I found this extremely long but very entertaining look back at the history of Hell In A Cell Matches and thought there might be some who would enjoy reading it during the boredom phase of their time on this site.

Hope you all enjoy

Evolution Schematic 09.20.08: Hell In A Cell (Version 2.0)  

 (09.20.2008) - Mathew Sforcina 

The WWF/WWE has always been, at its heart, dominated by single feuds. It always seems to end up being 1 man vs. 1 man. Hogan/Andre, heck, Hogan/Anyone. Savage/Flair. Hart/Michaels. Hart/Austin. Austin/McMahon. Foley/HHH. Rock/HHH. Taker/Edge. So on and so forth; if you look at the main issue, the #1 drive of WWE TV, it tends to end up being about two men who just couldn't get along for long.

Thus, while the NWA/WCW had Wargames, while they were about teams of men, in McMahon-Land, everyone was always a little too selfish, and thus their top match had to be 1 on 1.

Except for the odd tag match.

Oh, and that 6 man oddity.

But really, at its heart, Hell In A Cell has always been, and will always be, about 2 men entering.

1 man leaves. For this is Hell. There have been several versions, several stages, but no matter what, it changes those who enter it.

Premise- Take Hell. Enclose.

Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here.

Cage matches have been around the business for a fair old while. And originally, the idea of said cage matches was to keep the wrestlers in and everyone else out, and thus when one side had been able to totally decimate the other, they could simply walk out. One would have to totally destroy the opposition to be able to leave. That was the theory. But over time, too many people found ways in, and too many times people could win by a fluke. So the Cell was made.

Unlike standard steel cages, the Cell was not attached to the ring, but rather surrounded it, including the apron and the arena floor between the ring and the barricade. And, unlike standard cages, there was a roof to the cage, thus making it, in theory, impossible to get into and out of. After the entrants entered, he who gets the pin or submission wins. The steel mesh and anything unlucky enough to get trapped inside the cell is legal. As time has progressed and the need arose, the Cell has been enlarged and, in deference to what should not have been required but was quickly proven to be needed, footholds in order to climb up top have been provided.

But, who could possibly need this? What sort of cowardly, snivelling bastard would require this? Just who would be that hated that an idea like this would be thought up for?

Debut- He's just a Sexy Boy, Sexy Boy...

The Sowers Of Discord, Circle 8, Bolgia 9

Mid to late 1997. Shawn Michaels, as head of the not-quite-yet-created Degeneration X, was acting like a...well...Degenerate.

Shocking, I know.

At the time, in the lead up to Survivor Series, Shawn had two major enemies. One was then WWF Champion, Bret Hart. Hart was high on his Anti-USA crusade, fighting The Patriot, and thus was not focused on Shawn just yet. But his other major enemy was focused on Shawn. Very, VERY focused on Shawn. After all, Shawn had cost him the world title to Bret. This second enemy would be The Undertaker, who, with the fans solidly behind him, wanted to teach Shawn a lesson.

Problem was, when Sgt. Slaughter, then WWF Commish, put the two in a match, at In Your House: Ground Zero, the first 3 hour IYH PPV, Shawn Michaels ran away. A lot. And Not-DX cheated. A lot. And refs were beat up. A lot. And Taker kicked everyone's ****.

A lot.

And thus, the whole mess was thrown out as a no contest. Given that it was the main event of the show, this was seen as a bad thing. So, when a rematch was signed for the next PPV, Badd Blood, some way to control the chaos was needed. And then some minor little man or woman in the WWF front office, possibly doodling on an old Raw Magazine, came up with an idea that would change the course of Professional Wrestling history.

Hell In A Cell.

Well obviously, given the subject of the column.

Keeps DX (as they were now called) out, keeps Shawn in, and allows for Taker to kick HBK's ass at his leisure. And that he did, slowly and without rushing kicking Shawn's ass all over the Cell. Shawn tried to run away, but Taker would just catch up to him. So Shawn then went to Plan B- Beat Up Taker. But Taker, despite taking some very stiff shots, kept on coming. So, Plan C was born- Get out of the Cell. But how? The door was locked, and there was a roof. So, Plan C2- Beat up a random guy, in this case a camera man, thus necessitating the Cell's opening. Success! But then Shawn saw an opening, and nailed the Sweet Chin Music. So thus, the door opening wasn't needed, as-

Taker Sits Up.

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

And thus, the two brawled outside the cell, and Taker slammed Shawn's head into the cell several times, making him bleed like the cliché of your choice. Shawn then had no place left to go but up. So up he went, to the top of the Cell. And Taker, even more pissed off than usual, followed. The two brawled some more, and thus HBK continued to run away, since he had thought the roof would be safe. But it wasn't, and as he tried to climb down, Taker knocked him off, through the Spanish Table. Then put him through the French table (remember the French Table? Before the Raw/SD/ECW deal nowadays?). Then back into the Cell. And after a few choice shots, Taker called for the Tombstone and the end of HBK's misery when...

Taker's past came back to haunt him. As Kane returned, ripped the Cell's door off, lit his pyro, Tombstoned his half-brother and left, leaving Shawn to pull his bloody carcass on top of Taker to somehow pull off the win.

To say this match was violent is putting it mildly. To say it was impactful is putting it really mildly. And saying that it was slightly popular is just down right wrong. And thus, the next time this demonic, pain bringing match would even be considered would, of course, be...Raw?

Phase 2- The Tag Match We Don't Talk About Much.

The Vestibule of the Opportunists

Well, that's a slight misnomer. See, a year later, things had changed slightly. HBK was gone. Taker was still liked, but was not fully trusted. Kane was named, around and kicking ass. Austin was in full blown Austin 3:16 says McMahon can kiss my ass mode. And Mankind had resurfaced somehow in Mick Foley. And all 4 men were in heated battle, Mankind and Kane as a unit, Austin and Taker as a reluctant unit, Taker and Kane secretly in cahoots and Mankind and Austin not getting along at that time. And thus, the 2nd last week before King Of The Ring 1998, where Austin was set to fight Kane in a First Blood match and Taker was set to fight Mankind inside the Cell, a preview was held on Raw. It pitted Austin and Taker against Kane and Mankind inside the Cell. But the match itself was not that long or involved, as it quickly descended to an all out brawl, Foley taking a HBK-esque fall through the Spanish Announce Table the highlight. But given that the match ended in a No Contest, it is barely remembered, and (arguably) rightly so, given what happened 2 weeks later...

Phase 2b- ‘Would Somebody Stop The Damn Match!'

The Violent Against Themselves, Circle 7, Round 2

King Of The Ring 1998. Few people remember Ken Shamrock winning the King Of The Ring Title. Even less The New Age Outlaws retaining over the New Midnight Express. A few more remember Kane winning the WWF World Title.

But everyone, for various reasons, remembers the Hell In A Cell match.

Off the top of the Cell, through the Spanish Announce Table.

Through the damn Top Of The Cell.

Chokeslam Onto Thumbtacks.

The Undertaker beats Mankind.

The match was not pretty, nor technical in any sense, but it was important. It was the peak of violence in the WWF. It marked the turning point of The Undertaker from bad ass to sadist. And it showed us just how tough Mick Foley could be. So tough, in fact, that he once again fought in a meaningless Hell In The Cell a short time later. Of course, there was one minor incident before that...

Phase 2c- I remember getting poked a bit for forgetting this last time.

The River Acheron

See, during the Kane/Austin WWF Title First Blood match that followed Mankind's near death experience, the Cell re-lowered by an unseen hand. Thus, some people choose to include it as a HITC match. But it wasn't, so we'll move on.

Phase 2d- You always hurt the ones you love. No, wait, hate.

Caina, The Treacherous To Kin, Circle 9, Round 1

By the time August 24, 1998 had rolled around, Mankind was beginning to suspect his then Tag Team Champion partner Kane of being, well, evil. And Mankind was, by this time, not really into that kind of thing any more. Deep, dark evil that is, mild selfishness was fine, but the way Kane and Undertaker seemed to be heading was a bit odd. And so, a week before Mankind and Kane were set to defend the Tag Team belts against The New Age Outlaws, Mankind challenged Kane to a Hell In A Cell match.

Well, Mankind wasn't exactly the sharpest of Foley's thinking processes.

This, like the last Raw Hell In A Cell, was a little lacklustre, as the match quickly ended in a no contest. This led to Kane no-showing the PPV, which led to them losing the tag belts, which led to the fans embracing Mankind, which led to Foley winning the WWF World Title.

Hence, in the long run, it worked out well for Mick, the WWF and everyone in general.

Unlike the next Hell In A Cell.

Phase 3- Wrestlemania XV kinda bites. This is a major reason why.

Fortune Tellers And Diviners, Circle 8, Bolgia 4

See, it made sense, in a twisted kind of way. At the time, early 1999, Undertaker had gone from bad ass to Demonic Sadist. And his target of choice was Vince McMahon. Or, rather, he was working FOR McMahon in a huge plot in order to try and ensure Austin didn't regain the belt but having Taker as a separate entity until the time was right for Shane to turn and reveal his true purpose... No wait, at this point in time, Taker and Paul Bearer and The Brood and all them were Demonic worshiping bastards who didn't like Vince; it was after the show that Vince somehow convinced them to forget about all that in order to screw over Austin...

I only finished it two weeks ago and I still can't get this all straight. It says something that KANE seems simple and logical in comparison.

The point is, on that night, Taker was Demonic and Evilish, and Boss Man was trying to defend Vince and the Corporation, who he was loyal to. Thus, Taker and Boss Man would fight in Hell In A Cell, since they hated each other so much, and Taker had lost in it and won in it and drew in it. End of story.

Of course, once inside, Boss Man's bravado and cockiness evaporated since he realised just what the hell he had gotten himself into. He tried to brawl, but Taker was just too methodical and hard for him. Then he tried to run away, and thus the two men brawled around the ring, rather than inside it. But that plan didn't work, Boss Man not getting the advantage there either. So, thinking quickly, Boss Man pulled out a pair of handcuffs from...

Hell, he's the Boss Man! He probably owns more handcuffs than you do DVDs.

Anyway, with his handcuffs, he handcuffed Taker to the cell (amazing, isn't it?) and then laid in shot after shot after shot. Eventually Taker was slightly cut, and the trickle of blood was enough motivation to free him and then, well, cut Boss Man slightly. And then a Tombstone ended the match, giving Taker his 8th straight Wrestlemania victory. And after the match, The Brood and Taker hanged Boss Man, giving him a sore neck for a day or two.

But that sore neck apparently stuck with Boss Man, at least on a Karma level. He somehow escaped dying after being hung. Thus, his life needed a major bummer to counteract that stroke of incredible good luck. And, like he tended to do to, Al Snow provided it.

Phase 4- Do I really have to talk about this? Really? Please? I'll do anything to not do it...

The Thieves, Circle 8, Bolgia 7.

Some people consider the Kennel From Hell Match a Hell In The Cell match since it involved the cell. I don't. It used escape rules, had a second cage and involved fornicating and defecating dogs. That's not Hell In A Cell. And besides, do you REALLY want to think any more about that match than you have to?

But the run of not that good, interesting or violent Hell In A Cells ended there, for the next time the Cell was brought out, the issue was heated, the wrestlers angry and the setting just. And the name was truly fitting...

Phase 5- No Way Out for 3 Personas.

Falsifiers, Circle 8, Bolgia 10

You see, Triple H was a two time WWF Champ. He was married to Steph, and thus head of the McMahon-Helmsley Era. He was on top of the world. But there was this thorn in his side. Well, a few, but at the time the main one was a large Long Island one called Mick Foley.

See, Mick, as Mankind, was unhappy with said McMahon-Helmsley Era. They listened to his grievances, and then made his life a living hell. Firing him, humiliating him, the whole 9 yards. But eventually they were forced to bring Mankind back in. So then, HHH beat the hell out of Mankind. So much so that Mankind had to pull out of his Street Fight with HHH at the Royal Rumble.

Score!

But only to be replaced by Cactus Jack.

Own Goal!

But somehow, HHH managed to pull out a victory over Mick at the Rumble, thanks to a Taker like burst of sadism with a 2nd Pedigree onto Thumbtacks. But unfortunately for HHH, Mick was still around and still kinda pissed off.

Ergo, HHH, in an attempt to get rid of Mick once and for all, gave him a deal. HHH's Title against Mick Foley (not Cactus Jack's, not Dude Love's, not Mankind's, Mick Foley's) career. In any kind of match Mick wanted, as long as it didn't involved thumbtacks. Despite them winning the day for HHH, he still didn't like them. And thus, despite his record being less than stellar, Mick chose the Hell In A Cell match. In the lead up to said match at No Way Out 2000, Cactus guaranteed that he would once again fly off the cell, but this time to drop and elbow onto HHH.

This kinda worried HHH.

Thus, he made sure that the refs padlocked the Cell door very, securely, thus denying Mick his exit and thus flight. After checking the door, Mick decided to focus on HHH. The two brawled, using the Cell, a chair and the ring steps, HHH using the steps as a high powered projectile early on in the match. This turned out to be a mistake, as later on in the match, Cactus decided to give a receipt to HHH. Cactus, despite being grated on the Cell, backdropped into the Cell and generally put through the wringer, picked up the stairs and tossed them at HHH.

HHH ducked.

The stairs busted the Cell wall, creating a hole.

And thus, Mick had his exit. He made the hole a little larger by sending HHH though it, and the two then brawled around the Cell. After a piledriver on the table, Mick climbed, but Steph stopped him going all the way. HHH then recovered, just in time to get a 2X4 wrapped in barbed wire to the face. Naturally, HHH ran like hell. Unnaturally, he ran up to the top of the Cell. Mick followed, but HHH knocked him off, and once again, Foley crashed into the Spanish Announce Table. And once again, he recovered. But unlike last time, he couldn't get a chair up on top of the cell, and thus just went up by himself. Thus HHH was free to use the 2X4 in Barbed Wire a bit. He did so. But after a DDT, HHH was down and Foley was able to add the next level. What was worse than a 2X4 wrapped in Barbed Wire?

A Flaming 2X4 wrapped in Barbed Wire.

But this proved disastrous, as Cactus got too obsessed, and thus when he tried for a Piledriver onto the weapon, HHH backdropped him out and over, through the Cell to the ring below.

Which then broke.

HHH then got down to the ring, and was horrified to see Cactus, somehow, someway, crawl out of the wreckage like Frankenstein's Monster. But where a fall through steel and pine failed, a Pedigree didn't, and HHH won his first Hell In A Cell, and retired Mick for a good few weeks.

But then the Cell, after this brutality, returned to the original purpose. Brutality was not the purpose of the Cell, merely a by-product. What was the purpose was to keep everyone out and a bad, bad man in.

No, not Rikishi, even if he was involved.

Phase 6- 6 Men, 1 Title, Many Changes, It's True, It's True.

The Hoarders, Circle 4

See, where there had been HBK, cocky, brash, annoying World Champ was now Kurt Angle, goofy, egotistically self deluded, annoying World Champ. Whereas HBK kept running and running from Undertaker, everyone wanted first crack at Kurt, thinking he was easy pickings, despite having beaten The Rock a month earlier to win the WWF World Title. Rock wanted his rematch, Taker wanted to teach him a lesson, HHH wanted HIS title back, Rikishi wanted to prove he deserved his new found status, and Austin was, well, Austin, and thus automatically and at all times wanted title shots.

So, Commissioner Foley signed for Armageddon 2000 the first and only 6 man Hell In A Cell match for the World Title (Thus proving that despite what people think, Eric Bischoff has a little more imagination than Mick Foley, given his invention of a whole new match when faced with a similar problem). This did not sit well with Vince, who felt that adding more men to the NITC was a recipe for disaster, and prayed for everyone's souls to be forced through this as he addressed the fans from the entranceway on top of a flat bed truck.

Funny, didn't think he had a soul.

Anyway, the 6 men, with varying emotions and attitudes, entered the Cell, all looking to pull off the win. The match was chaotic, violent and bloody, with most of those involved ending up busted open. The men started off brawling, and then they moved onto scraping around the cell, Austin taking that literally by dragging HHH's (insert joke here) forehead right around the cell, scraping him across all four walls and ending up where he started. This then started a chain reaction of finishers, everyone hitting one only for it to be broken up by someone else.

At about this time, Vince drove down in the truck, intending on using it to bring the Cell down to stop the carnage, although the fact that this would probably lead to the crushing of the superstars in the Cell by said collapsing Cell seemed to have missed Vince entirely. But it was irrelevant, as Mick Foley came out and prevented any Cell Degradation beyond Vince ripping the door off the Cell. HHH, remembering his chances, then left the Cell. Quickly followed by everyone else. So now the brawl was outside the Cell. And then, after HHH ran away further, the brawling took place on top of the Cell. Everyone got choice shots in, but the big one came form Taker, who chokeslammed Rikishi off the Cell roof onto the truck. But this paled in comparison to the sight of The Rock and Steve Austin facing off inside the Cell. The two fought, but it was broken up by HHH, which led to a Rock Bottom on Angle (HITC is chaotic at the best of times, with 6 guys it was really bizarre), which then led to a Stunner on Rock, but HHH then brawled with Austin, allowing Angle to cover Rock to ‘steal' the pinfall and keep his title against overwhelming odds. Thus, Angle became one of a few men to enter Hell and come out the other side intact.

The next man to debut in the Cell would not be as lucky.

Phase 7- And the walls came tumbling down...

The Wrathful And The Sullen, Circle 5

A lot had happened in the 17 or so months between Hell In A Cells. Austin had regained the belt, but lost his soul. WCW had invaded, ECW had invaded, but WWF stood tall. Chris Jericho had gone from fan favourite to hated first Undisputed champion and then just hated. The nWo had arrived, and splintered. By the time WWF Judgment Day 2002 rolled around, the Undisputed Title was around the waist of, of all people, Hulk Hogan. And he was set to fight The Undertaker, who was in the middle of his "Respect Me, Dammit!" period. So HHH and Jericho had nothing to do.

Thus, they were set to have a match. And just for **** and giggles, Vince made it into a Hell In A Cell.

Truly an auspicious return.

The two men did hate each other, and had fought in the past, but the match stipulations seemed a little tacked on. This thought quickly disappeared as the two men began using everything that wasn't nailed down to fight, stairs, ladders, chairs, and of course, the cold cold steel. And then, the seemingly requisite "major move inflicting injury" of HITC's (if only there was a shorter way to say that) occurred, when Tim White, the referee for the match, took a misplaced shot and got slammed into the cell wall, sickly bumping to the floor (hey, that works!). This was a problem, since he was the only one with a key to the door. So the refs on the outside got bolt cutters while Jericho, seeing the ref out and bleeding, beat down HHH some more.

Then HHH found his trusty sledgehammer, and El Kabonged Jericho. But the refs were too busy checking on White, and by the time they had noticed, Jericho (using the HBK tactic book) crawled out of the cell and then slammed the door into HHH's face. The two then brawled around the outside of the Cell, and culminated with a DDT on Jericho through the announce table. Jericho, having enough, decided to take a breather on top of the cell.

HHH followed, barbed wire 2X4 in hand. The two brawled on top of the Cell as a ref climbed, deciding to let the top of the Cell count if only to end the match. And eventually, a Pedigree to the Cell roof was enough to win the day for HHH.

It had taken over a year between matches. The next one would be a few short months, albeit a different company brand.

Phase 8- DAMM that's a lot of blood.

The Violent Against God, Nature, And Art, Circle 7, Round 3

For October 2002 brought the WWE, and the first steps of the new 2 World Champions situation, thanks to Brock Lesnar picking one brand over the other. Smackdown over Raw, specifically. Thus, while Raw established the World Heavyweight Title, the WWE Title was now on Smackdown.

Thus, Undertaker, once again beloved, wanted it. The two men had fought at Unforgiven with no clear winner. Thus, the next logical step was the Cell at No Mercy. Thus, Brock (at the orders of his Agent Paul Heyman) broke Undertaker's hand, to ensure he couldn't win.

Unfortunately, they forgot to factor in both the wonderful drugs they have nowadays, and Undertaker's legendary ability to withstand pain (how else does he keep sitting up?). Thus, when the match occurred, Taker brawled, punching and throwing Brock around with seemingly no ill effects. In fact, Taker used the cast as a weapon, busting open Brock with it. Then when Heyman tried to reach in and help, Taker pulled him in, and busted HIM open too. Thus, with his Agent out of it, Brock went to the game plan, working the hand, despite another strategy obviously being needed, but remember, Brock at this point was still a little green, and not that smart.

But he cottoned on soon enough, and used the ring steps to bust Taker open.

Really, really open. Porn Star Of Your Choice's Legs Open. Blood was pouring out.

This seemed to drive Taker of all things, as he managed to powerbomb and chokeslam Brock, getting very close near falls. But in the end, Taker went to his big gun, the final straw, the Tombstone, but Brock was able to counter to the F5 and win the match, retain the title and bring the Blood back into Hell In A Cell.

Wait...

It was the next match that brought the real blood back.

Bad Blood.

Phase 9- Good Friends, Better Enemies...haven't I seen that before?

The Grafters, Circle 8, Bolgia 5

The PPV was aptly titled. It marked a milestone, as it was the first Brand Exclusive PPV, being a Raw Only PPV, albeit brought to you by both Eric Bischoff and Steve Austin. And thus, a big gun was needed.

You had HHH, World Champ, leader of Evolution, and all round no-goodnick.

You had the Hell In A Cell match, well known for being popular and violent.

And you had Kevin Nash, 7 foot tall bastard, who wasn't happy with HHH's current attitude and stuff.

And then you had Mick Foley, who had to be brought in to ref the match, since none of the Raw refs wanted to get involved after Ted White's career ending (kinda) shoulder injury in the last Raw HITC. Which goes to show that Smackdown Refs have more balls then Raw ones.

As for the match itself...

Punches.

Ring Post.

Cage.

Steel Chair.

Ring Steps.

Aluminium Tray from a tool box.

Ball peen hammer.

Cage.

Screwdriver. The tool, not the move. Nor the drink.

Barbed Wire 2X4.

An Apple Crate.

Sledgehammer.

Stairs.

Chair.

Mr. Socko.

Foley taking a Tim White-esque fall.

Some wrestling moves.

Sledgehammer.

Pedigree.

HHH wins.

Second Verse, same as the first...

Phase 10- Good Friends...wait, already used that.

Antenora, The Treacherous To Country, Circle 9, Round 2

A year later, at the 2004 Bad Blood, it was dйjа vu all over again. True, HHH didn't have the world title at this point, but that was moot. He was still ruling Raw, even if Benoit technically had the world title. He had Evolution, the girls, the money, the power, the whole eight yards.

Nine once he got the belt back.

And once again, there was an old friend, running buddy, call him what you will, someone from HHH's past who was not happy and wanted to take him down. Except this time, instead of a 7 foot monster in Kevin Nash, it was the smaller but much more dangerous Shawn Michaels.

That would be bad for HHH.

Thus, the two men were set to try and settle their problems (that had been going on for a while, neither man being able to get a win, their World Title matches ending in draws and then with Benoit wins in the 3 ways they had), in the battleground both men were undefeated in (well, unpinned in at least), Hell In A Cell.

And the tendencies of Nash and Michaels were quickly shown. HHH, for reasons only known to him, tends to fight on the other guys field as a rule. He tends to brawl with brawlers, wrestle wrestlers. Thus, whereas the Nash/HHH Cell match was filled with more weapons than your average WW2 Video Game, HBK/HHH was more about wrestling. Sure, they used weapons, a ladder, a table, the steps, and of course, as always, the Cell itself, but for the most part, they tried to outwrestle each other.

And they did so, for almost 50 minutes. By far the longest Hell In A Cell in history, neither man wanted to die, neither wanted to admit defeat. They threw everything at each other, kicking out of a Pedigree, out of a Sweet Chin Music. But in the end, HHH recovered first, and nailed a second Pedigree.

This allowed him time to recover, and hit the third and final Pedigree to win the match, and end the feud. He and Shawn were, for the moment done. HHH would leave the cell for the next guy he had a major problem with. Someone who wouldn't listen to reason, who wouldn't see his place, and who would, well, not accept what was best for him. Someone who would have to be taught a lesson...

Phase 11- You Talking To Him?

Judecca, The Treacherous To Their Masters, Circle 9, Round 4

Ah, Batista. Our chosen one, unlike Orton, who was forced upon us by fate. Orton was screwed over, and thus he chased HHH, and became our hero by default. But Batista, he we chose. We started to like him, and he seemed to enjoy the attention. This did not sit well with HHH, for obvious reasons (HHH is an egomaniacal douche, for instance). Thus, HHH tried everything he could think of to get Batista to go to Smackdown. Not because he was scared, no no no. Because that was what was best for Dave.

Yeah, right.

Dave didn't listen, and thus HHH/Batista at Wrestlemania went down, with Dave winning the World Title.

HHH then failed to regain the belt in his rematch a month later.

Thus, HHH was forced to draw his big guns. He got Batista nice and angry at him, and then challenged him to Hell In A Cell at Vengeance. This was his match, and thus he could finally get his belt back off Dave.

And HHH did outsmart Dave for a while. But Dave came back.

So HHH used a chain on Dave. But Dave came back.

So HHH used a barbed wire chair, which he obviously placed in advance, on Dave. But Dave came back.

So HHH used a sledgehammer on Dave. But Dave came back.

So HHH used the chain again on Dave. But Dave came back.

So HHH nailed the Pedigree on Dave. But Dave came back.

So HHH grabbed the sledgehammer as Dave picked him up for the Demonbomb, and was about to nail Dave. But Dave came back, and Demonbombed him first.

A pinfall later, and Batista had retained the World Title, beaten HHH 3 times straight, and became the second man to be undefeated in HITC's.

But whatever happened to the guy before Dave, who was forced upon us by Destiny before we picked Dave? Did he ever get in the cell? Of course he did. When? Just now.

Phase 12- Silly Little (Dork)Boy.

The Flatterers, Circle 8, Bolgia 2

Tim White attempting suicide (he'll be fine, remember, if he can't ref a match that doesn't involve two Canadians called Chris at a Wrestlemania, how the hell can he shoot himself? He will have missed.) set the tone for the match. Orton had been trying to end the career of Undertaker for months, and this was going to be the end of it, one way or another. This problem was getting a bullet to the head; it was just a matter of who would pull the trigger.

The young, brash, upstart 1 time world champ in his first HITC match who had the upper hand going in, and had his dad to help?

Or the old, solid, veteran 4 time world champ in his seventh HITC match, who always has the upper hand, given that he's damm near indestructible?

In the end, a lump of rock beats out a movie studio any day of the week.

For those of you not big on Cryptic Crosswords, the Tombstone beat RKO.

Phase 13- 2 on 3? That's not fair. Surely The McMahons and Show could have got the Spirit Squad in as well?

The Hypocrites, Circle 8, Bolgia 6

The Cell would take nearly a year to return, and when it did, it did so at the demand of the McMahon Boys. Reunited in their hatred of God and DX (which is appropriate on one level and kinda contradictory on the other), the McMahons wanted to teach HHH and Shawn Michaels a lesson about spray painting their logo onto things.

I think it was "Don't Do It" but it's hard to tell.

Regardless, Vince, Shane and new recruit Show went in expecting that, with the numbers on their side AND one of their numbers being gigantic Big Show, it would be a cakewalk.

An elbow drop Pillmanizing of Shane's neck quickly removed him from the equation, leaving just a giant and an old man against two World Champion calibre athletes. DX quickly took command, shoving Vince's face into Big Show's ass (DX big on Homosexual Rape at this point) then nailing a Sweet Chin Music into a Sledgehammer shot to pin Vince, end their feud and add in a rather bizarrely comedic Hell in the books. Luckily the next one would return somewhat to form.

Phase 14- Damm that Edge!

Ptolomea, The Treacherous To Guests And Hosts, Circle 9, Round 3

Another year passed, and this time a HITC was made with no real hatred involved. The Undertaker and Batista had fought many times over the past year for the World Heavyweight Title, and their record was somewhat even, with both men scoring a sole win over the other and several draws filling out the numbers. So, a rematch, one last time was made, Batista defending his World Title against The Undertaker, Survivor Series 2007, Hell In A Cell. The match, designed to find out just once and for all who the better man was, did so for nearly 20 minutes. And it appeared, after Batista kicked out of a Tombstone but then took another one onto the ring steps, that it would be Taker.

Then a cameraman pulled the ref out of the ring, and then attacked Taker. Thoughts of this being revenge for 10 years ago sprang into some people's heads, but then the cameraman revealed himself to be Edge. A quick brutal beatdown later, Edge draped Batista's lifeless pile of bones onto Taker, and Edge had fulfilled the Survivor Series Screwjob requirement.

Later on of course we found out the why, that Smackdown's GM Vickie Guerrero was getting herself some Edgey Goodness, and helped Edge screw over both men for several months afterwards. If only there was some way that Taker could get revenge on him... Oh wait!

Phase 15- The Cell finally lives up to it's name.

The Panderers And Seducers, Circle 8, Bolgia 1

A little under a year later, after screwjobs, injuries, firings, banned moves and several months worth of Edge going increasingly insane and Taker getting more and more pissy, the two men finally settled their grudge inside the Cell. And we still haven't seen Edge, and Taker's not been the same since that chokeslam to Hell he gave Edge. He's been more Stalkerish for a start. But then, the Cell does do that to people...

Today- Back you go, to wait for the next two men who despise each other.

Purgatorio

The Cell is packed up, sitting somewhere in a box, quietly, calmly. Right now, it's just a big pile of metal, sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

But eventually, 2 men will have problems. Or maybe 2 teams. Or god forbid, 2 women. Or maybe even 6 Superstars who all want a Title. Whoever they are, they'll just be unable to get along, unable to move on until they know, deep down, who is better. They might be a title involved, or just pride. But when it happens, the Cell will be ready.

And waiting.

Conclusion

It has seen the most brutal, violent and sick moments in WWE history. It's been the playground of the demented, the cold blooded and the cerebral. It's the holy grail of bloodshed, it's the final battleground, the last straw, there is no going back from here. It is the end, and you cannot help but be changed by it. Inside the steel, you will be tested, injured, bloodied and taken to the very limits of your soul.

And you might just find Paradiso. If you're good enough.

For Hell In A Cell is not where careers die.

It is where they are re-born

Not long finished watching this weeks Smackdown episode so thought I'd blog this while it was somewhat semi-fresh.

I really liked Carlito and Primos segment. If they can be kept together and have some good script writing they should do really well, I found them very entertaining, quite funny really, but I will admit I like Primo better than Carlito.

I thought the segment out back between the four girls really badly acted, none of them came across that well. Victoria and Natalia really need to stick with wrestling if WWE hears me.

I'm tired already of Maryse vs Michelle. Soooooooooo OLD already.

Jeff did a wonderful job AGAIN on the mic this week. He's doing really well and obviously quite intent on proving himself to those who count. The Brian Kendrick is still Gay of Ever. Love it when Jeff copies him.

Hopefully they can keep Vladimir occupied for the next few weeks with Khali and after that perhaps Big Show, then hopefully Umaga will be able to return and have them two feud for a bit to keep him happy, away from Jeff and Triple H anyway until after No Mercy.

I thought Triple H and MVP match quite good. He put MVP over for most of the match, which he is often accused of never doing. I thought particularly Triple H and Jeff looked really tired and exhausted during the taping of their matches. It must have been an awfully long weekend.

To me it seemed Khali was walking slower than he usually does and having some trouble moving and turning in the ring. I would assume from that he may actually lose next week.

Big Show was not particularly being a very obvious Heel this week.

He cannot act sufficiently well to pull this off I don't think unless he remains totally in Heel mode. I prefer him as a face, but he can be a good heel if he stays in character. I don't believe he stayed in character this week. Undertakers Arm looked good though, don't ya think. Hope we get more body parts than that next week.

To end this I will just say regarding the incident with Jeff this week, EAT DIRT to all those Hardy Haters who were convinced he'd been busted for drugs and slammed him like they always do, and to those who thought MATT was sugarcoating the issue, EAT MORE DIRT.

Love to all the Hardy Fans and Taker Fans.

Not being able to view the Raw episode until Wednesday afternoon (australian time) means I have to wait a little longer before I can truly comment on what others before me in the forums discuss so I will tend to now just wait until I've watched the show and then write a blog if I have anything to contribute. My observations from this week are as follows:

When or how did I miss Beth Phoenix losing so much weight, she looks incredibly good no doubt, but I do wonder if she is being forced to look more like the "Divas" and I hope for her sake it doesn't impede her progress if she is unable to maintain the "Look".

Speaking of body image or weight loss/gain, It is becoming increasingly noticeable that Chris Jericho is becoming somewhat "CHUNKY" as of late and I do believe that is actually slowing him down in his matches. On the other hand Batista seems to be an odd shape altogether, don't quite know how to describe it. He looks unproportioned and quite strange (the upper half at least) and it does look as though he may also have some drooping (chest area) which I hope to god doesn't end up looking like JBLs. Speaking off, he appears to need a bigger bra size this week, up at least a cup size if nothing else.

Randy was just Randy, awesome as always.

Kanes speech out back seemed to basically be a recycled but varied shorter version of a speech delivered by Chris Jericho earlier this year. No offense to Kane, he only works with what he's given but I did think to myself, "I've heard that before" and then thought, "Why am I not surprised by the lack of effort they put into Kane" and I really can't see this feud working. I like Kane evil, but he doesn't need his old mask to achieve that, and trying to remove Reys mask, even if he succeeds eventually, will ultimately ruin Reys character because his mask is his character and always has been. I think they are making a mess of this storyline and in the end they're going to ruin two wrestlers careers through thoughtless and poor booking.

As for Paul Burchill, they bring him back after how long just to have him lose, he must be in trouble with someone because you don't give Jamie Noble a win unless you are punishing the other wrestler. And did anyone notice how much like his old character Pirate paul looked, minus the outfit of course. I wonder if they are trying to re-hash that gimmick soon.

I was disappointed for Punk because I honestly thought that cage match was for him. It seemed to me if it had been scripted for him to win the match would have been so much better than it was, and I found it really boring and thought they needn't have bothered with the cage at all, such was the match, they could have done without and still produced the same match anyway. Goes back to my observations on Chris becoming chunky and slowing up. I suppose that the last we'll see of Punk for a while in anything meaningful, maybe they'll give him a go at the intercontinental along with all the rest of the midcard wrestlers which he has now been demoted to, along with Kofi.

Anyway, thats my take on the show. Thanks for reading.

Dark Match:
* Johnny Curtis b. Armando Estrada
- Curtis got the win with a top rope clothes line.

SmackDown: (Airing Friday)
* WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool b. Maryse
- Maryse gets a lot of heat. McCool got the win after hitting a tiger driver.

* Vickie is shown backstage with Big Show. Eve comes in and asks if The Undertaker is in the building.

* A Big Show/Undertaker video from Unforgiven is shown.

* Ryan Braddock b. Festus
- The match ended in disqualification after Jesse came into the ring with duct tape and bubble wrap. They wrap up Braddock and carry him to the back.

* Back to Vickie and Big Show laughing about The Undertaker. Vickie says she will make him apologize if he shows up tonight.

* Carlito's Cabana returns tonight.

* R-Truth b. Shelton Benjamin
- R-Truth enters through the crowd. He gets the win with a roll-up pinfall. Lots of heat on Shelton.

* Jeff Hardy b. Brian Kendrick
- Prior to the match, Hardy cuts a promo and says that Triple H fired him up last week. Kendrick hit the ring for their match in which he lost. Hardy got knocked out by Vladimir Kozlov at the top of the ramp after the match.

* Carlito's Cabana is up next with Carlito and Primo Colon . Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins come out. It is announced that Carlito and Primo will get a WWE Tag Team Championship shot on next week's show. Ryder and Hawkins jump the Colons as Jesse and Festus come out for the save.

* Bre Bella and Maria are shown backstage talking about making their outfits the same. Victoria and Natalya nurst in talking about Bre's secret. They promise to get to the bottom of it next week in a divas match.

* The Great Khali b. Scotty Goldman in a squash match.

* The Great Khali vs. Vladimir Kozlov is announced for next week.

* Chavo is shown in Vickie's office with Bam Neely, Zack Ryder, and Curt Hawkins. Footage is shown of The Undertaker and then the TV messes up. The Undertaker grabs Chavo's throat.

* Triple H b. MVP
- Triple H got the win via pinfall after hitting a pedigree. After the match Vladimir Kozlov attacks Triple H and SmackDown goes off the air.

- Tonight's WWE RAW kicks off with us seeing the steel cage being lowered over the ring as Michael Cole welcomes us to RAW. Lilian Garcia begins the introductions and here we go...

Steel Cage Match for the World Title: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
The former World Champion CM Punk is out first to a nice pop. Punk stops at the cage, looks at it and makes his way inside the steel structure. We cut to a clip of Punk getting attacked at Unforgiven. Out next is the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho.

Jericho comes out to a mixed reaction of sorts with his belt around his waist and his right arm heavily bandaged. Jericho walks to the cage, checks it out and locks eyes with Punk. Jericho enters the cage and stares down the crowd.

The bell rings and we're ready to go. Punk and Jericho talk some trash and come face to face in the middle of the ring. Punk blocks a right hand and knocks Jericho down and back into the ropes. Knee to the gut by Punk followed by a flurry of right hands and more knees on the mat to Jericho. Punk stomps and kicks on Jericho.

Out of nowhere Jericho leaps to the top of the cage and tries to escape. Punk grabs his leg and they fight on the side of the cage. Jericho gets knocked to the mat and Punk tries to climb over the cage. Jericho rushes him and grabs his leg, pulled him back to the top rope. They fight it out on the top rope and Punk falls to the mat first. Punk drops Jericho and goes back at him with rights, kicks and a big knee to the face.

Punk hits the big running knee in the corner followed by the bulldog on Jericho. Punk waits for him to get up and goes for the GTS. Jericho grabs the rope and stops the GTS. Punk dumps Jericho into the cage between the ropes. We go back to commercial.

Back from commercial and Jericho has Punk in an ankle lock. During the break, Punk tried to get out of the cage door and Jericho pulled him back in by his feet and went to work on the leg. Punk breaks the lock with a kick to the back of the head but he is holding his knee. Punk hits Jericho with a series of kicks and slaps, chops. Jericho takes him down and goes for the Walls of Jericho and locks it.

Punk reaches for the ropes and the cage door as Jericho applies the pressure. The referee opens the door as Punk slides out of the door while he is still locked in the Walls of Jericho. Punk's hands touch the floor and he pulls one leg out of the hold. Jericho still has his other leg, slams the steel door on Punk's head and pulls him back in the ring. 2 count by Jericho.

Jericho goes back to work on Punk's leg now. Jericho taunts Punk now, kicking him in the back of the head and hitting him with right hands. Jericho now taunts the crowd. Jericho goes for a Lionsault but Punk puts his knee up and blocks the move. Punk kicks Jericho with huge kicks and knocks him for a whirl on the mat. Jericho dodges the running knee in the corner and throws Punk head first into the cage.

Jericho dropkicks Punk into the steel and starts climbing the cage to escape. Punk goes after him and grabs his foot. Punk with forearm shots now, trying to bring Jericho back down. Punk grabs Jericho and goes for the GTS off the top rope. They brawl on the top now, using the steel cage. Both men fall head first off the cage to the mat. Punk gets a 2 count on Jericho. Jericho throws Punk back into the steel and goes to climb out of the cage again.

Punk climbs back up the cage and gets Jericho up on his shoulders. Punk falls back to the mat with Jericho on his shoulders and both men are down in the ring. The crowd gets behind Punk as he tries to get up. Punk crawls for the steel cage door but Jericho comes from behind and crawls for the door too. Punk pulls him back in the ring and goes for the door. They fight at the door now, both men trying to get out.

They stand up and do a spot on the apron where Punk tries to ram Jericho into the cage. It looks as if Punk's head comes back and headbutts Jericho, knocking Punk back on the mat and knocking Jericho to the side and out the door to the floor for the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho

- We see Batista backstage watching Jericho head to the back with his World Title belt. Still to come tonight is Rey Mysterio vs. Kane. We go back to commercial break.

- Back from commercial and we get a video with Shawn Michaels' voice talking about Hurricane Ike and giving information to donate to the victims through the Red Cross. You can call 1800-REDCROSS.

- Backstage we see Mike Adamle talking to Kelly Kelly. Dolph Diggler walks up and introduces himself to Kelly and Adamle. He walks off. Jericho comes up and Adamle stops him. Adamle mentions No Mercy and Jericho says that's too much. He talks about what he's gone through in the past 8 days. He tells Adamle he is the most valuable asset on this show and a human being, so Adamle needs to take care of him. Jericho says they need to go to his office to talk about some things and they walk off.

- We cut to Kane backstage, and he is wearing his old mask. He says he had to remove his mask years ago but nobody forces him to do anything. He says he took his mask off for all of us so he would be accepted, and that didn't happen. He says everywhere he goes, people point at him and he doesn't like it. He says people are repulsed by him and the feeling is more than mutual. He says then he sees a man like Rey Mysterio, who doesn't have the courage to do what he did. He says Rey still wears his mask and people love him. He says all of us fans wear mask too, masks of self righteousness and happiness. He says we all are unhappy and only care about ourselves. He says he was attacking each and everyone of us when he attacked Rey Mysterio. Evan Bourne walks up and the music stops. Evan says Rey is courageous and he paved the way for guys like him. Evan can't wait to see Rey beat him tonight. Kane laughs at Evan as he walks off. Kane stares with a psycho look on his face as we go back to the arena.

- Jillian Hall is singing a horrible rendition of "Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" and the crowd hates it as always. After this commercial break she will take on Candice Michelle.

Jillian Hall vs. Candice Michelle
Back from commercial and Jillian Hall is screwing up more Elvis songs. Out next is the #1 contender, Candice Michelle. Candice dances in the entrance way as Beth Phoenix walks up behind her, stays behind her while she walks, and Candice doesn't even notice. Beth takes a seat at ringside with Lawler and Cole for commentary.

Candice and Jillian lock up and go at it. Candice hits an ugly kick off the ropes for a 2 count. Nothing special here. Candice goes for another scissors takedown and Jillian drops her with a backdrop for a 2 count. Jillian chokes her in the ropes and they botch a spot or two in the turnbuckle as Beth looks on with a smirk on her face. Jillian throws Candice around the ring and applies a full nelson.

Jillian takes Candice to the mat with the hold and screams in her ears. Jillian continues to work her over. Candice drops out of the hold, looked like a botched neckbreaker. Jillian gets kicked in the head and this match has no heat and is absolutely dull. Candice mounts a comeback with some forearm shots and a leap frog move of some kind. 2 count by Candice as Beth looks on. Beth isn't doing commentary, just sitting there. Back drop by Jillian.

Jillian hits her handspring move in the corner but somehow Candice drops her with her Candy Wrapper move to get the pinfall and the win.

Winner: Candice Michelle

After the match, Candice challenges Beth to come in the ring. Beth heads for the ropes and Candice noly taps her with a dropkick to send her back to the floor. Beth leaves as the two talk trash to each other. Back to commercial.

JBL vs. Tommy Dreamer

Back from commercial and the white limousine pulls into the arena as JBL heads to the ring ready to wrestle. Out next is his opponent, Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer here is representing ECW as a part of the RAW-ECW talent exchange.

They lock up and JBL starts punishing Dreamer, throwing him around the ring. JBL drops a few elbows and drops Dreamer with a big boot to the face. JBL kicks and punches on Dreamer in the corner but gets hit by a big boot from Dreamer. Dreamer comes back with right hands and a swinging neckbreaker on JBL for a 2 count.

Dreamer runs at JBL but hits the turnbuckle and as this is happening, JBL bounces off the ropes and plows Dreamer with a huge Clothesline from Hell for the pinfall and the win.
Winner: JBL

- After the match, JBL stands over Dreamer and goes to the floor to get a steel chair. He brings it back in but sends Dreamer out of the ring and sets up the steel chair and takes a seat. JBL says he isn't leaving the ring tonight until Mike Adamle makes him the #1 contender, right here, right now, tonight. The crowd charts chanting "YOU SUCK." We go to commercial.

Back from commercial and JBL is talking to Adamle who is not out yet. JBL says people can't relate to him because they're poor basically, so don't listen to what they say. JBL says nobody deserves to be #1 contender more than him and the music hits and out comes Randy Orton.

Orton says a few weeks ago he gave his impression of the Champs on RAW and was not impressed, that's why he made sure CM Punk didn't keep his belt. Orton tells JBL he isn't much of an improvement. Orton says the Age of Orton was cut short due to an injury and as he continues to rehab his shoulder, its a matter of time before the Age resumes. He says when it does, it doesn't matter who is Champ because he will take it and there will be a Champ with some real credibility. Out comes Santino and Beth.

Santino and Beth come to the ring with a pissed off look on their face. Santino asks him who he thinks he is. He says unlike Orton, they are Champions. Santino says Orton is always injured, just like his daddy. He asks how long he had the cast on his arm, for 6 years? He says his papa is always healthy, even though he did have the herpes. Santino says they represent a new age of Champions and tells Orton to apologize. Orton asks if he actually expects him to respond to that. Orton says he doesn't care if he's hurt... JBL interrupts and says apologize. Not to Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix, but to him. JBL says Orton has become irrevelant and he can justify being the #1 contender. JBL talks about knocking out Batista last week with a Clothesline and says it is his time now. He says he isn't leaving until he gets a title shot. He says he would hate for something to happen to Orton. Out comes Batista.

Batista comes out to a huge pop and has his usual entrance complete with pyro and everything. Batista gets in the ring and looks at everyone. He says before he beats the hell out of everyone, he has to say this is the most pathetic sight he has ever seen. He says they're like a bunch of politicians making promises they can't keep. He says like Barack Obama said, you can put lipstick on a pig but at the end of the day, it's still a pig and motions to Beth Phoenix. Santino says just cause she squeals does not mean she is a pig. Batista threatens to slap his unibrow off. Batista says he proposes tonight, he takes on JBL and goes to No Mercy to face Jericho. He says after that, he's going to keep beating guys up until Orton acts like a man, gets his doctors note and comes back to wrestling and he will beat him too. Santino asks him if he forgot about someone. Batista says he is sorry and says when he is World Champ again, Beth can have a title shot and he will beat her ass too. Batista says he is tired of talking and tells JBL they can go right now. Mike Adamle appears on the big screen.

Adamle says he will take everyone's opinions into consideration, including Chris Jericho's, and will make the announcement after the Kane and Mysterio match. Adamle tells everyone to relax. Batista says he is going to plead his case now and decks JBL. JBL comes off the ropes, hits Batista and flees as does Orton. Batista drops Santino with a Batista Bomb and comes face to face with Beth Phoenix. She slaps him and starts talking trash. She slaps him again, harder this time, and hits him again. Batista grabs her and Batista Bomb's her right ontop of Santino. It looked like she landed on Santino bad. Batista is selling the slap from her as he mkes his way out of the ring. Beth is laying right on top of Santino's head. Batista makes his exit and looks back at the ring, still selling the slap. And it was a pretty hard slap at that.

- Backstage we see Randy Orton walking and he comes across Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes and Manu. They exchange a look and keep walking as we go back to commercial.

Manu, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase vs. Kofi Kingston, Jerry Lawler, Jim Haas

Back from commercial and the WWE Tag Team Champions with Manu come to the ring for this six-man match. Out next is Kofi Kingston, followed by the hometown Superstar Jerry Lawler. Out next is.... Jim Ross!! No, it's Charlie Haas as Jim Haas. Haas, with his stomach stuffed up and a cowboy hat on, gets on the mic and cuts a promo impersonating JR.

It's Manu and Kofi starting the match off. Manu nails a hard shoulder block and a headbutt on Kofi to start the match. Kofi comes back with high kicks and Manu tags in Cody. Kofi catches him and throws him to the turnbuckle. In comes Jerry Lawler to a big pop. Lawler and Cody trade rights. Lawler goes low with a big right hand and a big back drop on Cody followed by a dropkick. Cody throws Lawler into the turnbuckle and hits a big bulldog for a 2 count.

Cody locks on a submission in the ring as Haas goes to the announcers table, picks up the mic and does a Jim Ross rant. Lawler comes back in the ring, fights off Cody and tags in Haas. Haas rocks Ted DiBiase with rights and a big dropkick, big belly and all. Haas with a Lou Thesz Press on Ted. Haas drops a huge belly splash on Ted for a 2 count as Cody breaks it up. Everybody comes in as Kofi takes Manu outside and Lawler takes Cody to the floor. Haas scoops Ted up for an Oklahoma Stampede but Ted slides out of it and drops Haas with his finisher for the pinfall and the win.

Winners: Manu, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

- Back from commercial and Chris Jericho is in the locker room. JBL walks up and says they made a good tag team last week. Jericho reminds him how he cost him the WWE Title last year and says like his friends on Wall Street, chances of him getting a title shot are crashing. Jericho rants some more about No Mercy and we cut back to the Hurricane Ike video with HBK's voiceover.

Jamie Noble vs. Paul Burchill
Jamie Noble, who is heartbroken still apparently, comes out first. Out next is Paul Burchill, with a new look of sorts, and Katie Lea at his side. They start the match up with Noble unleashing, taking out his pain on Burchill I guess.

Burchill tries to come back and hits a big uppercut and some other moves but runs into the turnbuckle post. Noble snaps, locks on an arm lock, goes crazy and makes Burchill tap out for the win.
Winner: Jamie Noble

After the match, Layla comes to the entrance way and it sounds like she's about to apologize to Noble but she turns nasty and starts dissing him and his ways. She says she found her a real man and out comes William Regal. Regal says it's not Noble she wanted, but nobility. They walk off hand-in-hand.

- Backstage we see Adamle talking to Lance Cade. A pissed off Batista walks in and has a problem with Adamle, wanting to be the #1 contender. Cade tries to speak up and Batista grabs him and throws him to the wall. Batista says he didn't ask Cade's opinion on anything and walks off. Up next is Kane vs. Rey Mysterio as we go back to commercial.

Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
Back from commercial and Kane makes his way to the ring first, without his mask on his face. Out next is Rey Mysterio to a huge pop. Rey celebrates with the fans at ringside as Kane taunts him.

Rey takes a shot at Kane and ducks and dodges around the ring. Kane backs him in the corner with right hands. Rey tries for a hurrancanrana but Kane catches him. Rey knocks Kane to the mat with rights while on his shoulder. Kane comes up with a massive right hand and uses the ropes to choke Rey. Kane now stomps on Rey and throws him face first across the ring to the floor. Rey pops right back up and kicks Kane to the outside. Kane is on the floor as Rey stands in the ring, hyping the crowd as we go back to commercial.

Back from commercial and Kane has Rey on the mat in a headlock. During the commercial, Kane decked Rey with a huge big boot. Rey comes out of the headlock but gets scoop slammed to the mat by Kane. Rey rolls and misses a huge elbow drop from Kane and starts fighting Kane into the corner. Rey climbs Kane and nails him 5 times, gets knocked off and comes back for 5 more. Kane catches him this time and flings his body into the steel post like it's nothing.

Kane launches Rey into the corner again and sends him to the mat. Kane drops a big knee on Rey and taunts him while he's down. Kane hits a big back breaker on Rey and bends him across his knee. Rey starts kicking out of the hold and succeeds. The fans start chanting "619" as Kane pummels Rey in the corner. Kane misses a runnig boot and gets hung up on the top rope. Rey kicks him back and nails the big bulldog and a low dropkick to the face. 2 count by Rey.

Rey drops Kane's face into the turnbuckle and climbs the top. Rey staggers on the turnbuckle and leaps to Kane. Kane catches him but Rey drops off. Big enziguri kick by Rey knocks Kane to the ropes. Rey goes for the 619 but Kane comes up and levels him with a huge clothesline. Kane goes to stomping on Rey again over and over again in the corner. The referee rings the bell and calls for the match as the crowd boo's.
Kane tries to take Rey's mask off as Evan Bourne hits the ring and attacks Kane. Rey gets up and they double team Kane with high flying moves. Bourne and Rey duck out of the ring and leave together as Kane looks on from the ring.

Winner: Rey Mysterio by DQ or Ref Stoppage

- Backstage we see Chris Jericho and Lance Cade walking to the ring. RAW's newest Superstar Dolph Diggler walks up and extends his hand, introducing himself. Jericho keeps walking as we go to commercial.

- Back from commercial and the World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho makes his way to the ring, in a suit, with Lance Cade right behind him. Jericho thanks Adamle for respecting his opinion as the Champion and listening to his advice.

Jericho talks about the potential contenders, JBL and Batista, and says neither of them are worthy. He suggests JBL vs. Batista at No Mercy and immediately afterwards, he comes down and faces the winner for the Championship. Jericho says he wrestled twice at Unforgiven so it's not a big deal. Jericho says he is the best in the world and says Adamle should do the right thing.

Adamle comes out to the entrance and says it's more than fair. He announces Batista vs. JBL for No Mercy with the winner being #1 contender. He says he doesn't want to get in the habit of scheduling challengers twice in one night. He says the winner of that match will face the World Champion but not that night.

Adamle says he has to have the belt defended that night and says he was approached by someone else and they had an idea for a title match that was so exciting he couldn't pass it up. Adamle calls out his opponent for No Mercy and it is none other than.... Adamle takes forever here. The crowd starts chanting "HBK." The music hits and out coems Shawn Michaels with a mic.

HBK says yea, they've fought in a regular match and a sanctioned match, so what else could they do to each other and top themselves. HBK says this match will allow him to destroy Jericho and win the World Title. This match will be a.... HBK asks for help. Out comes a huge ladder brought by crew members. It's HBK vs. Y2J at No Mercy for the World Title in a Ladder Match! HBK climbs to the top of the ladder, his music hits and he stares down Jericho as RAW goes off the air!