History Wrestling / HellInACell

* ''[[Wrestling/NoWayOutWWE No Way Out]] 2000'' - Wrestling/TripleH d. [[Wrestling/MickFoley Cactus Jack]].[[note]]WWF Championship, plus [[LoserLeavesTown if CJ lost the match, he would have to retire]].[[/note]]

* ''Wrestling/BadBlood 1997'' - Wrestling/ShawnMichaels d. Wrestling/TheUndertaker. [[note]]#1 contendership for WWF Championship.[[/note]]

The eponymous match type itself is a variant of the [[GimmickMatches Steel Cage match]]. It involves a larger cage which Wrestling/JimCornette admits to stealing from (or researching from) a Memphis territory, that includes the majority of the ringside area in its confines, and also has a roof, ala Wrestling/DustyRhodes's war games. Escape rules don't apply; the match ends only via pinfall or submission, and usually only in the ring. In earlier matches, big falls from the side or top of the cage were fairly commonplace (most famously, by Wrestling/MickFoley), but these have been toned down due to safety concerns.[[note]]There was also a variant, called "Kennel From Hell", essentially a Steel Cage inside the HIAC cell, with {{angry guard dog}}s in the ringside space, but was only used for one match (Wrestling/BigBossman vs. Wrestling/AlSnow, at ''Unforgiven 1999''), and due to a lot of factors, NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals being the most prominent, it was never used again.[[/note]]

* ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XV'' - The Undertaker d. Wrestling/BigBossMan. [[note]]Also controversial in that Taker summoned the creatures of hell to hang Big Boss Man.[[/note]]

* WorthyOpponent: After his plunge from the top of the Cell onto The Undertaker (sadly just missing him), he continued to tell the stunned Undertaker to BringIt even when he was obviously completely done. Undertaker lightly patted Shane on the cheek before planting him with the Tombstone to end the match.

* ''[=WrestleMania=] 39'', Night 2 – Edge vs. [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Bálor]] (in his "Demon" persona). The first Hell in a Cell match after the discontinuation of the annual event.

Hell in a Cell is a Wrestling/{{WWE}} pay-per-view, which replaced ''Wrestling/NoMercy'' in 2009 and has been a staple of the calendar ever since.

!! Hell In A Tropes:

* ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XV'' - The Undertaker d. Wrestling/BigBossman.

* ''[=WrestleMania=] XXXII'' - The Undertaker d. Shane [=McMahon=]. [[note]]If Shane wins, he gains control of Raw and retires The Undertaker.[[/note]]

---> '''Wrestling/TripleH''': Hell in a Cell? Alright, Hell in a Cell, you got a deal. But one stipulation.
---> '''[[Wrestling/MickFoley Cactus Jack]]:''' You name it.
---> '''Wrestling/TripleH:''' I will go through Hell in the Cell with you, [[spoiler:but I want [[AllOrNothing YOUR CAREER ON THE LINE!!!]]]]
** To wit, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

'''Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}:''' OK, I understand that. Wha... what did you do?
---> '''Vickie Guerrero:''' I reinstated [[spoiler:Wrestling/TheUndertaker.]]

** Wrestling/CodyRhodes d. Seth "Freakin'" Rollins

* MadeOfIron:
** Mick Foley was infamously thrown from the top of the cell during the 1998 event and finishes the match in spite of his injuries.
** Cody Rhodes had a ''torn pectorial'' and still went on to defeat Seth Rollins.

* StunnedSilence: Before Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins squared off in ''Hell in a Cell'' 2022, Cody removed his coat to show how damaged his right pec was. The crowd immediately fell into silence that Cody was going to wrestle in that condition.

* WhamShot: Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins begins with Cody removing his coat...revealing the purple bruise that is his torn pec. This shows just ''how much'' Cody is going to put himself on the line to fight Seth.

* MadeOfIron: Mick Foley was infamously thrown from the top of the cell during the 1998 event and finishes the match in spite of his injuries.

* ''[[Wrestling/ArmageddonWrestling Armageddon]] 2000'' - Wrestling/KurtAngle d. The Undertaker, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Wrestling/{{Rikishi}} and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]. [[note]]Six-pack for the WWF Championship.[[/note]]

** At ''[=SummerSlam=] 2008'', Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/{{Edge}} fought in HIAC which was the end of their long feud that started at ''Survivor Series 2007''.

** The HIAC match between Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/SethRollins at ''Crown Jewel 2021'' served as the third and final match of their feud that started during the summer.

---> '''Wrestling/VickieGuerrero:''' When I was really, really mad at you, I did something that you might not like.
---> '''Wrestling/{{Edge}}:''' OK, I understand that. Wha... what did you do?

* TheDreaded: The titular match itself. With few exceptions, ''no one'' wants to go through a Hell in a Cell match, because they know full well that doing so means willingly subjecting yourself to a level of brutality unmatched by any other gimmick match in the entire WWE. When Wrestling/{{Edge}} found out his then-wife Wrestling/VickieGuerrero had put him into a Hell in a Cell match with Wrestling/TheUndertaker, the sheer fear was enough to put him into a catatonic state. The following week, he was so desperate to just ''survive'' the match that he begged his old foe Wrestling/MickFoley for help, before going into a severe level of SanitySlippage that doubled as a full-on VillainousBreakdown for the following two weeks.
* ItsPersonal: Before it became a gimmick PPV, Hell in a Cell matches were designed to be the ultimate feud-enders. Just about every Hell in a Cell match prior to the establishment of the annual PPV have been for the most personal feuds in WWE history, such as the two-year blood feud between Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels. Even after the PPV was established, particularly personal feuds sometimes warrant a Cell match outside of the PPV, such as Wrestling/{{Edge}} vs. Wrestling/SethRollins.

* ''Wrestling/SummerSlam 2008'' - The Undertaker d. Wrestling/{{Edge}}.