SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a God
Watch people’s heads a-roll
A-roll
A-roll
Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction
-Symphony of Destruction by Megadeath
The Drew McIntyre vs. C.M. Punk Hell In a Cell match at WWE Bad Blood last weekend was a true throwback to what the gimmick was originally meant to be. WWE had made HIAC matches tamer and tamer as they got further away from the first HIAC match between Shawn Michaels and Undertaker in 1997.
It got to the point where WWE simply branded a yearly PPV as a HIAC PPV where wrestlers were forced into the match when the feud didn’t call for it at all. Originally, Hell In a Cell was meant to be bloody, it was meant to settle violent feuds, and it was meant to leave fans in the arena and at home awestruck by what they were seeing in front of them.
As the HIAC matches got more and more tepid, the memory of what they were originally intended to be faded. WWE didn’t push the memories of a bloody HBK only being saved by a debuting Kane in the first HIAC match nor did they push the memories of Mankind taking risks with his life against the Undertaker at King of the Ring ‘98.
Sure clips were shown of those matches to build up previous HIAC, but leading into this HIAC match between Punk and McIntyre, WWE pushed the violence and brutality of the match more than they had in the past.
The Punk vs. The McIntyre feud had been up and down, but they stuck the landing with a legendary match at Bad Blood this past weekend that was everything the original HIAC stipulation was intended to be. There was no goofy red cage or ridiculously oversized version of the HIAC structure. It was just two men settling their hatred for one another with pure violence inside of the ring within the confines of the ominous HIAC structure.
McIntyre and Punk didn’t need to leave the structure or climb to the top of it to get the point across that they hated each other and were going to do whatever it took to win the match. The crowd was way more into the violence than I expected. When the referee tried to wipe the blood off of the combatants, the crowd booed.
Drew McIntyre has been the unsung hero for WWE over the course of the last few years. Creative has put his character through hell from being champion during the pandemic, to having him lose big matches constantly, and at WrestleMania this year, it was Punk that cost him his WWE World Championship right after he had beaten Seth Rollins to lose to MITB winner Damien Priest. Despite taking the loss to Punk, McIntrye was part of something truly memorable at Bad Blood that people won’t forget in the years to come.
The match built up perfectly and the crowd came along for the ride with Punk and McIntyre. Both men took some brutal bumps along the way. The suplex off the turnbuckles to the floor from McIntyre to Punk was particularly painful to watch, as was the spot where McIntyre missed a Claymore and bumped into the edge of the ring steps that had been placed inside the ring.
It was a landmark moment for both men. In this day and age of spectacular matches being put on frequently on TV, PPV, and PLE, it is tough for a match to really stick out and be memorable. It takes a good story, it takes a hot crowd, and it takes a lot of drama both during and after the match. Punk and McIntyre had all those things and more.
It was Punk’s best match since returning to wrestling. I had my doubts Punk would make it through a HIAC match without suffering a serious injury given how frequently he’s gotten hurt since returning to wrestling full-time, but he erased those doubts and put on one of the best performances in the ring of his entire career.
This is what wrestling is truly about, It’s about matches and memories. It is about visuals that will stand the test of time. The post-match drama was beautifully done with Punk doing everything he could to walk out on his own two feet even though WWE officials tried to help him. McIntyre tried to get to his feet back inside the ring, which looked like the scene of a bad car crash.
Not many matches will stand the test of time in the way where you will truly remember certain parts of them vividly forever. There’s the site of HBK laying face down in a pool of his own blood from the original HIAC match. There’s Mick Foley flying through the air after Undertaker launched him off the top of the HIAC structure through the announce table below.
Punk vs. McIntyre will be remembered for the big bumps during the match, the excessive blood that was fitting given the nature of the feud between both men, and the post-match scene with Punk symbolically leaving the scene of a car accident on his own two feet.
As much as WWE tried to play up that this wouldn’t be a five star classic on commentary and that the match was going to be a fight, this was everything a five star classic should be. In the future, hopefully WWE uses images of this match much like they’ve used images from the HIAC matches between HBK and Taker and Foley and Taker. It was truly a signature career momentt for both McIntyre and Punk.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch
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