The first-ever _"Hell in a Cell"_ match, featuring The Undertaker vs Michael "Vince's Favorite BoyToy" Hickenbottom (wrestling as Shawn Michaels). The card starts off with a handicap match between the Legion of Doom (Roadwarriors Hawk and Animal) facing off against the "Nation of Domination" members Rocky Maivia, D'Lo Brown, and Kama Mustafa. Can't get real excited about this one because, as much as I used to love the Road Warriors, they've just gotten soft and lost that edge that used to make them so invincible, and I care absolutely NOTHING about "Rocky Maivia" as a member of some thug wanna-be's. So I yawn and try to get through this one as painlessly as possible. And of course, it concludes as you would expect. Sadly, the next match was _scheduled_ to be a match featuring Brian Pillman, but Pillman had been found dead in his hotel room that very day, so they had to fill the slot with some midget tag-teams. In a way, I always feel for these guys; they work hard to perform but they're almost certainly seen as almost a "clown" act, never taken seriously in spite of their best efforts. And of course this was yet another match that I could hardly wait to get through. Unfortunately, this particular match was worse than most, as they seemed to keep missing their cues, performing very sloppily until the match mercifully ended. Following this was yet another match that held little interest (for me, and I'm the one writing this review) between the tagteam champions, The Headbangers vs The Godwinn brothers. Of course, the WWF had to put Sunny back in the spotlight so they allowed her to be the "special guest ring announcer" to announce the upcoming tagteam championship match. Before you get your hopes up (or anything else), Sunny was almost fully dressed, with little cleavage showing, and no mini-skirt for the cameraman to sneak a peek under. So don't get too excited: she was annoying, and nothing else. The match couldn't end fast enough for my liking and again, ended much as you would expect. There was a brief spotlight segment on Stone Cold Steve Austin which was interesting, and then Jim Ross began introducing a group of "legends", including Gene Kiniski, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Terry Funk, and finally, Lou Thesz, and promoter Sam Muchnick. (This was a special honorary celebration that predates the modern-day WWF "Hall of Fame".) Now we move on to a very entertaining match, the Intercontinental Championship match between Owen Hart and "Farooq" (aka Ron Simmons). This was entertaining mainly because it involved the aforementioned Stone Cold Steve Austin, who came down to the ring area to "vacate" his IC strap, and help "call" the match. I gotta give the guy credit: He definitely makes the WWF a lot more interesting. LOL Watching him (Austin) move from Vince McMahon, to Jim Ross, to Jerry Lawler, then over to the "Spanish Announce" table (as McMahon keeps referring to it), then over to the "French Announce" table, and threatening all of them, it's really a hoot. I've read in multiple blogs and websites that they never dreamed the "Stone Cold" persona would ever explode in popularity like it did, but Austin rode it like a champ, making his character one of the most memorable in all of professional wrestling over the years. This one definitely had a surprise ending, making sure it continues to evolve into a longer-running storyline. Following this was yet another tag-team match that held little interest for me: the Disciples of Anarchy vs Los Boricuas, an eight-man tag match that was as bland as you would expect. No titles on the line for either team so there was little interest...from the live audience as well as myself. Another one that I was glad when it was over. Now it's time for the "co-main event", the "Flag Match" between Bret 'Hitman' Hart and British Bulldog vs The Patriot with his tagteam partner Vader. Apparently they've turned "Vader" into a babyface (good guy) in-between PPV cards, as he is now getting a large round of cheers and applause when he's introduced. I suppose maybe it's "the better of two evils", when it comes to Bret Hart and British Bulldog's yammering about Canadian "superiority". Who knows? In any event, it was definitely a far better match than I was expecting and the intervention of a fan during the match (2:00:37) just made it that much more interesting. Even though it was an interesting match, it ended with a surprisingly lackluster, "ho-hum" kind of ending which (again, just my opinion) took the shine off what could have been a really good matchup. The main event was the first-of-its-kind _Hell In a Cell_ match between The Undertaker (Mark Calloway) vs Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom). By now, "The Heartbreak Kid" has turned 180º and become a "heel" (bad guy) and is playing up to the role. Unfortunately, he still - IMO - doesn't have the chops to actually sell his gimmick and seems to not know (or does he not care? I think it many cases, he really knew but didn't care because he wanted the spotlight ONLY on himself, i.e. the ridiculous Hulk Hogan match) where that spot is between making it look good and making it look ridiculously fake. Here was no exception as the cage was lowered and he suddenly looked like a frantic lost little boy. Again, it was a cheap oversell and really cheapened the entire match, which by all rights should have been a real barn-burner. 2:29:04 Jerry Lawler blurts out _"Those steps weigh at least a hundred and fifty pounds..."_ and yet, the steps are hollow, and aluminum, and Shawn Michaels is slamming them down on the Undertaker again and again, then tossing them aside like a bag of feathers... That sound you hear is probably my eyes still rolling after Lawler's exclamation. Hickenbottom was a hated "heel" (bad guy, villain, etc) by this time, yet still, the team of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler continue to make this "all about Michaels" as they proclaim over and over again, ad nauseum, how horrific he's getting beat, how bloody and beaten he is, how he didn't know what he was getting into, blah blah blah blah blah. Yeah, he put on a show...as per usual, because Hickenbottom just has to have the adulation and adoration of his fanbase. Excuse me...I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. The most interesting thing about this whole _Hell In a Cell_ match was the introduction of "Kane" (Glenn Jacobs) as the "little brother" of The Undertaker. Jacobs would, of course, go on to have a long and impactful career in the WWF, and eventually in the silver screen. "Kane's" interference, of course, gave Hickenbottom the "win" as the match was a No-Disqualifications match. And of course Hickenbottom had it cemented into his BoyToy Bedroom contract with McMahon that he can't ever lose because that's bad for his image. My biggest regret about Hickenbottom is that those nine Marines who jacked him up on the street a few months back didn't do a better job and put him out of action for good. It took him way too many years to finally figure out the universe doesn't revolve around him, and even his little ploy at being a "born again Christian" was nothing more than yet another attempt to draw attention to himself. If you can watch this and skip the "main event" (you already know how it's going to end, anyway) then you may be alright. If you elect to give this one a pass, you're not really missing anything.