Hell in a Cell (2016)

Background

The card included eight matches resulting from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by WWE on the Raw brand, one of WWE's two brand divisions. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television show Raw.

At Clash of Champions, Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley to retain the Raw Women's Championship. On the October 3 episode of Raw, after Bayley took out Charlotte's protégé, Dana Brooke, backstage, Sasha defeated Charlotte by submission to become a two-time champion. A rematch was scheduled for Hell in a Cell, and on the October 10 episode of Raw, Sasha challenged Charlotte to a Hell in a Cell match, which Charlotte accepted. This was later confirmed by Mick Foley, making this the first women's Hell in a Cell match.

At Clash of Champions, Roman Reigns won the United States Championship from Rusev. The following night on Raw, the rematch between the two ended in a double countout. On the October 3 episode of Raw, Rusev's wife, Lana, demanded a rematch, after which Rusev attacked Reigns and tried to leave with the title belt, but Reigns attacked him with a Superman Punch and declared he would fight Rusev in a Hell in a Cell match, a request that was later approved by management.

At Clash of Champions, Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins to retain the WWE Universal Championship, largely due to the interference of Chris Jericho. In the following weeks, the two continued to taunt each other. A rematch between Owens and Rollins was scheduled for Hell in a Cell. On the October 10 episode of Raw, General Manager Mick Foley and Commissioner Stephanie McMahon made the match a Hell in a Cell match to prevent further interference. On the same night, Rollins defeated Jericho to keep the match one-on-one. Had Jericho won, the match would have become a triple-threat match.

Dana Brooke defeated Bayley on the October 17 episode of Raw and attacked her the following week during an arm wrestling contest. On October 26, a match between the two was scheduled for Hell in a Cell.

At Clash of Champions, T.J. Perkins defeated Brian Kendrick to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Kendrick attacked Perkins after the match. The following night on Raw, Kendrick challenged Perkins to another match. The following week, Kendrick defeated Perkins by submission. On the October 10 episode of Raw, a match between the two was scheduled for Hell in a Cell.

At Clash of Champions, the final match of the best-of-seven series for a title opportunity between Cesaro and Sheamus ended in a no contest. The following night on Raw, Foley wouldn't allow further matches between the two and decided to put Cesaro and Sheamus as a team against Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day. The following weeks, the two continued to argue with each other. On the October 10 episode of Raw, a title match between the two teams was scheduled for Hell in a Cell.

On the October 10 episode of Raw, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacked Enzo Amore and Big Cass. The following week on Raw, Big Cass defeated Karl Anderson. On October 24, a match between the two teams was scheduled for Hell in a Cell.

On October 26, a match pitting Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara against Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Ariya Daivari was scheduled for the Hell in a Cell pre-show.

Pre-show

During the pre-show, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Sin Cara faced Tony Nese, Drew Gulak, and Ariya Daivari. Alexander won the match for his team by pinning Gulak after executing the Lumbar Check.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Roman Reigns defending the United States Championship against Rusev inside Hell in a Cell. During the match, Reigns executed a Superman Punch for a near-fall. Reigns attempted a Spear but Rusev countered with a Jumping Sidekick and pushed Reigns into the steel steps, which were positioned on the top rope, for a near-fall. Rusev applied the Accolade on Reigns but Reigns escaped. Rusev re-applied The Accolade on Reigns, who was draped over the steel steps, using a steel chain but Reigns countered with a Samoan Drop onto the steel steps. Reigns executed a Spear off the steel steps on Rusev to retain the title.

Next, Bayley fought Dana Brooke. In the end, Bayley performed a Bayley to Belly Suplex on Brooke to win the match.

After that, Enzo Amore and Big Cass wrestled Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Gallows and Anderson executed the Magic Killer on Enzo to win the match.

In the fourth match, Kevin Owens defended the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins inside Hell in a Cell. During the match, Owens accidentally sprayed the referee with a fire extinguisher, resulting in a second referee entering the cell to check on the downed referee. Chris Jericho ran into the cell and locked the cell door. Rollins attempted a Pedigree on Owens but Jericho prevented the attempt, leading to Rollins performing a Pedigree on Jericho. Rollins performed a Powerbomb on Owens through two tables stacked outside the ring, before a Frog Splash but Jericho pulled the referee out of the ring. Rollins attacked Jericho with a Powerbomb into the cell wall. Owens performed a Superkick and a Pop Up Powerbomb on Rollins for a near-fall. Rollins attacked both Owens and Jericho with a chair but Owens executed a DDT on Rollins onto a chair. Owens performed a Powerbomb through two chairs on Rollins to retain the title. After the match, Jericho attacked Rollins with a Codebreaker.

Next, T.J. Perkins defended the Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick. The match ended when Kendrick feigned a knee injury. A concerned Perkins checked on Kendrick only for Kendrick to attack Perkins with a headbutt and then apply the Captain's Hook. Perkins submitted thus Kendrick won the title.

After that, The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Cesaro and Sheamus. In the end, Cesaro applied the Sharpshooter on Woods. Meanwhile, Sheamus attacked Big E with The New Day's Trombone, followed by Kofi Kingston executing Trouble in Paradise on Sheamus. As Kingston was not a contestant in the match, the referee disqualified the New Day for outside interference. At the same time, Woods submitted to Cesaro's Sharpshooter. However, as the referee had already issued a disqualification, Cesaro and Sheamus won the match but The New Day retained the title.

Main event

In the main event, Sasha Banks defended the Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte in the first-ever women's Hell in a Cell match. Before the cell lowered, Charlotte attacked Banks, leading to the two fighting outside the cell and into the crowd. Charlotte climbed the cell wall but was knocked down by Banks. As Banks attempted to climb down, Charlotte threw Banks through a broadcast table with a Powerbomb. Banks was about to be taken away on a stretcher and Charlotte to be declared the winner by forfeit, but Banks got off the stretcher and entered the cell, thus the match officially started. During the match, Charlotte executed a Monkey Flip on Banks into the cell wall for a near-fall. Banks applied the Banks Statement on Charlotte but Charlotte countered and executed a Sidewalk Slam on Banks onto a chair for a near-fall. Banks paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero by executing the Three Amigos and a Frog Splash on Charlotte for a near-fall. Banks re-applied the Banks Statement on Charlotte but Charlotte escaped by rolling out of the ring. Outside the ring, Charlotte attempted a Superplex through a table on Banks but Banks countered, knocking Charlotte onto the table. Charlotte applied the Figure Eight but Banks attacked Charlotte with a chair to break the submission. In the end, Banks attempted a Powerbomb on Charlotte through a table but failed. Charlotte took advantage by throwing Banks onto the table, which was positioned in the corner, and then executed Natural Selection to win the title.

Aftermath

Earlier in October before Hell in a Cell, SmackDown's Commissioner Shane McMahon and General Manager Daniel Bryan challenged Raw to three traditional Survivor Series elimination matches – involving each brand's best five male wrestlers, best five female wrestlers, and best five tag teams, respectively, to which Stephanie McMahon accepted. After Hell in a Cell, focus then shifted on determining which wrestlers would represent Team Raw for the three teams at Survivor Series the following month.

SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler made an open challenge to any wrestler on Raw to face him for the title at Survivor Series. On the November 7 episode of Raw, Sami Zayn revealed that Mick Foley wanted him to face Ziggler for the Intercontinental title, and then defeated Rusev, solidifying his spot in the title match at Survivor Series. Also, Raw and SmackDown's General Managers came to a negotiation where Foley agreed that since SmackDown was defending the Intercontinental title against a Raw wrestler, he would allow a SmackDown wrestler to challenge new Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick for that title, and if the SmackDown wrestler were to win, the entire cruiserweight division would move to SmackDown.