Shawn Michaels Recalls His Mindset Going Into First WWE Hell In A Cell Match
Shawn Michaels had one particular thought on his mind when he saw the WWE Hell in a Cell structure for the first time.
There have been 52 WWE Hell in a Cell matches as we head towards the Bad Blood PLE in Atlanta on October 5th. On that night, Drew McIntyre and CM Punk will compete in the 53rd Hell in a Cell match, which is a match where both men have made it clear they want the other man to bleed and feel a lot of pain.
This first Hell in a Cell match was arguably the best of them all as Shawn Michaels faced off against The Undertaker at a show called In Your House: Badd Blood on October 5th, 1997. That match between Michaels and Undertaker is remembered fondly as a legendary match because of what both men put their bodies through.
Michaels and Undertaker were not the only story of the match because it was also the night that WWE Hall of Famer Kane made his debut as that character after months of teases from his “father” Paul Bearer. Kane ripped the door off, went into the ring, set the ringposts on fire, and gave his “brother” The Undertaker a Tombstone. This led to Michaels crawling over to Taker and pinning him with just his left arm across the chest because a bloody Michaels was too exhausted to do a better pin.
While talking to The Ringer, two-time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels said he took pride in competing in that first Hell in a Cell match.
“I guess I always took pride in the fact that I was always the guinea pig—to see how some of these matches, these new ideas, these new, creative thoughts would work.”
“One of the things I think that really worked to my advantage is that I wasn’t bright enough to understand that maybe I shouldn’t have been putting pressure on myself for those moments.”
Shawn Michaels Wanted To Get To The Top Of Hell In A Cell Structure
As he continued, Shawn Michaels mentioned that when he saw the Hell in a Cell structure surrounding the ring around and having a roof on it, he knew he had to go on top of the cell.
“I can remember walking into St. Louis, seeing this unbelievable structure that they had built, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh, it would look like a playground. The first thing that I said is, ‘I got to get on top.’”
That fight between Michaels and Undertaker did go to the top of the cell. It ended badly for Michaels because as he climbed to the side of the cage, Undertaker knocked him off and Michaels took a bump through the commentary table on the ground. It was about a 12-foot bump that WWE replayed many times in the years that followed.
“[The Undertaker] and I had great chemistry every time we were in the ring with each other. I feel like that’s exactly what we delivered that night, and not having any idea that it would become a regular part of something that would stand the test of time in the WWE.”
The days of bumping off a cell through a table are long gone for Shawn Michaels, who is a busy man running the WWE NXT brand, which recently had a very successful television show in Chicago for its debut on the CW Network. Michaels started the show by welcoming fans to this new era of the NXT brand.