Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker

[8.0] "Great Hell In A Cell match to cap off a fantastic rivalry. Definitely felt like the end to a rivalry which is what these matches should be doing. At 30 minutes they paced it well to keep it intriguing and it didn't feel too one-sided. Both went to hell and back."

[8.0] "I liked their Wrestlemania match more but this was pretty good, too long but we get a good amount of blood (unfortunate in the case of Cowboy Bob, turns out) and some nice sequences."

[7.0] "I had remembered really enjoying this match as a teenager but on this watch, I thought it was just solid. It also felt super, super long. I think if they shaved 10 minutes off this, it'd have been great. I also understand why Undertaker won the feud but I had almost no reaction to him winning, it just felt like the status quo."

[10.0] "Very underrated hiac match when it comes to the lore of this match. It was brutal. It was bloody. A lot of chaotic spots. The match that put an end to one of the more underrated feuds in the WWE. The legend of Randy Orton was still growing around this time and this was also when The Undertaker was starting to get the juice back in this second run that would propel him to all time status, depending on who you ask (2004-2013). ****3/4. I may be nitpicky here just cause I didn't like how the match started lol. Other than that, amazing match."

[5.0] "This is not the worst Hell In A Cell match (that honor would go to Taker vs Bossman followed by HHH vs Shawn), but dear God did it bore me to death. I've been a defender of both of these guys even when they're having longer, drawn out matches in the past but this one did not work for me. Not completely void of good stuff (nice blading, an enjoyable finishing run with a gnarly tombstone by Randy and subsequently an excellent bump & sell for the finish), but I found those things to be few and far between. A runtime of 30 minutes felt more like 45-50 and I wasn't sure it was ever going to end. A couple of cool spots and exchanges can't really save the fact that I felt like I was going to fall asleep during a match of its billing. The Bob Orton interferences were totally unnecessary and detracted from the match. Although it's not a totally rotten match, to me this is a total far cry from the elite Taker HIAC matches up to this point (Shawn, Foley, Brock)."

[7.0] "This is an excellent Hell in a Cell match, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't just a bit underwhelming. While it's very good, it doesn't hold a candle to the much more spoken of legendary Cell matches. Even after the first few legendary ones, I'd take Triple H vs. Nash and probably even Undertaker vs. Batista over this one. And there's no question the Wrestlemania encounter between these two outstrips this one. The match was dramatic and filled with emotion, but it just...didn't have any sort of 'wow' factor. Besides stiff chair shots, there wasn't anything too special here. A few basic step shots and a mediocre table spot were it. The match wasn't all that competitive either. Neither of them really were trying to go for covers until the half way point or further, and this match absolutely didn't need a half hour. But for all my gripes, don't let that make you think I don't like this match. It's still a really engaging blow off to what might be the best feud of the year. I just expected a little bit more. While this doesn't top Summerslam, it's second best of the four matches. A great performance here, but maybe just a bit under expectations."

[7.0] "Disappointed with this one honestly. Came in with pretty high hopes as this was a match I watched a lot as a kid and really liked it back then. But on a rewatch after many years this is just ok. Its way too long first of all clocking in at 30 minutes. With the way it was wrestled 30 minutes felt like 45 very slow pace for like the first 20 ish minutes before it got pretty good in the final act. The crowd was also not really that hot for majority of this match until the final 5-10 minutes. Its decent but there are plenty better Hell in the cell matches. 3.5/5"

[8.0] "Re-watched this after Punk-McIntyre to make a comparison. Most users gave this an 8, which is pretty fair, but if this was made in 2024 it would average 9, 50+. This is easily better than yesterday's match. Orton looked good, but you could tell this wasn't his type of match and this was his best one by far."

[8.0] "This was an absolutely bloody match, with both Ortons bleeding, Undertaker bleeding, and even the referee bleeding. The match was quite brutal and crazy. As the final battle between Orton and Taker, I think this match was quite successful, at least better than the first two matches I've reviewed (I'll talk about the comparison with the other two matches later). Taker went all out in this match, determined to defeat the "Legend Killer" Randy Orton. Before this, the Orton father and son had snatched Undertaker's urn (this urn is the source of Undertaker's supernatural power... or rather, it's Undertaker's exclusive symbol). He decided from the start of the match to destroy and crush Randy. To me, this long-standing grudge has another layer of meaning, which is the need for Undertaker to tell Randy that some legends cannot be killed. Randy also performed very strongly in this match, showing his sadistic side. As a perverted killer, his favorite thing to do is indeed violence. However, this is not a traditional good versus evil match, but more like a street fight. They both made each other bleed, and in my opinion, their actions after bleeding are reasonable. There was a segment in the middle where Randy butted his head against Taker's head, but he fell himself. Perhaps it was to prove the disparity in their strength (which is true, Bob Orton has been trying to help his son throughout the match). The most interesting part was the final segment, where Randy's dive onto Undertaker shattered the table, putting Undertaker in an injured state, unable to fight back, and even if he did fight back, he would still be dominated by Randy. It was after Randy's RKO that the match turned a new page, and to me, they returned to the traditional good versus evil story. In it, Taker played the Babyface and used his supernatural power to resurrect. When Randy stole Taker's Tombstone Piledriver, Taker terrifyingly "resurrected" by sitting up. The last five minutes were the climax of the entire match, and by returning to the traditional good versus evil story, Babyface (UnderTaker) rewrote a fairy tale. The logic of this match is reasonable. They both learned from the strengths and weaknesses of the previous two singles matches, for example, in this Hell in a Cell match, Undertaker's performance became more realistic, thanks to Randy making Undertaker bleed. Randy's successful smashing of the table with Undertaker was also a kind of experiential progress, or rather, an improvement over their last match. They began to use an "Oh My God" event to advance their story, and to me, the table smashing event initiated the climax of the match, which is absolutely reasonable.****1/4"

[7.0] "Most of the times it's already mission accomplished if the build is good and a well made rivalry is there, as then Hell in a Cell has this special feeling and it was exactly like that here. Undertaker is the best in these stipulations as he's always dominating a smaller opponent and because of that they can easily sell the match type as a really brutal one. Then at one point Orton takes over and it gets even to the rest of the match, so the crowd gets something to be invested in. A really good match, you felt the animosity between those guys and both wrestlers' body language was fantastic."

[7.0] "While the work and the booking was quite good I felt this match was definitely on the long side. It was very slow at times and 5-10 minutes could have easily been cut."

[7.0] "Randy Orton was still finding himself during this tumultuous post-Evolution and pre-Voices phase. And, the Undertaker hadn't quite hit his golden form yet. The result is what you'd expect. A good, brutal cell match between these two. The beginning of the match is similar to the cell match between Undertaker and Michaels, with Orton acting as a chicken-shit heel. That's also where the comparison ends. This was standard Undertaker stuff. Orton was good here. He sold well. He worked as an excellent heel. He really did his best to get his character over, whilst allowing the Undertaker to express himself and help enhance both. It worked. I liked the cut by Orton. Sold the brutality really well. Let's not forget that Orton was still young here. It's impressive how much he'd improved as a worker. The Undertaker was his usual self. A good showing by both guys. 7/10."

[7.0] "Nice match. Maybe a little too long, but it was entertaining enough. Great conclusion to their feud."

[8.0] "Undertaker mainly dominates Orton in the opening beside a few brief hope spots from Orton, he cuts him open. Orton takes over after hitting an RKO when Taker standing on the ring apron and it sends him into the cell. In the middle of the match, nothing really happens besides the fact that Taker gets cut open and we get like 2 ref bumps. Ending with Taker kicking out of the tombstone, and then standing up out of it was great. He then kicks Bob and Randy's ass for the win.****"

[8.0] "Not as awesome as the Hell in a Cell earlier in the year between Triple H and Batista, but this was still really good and at least as good as Taker and Orton's WrestleMania match from the same year. It's a very brutal match, with Taker, Orton, Cowboy Bob AND even Nick Patrick getting busted open. This wasn't anywhere near the best Hell in a Cell match ever, but it was still a lot of fun and very good."

[8.0] "This was a very good match that had the first half building up gear after gear, but it just got stuck in the "very good" gear and didn't transition to greatness. The middle was slow, predictable and a bit dull. Once Orton had the comeuppance with the Tombstone, it picked up again till the end. This rivalry was a great storytelling spectacle and the matches were solid enough. 3.75 out of 5 stars!"

[10.0] "This is a very strong Hell in a Cell match with a fitting ending to their rivalry. Orton could have picked up a win here."

[7.0] "Not really a Hell in a Cell to remember. The feud was at the final point and it worked well, the fight itself wasn't particularly good. Orton has a few minutes where he tries to destroy Undertaker but after that it's the usual Taker match. Well, at least it ends without a final inteference and has a clean conclusion. ***1/4"