Hell in a Cell (2013)

Background

The professional wrestling matches at Hell in a Cell featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown.

After defeating John Cena to win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam in August, Daniel Bryan was betrayed by the special referee of that match, Triple H, which allowed Randy Orton to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract and win the championship. In their rematch at Night of Champions in September, Bryan defeated Orton to win back the title, albeit with the referee Scott Armstrong deciding the pinfall with a fast count. This controversial ending to the match resulted in Armstrong's (kayfabe) firing and Bryan being stripped of the WWE Championship by Triple H the next night on Raw. Bryan and Orton's next scheduled encounter for the now-vacant title on pay-per-view at Battleground on October 6 ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and attacked both wrestlers and the referees, including a returning Scott Armstrong. With still no WWE Champion yet, on the October 7 edition of Raw, general manager Brad Maddox announced that Bryan and Orton would again compete against each other for the vacant WWE title in Hell in a Cell and with a special referee for the audience to choose from amongst WWE Hall of Famers Booker T, Bob Backlund and Shawn Michaels; Michaels won the vote.

At Night of Champions, AJ Lee defeated Brie Bella, Natalya and Naomi to retain the Divas Championship when she made Natalya submit. At Battleground, Brie Bella received a rematch against Lee, but lost when Tamina Snuka attacked Brie's sister Nikki, causing a distraction for AJ to win the match. On the October 18 episode of SmackDown, Brie defeated Lee in a non-title match. The following week, on the October 21 episode of Raw, Brie pinned AJ during a tag team match and earned another opportunity for the Divas Championship.

After defeating Rob Van Dam in a Hardcore Rules match at Battleground to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, Alberto Del Rio tried to coerce SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero on the October 7 edition of Raw to formally announce him as the "face of the WWE", making his case saying he was the only World Champion in the company at the moment (the WWE Championship being vacant) and without any new challenger in sight. Later in the evening, during his match with his formal personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez, Vickie announced that Del Rio would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against a returning John Cena - who had been out of action since SummerSlam due to an elbow injury - at Hell in a Cell.

At Money in the Bank in July, while still posing as his supporter, Paul Heyman turned on CM Punk and cost him the Money in the Bank ladder match for a future WWE Championship match. This started a rivalry that soon brought Heyman's client, Brock Lesnar, into the fray, leading to a No Disqualification match between Lesnar and Punk at SummerSlam, which the former won with Heyman's help. At Night of Champions the next month, in a 2-on-1 handicap elimination no disqualification match, Punk eliminated Curtis Axel (another Heyman's client), before beating down Heyman himself. However, Ryback interfered in the match and put Punk through a table, allowing Heyman to pin him and win the match. As the newest "Paul Heyman guy", Ryback faced Punk at Battleground, but lost the match, when Punk pinned him after hitting a low blow behind the referee's back. This loss irked both Heyman and Ryback, and WWE.com officially announced on October 9, that Punk will face off against Ryback in a rematch at Hell in a Cell. On the October 14 episode of Raw, Heyman attempted to convince Maddox to turn the encounter into a 2-on-1 handicap match, with Axel teaming with Ryback. Instead, Maddox set up a "beat the clock" contest in two matches featuring Punk and Ryback individually, with the wrestler to win his match in shorter time than the other to pick the stipulation for their match at Hell in a Cell. Though Ryback defeated R-Truth in a time of 5:44, Punk defeated Axel with 11 seconds to spare, thus "beating the clock". As result of this victory, Punk himself added Heyman to the match as Ryback's partner, additionally making it a Hell in a Cell match, at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

On the October 14 episode of Raw, Cody Rhodes and Goldust defeated Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of The Shield to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. The next week, Rollins and Reigns fought The Usos (the previous number one contenders) for the next title shot, which ended in a no contest due to Rhodes and Goldust (on commentary during this match) attacking a taunting Dean Ambrose. Triple H then announced that all three teams would compete in a triple threat match for the titles.

Another match confirmed for the event featured Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando) taking on The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger).

On the October 18 edition of SmackDown, Big E Langston helped CM Punk fend off an attack by RybAxel (Ryback and Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel). On the October 21 episode of Raw, Langston pinned Axel in a tag team match. He was then given a title match on the Hell in a Cell Kickoff. Before the Kick-off show began, it was announced that the Intercontinental title match between Langston and Axel was cancelled when Axel suffered a hip injury. The replacement match for the Kickoff, announced by WWE on Twitter, would be Kofi Kingston vs. Damien Sandow. Also during the Kick-off, Langston was part of the "expert panel" and was interrupted by The Shield. Dean Ambrose then said that he would defend his United States Championship against Langston later on during the pay-per-view.

Event

The pre-show included the Kickoff panel of Josh Mathews, Dolph Ziggler, R-truth and Kaitlyn previewing the matches. Also on the Kickoff show, Damien Sandow faced Kofi Kingston. Sandow pinned Kingston after a You're Welcome to win the match.

Miscellaneous

The English commentators were Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John "Bradshaw" Layfield while there were also Spanish and German commentators ringside. Lilian Garcia and Justin Roberts were ring announcers.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Cody Rhodes and Goldust defending the WWE Tag Team Championships in Triple Threat tag team match against The Usos and The Shield's Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Rhodes pinned Rollins after executing the Cross Rhodes to retain the title.

The Miz entered the ring, addressing The Wyatt Family. Miz challenged Bray Wyatt, leading to Luke Harper and Erick Rowan attacking Miz. Kane returned, attacking Rowan and Harper. After the two retreated, Kane Chokeslammed Miz.

Next, The Great Khali and Natalya faced Fandango and Summer Rae in a mixed tag team match. Rae pinned Natalya with a roll up to win the match.

After that, Dean Ambrose defended the WWE United States Championship against Big E Langston. In the end, Big E performed a Spear on Ambrose, who was standing on the apron. Big E re-entered the ring but Ambrose was intentionally counted out, meaning he retained the title. After the match, Big E performed the Big Ending on Ambrose.

In the fourth match, CM Punk faced Paul Heyman and Ryback in a Handicap Hell in a Cell match. Before the match, Heyman entered on a scissors lift and was dropped on top of the cell. The match ended when Punk performed a Diving Elbow Drop on Ryback through a table, hit Ryback with a kendo stick and executed a GTS on Ryback to win the match. After the match, Punk climbed the cell, hit Heyman with a kendo stick and executed a GTS on Heyman.

Next, Los Matadores faced The Real Americans (Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro). Los Matadores pinned Swagger to win the match.

After that, Alberto Del Rio faced John Cena, who returned after an arm injury, for the World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio targeted Cena's arm. Cena attempted an Attitude Adjustment but Del Rio countered into a Backstabber on Cena for a near-fall. Del Rio performed a Step Up Enziguri on Cena, who was on the top rope, for a near-fall. Cena attempted an Attitude Adjustment on Del Rio but Del Rio countered into a Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker on Cena for a near-fall. In the end, Del Rio applied the Cross Armbreaker on Cena but Cena performed a Powerbomb on Del Rio to break the hold. Cena pinned Del Rio after an Attitude Adjustment to win the title.

In the seventh match, AJ Lee defended the WWE Divas Championship against Brie Bella. AJ forced Brie to submit to the Black Widow to retain the title.

Main event

In the main event, Daniel Bryan faced Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship inside Hell in a Cell, with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. After back-and-forth action, Bryan performed two Suicide Dives on Orton but missed a third and collided with the cell wall. Bryan performed a diving Headbutt for a near-fall. Orton performed a Superplex onto a pile of steel chairs on Bryan for a near-fall. Triple H entered the cell and argued with Michaels, distracting him from the match. Orton went for an RKO but Bryan countered, knocking Orton into Michaels. Triple H and a trainer entered the cell to check on Michaels, with Triple H pushing Bryan. Bryan executed a Running Knee on Triple H but Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan. Orton pinned Bryan to win the title.

Aftermath

The next night on Raw, John Cena would address the fans about being back for good when he was interrupted by Damien Sandow who unsuccessfully cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Later that night, Alberto Del Rio announced that he still had a rematch clause in his contract, which he used at Survivor Series. Cena defeated Del Rio at the pay-per-view.

After beating Ryback in the Hell in a Cell match and attacking Paul Heyman with a kendo stick and a GTS on top of the cell, CM Punk would face Ryback again in a street fight, which Punk won. As Punk was celebrating the win he was attacked by The Wyatt Family, with Bray Wyatt hitting his finisher and saying the devil made him do it.

After Randy Orton won the WWE Championship for the eighth time after guest referee Shawn Michaels super kicked Daniel Bryan, Michaels would address the fans on why he cost Bryan the match. Bryan would then be invited by Michaels to come down to the ring and Michaels said he interfered in the match because Bryan attacked his best friend, Triple H. Michaels would then ask Bryan to shake his hand and forgive him, but Bryan refused. After Michaels insulted him, Bryan then applied the Yes! Lock to Michaels. During a backstage interview on how he felt about Michaels betraying him, Bryan was attacked by The Wyatt Family.

With both CM Punk and Daniel Bryan being attacked by the Wyatt Family, Punk and Bryan faced and defeated Luke Harper and Erick Rowan at Survivor Series.

Later that night, Orton, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon held a celebration for Orton winning the WWE Championship. Big Show would then interrupt and told Triple H about the lawsuit he was filing. To prevent the lawsuit, Triple H gave Show his job back, a match against Orton at Survivor Series for the WWE Championship and made Show compete in a 4-on-1 handicap match against Orton and The Shield. At Survivor Series, Orton defeated Big Show and retained the title.

Originally at this pay-per-view, Big E Langston was scheduled to face Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Championship on the Kickoff, but was postponed due to Axel suffering an injury. However, on the November 18, 2013 episode of Raw, Langston defeated Axel, who was medically cleared to compete, to win the Intercontinental Championship.