BROCK LESNAR VS UNDERTAKER - Hell In A Cell

Brock Lesnar went into Hell itself to settle his score with The Undertaker, and he returned to the light with his soul intact. The Deadman, on the other hand, remains in the darkness, ensnared in the clutches of the one Superstar who may be more sinister than he.

Undertaker’s unlucky 13th trip inside Satan’s domain came at a crucial juncture for The Last Outlaw.

The high stakes would explain the early mind games by The Undertaker, who rolled his eyes into his head and stuck his serpentine tongue out at The Beast Incarnate before ever throwing a punch. Lesnar, of course, turned that terror against The Phenom by way of the hammering blows and blunt-force attacks that landed him at the top of the heap in UFC. 

With each man suffering injuries that drew blood, the eternal rivals turned Hell in a Cell into the gruesome butcher shop it was once known as. Undertaker, smelling blood in the water — literally — was the first to exploit the lawlessness of the Cell by bringing a chair into the equation, but Brock turned that, too, against The Phenom, creaming the 25-year veteran with swings that any World Series-bound manager would beg to have in his lineup.

While Heyman lurked outside the Cell like the devil on his shoulder, Lesnar held control over his mighty but weathered opponent for the majority of the gory contest. The Phenom’s resiliency (and his desire for that one, definitive win over The Conqueror) were what kept him in the game. A trio of belly-to-back trips to Suplex City? Didn’t get it done. Two F-5s in rapid succession? Not enough. Taking the steel steps to the face like a fastball? Still alive.

Each time The Phenom cheated defeat brought Lesnar closer to what seemed like self-destruction. A particularly showboating moment with those steps landed Lesnar in Hell’s Gate; it took a gorilla-like pounding to The Undertaker’s torso and face to get him out of the submission hold. Even then, Brock seemed angrier that he’d gotten caught in the first place, and in his frustration he reached deeper than he ever has before — literally — by ripping up the canvas itself, exposing the hardwood underbelly of the ring. The Deadman was ready for that, too: As Lesnar readied The Phenom’s final resting place, Undertaker rose from his back to chokeslam, then Tombsone, Lesnar onto the floorboards. Tombstone, eye roll, tongue out …

Two count only!

The bright side, though, was that Undertaker had Lesnar right where he wanted him. Once again, The Phenom stood before his kneeling Conqueror and flashed his demonic war face, only to be met with a booming low-blow that reduced The Last Outlaw to a writhing wretch on the mat. Up he went for an F-5. Down he came onto the hardwood. Conquered.

With that, the Cell raised and Lesnar made his retreat. The Last Outlaw struggled to his feet and the WWE Universe did the same, bestowing a standing ovation and “Thank you, Taker” chants upon the quarter-century competitor. In response to their gratitude, Undertaker knelt to the mat, striking his signature pose and was greeted not with the toll of a gong but the glow of the fireflies.