| Hell in a Cell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringCM Punk inside theHell in a Cell structure | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Date | October 28, 2012 | ||
| City | Atlanta,Georgia | ||
| Venue | Philips Arena | ||
| Attendance | 10,000[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 199,000[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Hell in a Cell chronology | |||
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The 2012Hell in a Cell was the fourth annualHell in a Cellprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWWE. It was held on October 28, 2012, atPhilips Arena inAtlanta,Georgia. The event drew a total of 199,000 buys, which is an improvement overthe previous year's event, which drew 182,000 buys.
Eight matches were contested at the event with no matches on the pre-show. In the main event,CM Punk defeatedRyback in aHell in a Cell match to retain theWWE Championship, ending Ryback's undefeated streak. In other prominent matches,Big Show defeatedSheamus to win theWorld Heavyweight Championship andEve Torres defeatedLayla andKaitlyn to retain theWWE Divas Championship.
Hell in a Cell was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced annually in October byWWE since 2009. Theconcept of the event came from WWE's establishedHell in a Cell match, in which competitors fought inside a 20-foot-high roofed cell structure surrounding the ring and ringside area. The main event match of the card was contested under the Hell in a Cell stipulation.[3][4][5] The 2012 event was the fourth Hell in a Cell and was held on October 28 atPhilips Arena inAtlanta,Georgia.[6]
Theprofessional wrestling matches at Hell in a Cell featured professional wrestlers performing ascharacters inscripted events pre-determined by the hostingpromotion, WWE.Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown.[7][8]
The main program involvedCM Punk defending hisWWE Championship againstRyback, contested inside Hell in a Cell. AtNight of Champions the previous month, CM Punk andJohn Cena fought each other to a draw when Cena left his shoulders down while pinning Punk, making it a double pin.[9] Following this, he continuously challenged Punk to a rematch, even while recovering from an arm surgery earlier in the month; Punk refused to accept. All the while Ryback, who was undefeated since re-entering WWE in April (not including his time as the character Skip Sheffield), had attempted to confront Punk with Punk usually escaping. This culminated on an episode ofRaw where WWE ChairmanVince McMahon arrived and forced Punk to choose whether he wanted to face John Cena or Ryback. However, when Punk took too long to decide, with Cena's endorsement, McMahon made the decision for it to be Ryback. It was announced that it would be a Hell in a Cell match.
At Night of Champions,Layla was originally set to defend theWWE Divas Championship againstKaitlyn, but at the event, Kaitlyn was attacked by a villainess in a masked disguise.Eve Torres replaced Kaitlyn and defeated Layla to capture the Divas Championship,[9] and after Eve's successful defenses against Kaitlyn and Layla on back-to-back episodes ofRaw,Aksana was revealed as Kaitlyn's attacker on the October 26 episode ofSmackDown, committing the attack under Eve's orders. It was later announced that Eve would defend the Divas Championship at Hell in a Cell in atriple threat match.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Michael Cole |
| Jim Ross | |
| John Bradshaw Layfield | |
| Spanish commentators | Marcelo Rodríguez |
| Carlos Cabrera | |
| Interviewers | Josh Mathews |
| Matt Striker | |
| Ring announcers | Tony Chimel |
| Justin Roberts | |
| Ricardo Rodriguez(Del Rio only) | |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| John Cone | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
| Brad Maddox |
Lilian Garcia was involved in a car accident before the event inLos Angeles,California,Tony Chimel substituted for her. WhenJerry "The King" Lawler had been recovering from a heart attack,Michael Cole was joined in commentary byJim Ross andJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield.
The event opened withRandy Orton facingAlberto Del Rio. Orton won the match after Del Rio missed an Enziguiri and performed an RKO on Del Rio for the pin.[10]
Next,Team Hell No (Kane andDaniel Bryan) defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow andCody Rhodes). Kane was disqualified after he attacked Sandow and Rhodes, meaning Team Hell No retained the titles.[10]
After that,Kofi Kingston defended theIntercontinental Championship againstThe Miz. Kingston executed Trouble in Paradise to retain the title.[10]
In the fourth match,Antonio Cesaro defended theUnited States Championship againstJustin Gabriel. After countering aSuicide Dive with a European Uppercut, Cesaro executed the Neutralizer on Gabriel to retain the title.[10]
Next,Rey Mysterio andSin Cara faced thePrime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil). Mysterio and Cara won after Mysterio performed a 619 and a diving splash on Young.[10]
After that,Sheamus defended theWorld Heavyweight Championship againstBig Show. Big Show dominated Sheamus throughout the match. Big Show executed a Chokeslam on Sheamus for a near-fall. Sheamus executed White Noise on Big Show for a near-fall. Big Show executed a WMD on Sheamus for a near-fall. Sheamus executed a Brogue Kick on Big Show for a near-fall. Sheamus attempted a second Brogue Kick but Big Show avoided and executed a second WMD on Sheamus to win the title.[10]
In the seventh match, Eve Torres defended the WWE Divas Championship against Layla and Kaitlyn in a triple threat match. In the end, Eve executed asenton bomb on both Kaitlyn and Layla, pinning Layla to retain the title.[10]
In the main event, CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against Ryback inside Hell in a Cell. Ryback gained the early advantage butPaul Heyman distracted Ryback, allowing Punk to spray Ryback with a fire extinguisher. Punk attempted to attack him with a steel chair but Ryback countered with a big boot, causing the chair to hit Punk, and threw Punk into the cell wall. Punk attacked Ryback with aKendo stick but Ryback was unaffected and performed a Meat Hook Clothesline on Punk. Ryback attempted Shellshocked but the refereeBrad Maddox inexplicably stopped Ryback and attacked him with a low-blow. Punk pinned Ryback with a roll-up as Maddox made a fast count, thus Punk retaining the title. After the match, Maddox attempted to escape from the cell but was attacked by Ryback. After chasing Heyman, Punk attempted to escape by climbing the cell but Ryback followed him and executed Shellshocked atop the cell.[10]
Brad Maddox explained onRaw that he had intentionally cost Ryback the match as a way of making a name for himself and 'becoming famous' after he had been told that he would never achieve his initial dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. Maddox then demanded a WWE contract and a match with Ryback; Mr. McMahon sarcastically replied that Maddox would be given a 'million dollar contract' if he was able to beat Ryback. The match took place the following week, with Maddox being defeated in asquash match and leaving the arena in an ambulance. Ryback then continued his feud with CM Punk, and went on to challenge for the title once again atSurvivor Series in a triple threat match with John Cena. It was later revealed on an episode ofRaw that Paul Heyman had paid Brad Maddox to make an interference in the match and help Punk retain the title.
| 1st Round SmackDown September 25 – October 2, 2012 (Aired: September 28 – October 5) Raw October 1, 2012 Main Event October 2, 2012 (Aired: October 3) | Semifinals Raw October 8, 2012 | Final[a] Raw October 22, 2012 | |||||||||
| Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes andDamien Sandow) | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| The Usos (Jey Uso andJimmy Uso) | 1:56 | ||||||||||
| Team Rhodes Scholars | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| Team CoBro | 3:07 | ||||||||||
| Justin Gabriel andTyson Kidd | 4:04 | ||||||||||
| Team CoBro (Santino Marella andZack Ryder) | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| Team Rhodes Scholars | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara | 13:02 | ||||||||||
| Kofi Kingston andR-Truth | 4:17 | ||||||||||
| The Prime Time Players (Darren Young andTitus O'Neil) | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| The Prime Time Players | 7:14 | ||||||||||
| Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| Rey Mysterio andSin Cara | Pinfall | ||||||||||
| Primo and Epico | 9:22 | ||||||||||