CM Punk wants to bring Hell in a Cell ‘back to what it’s supposed to be’

CM Punk is determined to deliver a classic Hell in a Cell match at WWE Bad Blood.

On the 27th anniversary of the first-ever Hell in a Cell match, Punk and Drew McIntyre will square off inside of the cell this Saturday night. It’s the culmination of a story that has lasted throughout 2024. Punk and McIntyre each own a victory over the other with their record tied at 1-1 during their intense rivalry.

Punk told the No Contest-Wrestling podcast that his goal is to bring Hell in a Cell back to its roots with this match. He believes that, for too long, WWE got away from what Hell in a Cell was originally supposed to be.

“I feel like I have to deliver a classic. And I have to stay true to myself, my beliefs of what good wrestling is, and that cell that I feel like as a company we’ve gotten away from for so long. Where it just became a toy. Like, ‘We’re just going to have a pay-per-view, call it Hell in a Cell, and everyone’s going to go inside and have matches.’ When in reality that should be presented as the most dangerous, diabolical thing that any wrestler would ever want to do,” Punk said.

“I want to bring it back to what it’s supposed to be. I don’t want to have a cell that needs a match, I want to have a match that needs the cell. And I feel like me and Drew have done that. Like, there’s no other way — there’s no other way to settle this.”

Punk has wrestled in five other Hell in a Cell matches in his career. This is his first since 2013.

The first Hell in a Cell match took place on October 5, 1997 with Shawn Michaels defeating The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House.

State Farm Arena in Atlanta is hosting Bad Blood 2024 this Saturday. The event has a start time of 6 p.m. Eastern.