Hell In A Cell: Shawn Michaels & Drew McIntyre Reflect On The Legacy Of The Cage (Exclusive)

Can McIntyre and Punk recreate the magic of Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker?

Shawn Michaels defeated the Undertaker in the first ever Hell in a Cell Match / wwe.com

Going back to where it all began.

Tonight's Bad Blood Premium Live Event in Atlanta, Georgia could help solidify the restoration of a classic that was born on this day 27 years ago.

October, 5 1997 in St. Louis, Missouri. Badd Blood: In Your House featured a never before seen main event. The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker would be locked inside a 16ft high steel cage that was appropriately called Hell in a Cell. A shot at the WWF Championship was on the line.

“We didn't know it would become what it became, but it was such a blast to do,” Michaels told The Takedown on SI. “The Undertaker and I went out there for, I don't what it was, 40 minutes and just had an absolute blast. And at the time you're just going out there and doing your thing, but then all these years later to look back on it and see what it's become… a staple of the company. Clearly very proud of that, but more honored.”

Throughout the match it appeared as though Michaels was having anything other than a good time. The Undertaker used his size and strength advantage to just beat HBK mercilessly. Tossing him face-first into the steel cage on numerous occasions and eventually knocking him off the side of the cell with nothing but the announcer's desk to break his fall.

Victory was assuredly in hand for the Undertaker after he laid in an old-fashioned unprotected chair shot to Michaels' moneymaker, but as the Deadman would signal to the crowd that it was time for his patented Tombstone Piledriver, the lights inside the Kiel Center would go dark.

Wrestling fans would then hear for the first time the now unmistakable eerie bars that would serve as the prelude for Kane's fiery entrance for decades to come. The Undertaker's brother marched down to the ring in his classic red mask and suit, with Paul Bearer in tow. Another first sight for the fans in attendance.

The Big Red Machine would rip the door to the cell off it's hinges before walking right up to his brother, who was almost frozen in a state of shock, and delivered a devastating Tombstone piledriver to the Undertaker. A truly iconic moment that can only be created during a match like Hell in a Cell.

“So many guys are now getting to create their own moments, like Cody Rhodes,” Michaels said. "When you think about the guys that go out there and perform in these matches, what they sacrifice. I don't think anything really epitomizes that more so than a Hell in a Cell match. I think that's one of the cool legacies that that match brings on with, not just the Superstar in it, but also the fans watching it.”

It was inside Hell in a Cell in Chicago, June 5, 2022 that Cody Rhodes cemented his status as a main event mega-star after leaving AEW to come back home to WWE earlier in the year.

Having torn his pectoral muscle while training just days before the match, the American Nightmare would push through and deliver one of the gutsiest performances in company history. He fought Seth Rollins for what had to the most excruciating 24-minutes of Rhodes life, and not only did he fight, but he found a path to victory.

The mere sight of Rhodes removing his jacket to reveal the true extent of his injury is something that will forever be burned into the memories of wrestling fans. What Cody put himself through on that night, may have only ever been topped by one other man to have ever stepped foot inside Hell in a Cell.

Mick Foley more than lived up to his billing of being the Hardcore Legend when he danced with the Undertaker in the summer of 1998. The appropriate adjectives do not exist to properly portray the pain that Foley had to have felt on that night. His fall off the very top of cell at King of the Ring made Mankind synonymous with the match itself.

“I don’t know a fan alive that does not think about Mick. I don't think there's a way to ever broach the subject of Hell in Cell without thinking of Mick Foley and what he did out there," Shawn Michaels said.

Kane's debut at Badd Blood: In Your House is regarded by many as the greatest of all time. The mysterious mountain of a man made an enormous impact that altered the course of WWE history. His Tombstone to the Undertaker allowed Michaels to slowly crawl for a cover and the three-count.

The victory made Michaels the No. 1 Contender for the WWF Championship, which he would win weeks later at Survivor Series - albeit in extraordinarily controversial fashion - over Bret Hart. And while Hell in a Cell is often viewed as the ultimate end to a feud, it was really just the start of a career defining rivalry between Michaels and the Undertaker.

“The beginning of a very epic story that would last over 20 years between myself and the Undertaker,” Michaels said. “Mark and I get to see each other every now and then, and we look back on some of the things that we got to share together, and it's very humbling for the both of us.” 

Over the years 45 men and five women have tried to recreate the magic of those original cell matches, with many missing the mark. Tonight the onus falls on Drew McIntyre and CM Punk to live up to the standards for a Hell in a Cell match that were set nearly three decades ago.

Drew McIntyre sat down for a chat with Takedown this week as well and said that topping what Michaels, Kane and the Undertaker were able to accomplish in 1997 is a near impossible task.

“The first time it happened was so special and the match was just freaking incredible,” McIntyre said. “Kane's debut was probably the greatest debut of all time. Like, how do you top that? You can't really. You can have a spectacular fall from the top and a fall through the cage and the violence that Undertaker and Mankind had, but nothing has come close to that original Hell in the Cell match. Just the visual of Shawn's face, crimson mask, crawling over to pin Taker after Kane's debut. Everything about it was perfect."

How does anyone improve upon perfection? You start by possessing the right ingredients. The months long rivalry between McIntyre and Punk that has already endured serious injury and a brutal strap match, that runs deep with unrelenting hatred, is exactly the type of feud that Hell in a Cell was built for in the first place.

During the latter years of the Vince McMahon creative regime, WWE began to stray away from that successful formula.

In 2009, the company began putting on Hell in a Cell specific Premium Live Events that featured multiple cell matches a night. Even if the story did not warrant such extreme circumstances.

The first time Drew McIntyre stepped foot inside Hell in a Cell was October 25, 2020 when he defended his WWE Championship against Randy Orton.

The Scottish Warrior said that year, the use of the cell was justified. The following year when he faced Bobby Lashley, once again with the WWE Championship on the line, he did not possess those same feelings.

“Hell in the Cell, it sucks to say, just became just another match because we happened to have a PLE called Hell in a Cell. You had to have Hell the Cell matches, the guys needed one and the girls needed one. Even though… it should always be reserved as a last resort.”

While they don't often see eye-to-eye, McIntyre and Punk are on the same page when it comes to Hell in a Cell and that's working to restore the match to it's former glory.

Whether they create a match that surpasses the original Hell in a Cell is really up to the individual to decide, but as long as people keep their match in the conversation for years to come, then it's mission accomplished tonight in Atlanta.

"It's the real main event of Bad Blood. It's Drew McIntyre and CM Punk," The Scottish Warrior proclaimed. "Punk and I, no matter what we think about each other, have a unique opportunity to create a match just as good, if not better.”

Hell in a Cell will reportedly be kicking off Bad Blood when it gets underway tonight. Special start time of 6PM ET/ 5PM CT on Peacock.

You can follow Rick Ucchino on X and on Instagram: @RickUcchino

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