, the Hell in a Cell has been WWE's premier feud-ending match. It has also played host to some of the most violent confrontations in company history. This countdown lists the five most violent.

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#5 Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (Badd Blood: In Your House 18, October 5, 1997)

The first ever Hell in a Cell match thrilled and shocked in equal measure.

The feud between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker culminated in a chaotic, violent and bloody encounter that was unlike anything that had been seen before in WWE.

Both men blasted each other with brutal steel chair shots to the head and body and utilized the cage mesh and steel steps to violent effect on one another.

After Michaels attacked a camera-man, the locked cell door was opened to stretcher him out. Once unlocked, the action spilled outside and ended on the roof of the cell.

As a bloodied Michaels desperately tried to escape The Undertaker by climbing down the cell, 'Taker caught up to him and smashed his boots on Michaels's hands causing him to lose his balance and crash through an announce table below.

Just as it seemed 'Taker was about to claim victory, his long-lost brother Kane emerged and tomb-stoned him. An alert Michaels, with all of the energy, left remaining in his battered body crawled over to his fallen foe and covered him for the win.

Michaels's face was a proverbial crimson mask but he had won what was the most violent match in company history at that point in time.

#4 D-Generation X (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) vs Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon & The Big Show (Unforgiven, September 17, 2006)

In a surprisingly brutal end to what had largely been a comedy feud between the reformed D-Generation X team of Triple H and Shawn Michaels and their employers, the McMahon's Vince and Shane ended in Hell in a Cell.

After continually being screwed over by the McMahon's, friends turned enemies, Triple H and Michaels re-united and tormented and tortured their bosses.

The McMahon's continually failed to get the better of Triple H and Michaels as a team and resorted to booking them in a Hell in a Cell match with themselves and the 7 foot tall, 500 pound Big Show as an insurance policy to ensure they finally got the job done.

It wasn't to be. The demonic structure awakened the psychotic sides of Triple H and Michaels.

The most violent spots saw a steel chair wrapped around Shane's neck before Michaels delivered an elbow drop on top of it from the turnbuckle. D-X pulled down Bigshow's trunks and forcefully shoved Vince's head into 'Show's anus before Triple H smashed (and broke) a sledgehammer over Vince's head to pick up the victory.

It was a total massacre. The bloodied faces of the combatants at the conclusion of the match showed how much all five men had suffered for their art.

#3 Triple H vs Cactus Jack (No Way Out, February 27, 2000)

Cactus Jack brought IT to the King of Kings

One month earlier at the Royal Rumble 2000 event, Triple H and Mick Foley's alter ego, Cactus Jack contested a supremely violent Street Fight in which barbed wire, steel chairs, thumbtacks and sledgehammers had come into play.

It was thought that the brutality of that clash couldn't be topped. However, the pair managed to do just that inside Hell in a Cell at No Way Out.

In scenes reminiscent of Mick Foley's match with The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1998 as his Mankind character, Cactus Jack found himself atop the Hell in a Cell roof once more.

What goes up must come down. A backdrop from Triple H to Foley, sent him crashing through the roof to the canvas below.

The force of the fall was such, that the ring canvas actually buckled under Foley's weight. In a further callback to the King of the Ring match, Foley took further falls into thumbtacks. This time face-first.

The brutality was over. Triple H was victorious but both men shaved years off of their careers with the punishment sustained in this encounter.

#2 Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker (No Mercy, October 20, 2002)

No Mercy was an apt name for a pay-per-view which was headlined by this extremely bloody massacre that at times resembled something out of a horror movie.

The youngest WWE Champion in company history had something to prove after only seven months on the main roster and did so in stupendous fashion.

Lesnar looked every bit the beast as he tossed around his opponent, The Undertaker with ease and busted him open hard-way on the forehead, which caused 'Taker to gush blood like a fountain that covered himself, Lesnar and the ring canvas.

It was sickening but memorable. In another violent spot, Undertaker grabbed hold of Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman by his tie, yanking him by his neck-wear into the cell repeatedly. 'Taker's assault was so brutal, that he snapped Heyman's tie in half.

After 27 minutes of incredibly brutal action, Lesnar hit his opponent with an F5 and secured the victory, retaining his Championship.

As an aside, Lesnar completely no-sold the punishment he sustained in the match-up by scaling the outside of the cell (very quickly) and celebrated upon the roof, holding the Undisputed Championship aloft.

This was an intentional diss to Undertaker, who the previous month had refused to lose to the inexperienced Lesnar, which resulted in the booking of this match that 'Taker also had to be convinced to lose by the front office.

Lesnar didn't appreciate the disrespect and showed it, publically. The look on 'Taker's face as he gazed up at Lesnar was priceless.

#1 The Undertaker vs Mankind (King of The Ring, June 28, 1998)

The most violent, brutal match in WWE history is the only choice for the number one spot.

The sheer amount of injuries that Mankind suffered tells you everything you need to know. Mick Foley's psychotic alter-ego sustained a concussion, dislocated left shoulder, bruised ribs, internal bleeding, puncture wounds, a dislocated jaw and a cut to his face so large, that Foley could stick his tongue through it.

Foley also lost several teeth.

The match began with Mankind atop of the cell. The Undertaker would soon join him. After several minutes of brawling, "The Phenom" threw his opponent off the top of the cell through the announce desk below.

The historic commentary by Jim Ross still haunts to this day. J.R screamed: "Good God almighty! Good God almighty! That killed him!" and "As God as my witness, he is broken in half!"

Incredibly, the match was not over. Scary scenes ensued whilst doctors attended to Mankind, who was momentarily unconscious as a result of the fall.

After several minutes, Mankind was able to get off a stretcher and return to the top of the cell. Undertaker followed him and seconds later, 'Taker choke-slammed his opponent through the roof of the cell to the canvas below. Mankind landed with a sickening thud as a steel chair bashed him in the face on his way down.

J.R cried: "Will somebody stop the damn match?! Enough's enough!". No one did. The brutality continued, with Mankind suffering another choke-slam, this time into thumbtacks. Foley's back resembled a pin-cushion. Finally, a tombstone ended this massacre.

It was a collection of spots rather than a coherent match but what a stunningly brutal array of spots they were. Do not expect to see violence of this scale on WWE television again.

Undoubtedly, the most famous and most violent match in WWE history. A truly unforgettable spectacle.