First debuting in the 1997 pay-per-view Badd Blood: In Your House, the Hell in a Cell match is a WWE signature -- a No DQ cage match (with a roof!) that’s promoted by the company as so dangerous that wrestlers are traumatized by the experience. A myriad of Superstars have competed inside the structure, most notably The Undertaker, Kane (obviously), and Mankind.
Since its inception, however, there have been over 40 Hell in a Cell matches, which means that many competitors have certainly slipped through the cracks of memory, especially if they only did wrestled inside the cell once.
10 Dolph Ziggler (2011)
Most fans don't remember Dolph Ziggler wrestling inside Hell in a Cell because his match wasn't televised. During a dark match after the September 26, 2011, episode of Raw, the cell was lowered and John Cena defended his WWE Championship against four worthy opponents. Alongside Ziggler, Cena defended the gold against Alberto Del Rio, CM Punk, and Jack Swagger. The Showoff came up short in this affair as Cena retained and walked away with his championship in tow.
9 Rikishi (2000)
Only one time was there ever a Hell in a Cell contested between six men. It was at Armageddon that half a dozen wrestlers competed for the WWF Championship, and it’s a who’s who of WWF during the Attitude Era: The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Triple H, The Undertaker, and, uh, Rikishi. He’s delightful, but he does seem randomly slotted into the match in retrospect. Rikishi’s biggest contribution to the bout was that insane Chokeslam he took from the top of the cage onto a truck bed.
8 Vince McMahon (2006)
It’s surprising that Vince McMahon has only been in Hell in a Cell once, and it was long after the Attitude Era had been put to bed. But it still involved figures from that period, as Triple H and Shawn Michaels took on Vince, Shane McMahon, and The Big Show.
But still, this match happened before WWE went PG, so it’s incredibly violent -- and ends with Vince being launched face-first into Big Show’s bare butt. Classic Vince. What's also surprising is that this match took place mid-way through the card of Unforgiven 2006. Typically, Hell in a Cell matches close out pay-per-views but not this one.
7 Big Boss Man (1999)
The fifth ever Hell in a Cell happened at WrestleMania XV, and had The Undertaker taking on The Corporation’s security guy Big Boss Man who, as a former prison guard, should have known his way around a cage. But how was the Big Boss Man to know he’d be attacked by vampires and that The Undertaker would try to hang him from the top of the Cell with a noose?
6 Chris Jericho (2002)
In 2002, Chris Jericho and Triple H had a feud going on SmackDown starting with Jericho beating Triple H in a #1 Contender’s Match for the Undisputed Championship. From there, the situation escalated to a battle in the Hell in a Cell at Judgment Day, where Triple H performed a pedigree on Jericho, pinning him on top of the cage -- a rarity for HIAC matches, which usually finish in the ring rather than above it.
5 Alberto Del Rio (2011)
At SummerSlam 2011, Alberto Del Rio entered the WWE Title picture by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on an unsuspecting CM Punk. John Cena would beat Del Rio for the title, and the three would then collide in Hell in a Cell at the PPV of the same name. Triple threats are a great way for a star wrestler to lose a title without actually getting pinned, so of course the match ended with CM Punk getting pinned.
4 Daniel Bryan (2013)
Another SummerSlam shocker! Same deal, but exchange Del Rio for Randy Orton and Punk for Daniel Bryan, and add the birth of the ongoing Authority storyline. At the Night of Champions rematch, a controversial finish led to the title being held up, to be determined in Hell in a Cell.
Daniel Bryan’s struggle to win the WWE Championship continued here, as special guest referee Shawn Michaels would superkick Bryan, allowing for a Randy Orton victory.
3 Kevin Owens (2017)
Fans of Kevin Owens going back to his indie days know that Owens is no stranger to violent matches, but it’s easy to forget he competed in a Hell in a Cell match, probably because it was against Shane McMahon, whose recent feuds have hardly set the wrestling world on fire. Despite the match ending with a returning Sami Zayn helping his old friend and rival Owens win the fight, this was ultimately the lesser of the two HIAC matches that night, as the other one was a standout brawl between The Usos and The New Day.
2 Ryback (2011-2012)
Believe it or not, Ryback had two Hell in a Cell appearances in two consecutive years -- and both against CM Punk. The first had babyface “Feed Me More” era Ryback taking on recently-turned-heel CM Punk in the Cell, which Punk won. The following year, the pair’s alignments had switched thanks to Paul Heyman’s betrayal, so Punk took both wrestler and manager on in the match. Especially surprising about this one is that CM Punk won by pinning Ryback and not Heyman.
1 Rusev (2016)
The 2016 edition of the Hell in a Cell PPV was one of only a couple iterations of the event to have three HIAC matches in it, one of which was Roman Reigns taking on Rusev for the WWE United States Championship. This was a feud that started before SummerSlam, which involved ostensible babyface Roman Reigns crashing Rusev’s wedding party to demand a title match. From there, the pair couldn’t stop brawling, and necessitated a mega-violent cage match for some reason.