[4.0] "Let me start by saying this show wouldve been worse if not for the mainevent whcih i think skews the reviews for this show this is a really really bad show, Gang Warfare story is just bad. and none of those matches are good, Faarooq vs Owen deserved more time and was really only there to help Austin which is fair but easily couldve been a top match on the show on a regular night, the godwins winning the titles sucked. the Mini stuff i didnt enjoy very much as well , this show was extremely carried by a very good Michaels v Taker match with a Great Debut with Kane costing Taker."

[5.0] "Vince should have given 90 percent of the money made here to people involved in main event. One match show. There were some decent matches on this program but they were so distant in quality from main event, it's just crazy. Opening tag match was done well if you ignore stupid booking of Road Warriors in 1997 that I won't get into right now. Story was that it was supposed to be 3v3 and Warriors said nah we'll do it on our own and then went ahead and lost the match. I've seen worse. **3/4 Vince tells us about Brian Pillman tragedy that unfortunately happened just before this show and says that next attraction is hopefully going to entertain us (something along those lines) and out come midgets. And their match went over like a wet fart. It was a mess obviously done to fill in some precious PPV time, as far as I know, Pillman was supposed to face Dude Love here. They got 7 minutes to do something and they just... had a match I suppose. It felt like one of those matches where moves are done and that's it. Mini was over with the crowd, stemming from his previous PPV, until he wasn't over anymore. It was flat like the lake. I can't be too harsh considering the circumstances. **1/4 I refuse to comment anything or watch anything involving Godwinns. JR and Sunny hosted a tribute to St. Louis legends, and they got all big names: Muchnick, Thesz, Funks, Kiniski, Race, Brisco. Terry was the most popular one of course (he was ECW champ months prior) and Lou, even at old age, had what is today called aura. There was a video package for each man, really great segment. Owen/Faarooq was a decently worked match until finish which had Austin cost Faarooq the match because he wanted Owen and the title for himself at Survivor Series. It was okay for what it was. A bit anticlimatic, being heel vs heel. **1/2 Jobber tag team extravaganza was improvement in comparision to SummerSlam disaster. They looked more enthusiastic this time and more energetic, although that doesn't mean much since bar was low anyway. These folks can't put on an exciting match for their lives. I'm okay with DOA winning, they were remotely over, while it's undeniable that Boricuas were better workers. It was still an boring exhibition, but what else was to expect. *1/2 Flag match was better than rating may suggest, but I understand the criticism. They tried, whole flag gimmick was pointless and just halted and slowed down the match. On the end poles were to high for them to climb so they just had pinfall finish and forgot about flags. Altough it dragged a bit, they had few hot sequences and it was overall decent match with bad booking which was theme for good part of this show. I wanted to say Bret wins LOL, but it hit me what PPV is next. *** Main event was... bloody masterpiece. All the bad booking and matches on this show were expensive price paid for this match to be iconic as it is. Shawn was here at his best, selling fear from the cell, Undertaker. He sold wear and tear, blood, the moves, just perfectly. Undertaker was at his usual playing his role, taking a piss out of Shawn with HBK getting chance for payback here and there. Taker was slow, calculated throwing Shawn around and beating him up simply, but effectively. He wanted to torture Shawn for as long as possible, while Shawn was hitting big moves and weapons hoping to find a way to survive this match. Moment Shawn is done for is once they open the doors for cameraman, Taker busts him open throws him around, up and finally down through the table. People were witnessing a murder attempt and once it seems he is finally done beating this guy up, lights go out and rest is history. Greatest debut in WWE history, fear on Taker's face, imposing force in shape of his younger brother taking him out and like some kind of miracle handing Shawn his unlikely victory that he has to crawl to. DX barely carries him out of there which shows what kind of hell he was through. What an introduction of Hell in a Cell, what a storytelling, what a match. ***** Just watch the main event, it's a must see"

[6.0] "To be frank, at least 60% of this card is rubbish and there's insane sights such as Faarooq being so staggeringly crap he's not able to have a good match with Owen Hart. However, I won't write that this is a one match card because I really enjoy Bret Hart and The Bulldog vs Vader and The Patriot (I'm even capable of ignoring the sheer blandness of The Patriot). Of course though, Shawn Michaels juicing an absolute gusher whilst defeating The Undertaker in the first ever Hell in the Cell is a landmark and legendary match. We even get the debut of Kane in it too."

[5.0] "Everything sucked except the main event. This show stunk on every conceivable level until that Hell in a Cell match. That match alone made this worth watching."

[4.0] "Had the Hell in a Cell match flopped, this would genuinely be remembered as one of the worst pay-per-views of all time. There is nothing to talk about on this show outside of the main. The opener is boring as anything, the minis were actually fun but had no heat, Owen and Faarooq did their best, the flag match had the most ridiculous stipulations imaginable...BUT THAT MAIN EVENT! Not even a big fan of Taker all things considered, but he looked like a killer in this, especially with that chair shot (holy geez). Overall, watch the main, and nothing else if you life depended on it"

[4.0] "This card is the definition of a one match card. One of the best matches of all time and one of the best debuts of all time following up one of the worst cards I have ever laid eyes on in WWE. Literally just terrible everything, even from guys who are considered Hall of Famers and all time greats, just awful. 4/10"

[4.0] "The Hell in a Cell match is obviously iconic, but everything beforehand was a slog to get through. 1997 was a great year for the wrestling business, but most of WWE's PPVs during this year were not very good. The tag team flag match was way too long, a Bret vs Vader match would've been a lot better. The main event saves this show from being one of the worst ever."

[3.0] "Okay, I have to ask this question because Im incredibly confused. Did I watch a different show than everyone else? Because theres no way this should have anything higher than a 3. Yeah, you had 2 of the most memorable debuts in WWE. The Hell in a Cell and Kane, along with an incredible match as you could expect from Undertaker and Shawn. But you have to understand, that match is the only thing from stopping me from giving this show a lower rating. You got another thing coming if Im supposed to just forget the 2 and a half hours of shitty wrestling that I had to watch before it! When I say this show is bad. Its beyond bad. This would be in the same vein as King of the Ring 95 if it hadnt been for that main event"

[6.0] "Most people buying this would have been getting it for the first ever Hell in a Cell match and it was a 5 star masterpiece. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had a great feud leading up to the match and the match remains to this day as one of the best Hell in a Cell matches of all time. It's a very chaotic and satisfyingly brutal match with Shawn pretty much beaten to a pulp and Kane's iconic debut to cost Undertaker the match was the icing on the cake! The main event is essential, but the undercard wasnt very good and a lot of the performances on this was affected by the tragic loss of Brian Pillman just hours before the show where you also had last minute changes to the show. The best match was probably The Rock's first PPV match as a heel for the Nation in 3-on-2 handicap match with LOD. There was some fun with Owen Hart v Faarooq because of Austin's shenanigans at ringside. The flag match was below par given the talent involved and really wasn't a good enough match to justify not having a WWF Title match on the card."

[5.0] "A one match show without a doube. LOD vs. The Nation is mostly fine tag wrestling the Road warriors work well fighting a bunch of guys at once and Rocky was wrestling more smoothly as a heel. Still nothing to write home about (5/10) The Mini's tag match was sloppy, short and very unintersting (3/10) The tag title match was more of the same, The Headbangers were slightly more entertaining than the Minis but giving 12 minutes and the belts to the godwinns is always a bad idea (3/10) Owen and Faarooq have a tv match at best that no one cared about with Austin's commentary being the most interesting bit. But Owen being Owen it still had a little more quality than other matches (4/10) The Gang Wars feud continues to be incredibly boring DOA got cheered at least so someone cared this time (3/10) The Flag Match starts off strong with a brawl and has some good wrestling brom Bret and Bulldog as well as an impressive Moonsault miss from Vader, but Patriot still can't help being dull and the stipulation made little sense (5/10). Up until there the show would be a 3 if being generous, but the Main Event carries the score. Shawn and Taker have a great and fairly brutal Cell match here. HBK dripping blood from the roof onto the camera was a gnarly spot. The match on its own is easily a 9 but Kane's iconic debut brings it up another notch (10/10)"

"Watching this in 2024, its notable for Kane making his debut, and its fascinating to see the Owen-Austin feud, which Ive always thought of as being the point where New Generation becomes Attitude, as the two men epitomise these eras. The quality of the wrestling is so, so low, with the exception of the main event which is very good. If you watched this PPV (without the main event) in isolation and were asked where WWF was about t go, youd probably say Down the toilet. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course."

[4.0] "There are literally two good matches with the main event being a classic, which saves this whole PPV from being a disaster. Seriously, these In Your House shows have been unbearable at times since becoming 3 hour shows. But from the start: the opener is one of the good things on here. Rocky is the main star there and he's such a fantastic heel in this that you can't take your eyes off him, while D-Lo and Kama work great as his flunkies. The minis' match is awful and it's a huge let down from the last Max Mini's match, while Godwinns and Headbangers have a barely acceptable bout with nothing exciting. Owen and Faarooq kill some time having nothing of a match, letting Stone Cold being the main star of it with him bullying all of the commentators, and then another gang war happens, making me wish they would already end this awful program. Hart Foundation vs Patriot & Vader is a long chaos with hot tags falling flat and no buildup to anything, but then the main event, like I said, saves the show. Phenomenal first Hell in a Cell Match and probably the best of all time. The whole thing is basically Undertaker punishing Michaels, but it works so well and gets the crowd going, that it shows how little you have to do sometimes if you're good enough. The debut of Kane is also one of the highs and thank God that at least the end of a show left me happy. It was a slug though to get through it at times, but it was worth it for the main event alone."

[4.0] "The first 2/3rds of the show are the drizzling shits! Things don't get good until the flag match and HITC is the obvious honor student tonight. Still, I only give this show a 4/10 because so much was throwaway garbage and it was a pretty ominous atmosphere with the death of Brian Pillman just hours earlier."

"The rest of the show is absolutely pants, but it doesn't matter because the main event is one of the best matches of the era (and one of the best stipulation matches of all time) and has the awesome debut of Kane."

[4.0] "Pretty much all 4 points are going to the main event between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels seeing everything else was very skippable. The flag match could've been good but went on way too long. The highlight of the IC title match was Austin's commentary match was solid though. Matches from best to worst: Undertaker/Michaels *****, Flag Match **1/2, Owen/Farooq **1/2, LOD/NOD **1/4, 8 man tag 1/2*, Godwins/Head Banngers 1/2*, Minn/Nova vs Moasic/Tarantula 1/2*"

[4.0] "This show is notable for two things - having to be rebooked at very short notice due to the tragic death of Brian Pillman, which was still a breaking story as the show went on, and the debut of Hell In A Cell, and one of the greatest matches of all time. That match is the only one to watch here, most of the rest of it is downright bad. The shadow of Pillman hung over the event, with many of his close friends having to perform shortly after learning he'd died, which may well explain why so much of the even was poor."

[3.0] "That score is for the main event. The rest is mostly garbage. I figure if you give us one of the best matches ever in the main event the show deserves some recognition for having at least one really great thing on it. That? s why it gets the four."

[4.0] "Brilliant main event, but the undercard is the absolute pits. Opener is decent but everything after that is just either forgettable or garbage. In the case of the flag match, it's okay but did it really need to go on for nearly 30 minutes? Seriously, it's a one match show but WHAT A MATCH! One of the best HIAC matches of all time if not the best. Watch it and nothing else."

[6.0] "Mediocre PPV with awesome 5-star main event. Nation vs LOD is an okay opener with cool ending. Tag team match of midgets is a replacement of Brian Pillman vs Dude Love. Unfortunately, Brian passed away earlier this day. Godwinns vs HeadBangers is a watchable match with surprising title change. Owen vs Faarooq and the gang wars are terrible. Flag match is too long in my opinion. Yes, almost all undercard matches are tag team fights. And it's time for the main event. There are only few words I can say about it: great, awesome, fantastic, excellent. This is a perfect Hell in a Cell match, nobody will ever do something better. Finally I will say that it is my favourite match of all time. RIP Brian Pillman"

[7.0] "Nation of Domination vs LOD is an acceptable match with a good showing of The Rock, didn't really care for the tag matches especially DOA vs Los Boricuas but really who would care? Owen vs Faarooq is okay but I really enjoyed Steve Austin going to the Spanish and French announce desks and talking into the mics more than this match, was kinda short. Hart Foundation vs Patriot and Vader is a weird ass flag match that you can also win by a pinfall? is this how it always is? I honestly don't even know at this point. and of course, the highlight of this card is HBK vs Undertaker which does live up to the coveted Meltzer 5 Star review, plus Kane debuts which is cool."

[7.0] "Maybe the first pay per view full into the Attitude era. It has a mature feeling but many of the matches are insipid and does not give anything relevant to the fans. The main event is another story with the Hell in a Cell match between Michaels and Undertaker. It's a show of triumph for the Hart Foundation just before Survivor Series '97, but any one of them was sad for the loss of Brian Pillman the same day."

[6.0] "Sadly held on the day of Brian Pillman's death, IYH: Badd Blood was a decent show most notable for the main event, Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match, which also featured the debut of Kane. That was a great match in and of itself - perhaps still one of the HIAC matches that made the best use of the environment - and also advanced several storylines nicely at once. There was some decent if unspectacular stuff on the undercard, too - notably Bret & Bulldog vs. Patriot & Vader (though the match stipulation was a mess), Nation vs. LOD and Godwinns vs. Headbangers for the tag belts. On the other hand, the IC match between Owen and Faarooq was alright, but could have been much better with more time, the DOA vs. Boricuas match advanced nothing in a storyline nobody cared about, and the minis match was a bit of fun but rather sloppy and drawn-out. Without the main event, I would have ranked the show a 4 at best, but the main is a must-see and that brings it up a few points."

[3.0] "No thanks. This event was pretty consistently below average until the main event... which was slightly above average! Judging by the Meltzer review and the user reviews of the main event, I'm guessing my account will be disabled upon clicking "submit", but someone has to call it like they see it around here! :D"

[6.0] "Pillman's death cast a pall on this show, as a few of the matches were just thrown together at the last minute, and the other guys had a hard time giving their full effort. The main event is a Match of the Year Candidate with only Austin vs. Bret and the 10-man tag beating it out, which would normally earn the show a thumbs up, but that match is available on both Shawn and the Taker's DVDs, making this one irrelevant. Thumbs down for everything but the main event."